Spirit of Aloha | Articles | Adventures in Dining | March/April 2003

Adventures in Dining
BY JANET SNYDER

Dining with Panache

The cuisine is sumptuous and the presentation dramatic at Donatoni's at the Hilton Waikoloa Village

Diners seated on the terrace can watch the boats that every so often glide by in the lagoon.

My husband, Art, likes a restaurant that puts on a good show. It's not just the excellence of cuisine that this man, no stranger to a knife and fork, looks for.
It's the panache, the drama of the experience, that adds that special zip to a meal. Donatoni's, the Italian restaurant in the Hilton Waikoloa Village on the Big Island's Waikoloa Beach Resort, delivers on all counts.

It wouldn't take much imagination to envision a terrazzo on the Isle of Capri while sitting on the terrace of Donatoni's. Every so often, a boat glides past the restaurant to a dock perched on the lagoon that links one wing of the resort to the other. This being Hawai'i, the captain gives the shaka salute to the diners as the launch heads to the next stop.

We discovered that Donatoni's offers a lot more than terrific atmosphere and friendly vibes. The food is to die for.

Chef Duccio Orlanini, a native of Florence, stays close to his Tuscan roots while using the best of the local produce and seafood.

Knowing that a serious eating session lay ahead, I went light on the appetizer, opting for the carpaccio, or paper-thin slices of raw beef on a bed of arugula and grilled eggplant. Art picked the insalata del contado, a spinach salad with pears, roasted beets and Gorgonzola laced with a lemon vinaigrette dressing.

Our appetizers were accompanied by an Italian tradition-a sparkling glass of Zardetto prosecco, the ambrosia of Venice. The litmus test of a good Northern Italian establishment is in the risotto. Donatoni's risotto of the day, a creamy concoction of arborio rice, tender baby asparagus and succulent shrimp, was a divine first course.

Art is a pasta guy. He chose as his primi the farfalle (bowties) tossed with marinated breast of chicken, sun-dried tomatoes and lovely shiitake mushrooms.

A brief commercial on the island of Hawai'i's incredible produce is in order here: Chef Orlanini makes judicious use of the cornucopia of fresh fruit and vegetables unsurpassed this side of the ocean. The Big Island tomatoes he chooses are as beefsteaky as the ruby beauties of Jersey's high summer.

One of the lesser-known delights of Big Island tables is the gorgeous lobster that is speared right offshore. Maine, move over.

That night, there were three different offerings of lobster. I couldn't resist, and for my main course ordered the Hawaiian lobster rose: marvelous medallions of freshly caught local slipper lobster served in a taro puree, local zucchini and eggplant in a macadamia butter meuniere. The mac nuts, grown here, of course, provided a crunchy surprise that enhanced the velvet texture of the lobster.

Donatoni's mâitre d'hôtel par excellence, Jan-Henrik Tillman, recommended a crisp New Zealand sauvignon blanc from Brancott Vineyards. Tillman evinced terrific expertise in matching the cuisine with the vino.

In between spates of good conversation with the genial host, we settled down to the business of consuming the sumptuous repast. Art, for the sake of balance, went the carnivore route and had a veal cutlet al Marsala, done to tender perfection with marinated portobello mushrooms and a counterpoint of broccoli rabe. The veal went nicely with a first-rate Zenato Rispassa valpolicella superiore D.O.C.

For inveterate wine samplers, Donatoni's is paradise. Its list of wines by the glass is extensive, originating from the medieval hilltop town of San Gimignano in Tuscany to the New World of Oregon.

Desserts are given pride of place at Donatoni's. The perennial piece de resistance is a fantastic zabaglione di Carnival-a gold-dust-gilded confection of white and dark chocolate in the shape of a Pierrot clown mask. Under the mask lurks a flourless chocolate cake that propelled my chocoholic spouse into nirvana.

Too full myself by this time to entertain the idea of ordering my own dessert, I swiped a few bites of his, and immediately joined him in dessert heaven.

Donatoni's, Hilton Waikoloa Village, Waikoloa Beach Resort, Big Island. Open daily, 5:30-9:30 p.m., reservations recommended.
886-2100.

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