Beer pervades and beets abide at new hot spot

The timing couldn’t be any better for the opening of REAL a gastropub. School’s out and that means the party starts early and no one needs to get home before last call at the place, now open at Ward Farmers Market next door to Marukai Zakka Avenue.

The lively space and pub menu of more than 200 bottled beers — enough choices to fill the three-ring binder menu — and  draft beer from 24 taps, plus a full cocktail bar, is a natural habitat for a college and post-college crowd. Pubs like this are routine in college towns across the country, but for Honolulu it’s a long overdue, ambitious undertaking. Check out goo.gl/qsY8l for a sample menu.

And for proto-foodies, a rotating menu of upscale pub grinds hits all the major trends and food groups.

Sustainable local produce? Check.

Pork belly? Check.

Roasted beet salad? Check.

Duck fat fries and confit duck? Double check. And, you can get it two ways, enhancing a  corn dog or straddling poutine, Canada’s national dish of gravy over french fries. At REAL, it’s studded with cheddar cheese balls instead of the dish’s traditional curds, and capped off with a fried egg over easy.

REAL is the work of chef-owner Troy Terorotua, formerly with Sam Choy’s and Big G’s Catering. He also served as beer buyer for Whole Foods Market and brings his knowledge of what people really want. It’s heavy fare, but current patrons are of the age that have yet to learn the pain of fat that sticks around.

The room itself, the former Tropics Cafe and Bar, has the dark interior of an old-school bar but you won’t be able to hide from frenemies or exes.  At the newest hot spot, odds are you’ll know someone here.

In spite of the newness and a crowd eager to sample countless rounds of food and drink, service has the speed and efficiency of a veteran operation. The only error was when I ordered a root beer float ($6) and got instead the REAL Guinness Float ($7) of Guinness gelato in Guinness. Understandable, considering the din, but quite a shock to the system when you’re expecting IBC root beer.

Prices seem low but they’re for petite tasting portions of no more than a few bites. Mac and cheese can be overwhelming in large doses, but here, orecchiette ($8) in a light, milky five-cheese sauce topped with bacon and crumbled Chex Mix crust disappears in no time. It’s the same with the braised pork belly ($12) served with Dijon pork jus and topped with cherry compote with a side of mashed potatoes. Divide by three friends and you’ll each get a 1-inch sliver of fatty goodness, not enough to induce diet guilt.

Terorotua embraces the idea that food doesn’t have to be fancy to get people excited, and no dish demonstrates this more than deviled eggs, a comfort favorite that rarely shows up on menus. My friends were thrilled to see it, and when I showed the menu to others they, too, felt compelled to visit. It’s $5 for a quartet of the halved eggs drizzled with house-cured bacon.

And, speaking of bacon, apple-smoked garlic-and-brown sugar bacon is like candy for adults. With three pieces per $4 order, you might want to start with a couple orders.

Some of the best items on the menu are the miniature sandwiches that are ideal for one, but for the sake of camaraderie can be halved. These include a blackened fish slider with miso aioli ($8); lean and a perfect medium rare Kuahiwi Big Island beef burger stuffed with blue cheese and dressed with bacon-onion jam, ’Nalo greens and tomato (add a piece of your candied bacon for extra oomph); and Portobeero cheese steak ($7), the portobello shaved thin and sauteed with beer and herbs that’s just as silky as shiitake. Beer cheese reinforces the theme, though if you’re actually drinking beer, you might miss the subtlety.

The biggest “share” dishes would include grilled chicken wings enhanced with local honey, Green Lakes Amber Ale and a blue cheese mousse ($7); duck fat fries ($6) that aren’t particularly special save the thin, tangy housemade ketchup; beer-battered onion rings also with the REAL ketchup ($5); and duck confit poutine with red-wine demi gravy over the fries.

Assuage any guilt you have with the roast beet salad ($7), with more greens than beets, though all of it a welcome reprieve from meat. There’s also a ’Nalo mixed greens salad tossed with candied bacon, Oregon blue cheese, a poached egg and tomatoes.

Then, just when you think you’ve staved off any lasting damage, there’s dessert of an Irish Car Bomb ($6), a house-made candy bar accompanied by Guinness gelato, Jameson’s caramel and Bailey’s anglaise, that was sold out by the time we tried to order it.

In its place, we settled for banana bread pudding ($5) with peanut butter, creme anglaise and caramel  — which turned out to be not settling after all. I had never realized banana bread and peanut butter are a match rivaling chocolate and peanut butter. As stuffed as we were, it was hard to stop  enjoying each gooey, luscious spoonful.