Spirit of Aloha | Articles | Adventures in Dining | August 2000

Adventures in Dining
By Joan Conrow

Dining in Luxury

Princeville's La Cascata restaurant captures the ambience of an Italian courtyard, with open windows revealing Hanalei's awesome views

La Cascata's elegance shows that the Princeville Resort knows how to do luxury.

Kaua'i is a laid-back, casual place, which adds greatly to its charm. But sometimes it's fun to enter that pleasant world of luxury resort. And make no mistake, the Princeville Resort knows how to do luxury. On a recent late afternoon, I settled into a comfortable couch in the Living Room bar, nibbled canapes, sipped ice tea and watched the sun slip toward Hanalei Bay as rainbows arced over the splendid mountains. Maulioli Cook and Johnny Akana, fragrant in their fern lei, danced and chanted in the rosy light.

General manager Craig Anderson told me that Johnny always parks his car outside the kitchen while he performs, leaving the trunk open so the staff can unload the Sunrise papaya he grows. Such things delight executive chef Wayne Van Akin, who can't resist the taro, sweet potatoes, avocados, mangoes, lemongrass, lettuce and other produce harvested just miles from his kitchen. Fresh local fish also catch his eye, and he's especially fond of the shrimp raised on Kaua'i's west side.

Van Akin and his staff prepare about 1,000 meals each day for La Cascata, the hotel's fine-dining Italian restaurant, and Cafe Hanalei, which serves Pacific Rim cuisine, sushi, lunch and breakfast. The cafe, with outdoor seating and awesome views, also offers a lavish Sunday brunch and Friday night seafood buffet. The resort also hosts an afternoon tea in the Living Room and a lu'au three nights each week. When everything and everyone is clicking in the kitchen, Van Akin says, it's like conducting a well-rehearsed orchestra.

They were playing beautiful music the night my companion and I took our seats within the peach-hued environs of La Cascata, which captures the peaceful ambience of an Italian courtyard. A fountain trickled soothingly nearby, and the open windows revealed the mountains, sky and ocean fading into night. Despite the tasty canapes and bonhomie shared with Anderson and Van Akin in the Living Room, I was a bit tentative as I opened the menu. I hadn't eaten at La Cascata for a while, and knew it had weathered several chef changes. Fortunately, Van Akin, his sous chefs and Anderson, himself a former executive chef, have put this ship firmly back on course.

The meal was delightful, beginning with the chewy, whole-grain, olive-studded loaf served with butter or olive oil. Princeville is blessed with a fine baking staff, and I made a mental note to save room for dessert. For starters, we chose the only non-Italian item on the appetizer menu, the seared 'ahi with Asian coleslaw. Although a standard in many Hawai'i dining rooms, it was distinguished here. The pieces were perfectly sized, and the light sear added just the right amount of flavor, texture and spice. Our salads - a traditional Caesar with whole anchovy and Kaua'i organic greens tossed with passion fruit vinaigrette - were fresh and lively.

The fire-roasted rack of lamb, actually two juicy and tender New Zealand-raised chops, was served atop porcini mushroom polenta and crowned with glazed onion, tiny green beans and wedges of roasted pepper. The Kaua'i shrimps were firm, sweet and tasty, just as the chef had promised, and a good number of them were grilled whole and scattered over a sauced fettucine rich with the flavors of fresh tomato, portabello mushrooms and rosemary.

The local pink snapper, with Maui onion mashed potatoes, is another popular fish entree, as is the blackened opah and grilled 'ahi with primavera risotto. Traditional veal piccata, chicken marsala, tenderloin of beef medallions and four pasta dishes, including grilled vegetable lasagna and a seafood linguine with spicy tomato-fennel sauce, rounded out the menu, which changes three or four times a year.

For dessert, I couldn't resist trying the polenta pound cake, a warm, crumbly confection topped with strawberries, a thin fruity syrup and whipped cream. The tiramisu was exquisite. Indeed, my only regret that evening was allowing my companion to order it, which gave him the right to restrict my fork's access. But the good food and genial setting had softened him, so we moved our chairs closer and shared desserts and a few tender glances. La Cascata is that kind of place.

La Cascata, Princeville Resort, 5520 Ka Haku Road, Princeville, Kaua'i, 826-9644, www.princeville.com. Dinner nightly 5-10 p.m. Valet parking, major credit cards, reservations suggested.

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