Paesano's Italian Restaurant - Aiea

Paesano's Restaurant
808-485-8883
98-1277 Kaahumanu St. #119
Aiea, Hawaii 96701
Daily
lunch: 11:00a to 2:00p
dinner 5:o0p-9:30p

After work on Saturday Nick and I wanted to have a good meal, good wine and relax. We had a rough day and wanted a relaxing place with some good food....we chose Paesano's in Aiea. The atmosphere was OK but the food...that's another story.

Before I begin this review i have to say that for me its hard to eat Italian food out. I come from an Italian family. My mom can cook really good Italian food and I learned from her. So as someone whop has had the best of the best for me its hard to judge Italian food. However, Nick who did not grow up eating Italian food like I did says he did not think this food was the best, it was not Italian and he probably would not go back.
We arrived at 5.15 and there was plenty of parking. A few tables all ready there. We sat in the back, it was private and lots of room. The restaurant was clean. The staff was super friendly and took pretty good care of us. Our food arrived in time and was hot.
So we decided we were going to have red wine...what is a Italian meal without wine. Our server did recommend a good American red wine that went well with our food.

We ordered Spideni appetizer. Which I have to say was not what I am used too. Nick makes this bread and what we got was not at all what we make. It was on very thin bread. Bread you can tell is frozen and par baked. The bread was brushed with garlic and topped with cheese and a anchovy. It was not attractive at all. And when we ate it all you could taste was salt. Way to much salt. We know parm cheese and anchovies are already salty but this was way to much. Left me very thirsty. Thank God for the wine!!

We then ordered the Cesar salad for 2. Hoping it would have been done table side it did not. The portion for 2 was not that big and it was just Cesar salad. nothing to write home about. The croutons looked and tasted like something from a box.
The service at this point is really good. They were on top of filling our wine and water. Although at one point our server, smelled like he went and smoked a cigarette. Not a good smell! I just hoped he washed his hands.
Our dinner arrived, very good portions for the price and it was hot.
Nick ordered the special of the day, Fillet cooked with portabella mushrooms and onions with a red wine reduction sauce, this came with a side of shrimp scampi and veggies.
The fillet was cooked rare, however the meat at some spots were very chewy and touch. but the wine reduction was oh so good!! The wine complimented this very well. His scampi was bland and the shrimp was over cooked. And for me the pasta was overcooked.

I ordered the Cioppino, the Italian seafood stew and by far on of my favorite seafood dishes. The portion was big, had lots of broth. The stew was filled with shrimp, lobster (which was cut from the shell) fish,scallops, mussels, and clams. The seafood was all cooked well. But the broth was not spicy and had not to much flavor. And I was taken back by the sugar snap peas in it. The side of garlic bread was very sad. Again very thin cut bread with butter and garlic powder brushed on it.

Time for dessert and of course we had to get a cannoli. In my search for a real cannoli here I was hoping yet again this would be it. Cannoli alla Sicilian, i am thinking this will be a REAL cannoli. We also ordered tiramisu. I judge a Italian restaurant by a few things and one is the tiramisu. We also ordered dessert drinks.
I usually do not drink wine with dessert but today i was feeling like I wanted a dessert wine. The server gave us the menu and i asked him about desserts wines. I guess he was as clueless as i was because he did not know anything about the drinks. He told me grappa was a wine so I ordered it. Then when it came out I actually googled it to see what it was because this was not wine. Grappa is actually brandy made from the residue of the grapes after they are pressed. Anyway, it was a way to strong for me so Nick drank it.

Back to these desserts...again for me being a Italian and a pastry chef...I am expecting the highest quality desserts! The cannoli actually looked good. The shell was really good. Not like most places that buy them from the same company. But the filling...it was NOT a traditional cannoli. Very American, with ricotta cheese. But it was very grainy. Not smooth at all for a cheese filling. Iam still in search of the traditional cannoli!
The tiramisu - which in Italian means The Pick Me Up Cake, because of the sponge cake soaked in coffee. Nick hates this dessert because he does not like coffee and he liked the tiramisu. Do you see where I am going? The cake was not soaked at all in coffee. You should not see white cake at all. it should be saturated with coffee syrup. And the whip cream on top was from a can. Really? How hard is it to make fresh whip cream?
I was disappointed and this place is nothing to write home about. When we left there were only 5 table full, now I know why.

BRASSERIE DU VIN

Brasseri Du Vin
Tel. 808.545.1115
1115 Bethel Street
(Across from Hawaii Theatre)
Honolulu, Hawaii 96813

Lunch served 11:30 am - 4:00 pm Monday - Saturday
Dinner served 4:00 pm to late, Monday - Saturday
http://www.brasserieduvin.com/index.html
5 tiers out of 5

This is by far one of my Favorite places to have lunch and dinner. I found Du Vin in my search for a place that served whole mussels. Something that is very hard to find here in Hawaii. But I found them and I found them oh so good!
I have to go to Du Vin at least once a month.
I have tried so many different items on the menu but I always go back to these 2 items which are my favorite.

-Moules frites -- Salt spring mussels steamed in white wine, garlic and herbs, topped with pommes frites $14

Ok, like I said it is hard to find whole mussels and I was so excited to have found them. But would they live up to my expectations? Oh how they did! You get a big pot of mussels and with pommes frites(french fries) on top so you can dip them in the broth. The mussels have always been fresh, good and with lots of garlic.

-Grilled tiger shrimp with mixed greens, roasted shallots, poached pears, apple-smoked bacon and blue cheese vinaigrette $14

This salad is so good and make for a perfect lunch. the combination of the bacon with the apples is really good. I am not a big fan of blue cheese but this vinaigrette paired well with the shrimp and bacon. Very rustic and delicious.

If your looking to be transported to France then this is the place. I love sitting in the restaurant although they have out door seating in the back and a room to have a party in. Inside it is a little darker and very rustic. i love that the tables and chairs do not match. The wood floors give this restaurant a warm and welcoming feel. There is all kinds of antique items and beautiful artwork on the wall. the walls are painted to look antique and rustic. I like to site in the corner table, really feels like a brasserie in France. And as we all know I loved France and do whatever I can to bring back those very fond memories.
There is an extensive wine list. Although they do not serve any Beaujolais wine which is all over France, there are other options that are just as good.

Service is always good and food comes out hot and fresh.
Check out the website for menus, pictures and lots of information!

SAM CHOY'S BREAKFAST, LUNCH AND CRAB

Sam Choy's Breakfast, Lunch and Crab
www.samchoy.com
580 North Nimitz Highway
Honolulu, HI 96817-5916
(808) 545-7979
Open Mon-Thu,Sun 7am-10pm;
Fri-Sat 8am-10pm
Rating system: **1 - 5 cake tiers**, 5 being the best

Our rating for this restaurant - **2 tiers**
We arrived at the restaurant on Friday at 5.20. We pulled into the parking lot and All they have as far as parking is Valet, however it is free but you should tip the guys! They work hard.

We have been here before to deliver a cake but never to eat. When we walked in the first thing we noticed was the large ship on the right side with tons of lights on it. The atmosphere is Hawaii meets east coast beach and rustic, in a warehouse.

About 15 tables were occupied so it was not to busy.
We waited a good 5 -6 minutes before anyone even said to hello to us and there was a server at the register. Once we were greeted the hostess was extremely nice. She walked us through the specials which were plated for display. Now, we eat with our eyes first so looking at food that has been sitting for awhile and its wilted and old, uh...not a great first impression!

Once we sat we noticed the kitchen was open and off to the side of the restaurant is Big Aloha brewery tanks. Big Aloha Beer brews and serves 5 of their own beers. They also have an extensive wine and drink menu. We did not try the beers but we do hear they are popular.

Appetizers - there are a lot of items from local fare to fresh fish and ribs.
Salads and Soups - there were 3 salads and different soups.
Entrees - range from crab legs and lobster to oysters on half shell, fresh fish, steaks and chicken and even a vegetarian item (which I should have ordered).

I ordered a Mango Mojito which came quick and was super yummy. Just the right amount of spritzer and rum. It could have used more mint but in all it was good. I was also given a glass of water water.
WHAT WE ORDERED
Appetizer
Crab dip - came out hot with toasted bread. The flavor was OK, we thought it had to much spinach in it and not enough crab. It was seasoned well and had the perfect amount of cheese on top.
Pot of Shellfish (yes, this is what it is called) - I was excited about this because one of my favorite dishes is Fish stew (french and Italian made). Once the bowl hit the table I thought for an app there was a lot of food in it. But once I ate it I was not impressed at all. The broth which was lemon white wine sauce had no flavor. It was extremely bland. And it was not hot. The mussels were cooked perfect and they were big and juicy. The shrimp and scallops were way overcooked and rubbery.

Soup
Clam Chowder, Nick's Favorite seafood soup. This soup was not hot at all not even warm. Good Portion but again very bland. The soup tasted like it was made with some sort of aromatic, I think rosemary? Nick did not even finish it.

Entrees
Fish of the day, MahiMahi stuffed with Blueshell Crabmeat and mushroom cream sauce serves with steamed veggies and garlic mash potatoes.
OK, so the fish was cooked perfectly. The filling was mediocre but a good amount of crab. The garlic mash potatoes were good and I did like the spinach in it. The vegetables are another story. They were straight out of a bag and way over steamed. There is nothing worse then mushy veggies...and they had no flavor.

Kalbi Butterfish with steamed veggies and garlic mash potatoes - the flavor of the marinade was to strong for the fish. The fish was cooked perfectly and flaked right apart. Mash Potatoes were good although Nick wondered why there was spinach in them. No veggies ever came out on the plate(not that he was missing them)

We were so unimpressed that we did not order dessert, again we eat with our eyes first and the plated displays seemed like they were there for awhile.

Half way through dinner live music started. I did not catch the name of the band but there were good. The sat us right in front of the speaker so it was to loud. Me and Nick could not even talk to each other.
Service was good, they checked back a few times, cleared our plates on time.

We spent $104 plus tip on this meal and we think it was way overpriced for the meal we got.
As we walked out we looked around and noticed (and this is no offense to anyone) but besides us and one little girl we were the youngest people in there. This restaurant attacks a lot of older people. And then we realized why the food maybe tasted so bland.
If asked if we would return we would say NO!

Next Blog Brasserie Du Vin in Chinatown

WELCOME TO OUR NEW BLOG SITE!

Aloha!
Welcome to our new blog site. We are Victoria and Nicholas Konopka and we own Sunshine's Cake Creations here in Honolulu, Hawaii.

For many of you who don't know us we love food. We are both professionally trained chefs and pastry chefs. We both have attended school for culinary and pastry arts. We both love to cook at home and try new things. We will try anything at least once and love to experiment. We enjoy all kinds of food and love to learn about different cultures and the ingredients that are used. Our pantry is stocked with all kinds of spices and ingredients from all over the world.

A little background about me, my training was intense and I learned a lot. I worked at a independently owned restaurant out of culinary school for a year and then went onto to work for The Ritz Carlton Hotel. This is where I learned about refined food. I also learned about French cuisine. I then went onto to work for The Hotel Sofitel and Westin Hotels. And then I moved to Hawaii and started my own business.

We both work very hard everyday and we like to play hard too! So we are always looking for good food. Not necessarily expensive but good! We have found so many places in Hawaii that serve awesome food...and some not so much. We do research and ask our Friends for recommendations and some are great... and some not so much. I have always wanted to be a food critic but never really did anything about it. When Nick and I go out to eat we always pick the food apart. One, if we like something we want to try and make it and two, if its not good we like to talk about how it could be fixed. Its a fun thing to do and makes us learn a lot.

So we are starting Eating around Hawaii with Sunshine...OUR take on restaurants in Hawaii.
We hope it helps you in deciding places to go....or not to go, but remember this is not to harm anyone just our honest opinion of what we think. And it is only our opinion. Everyone has different tastes and likes different things.

So go out and eat Hawaii! And have fun!
Check out our next blog when we tell you what we thought of our dining experience at Sam Choy's Breakfast, Lunch and Crab.