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Who needs business school when the past 12 months have offered a crash course in crisis and creative management, marketing on a shoestring and addressing fluctuating customer concerns and demands?
From the outside, it’s been interesting to observe how restaurants have kept up with the ever-changing landscape. There was no playbook for businesses maneuvering through a pandemic.
Although it’s still uncertain how long we will have to live with COVID-19 in our midst, it appears that restaurants that have survived the year are poised for a stronger future, having had to come up with many more ideas for serving diners’ needs.
The consumer is the ultimate winner, and in many ways I believe the pandemic merely sped up a process that would have occurred over the next five years or so as a result of changing demographics.
A growing population of senior citizens, singles and sociophobes would likely have fueled a demand for expanded takeout and delivery services geared toward those unable to leave home frequently, as well as those uncomfortable dining solo in bigger restaurants where couples and large groups prevail.
Last August, restaurateur Kevin Hanney announced he would temporarily close 12th Ave Grill to take stock of what the future might look like and make adjustments. At the time he told me, “I have a whole bunch of ideas and just have to pick one that seems like the smartest way to move forward.”
That plan turned out to be twofold, leading to the debut of 12th Ave Grill & DeliCafe. The floor plan has changed to feature a deli counter and grab- and-go items in what was once a private dining room. In the main room, more booth seating offers privacy and the perception of distanced safety zones. The footprint is subject to change over time should “normalcy” return.
The DeliCafe side opened in November, with a variety of ready-made items to help speed service at a time people were reluctant to stay too long in any establishment. The assortment still allows diners to pick up a complete meal or choose a number of sides to snack on or complement whatever main course is being cooked at home.
Most days you’ll find grilled skirt steak marinated in tequila and lime ($12 for 4 ounces, $24 for 8 ounces), Maui Cattle Co. meatloaf ($18.50 per pound), house-cured gravlax ($18 pound), porchetta ($22 pound), pickled vegetables ($8 pound) and grilled vegetables ($12 pound).
From time to time you will also find varying pastas, a curry chicken salad ($11 for 6 ounces) or lasagna in veggie ($17) and meat ($18.50) options, both including a small salad. I loved the green version with thin sheets of pasta that made it seem as though I was getting more vegetables than carbs, along with a very balanced, light tomato sauce.
If you’re dining in for lunch or brunch, you can opt to sit indoors or outside, where a tent has been set up between the restaurant and parking attendant booth. If dining outside, check in with the host and place your order at the deli, where you can choose from a full roster of sandwiches, salads and hot dishes.
In addition to the restaurant’s popular Maui Cattle Co. burger ($12.50) and meatloaf melt with taleggio cheese, charred scallion aioli and pickled serrano peppers on bacon bread ($14), my favorite here is the French toast with house-brined, tender, smoked pastrami that registers as a cross with roast beef, served with Irish white cheddar and kale pesto slaw.
You can also get a meatloaf plate ($15) with salad and choice of rice, mashed potatoes or mac ’n’ cheese. Other plate options are garlic-lime fried chicken ($17) and tamarind-braised short ribs with cremini mushroom gravy ($18).
The dinner menu has changed as well, with less of a focus on heavy meat plates — though past favorites remain on the list — and a new emphasis on smaller grazing plates that include a seafood and raw-bar focus.
To switch things up, daily blackboard specials comprise small and large plates, plus desserts. Recent selections included smooth chicken liver mousse ($11) topped with a red wine onion jam that had a friend nearly licking the jar clean; Maui Cattle Co. beef tartare ($14) with garlic confit and an oozy five-minute egg; and sweet tea-brined fried chicken with country gravy ($27).
On a more regular basis you will find Hanney’s popular smoked ahi spread ($15) with crudites and crostini; silky gravlax ($12) with Spanish-style ajo blanco yogurt; oysters on the half shell with lilikoi mignonette ($11) or classic oysters Rockefeller ($11) with a salty blend of bacon, smoked bechamel sauce and arugula.
A prosciutto-style preparation of ahi carpaccio ($14) is so thin you may have trouble transferring it from the serving plate to yours. No matter what it ends up looking like in the end, it’s delicious, with accompaniments of shaved Parmesan, orange slices, fried shallots, pea shoots and arugula.
For those not easily threatened by food, my favorite dish was a monstrously thick tako tentacle ($19) that was tender on the inside and fried to a brittle crisp on the outside, simply drizzled with olive oil and served with salsa verde and potatoes.
A handful of meat sandwiches from the lunch menu return in the evening, served with fries, such as the burger ($17.50), meatloaf melt ($17.50) and grilled fish sandwich ($22), plus another of my favorites, the lamb burger ($19) with feta, preserved lemons and olive aioli.
Diehard meat fans will be grateful for the return of 12th Ave Grill’s thick-cut, juicy pork chop ($29) paired with Granny Smith chutney, as well as the offering of a pan-roasted 12-ounce rib-eye steak with chermoula, compound butter and pommes frites ($36).
It all ends on a sweet note with such classic, comforting desserts as chocolate mousse-raspberry layer cake ($8) and banana cream pie ($8), or vanilla cheesecake bread pudding with brandy creme anglaise ($9).
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12th Ave Grill & DeliCafe
1120 12th Ave.
Food: ***1/2
Service: ****
Ambiance: ***1/2
Value: ****
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Call: 732-9469
Hours: Restaurant 11:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. Wednesdays, Thursdays and Sundays; 11:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays. To-go 11:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. Wednesdays to Sundays.
Prices: Lunch $30 to $40 for two; dinner $70 to $80 for two without alcohol
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Ratings compare similar restaurants:
**** – excellent
*** – very good
** – average
* – below average
Nadine Kam’s restaurant reviews are conducted anonymously and paid for by the Star-Advertiser. Reach her at nkam@staradvertiser.com.
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