Cravings: Scuffins from 9Bar HNL, Maui’s Lineage earns Bon Appetit nod

SCONE, MUFFIN… SCUFFIN

Espresso perfection hinges on applying just-right pressure. Nine bars of it, or 130 pounds per square inch of brew pressure is optimal by barista standards. And that’s what you’ll get at 9Bar HNL, a specialty coffee and bake shop in Salt at Our Kakaako.

Pairing nicely with beverages featuring freshly pulled shots are various hearty meal-worthy items and an assortment of pastries, including scuffins, a scone-muffin hybrid — baked in-house under the direction of Tracey Seta, who co-owns the shop with husband Stephen Seta.

The scuffin first surfaced as a frankenpastry — arriving on the heels of the “cronut” craze (a croissant-doughnut hybrid), which launched six years ago in a New York City bakery. While 9Bar’s scuffins resemble large scones, their taste is decidedly different — the texture a bit fluffier, less dense and dry — than your average scone. Tracey Seta likens the specialty to muffin tops, “the best part of the muffin.”

9Bar regularly serves up five or six sweet and two savory scuffin options. Among the staples: strawberry-mango, banana-chocolate chip, blueberry-cream cheese, bacon-cheddar, and one that adds to the portmanteau mashup an “everything” bagel topping. The Everything Scuffin is filled with cream cheese snippets. Also popular: matcha white chocolate chip and seasonal favors. All are especially delish when warmed up.

9Bar is open 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. on weekdays; 8 a.m. to 2 p.m., weekends. Call 369-2299.

— Maureen O’Connell, Star-Advertiser

MAUI’S LINEAGE NAMED TO TOP 50

Each year, when Bon Appetit researches the top 10 new restaurants in the nation, the magazine publishes a list of 50 nominees — and like the Oscars or the Emmys, whether you make the cut or not, it’s an honor just to be nominated.

Out of the crowded field of wonderful Hawaii restaurants, just one was picked for that list, so it’s understandable that the selection is owned by chef Sheldon Simeon, the multiple James Beard Award nominee and “Top Chef” finalist. His restaurant, Lineage, opened in October in Wailea, Maui.

Born and raised in Hilo, Simeon explores food from Hawaii’s culture and history. At Lineage, he lends a chef’s touch to such classic dishes as hekka, cold ginger chicken and squid luau. A katsu curry, for instance, is a vegan offering made with cauliflower, while poi mochi is served with a chicken liver pate topped with furikake. Meanwhile, Lineage’s Pork n Peas is a Simeon family recipe.

Bon Appetit’s 2019 nominee list is studded with culture-based food: Aleppo Sweets, a Syrian baklava bakery in Providence, R.I., for example, and Sarvida, a Filipino restaurant in Philadelphia. The No. 1 spot on Bon Appetit’s final list of 10 is Konbi, sandwich shop in Los Angeles, modeled on konbini, Japanese convenience stores.

To read up on the final 10 picks, visit 808ne.ws/top10.