Sports still in the recipe

at the new Fish & Games

Island dining with Helen Reed  

KAHANA — Listen up, Sports Fans! You don’t have to miss your favorite sports-in-action on TV by going out to dinner. Oh no! Fish & Games Brewing Co. and Rotisserie in Kahana Gateway has it covered. With four big screen TVs in their original eatery, two sets in the classy new Brewing & Rotisserie restaurant and a huge one in the dignified private dining room all under one roof going simultaneously you won’t miss a play!
     Co-owners Tommy LaCloche and Cary and Karen Button are dedicated to ensuring this premier restaurant will continue to serve the latest sports events along with some of the finest dining on Maui.
     “Cary is one of the island’s largest seafood distributors,” said
Executive Chef Pelle Nilsson.  “Oysters, lobsters, Alaskan king crab, scallops, mussels — we have them all, and we buy the local fish as soon as it is caught.”
     This talented chef began his career at age 14 in his native Sweden, fortunately in a five-star restaurant where he worked five years with German and French chefs, learning the old classic European way of cooking.
     “Over the years, I have traveled extensively and worked in European and Asian cities cultivating my profession.  I even cooked for the King of Sweden when he visited the restau­rant where I was the execu­tive chef,”  Nilsson laughed.
     “I opened my own restau­rant in Stockholm and made daily lunch and dinner menus depending on the fresh products that were available from the city mar­ket.”
     Chef Pelle then moved to San Francisco to become executive chef in a Swedish restaurant.
     “After three years, I got tired of the traf­fic and moved to Hawaii,” he continued. “I worked at The Westin, Kapalua Bay Resort and various restaurants. Then after seven years, I met Tommy and became the executive chef at Fish & Games.”
     Chef Pelle’s tasteful creations have won awards in the annual “A Taste of Lahaina” competition for the past three years, and the new Brew Pub & Rotisserie dining room is a perfect show­place for presenting these dishes.
     And what a delightful room it is with five chandeliers hanging from cof­fered ceilings, imported marble coun­ters and shining copper-clad vessels brewing eight distinctive beers. Three brewing tanks are located in a second­story glass showcase.
     “We call it the ‘Brew Altar,’” laughed LaCloche. “It’s where the beer ferments. We brew fresh, hand-crafted, ‘killer’ beers here, and we have a walk-in refrig­erated room, the conditioning room, that is larger than this whole dining room. It’s where we store the finished beer.”
     Thomas Kearns from Portland. Oregon, is the restaurant’s brew master. We thor­oughly enjoyed sampling five of his “killers,” among them Kua’ ana Golden Ale, a thirst-quenching Huika Hefeweizen, and a robust, full-bodied stout called Wild Hog Stout.
     With music playing softly in the back­ground, the servers dressed in black to match the black leather covered tables, the room reflects the refined atmosphere the interior creates.
     With the unique stone hearth, kaiwe wood-fired broiler and rotisserie just installed, all black angus beef, Hoisin duckling, pork loin, golden chicken and baby pork ribs are slowly spit-roasted, infusing tenderness and retaining that marvelous smoked flavor.
     Off of this room is Maui’s first private dining room with a turn-of-the-interior —rich mahogany walls, Victorian wallpa­per, red leather couch and chairs in front of the immense fireplace and gold framed paintings on the wall.
     “Our mahogany humidors are filled with a variety of 32 brands of cigars from around the world,” said LaCloche, “and we offer a large selection of fine cognacs and ports. We’ve also installed a smoke filtration system so the room is smokeless while others dine,”
     Each of Chef Pelle’s creations we tast­ed, from both the original Fish and Games eatery to the new rotisserie dining room, were award-winning. From the hefty Spicy Crab Cakes (and we’re talk­ing thick crab cakes, served with pleas­antly tart cucumber dill salad) to the Hot Barbecued Extra Jumbo Shrimp with Roasted Pepper Glaze, set upon a mound of mashed potatoes and stir-fried veggies. Sheer shrimp heaven!
     The perfectly seared ahi, moist and ten­der, had just enough wasabi and fresh ginger butter to leave a tangy taste on the tongue. Mixing this toothsome sauce with the rice was so delicious, it put plain white rice to shame.   Pamper yourself with their incredible cut of Filet Mignon served with a Green Peppercorn Sauce. And their classic Caesar Salad with Sourdough Garlic. Wedges is one of the best on the island.
     Their rotisserie gems are remarkable —tremendous portions of the Plum Marinated Rotisserie Porkloin were exquisitely succulent, served with Upcountry veggies, marvelous Swedish style red cabbage and roasted red pota­toes. The full rack of Kiawe-fired Baby Port Ribs was meaty, lean and delicious.
     The rotisserie really did justice to the Spicy Pump Hoisin Duckling stuffed with fresh ginger, cilantro and scallions.
     Chef Pelle is a culinary artist, blending each dish with his European and Asian touch.
     Fish and Games Brewing Co. and Rotisserie is a seafood and meat market as well. Inside the entrance is their lavish seafood display case filled with Alaskan king crabs, lobster tails, opakapaka, salmon and clams — a regular fish mar­ket.
     The meat section, meanwhile, stocks premium angus beef, New York porter­house and rib eye steaks, rack of lamb and chicken breast.
So sport fans and serious epicurean diners, at Fish and Games Brewing Co. and Rotisserie, you can have it all!        
     Call 669-3473.
     Pau for now...  

Reprint courtesy of Lahaina News 6/10/1998 (www.westmaui.com)
Prices, specials, and business hours are subject to change without notice.

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