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Hawaiian Plantation House, which serves Pacific Rim cuisine, strives for an islandlike atmosphere.
Photo by Ralph Fountain.
Kona crab-filled salmon katsu with nori and panko crust and a ginger soy vinaigrette is one of the dishes offered at the Hawaiian Plantation House.
Photo by Ralph Fountain.
| Wednesday, May 15, 2002
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal APPETIZERS: Ken White Hawaiian Plantation House takes diners to the islands
It's a long way from Las Vegas to the islands, but Hawaiian Plantation House, 10940 S. Eastern Ave. in Henderson, attempts to bring the kind of cuisine and service found on Maui to Southern Nevada. Hawaiian music plays in the background and a reef tank with living coral sits in the center of the restaurant. Paintings by marine artist Christian Riese Lassen and local artist Apollo, both of whom are from Maui, and plantation-style chairs give the decor the feel of a house in Hawaii. Norman Schuhardt, director of operations, says the restaurant's staff gives service "Maui style." "We greet everybody with aloha and mahalo (thank you)." Chef Craig Connole, who previously worked as chef in the Anuenue Room at the Ritz-Carlton, Kapalua, on Maui, says the restaurant serves contemporary Hawaiian cuisine with a lot of Asian influence and "a lot of Hawaii-grown products," including Maui onions, hearts of palm and romaine lettuce, plus goat cheese, fish and seaweed. While the Anuenue Room was more of a fine dining restaurant, Hawaiian Plantation House is "a little more mainstream, for the average palate," Connole says. Connole cooks fish from Hawaii that people are familiar with, such as ahi, mahi mahi and ono. Co-owners Sean and Deborah Dort opened the restaurant because "we wanted to do something different in Henderson that wasn't a cookie-cutter establishment," Sean Dort said. The Dorts met chef Connole through a friend of a friend and Connole cooked for a Christmas dinner party at the Dorts' house. "I thought it was the best food I've ever eaten," Sean Dort said. The lunch menu consists of soups and salads and "local plates," items familiar to Hawaii natives, each served with two scoops of rice and macaroni salad. The choices include shoyu chicken ($8); Kalua pork and cabbage ($8); grilled mahi mahi ($10); teriyaki beef ($8); and saimin, a noodle and broth dish ($8). Hawaiian specialties also are served, including grilled or blackened fish -- a choice of ono, ahi, mahi mahi, scallops or salmon -- served on baby lettuce with cilantro, lime and caper vinaigrette ($12); and mushroom, spinach, sun-dried tomato and roasted garlic fettuccine ($9). Dinner appetizers include a coconut shrimp skewer with a sweet and spicy Thai sauce ($7); crispy fried calamari in a sweet spicy glaze ($9); sake-seared ahi sashimi with a honey wasabi sauce ($12); and crispy Kona crab cakes with papaya salsa and lemongrass butter ($9). Hawaiian-style soups include Maui onion soup with Puna goat cheese croutons ($5); Molokai corn and clam chowder ($6); and Kona lobster bisque ($7). The salad choices are hearts of palm and papaya with a papaya seed dressing and toasted almonds ($7); Maui onion, tomato and avocado with blue cheese and Hawaiian chili vinaigrette ($7); Waimea romaine and Kula tomato with a basil and Caesars dressing ($6); and mixed baby Kula greens with tomatoes and balsamic vinaigrette ($5). And entree selections include filet mignon with roquefort gratinee, caramelized Maui onions and port wine ($30); braised beef short ribs with pineapple compote and port wine glaze ($22); crispy ginger duck with chilled Asian vegetable salad ($16); baked mahi mahi with a spicy crab topping and coconut curry sauce ($28); Kona crab-filled salmon katsu with nori and panko crust and a ginger soy vinaigrette ($25); ono deep-fried fish and chips with an island remoulade ($16); grilled rare Hawaiian ahi steak and spicy tomato butter ($26); "Island-style" bouillabaisse ($28); blackened jumbo sea scallops with an island citrus butter sauce ($23); and Kona lobster fettuccine with a garlic-lobster butter ($24). For dessert, Connole created bananas Foster bread pudding, Tahitian vanilla creme brulee, and coconut, pineapple and mango sorbets ($6 each). Open from 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. serving lunch, Hawaiian Plantation House is open for dinner starting at 5:30 p.m. with the last seating at 10 p.m. But the restaurant follows that with a "pau hana" menu (the term means "done for the day") that features appetizers and local plates from 10:30 p.m. to 2:30 a.m. Appetizers is a weekly informational column about new developments on the Las Vegas dining scene. Items should not be considered reviews or recommendations and none is a paid advertisement.
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