Stage Restaurant (Honolulu)

 

Stage Restaurant is one of the better dining experiences I’ve had in Honolulu and it’s often written up in the guides. It’s not a cheap place to eat, but one way to try it out is to go there for lunch.

I did just that, calling in for an 11:30 a.m. reservation. When I got there, I was the first through the doors and nobody else showed up for at least 10 minutes. And then the rush started as it neared everybody’s 12 noon lunch break.

They start you off with a nice piece of herb bread and some cute little butter florets as you peruse the menu. I know how it is to over-order (having walked out of restaurants so bloated that I became light-headed) so I decided to order a reasonable – albeit substantial – lunch of an appetizer, sandwich and dessert.

(That looks so innocent when described that way, doesn’t it?)

 

For my appetizer, I pondered the Ahi Poke, then the Imu Pork Quesadilla, finally settling on their Crispy Fried Calamari (Graham cracker crusted, yuzu chili aioli, cocktail sauce, yukari powder, aji amarillo [Peruvian yellow chili purée], topped with chopped shiso leaf). Which, wouldn’t you know it, was the most expensive appetizer on the menu. Aaah, so what!

The calamari was excellent, and the sauces were very tasty indeed. I loved the aioli, and even the marinara sauce was a bit over the edge. As for the cocktail sauce, they only gave a little plop of it, but that was enough … it made my head perspire (translation, “It was good!”).

I decided to bring half of the calamari home with me, because I still had my sandwich and dessert coming.

They listed six sandwiches on the menu, but they only had five available, because they were out of the Peppered Pastrami.

 

My choice was their Open-Face Crab Sandwich (snow crab meat, bacon and cheddar cheese on in-house-baked baguettes). It came with a petite house salad, although I could have opted for French fries. But I can get French fries anywhere, and wanted to taste their vinaigrette salad dressing.

That was one of the richest crab sandwiches I ever had. The cheddar cheese added a butteriness to the huge piles of crab that were accented by the slight saltiness of the bacon.

Again, I couldn’t finish, so I brought most of my second half home with me.

Ordering dessert has a dual purpose for me. Something sweet helps clear the mouth of strong flavors, especially seafood (and especially, especially crab when it’s covered with melted cheese). Plus, if it’s one of my five favorite desserts (apple pie or variant, tiramisu or variant, key lime pie, bread pudding, or crème brulée), I can take a picture to post on my 5 Best Desserts picture blog.

And that’s why I order dessert. This time, it was Apple and Blueberry Crisp (with housemade honey ice cream drizzled with caramel sauce). Not only was it beautiful to look at, it was grand! The ice cream was perfect – not frozen hard, but mouth soft. The crumbles were crunchy, the apples were sweet, and the berries added a fresh dimension to the shootin’ match.

Gotta go back. Maybe next time I’ll take the wife with me if she behaves.

By the way, parking is accessed from Piikoi Street, so don’t drive past the Honolulu Design Center or you will have some majorly long blocks and right turns to negotiate your way back.

Stage Restaurant: Honolulu Design Center, 2^nd Floor, 1250 Kapiolani Blvd. (808) 237-5429.