Forty Carrots’ fare is bright and briny

When it comes to New York’s retail restaurants, I was seduced early on by Bergdorf Goodman’s BG restaurant, where I loved the simple elegance of its casual upscale menu, great seasonal soups and fresh salads, and I ended up going back for more nearly every trip. Never mind that an ahi tartare salad was $23 and lobster salad was $41, when you could have lunch overlooking Central Park, surrounded by New York socialites in designer threads, in a stunning Beaux Arts room reflecting the store’s late-19th-century heritage.

Diners were expecting a similarly magical experience when Bloomingdale’s opened its Forty Carrots restaurant here. That’s why many were quick to express disappointment in its blink-you-might-miss-it scale and fast-food ambience that doesn’t quite mesh with the store’s elevated style.

The one word I kept hearing from people was “expensive,” so I was surprised to sit down with the menu and find prices are fair for the quality offered, and in line with similar competitors around town. But I’ve found over the years that the typical diner gives more weight to ambience than food, and that’s a huge mental block to overcome.

A little background: Bloomingdale’s opened Forty Carrots in 1975 to appeal to its fashion-conscious customers with low-calorie, healthful meals, a philosophy that resonates today. It also unveiled a dessert, frozen yogurt, that became an instant hit and remains a cornerstone of an operation that started out more functional than luxe.

But where the New York menu features chicken sandwiches, veggie burgers, portobello burgers and salads, Jon Matsubara came on board locally to give the restaurant — dubbed Restaurant Kaona at Forty Carrots — a Hawaii vibe, which is appreciated but perhaps overkill. We like chopped salads and chicken sandwiches as much as any American, but those kinds of crowd-pleasing basics aren’t here. Instead, fish and Kona lobster are abundant, and though I love both and say “bring it!” to that, the menu doesn’t offer enough variety for a large number of those who won’t eat seafood. Among my friends, I’d put the ratio at 50:50. There’s also a huge population here that eats no greens, but they’re more likely to stalk lunch trucks anyway.

ONCE YOU move beyond expectations and gut response, you’ll find many things to like, starting with “daily inspiration” soup ($5 cup, $7 bowl). A recent truffled mushroom soup was a standout. If the soup du jour doesn’t appeal, there is also a luxurious bouillabaisse ($7 or $10) with sweet jumbo shrimp, and the day’s catch, recently monchong, in a chili broth punched up with kaffir lime.

One fun selection is caviar with nori potato chips ($15), recently ikura served in a tin over wasabi lemon creme fraiche, all meant to be scooped over the chips. The nori and salmon roe are already a briny match, and the textures of the creme fraiche and chips turn each bite into a multisensory experience.

A combination of Maui potato chips, chicharones and guacamole ($9) lacked the same flavor wow factor. I couldn’t help thinking any child could buy a bag of pork rinds and chips and stick it in guacamole.

If you have trouble making decisions, the Aina Awakea Bunched Lunch offers a complete meal day or night ($30). It starts with a choice of fresh juice, soup du jour or a Big Island salad of Hirabara Farms baby lettuces, tomato, Hilo smoked pork and fresh burrata, a creamy Italian cheese. This is followed by the chef’s entree selection and dessert of Forty Carrots frozen yogurt.

If ordering a la carte, that salad starts at $12 and allows for add-ons of chicken ($7), shrimp ($10) and the day’s sustainable fish ($10). Other salads include a combination of grilled chicken and green papaya ($22) with Hirabara Farms romaine, pecorino cheese, kale, sea asparagus and ponzu ranch dressing; and a Hamakua Farms tomato salad with fresh burrata and local honey-balsa­mic vinaigrette. All are big enough to be shared by two or three.

My favorite is the salad of frisee, heirloom radishes and slices of smoked pork ($18), crowned with a poached Ka Lei egg that lends its silky ooze to the dish, already splashed with a light Jerez sherry vinaigrette.

You’ll probably also want to share the Ocean Salad ($28). The combination of lobster tail, jumbo shrimp, fresh crab and seared ahi with avocado, over Hirabara Farms greens with ponzu ranch dressing, seems too decadent for one person.

A passion for poke could be sated by the Hokulea Poke Trio platter ($19) comprising classic limu-style; “Kim Chee Rage” shrimp with cucumber and kochujang; and spicy hamachi poke with wasabi tobiko, Maui onion and mayo.

Also available are a daily sustainable fish selection (market); Kona lobster with saffron, fennel, lemongrass and bouillabaisse liquor ($35); and Matsubara’s lobster moco ($45), a monster moco with the foodie’s holy trinity of lobster tail, sauteed foie gras and Italian black truffle in a rich Madeira sauce. With a Ka Lei egg, of course.

There is no great lobster roll in town, but the Kona Lobster Tartine ($25) comes close to satisfying that craving, with a no-fail combination of bacon and mustard creme fraiche with equally creamy avocado. I would come back for this any time. The only problem is that it’s gone in no time. Anyone with a large appetite would consider this a two-bite appetizer.

Fans of French dips are loving the Niihau lamb sandwich ($19). A banh mi sandwich dubbed “Bloom-Mi” ($15) is a work in progress, less dry now than when the restaurant opened, but still too clean for those accustomed to gritty Chinatown style. The best part is the housemade paté.

To go with your meal, there is a short list of wines, yogurt smoothies and trendy fresh-squeezed juices ($8 for 16 ounces; $10 for 24 ounces). I tend to like fruitier drinks such as the Dakine with apple, beet, carrot, strawberry and kale; and the Makapu, a combo of carrot, strawberry and orange. Greenies may prefer the Holoholo with spinach, kale, parsley, celery and cucumber; or Oma‘oma‘o, a mix of kale, cucumber, celery and green apple. Or make up your own blend.

Don’t fill up before you try the frozen yogurt ($6 regular, $8 large). Start with plain tart yogurt before moving on to flavors such as blueberry, strawberry or chocolate. A list of $1 add-ons ranges from candy sprinkles to local honey, shredded coconut, malted milk balls, chocolate-covered kakimochi or fresh fruit. I especially love the fresh blueberries that turn icy — they’re wonderful to sink your teeth into.

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BITE SIZE

Morimoto samples pau hana delights

Morimoto Waikiki has launched a new happy hour R&D menu, available from 5 to 7 p.m. Mondays to Thursdays at the bar or in the lounge.

It features a short but sweet menu of eats, craft cocktails and beer at $5 to $10.

The lineup will change seasonally as a way of introducing new menu and bar items that chefs and mixologists are considering adding to the restaurant’s main menu.

Current bites include maki sushi of the day ($8), sticky ribs with tamarind glaze ($10), shishito peppers with sea salt ($6), hamachi tacos ($8), edamame with sea salt ($6) and soba with shrimptempura ($10).

Bud Light, Heineken and Kirin are $5 each, and a trio of new $7 cocktails — including the aptly named “Can I Have Another?” blend of Cuervo, vanilla banana and pineapple — also are available.

The restaurant is in The Modern Honolulu, at 1775 Ala Moana Blvd. Call 943-5900.

Nadine Kam’s restaurant reviews are conducted anonymously and paid for by the Star-Advertiser. Reach her at nkam@staradvertiser.com. “Bite Size” documents the new, the small, the unsung.