Honolulu Weekly

Restaurant Epic / Let’s forget about the debacle that was the original Restaurant Epic, shall we? Instead, let’s laud the place it’s become. We’ll move past the first too-grand opening, the sudden closure just weeks thereafter, the reshifting of kitchen duties from Grand Cafe chef Anthony Vierra to Alan Wong protege David Hoffman, the reworking of the menu from nouveau American to Euro-Asian, and we’ll stop at the Epic of today, where food, design and service pleasingly consociate to create a solid mid-scale restaurant. This Restaurant Epic just might be the competition Indigo needs to remind itself that in these parts, fusion fare is fair game and Epic plays one hell of a hand.

Let’s talk consistency–the make-it-or-break-it principle that, when compromised, almost always results in early restaurant death. There’s really no excuse for hitting and missing when someone’s pocketbook is the target, and everyone at Epic, from chef Hoffman to the manager on duty to the servers to the gentleman who parks your car to the voice on the other end of the line who takes your reservation, has obviously been schooled in the principle. Though trepidation rears its head on occasion–servers sometimes seem a little nervous that the recommended-meals speech won’t come out the way they rehearsed or that they won’t have an answer to a finicky diner’s question–that’s to be expected when so much is riding on their floor-length apron strings. The rebuilding of a reputation is a tall order, and let’s face it, that’s what’s happening at Epic. The crew is working diligently to regain our trust, and it shows.

On three separate visits, the food and service were all as good as the time before, with only one exception that came in the form of overcooked pork and undercooked white beans. Its name, ‘Cochon,’ ($24) the delicate-sounding French word for ‘pig,’ belies the dish’s indelicate treatment. The pork chop was dry and tough, its accompanying portion of white bean cassoulet also undeserving of its French title. If a chef offers a cassoulet, you should expect nothing other than a slow-cooked stew-like casserole of warm, flavor-rich beans. Instead, the dish came with barely-cooked beans that weren’t given the proper treatment–their thin sauce couldn’t hold its own against the pig’s big, tough presence. (Note to chefs: Contrary to popular paranoid American opinion, pork doesn’t need to be cooked to within an inch of its life. A little pink is OK, and the meat is better for it.) The dish was finished with a balsamic reduction–a good idea in theory–but the sauce was burnt, a bitter end to a disappointing sequence of bites.

But chin up. One imperfect deviation from an otherwise terrific menu isn’t bad at all. Start with the chef’s own local take on an heirloom tomato salad ($8). Yellow, green and orange tomatoes are sliced just thick enough and sprinkled with li hing mui black pepper. The sweet dusting is a good substitute for a treacley balsamic reduction. Add to that the ‘Epic Roll,’ ($12) the restaurant’s signature shrimp and sushi roll, in which textures–crisp seaweed, smooth masago yuzu aioli and cool cucumber–play off of each other in perfect harmony.

The entree menu is divided into two main categories: ‘Entrees to Makai,’ the seafood dishes, and ‘Entrees to Mauka,’ everything else.

The seafood page is a long list of complex-sounding creations. Stop at the ‘Bleu Cheese Crusted Deep Sea Papio’ ($22). If you never order anything else from the seafood page, you won’t regret your shortsightedness. The papio–an unusual offering in local restaurants–is soft and flaky, resting on a mound of mashed potatoes (Wait! Before you protest the absence of rice, read on), with a thin covering of mild blue cheese and topped with a poached pear and candied pecan salad and a portobello mushroom burgundy sauce Sounds excessive, right? But it’s not–the flavors that sound so bold and garish on the page come together gracefully on the plate. The dish needs the earthiness of the potatoes for balance and lucky for us, the chef knows that. He also knows how to take a classic and adjust it to suit his menu. His take on paella ($24) isn’t paella at all, but rather a saffron risotto cluttered with large chunks of fresh seafood (Alaskan king crab, rock shrimp, scallops, white fish), Portuguese sausage and edamame, finished with a lobster butter sauce. This is comfort food at its most decadent.

Chef Hoffman’s light hand with the fish turns markedly hefty with the meat dishes. He turns out hearty, full-flavored meals such as his ‘Carre D’Agneu,’ ($29) a superb macadamia nut crusted rack of lamb with rosemary gnocchi and a blueberry and Tahitian vanilla demi glaze. Or the spoon-tender braised beef short ribs ($22) with Lyonnaise-style potatoes–only the Bavarians make better beef and brown gravy. Or the grilled aged rib eye steak ($28) with super-sized Yukon potato wedges and crispy fried onions. Here, it’s dish after satisfying dish–and if you can find the room, stay for dessert.

The panna cotta ($6) is fresh and light, the fresh strawberries with Grand Marnier mascarpone and liliko’i coulis ($8) is an addictive blend of rich cream and cool fruit and for the more-is-more faction of dessert fans, there’s the ‘Irish Baileys Cheesecake’ ($7) or the chef’s chocolate souffle ($8).

From start to finish, Epic proves that it deserves its comeback.

Restaurant Epic

1131 Nu’uanu Ave.
9587-7877; restaurantepic.com
Hours: Sun.-Thu. 5-10pm; Fri. & Sat. 5-11pm
Recommended: Heirloom tomato salad, Bleu Cheese Crusted Paio, CarrÈ D’Agneu, fresh strawberries with Grand Marnier mascarpone
Payment: AmEx, MC, V