The grand opening of DASH — Gastropub at 1018 McCully St. begins at 6 p.m. today and stretches until 2 a.m., following the soft opening of the watering hole and eatery several weeks ago.
DASH is named after partners Alysha Tanabe, Shane Tsubaki and Executive Chef Hyuk Kim, and adds Asian flavors and a local twist to the conventional gastropub. The "D" is taken from a silent partner who wishes to remain anonymous, "but he goes by the nickname Dino," said Tsubaki in an email.
Why call it a gastropub instead of a restaurant and bar, or bar and grill? The gastropub concept is a relatively new trend in the U.S. food and beverage industry, having taken quite a while to cross over from its origins in the United Kingdom, where pubs, or public houses, are commonplace. Those that have elevated the level of their cuisine are called gastropubs, and in fact, this year’s winner of the Budweiser Budvar Top 50 Gastropub Awards in the U.K., the Hand and Flowers, recently was awarded its second Michelin star.
Having said all that, however, establishments that serve liquor and kinda fancy pub grub have been around for a long time — it’s just the term "gastropub" that is new and trendy — but your columnist digresses.
DASH offers craft beers, wines and specialty cocktails including an Ume-Shiso Mojito, among others. Food choices include ahi tataki, filet mignon beef sashimi, roasted beet salad, butter-fried mochi and other pub grub, some familiar.
Occupying the former Zap Cafe space, which also used to be an American Savings Bank, DASH’s nearly 5,000 square feet has a seating capacity of about 100. Asked about the average check price, Tsubaki said two people could order "a couple menu items and a couple drinks" for "around $40."
As is typical for any business with reviews on Yelp.com, DASH has received raves and gotten panned since it began service Jan. 3. Its soft opening was Jan. 20, according to its publicist.
Today’s grand-opening event is open to the public. Attire is casual, there is no cover charge and valet parking will be offered for $4.
DASH, Zap Cafe & Lounge and The Pyramids Restaurant on Kapahulu have shared ownership, according to state business records.
Foodland Super Market Ltd. chef Keoni Chang could be the next American Idol of his industry — Supermarket Grand Chef.
Chang hopes his recipes will sing soaringly enough to get him chosen to compete in the Supermarket Chef Showdown at the FMI 2012 Show, staged by the Virginia-based Food Marketing Institute in Dallas in May.
Chang is working on creating his recipes right now and is keeping details close to the vest for obvious reasons but said, "I am looking at our melting pot of cultures for inspiration," and will work with the judging rules in mind, "to my favor."
Only 20 chefs from around the country will be chosen to compete at the show.
Beyond the Supermarket Grand Chef title, the grand prize includes a three-day professional development course at the Culinary Institute of America (you know, the "other" CIA). There are also four first prizes of $1,000.
Chang can be seen, along with co-host Sheryl Toda, Foodland director of corporate communications, in cooking demonstration videos on the Foodland website. There are usually two new videos each month on the site, which carries a wealth of Chang’s recipes for all sorts of goodies, as well as recipes from Foodland pastry chef Rick Chang (no relation, formerly of Roy’s and Halekulani) and, through a now-expired agreement, recipes from internationally known chef and restaurateur Roy Yamaguchi.
On the Net:
» www.foodland.com
