Surfer-friendly Goofy Cafe crafts dishes the right way

With a name like Goofy Cafe, one has to wonder what mischief the chef is up to. The reaction to the name is likely to range from glee (top of mind for people I quizzed was the Disney character) to bafflement. A lot of us take our food seriously, and "goofy" is not a word we tend to associate with food.

It makes more sense once you learn the reference comes from the surf/skate/board sport world, in which the larger population of regular surfers/skaters lead with their left foot and the goofy-footed lead with their right.

These right-footed folks are viewed as being more artistic and rebellious, terms that reflect nicely on the cafe, where executive chef Keigo Yoshimoto puts his creativity to work on a menu that’s 80 percent local and sustainable.

Yoshimoto and his company out-local many a locally owned restaurant. The concept of regional fidelity is so important that the menu opens with "Goofy’s Traceability Report," listing every local source of ingredients ranging from vanilla (Hawaiian Vanilla Co.) to feta cheese (Naked Cow Dairy).

Located near the Hilton Hawaiian Village, it was conceived as a surfer’s cafe, done up in rustic wood with plenty of surf paraphernalia as decor. It’s so comfy I immediately felt like moving in. This was enhanced by settling back with a range of fresh homemade juices and smoothies; there are also Waialua sodas and cocktails, including Haleiwa shochu sours made with Namihana shochu from the Hawaiian Shochu Co.

The menu starts with the lure of breakfast all day. This can be as simple as a $7 or $11 fruit bowl or acai bowl ($9.50) with Big Island bee honey and Kauai granola, to Goofy’s Eggs Benedict ($14), which includes your choice of Shinsato pork belly, kalua pig, local vegetables, or salmon and spinach.

You can create your own omelets as well, with up to three ingredients from a roster that includes Portuguese sausage, Shinsato pork, kale, mushrooms, corn, cheeses, avocado and more.

Curiosity kicks in with the tapas menu showcasing local ingredients such as Otsuji and Kaneshiro farms’ kale, blanched and tossed with sesame oil in Korean-style namul ($6) delicious enough to convert the greens-averse.

If this doesn’t do the trick, you can get more playful with the grilled Kahuku corn sticks ($6), an ear of corn that has been quartered lengthwise and slathered with ‘Nalo herb pesto. The wobbly cobs aren’t an ideal way to enjoy corn, but with "goofy" as the operative word, it’s certainly different.

The cafe gets more serious with its bagna cauda ($15), a cornucopia of lettuce, asparagus, radishes, baby carrots, tomatoes and more, accompanied by the classic Piedmont "hot bath" of olive oil, butter, garlic and anchovies, which I find irresistible. If the fishiness of anchovies is not your thing, try the Hamakua mushrooms ($11) with ajillo sauce. They’re garlicky with none of the fish factor.

On the day we visited, there was an abalone and ajillo option, but it’s not worth the extra splurge. The textures of abalone and Hamakua mushrooms prepared in this style is close, and the garlic wiped out the abalone’s natural flavor.

Green spaghetti ($14) is one of the house specialties, earning its name from its verdant coating of herb pesto. About a half-dozen Kahuku shrimp are stirred into the mix for texture.

No less deserving of a try is the Kahuku corn penne ($13), with the sweet corn and cream sauce creating pure rapture. The fascination with corn is a sure sign the restaurant is Japanese-owned.

The other object of their adoration is the loco moco ($14). Here brown rice, a thick and juicy Big Island beef patty and sunny-side-up local eggs are stacked in the center of a moat of homemade brown gravy.

The "Surf & Turf" category of entrees, served in cast-iron skillets, includes an 8-ounce grilled Big Island Kulana Ranch rib eye ($25). Grass-fed beef is never going to be as mouth-wateringly fatty as factory beef, but it’s half the calories and raised hormone- and antibiotic-free. Yoshimoto compensates for the lean beef by pairing it with a creamy Molokai sweet potato mash, plus light Maui onion rings free of a strong onion taste. It was helped along with a pinch of sea salt that came with the bagna cauda.

Fans of ginger will love the thick ginger sauce served over a grilled Shinsato pork chop ($22), and grilled mahimahi ($20) is given decadent treatment with chardonnay butter sauce. These were served with seasonal vegetables of carrot, tomatoes and asparagus.

The cafe only recently introduced dinner service, and the dessert menu is evolving. For now there are various treatments of the Big Island honey French toast ($13) served for breakfast. You’ll find them topped with berries; pineapple, papaya and banana; cinnamon and pineapple; or coated with dark chocolate sauce. A ginger creme brulee is in the works.

Goofy Cafe is from the same Zetton Inc. family of restaurants as Aloha Table, but unlike American corporations that build up a single recognizable brand for international dominance, Zetton keeps inventing new concepts and new names.

Many would think that’s a goofy way to run a business, but it’s paying off. A lone, grass-roots enterprise always looks more charming than a cookie-cutter franchise. A third Zetton cafe will open in Waikiki this summer, but its name and concept are anyone’s guess.

Nadine Kam’s restaurant reviews are conducted anonymously and paid for by the Star-Advertiser. Reach her at nkam@staradvertiser.com.