Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/3815
It used to be that the food at Hawaiian resorts was marginal at best. There would be a slab of grilled mahi mahi accompanied by some tired vegetables, frozen on the mainland. Hawaii's attraction as a vacation spot was fueled by sandy beaches and clear, blue water, but not by cuisine. Then, in the 1990s, the Hawaiian Cuisine movement took hold. Allan Wong, Roy Yamaguchi, Sam Choy and a bevy of others led the islands out of the wilderness and into a new appreciation for native ingredients. Small farms sprang up all over the place to supply the new passion for fresh, local produce. In the last decade or so, visi- tors have come to expect skillful, high-quality cuisine from Hawai- ian kitchens, and much of the time they haven't been disappointed. But diners have steadily become more sophisticated and discerning, requir- ing the food that they eat on vaca- tion to grow in distinction as well. As part of a $40 million "enhance- ment" at the dazzlingly beautiful Four Seasons Hualalai Resort on the Kona coast of the Big Island, the oceanside Beach Tree restaurant has been com- pletely renovated and upgraded. The terraced dining room is open-fronted and facing the water, with close to half the available seating outside, ca- ressed by ocean breezes. The hand- some place has a stylish, contempo- rary vaulted ceiling fashioned from lovely textured wood. But it isn't just physical changes that have elevated the Beach Tree to the stratosphere of Hawaiian dining. With an eye towards creating an exceptional all-around experience, Four Seasons management im- ported young chef Nick Mastrascusa from the 5757 restaurant at the Four Seasons Hotel on 57th Street in New York. Then they constructed a shiny new kitchen for him with a built-in wood-burning oven. Chef Mastrascusa has created a menu featuring a seamless fusion of Mediterranean influences and fresh local ingredients. You can start with crisp flatbread topped with truffled ricotta, a thin-crust pizza with mascarpone cheese, prosciutto and arugula, or a tangy frisée salad with asparagus, crisp pork belly and a soft poached egg. Main courses include a perfect veal chop, roasted in the brick oven, a well-seasoned grilled ribeye accompanied by ethereal shoestring potatoes and moist grilled swordfish. But the star dish is Chef Nick's seafood paella for two—a masterpiece, and the best paella I've had outside of Spain. But great food is not where it stops. In front of the restaurant and a few steps from the beach is the Beach Tree bar, an open, four-sided affair that turns out stunning cocktails. To create the cocktail menu, Four Sea- sons called on Francesco LaFranconi, the Las Vegas-based mixology expert and teacher who is a member of the Bartender Hall of Fame. I studiously sampled all twelve cocktails—some of them more than once—and I was very impressed by their balance, complexity and style. I couldn't decide which was my favorite, but it was between the Tom's Pink Shirt, the B.T.G.O.I.T. (Beach Tree Glass of Iced Tea) and the Piña-Pirinha. I'll let you decide for yourself. Cocktails from the Beach Tree Tom's Pink Shirt 1½ oz. Tanqueray Rangpur gin ¾ oz. Orchid guava liqueur 1½ oz. lime juice–agave nectar mix 3 sliced strawberries Lemon-lime soda to top Muddle strawberry halves briskly, then add lime-agave mix, gin, guava liqueur with 1½ scoops of ice and shake gently. Pour the drink in a pilsner glass and top with lemon-lime soda. Garnish with sprig of mint. B.T.G.O.I.T. 1 oz. Skyy Passion Fruit Infusion 1 oz. Red Stag by Jim Beam 3 oz. passion fruit iced tea 1 oz. lime juice–agave nectar mix Build over ice in a hurricane glass. Garnish with a chan- neled lemon wheel and a sugarcane stick. Piña-Pirinha 1¼ oz. Cabana cachaça 1¼ oz. Skyy Pineapple Infusion ¾ oz. agave nectar syrup 5 wedges of lime cut in halves In a mixing glass, place the lime pieces with agave syrup and muddle briskly. Fill with ice and pour in the liquors. Shake vigorously (with shaker tin) and pour unstrained into a rocks glass. Garnish with half a pineapple wheel and short straws. The delicious strawberry-based Tom's Pink Shirt. Chef Nick Mastrascusa delivers a seamless fusion of Mediterranean influences and fresh local ingredients at the Four Seasons Hualalai Resort. october 2009 / the tasting panel / 83 PHOTOS COURTESY OF FOUR SEASONS HOTELS & RESORTS PHOTO: ERIC WATERMAN