Pau Hana Patrol: Highlights of top destinations in 2019

MARIPOSA

Neiman Marcus, Ala Moana Center; 951-3420, neimanmarcus.com

>> Happy hour: 3-6 p.m. Sunday-Thursday; 3-5 p.m. Friday

Mariposa’s spacious, airy dining room, with its slowly turning fans and judiciously paced service, will always be appropriate as a place to bring your mom or relax after a shopping spree. But Mariposa deserves top-of-list consideration as a happy hour go-to as well, with its full bar and hearty, Tex-Mex-influenced happy hour offerings.

Neiman Marcus’ flagship Honolulu restaurant is a welcoming location with truly tasty fare. It’s a big, airy room, and there’s plenty of seating available throughout, including at the bar, during happy hour.

ITEMS ON the Mariposa happy hour menu don’t correspond directly with the elevated fare offered on the main menu, but they are prepared with the same attention to pleasing presentation and good taste.

My top choice from the food offerings is Mariposa’s Petite Loco Moco, at just $8. Not so petite, in real life, as it turns out, this dish is full of umami — made with a patty of grass-fed beef, a generous portion of polished white rice and a mushroom gravy that will have you licking the plate.

Grilled salmon tacos, $10 for a set of two, are a close contender, tangy and delicious. Mariposa’s salmon is luscious and fresh, as is the topper of Kamuela tomato salsa. Meanwhile, the just-spicy-enough embellishments of pickled jalapeno and ancho (poblano pepper) ranch sauce, legacies of Neiman Marcus’ Texas roots, kick up the tacos’ flavor profile.

If you’re there to socialize, consider the Chef’s Charcuterie, $10. It’s big enough for two to share as an accompaniment to drinks. Maui Fruit Jewels, a tangy-sweet fruit candy cut in cubes, are the surprising element here, a delightful palate cleanser served alongside meat, cheese, lavosh and spiced pecans.

Try the pork belly sliders, including braised kurobuta pork, pickled vegetables and ginger aioli — even a side of hurricane fries, at $10.

HAPPY HOUR margaritas, made with Herradura Reposado tequila, get a thumbs-up. At $8, they provide all the good taste and kick you’d expect from Neiman Marcus (it’s that Texas thing again), at a $6 savings from the margarita on the regular drinks menu.

You can get a glass of the house-labeled Sonoma County chardonnay for $8, regularly $13 — also a good pick!

It’s hard to conjure up a better experience than looking out over boats on the ocean here, during a glittery, sunny afternoon. Add a margarita and a couple of salmon tacos, and you’ve hit the happy hour jackpot.

— Elizabeth Kieszkowski; reviewed Aug. 1

REAL GASTROPUB

Keauhou Lane, 506 Keawe St., 200-2739, realgastropub.com

>> Happy hour: 2-6 p.m. daily

A gastropub lives at the intersection of gastronomy and public house (or pub), where much drinking goes on. It’s a place where food and drink carry equal weight.

A true gastropub provides a full, high-quality food and drink experience. That describes Real Gastropub, where the main draw may be a fulsome list of craft beers, but where the nondrinker can find happiness in a well-considered menu of tasty bites.

Add to this the power couple of Troy Terorotua and Lisa Kim, who run their restaurant with genuine warmth and hospitality.

THE NEW venue has a pub feel — with lots of wood, and a lively central bar, high ceilings and an open floor plan.

Happy hour includes eight dishes at $5 to $8 each, except the Kalbi Pub Steak, at $15. Terorotua and his kitchen staff like to play with bold, vibrant flavors, but employ a sophisticated touch that makes for congenial noshing.

That steak dish is a case in point, ultra-tender with the recognizable Korean kalbi taste, but an extra oomph from a Mongolian sauce. It’s served over a bed of crispy long rice, a nice idea that lifts the dish with a pleasing crunch.

Lighten things up with the Pub Salad of greens topped with red onions, candied pecans and an extra dose of protein in a soft-boiled egg ($8). A vinaigrette dressing bears the slight sweetness of maple, a counterpoint to a zesty finish of Gorgonzola cheese.

We also sampled the fish tacos ($7), a sprightly pair that can be ordered with the fish of the day fried or sauteed, and comes with a healthy handful of cabbage slaw and salsa of chunky fresh tomatoes.

REAL’S DRAFT beer menu goes on for pages, and all are $1 off at happy hour, for a full pour of 12 or 16 ounces, depending on the beer, with base prices of $8 to $14. Real’s own beer, Bent Tail, goes for $6.75. And the choices? How’s about Dead Man’s Hand, a stout aged in cognac barrels, from Belgium; Deftones Digital Bath, a hazy IPA from California; Against the Cacau, a brown ale from Brazil … and so it goes through 30-plus brews. Two Bent Tail IPAs top the list.

Wine is $8 (regular $12 to $15), but there are just five choices. Really, this is a beer place. If hops are not your thing, try a cider; a few are always on the menu. Call drinks are $6.

Beer lover or not, Real delivers a satisfying and edifying pau hana experience.

— Betty Shimabukuro; reviewed Aug. 29

JAPANESE RESTAURANT AKI

1137 11th Ave., 462-6267

>> Happy hour: 4-6 p.m. Wednesday-Monday

Japanese Restaurant Aki is a cozy little spot, tucked away in the same Kaimuki shopping block as the Himalayan Kitchen and Big City Diner. Modest and unassuming, it offers plenty to please the palate.

You’ll find the restaurant on the ground floor, below Himalayan Kitchen. There’s a parking lot serving the block, accessible on 12th Avenue. Near the lot’s exit lane toward 11th Avenue, you’ll see a sign for the restaurant and a walkway to an interior courtyard, and the entrance.

Walk through Aki’s big wooden doors and you enter an intimate, approximately 40-seat space. The decor is quintessentially Japanese, elegantly simple, with wood features and no frills. The yakitori chef is visible behind a clear plexiglass window.

THE HAPPY hour menu is labeled “Aki’s Happiest Hour,” and that’s the only hype you’ll find in the place. Instead, there’s a warm, friendly spirit and good, traditional comfort food.

Servers are well-informed about the menu, patiently explaining its selection of cold and hot dishes, the selection of chef’s specials and the skinny rolls — the restaurant’s diminutive version of sushi rolls, served during happy hour.

Prices were excellent, ranging from $3.50 for cold tofu or tataki cucumber ($5 regular) to $12.50 for a serving of five different kinds of sushi.

On the server’s recommendation, we tried Agedashi Tofu ($6.50, regularly $8.50), pieces of soft tofu coated with cornstarch and deep-fried, then served in dashi, a broth with various garnishes. Adding that bit of crunch really enhanced the experience, while all the flavors balanced perfectly.

If you go to Aki during regular dinner hours, the specialty is yakitori, and the happy hour menu offers a serving of three kinds of yakitori for $5.50. That day the dish featured a skewer of pork belly, one of chicken thigh, and another of chicken interlaced with a mentai (spicy cod roe) and mayonnaise garnish.

One of the more filling dishes on the Happiest Hour menu was the miso cream cheese ($4.50, $6 regular), which was in fact cream cheese mixed with saikyo miso, a sweet miso that came with seaweed strips to wrap it in. It’s a tasty and fun combination of tastes and textures.

BEVERAGES INCLUDE beer and shochu blends for $4, sake for $8 and wine for $6.

We had the Dassai 50 Junmai Daiginjo sake, which went down well with the sushi, and a Shochu Highball with Green Tea. Both complemented the delicate flavors of the food.

Aki is a delight for happy hour. It’s an authentic experience as well; the owner and chefs are from Japan, and table staff speak Japanese.

— Steven Mark; reviewed Oct. 17

DEAN & DELUCA

Ritz-Carlton Residences, 383 Kalaimoku St., 729-9720, deandeluca-hawaii.com

>> Happy hour: 4-6 p.m. daily

Dean & DeLuca is tucked away on a quiet corner at the Luxury Row end of Waikiki, with its entrance on the ground floor of Ritz-Carlton Residences. The two-story shop features coffee and a retail space on the ground level, and an artisanal wine bar and eatery in the upstairs loft.

Chef Kevin Carvalho is a major asset; he brings new emphasis to the word “fresh.” He and his staff often go fishing after their shift to secure fresh catch for the restaurant. The chef also knows local farmers, and he often harvests the produce to be used himself, letting what he gathers from land and sea inspire the seasonal menu.

“I was born and raised here in Hawaii and grew up fishing and hunting, so it’s something very special to me to be able to see something from start to end,” Carvalho said. “Harvesting it myself, I know how I handled it, and I know it’s going to be at its best.”

OUTDOOR TABLES welcome guests to eat in a garden setting on the ground floor. Indoor dining on the second level offers a more intimate space, where you can watch Carvalho and his team in action.

The dining room is elegant, yet cozy and comfortable.

The focus of the cream- colored room is chef Carvalho’s prep station and bar. Diners can sit at a stool and see the preparation firsthand, or opt for one of the few tables that line the room. There is also a room-length couch, so you can sit on the couch and have a view of the cooking station, or sit in a plush chair facing the couch with a view of palms swaying outside the window.

From the four-item happy hour menu of flatbreads, bruschetta and a charcuterie board, my party went with the Duck Prosciutto Flat Bread ($20) and Bruschetta of the Day ($20). These are the same price as on the regular menu; the happy hour bonus is that they come with a glass of wine.

Forget your notion of flatbread or bruschetta when you come here. With each bite, members of my party were sighing with delight, and looking at each other quizzically, like, “What is this wonderful taste?”

Carvalho finds a way to bring something unique to every detail in his dishes.

“We got our tomatoes from Kamuela, which are very sweet tomatoes,” he says. “We turned that into a vegan pesto, so that’s the spread for our flatbread.”

He roasts the bread and tops it with freshly cut cheese from a massive, imported wheel of Parmigiano-Reggiano. On top of the cheese is the Kamuela pesto, then prosciutto of duck breast, and a second layer of cheese — buffalo burrata mozzarella. Sprinkled over the top are arugula and microgreens grown organically at Mari’s Gardens in Mililani. The plate is then dressed with a 40-year aged balsamic reduction and a vinaigrette of a rare vi fruit from Carvalho’s family’s own Big Island tree.

The Parmesan gives a piquant aged taste to the cheese, while the mozzarella makes it creamy. The meat isn’t too salty, so it blends well with the subtle sweetness of the balsamic and the light citrus of the vi vinaigrette.

The bruschetta came with a trio of slices, each topped with something different.

On the first was fresh-caught ahi marinated in house-made soy.

The ahi was accompanied by a yuzu-avocado puree and Big Island opihi, along with tempura-fried sea asparagus and a finishing zest of lemon.

Next was a slice topped with juicy Hamakua mushrooms, miso garlic cream and a pate of finely cut black truffle and truffle oil.

Our final slice was foie gras and berries. The berries are cooked in what’s called a “minute jam,” where after 60 seconds in a hot pan, they maintain their shape, but inside, they’re pure jam. Each bite included this explosive berry flavor, mixed with the creamiest, butteriest foie gras and a crunchy crostini.

HOUSE SOMMELIER Rebecca Sinn complements Carvalho’s menu with wines sourced from small, family-owned wineries. White, red or sparkling wines are available with each pau hana menu item.

I chose a glass of Langlois Cremant Brut from Loire Valley (normally $16), that’s 60% chenin blanc, 20% chardonnay and 20% cabernet franc. It was effervescent and refreshing.

The intimate setting, classy atmosphere, incredibly fresh ingredients and chef who is passionately hands-on about what he serves made Dean & DeLuca’s happy hour a memorable experience.

— Rasa Fournier, special to the Star-Advertiser; reviewed Nov. 7