IN case you didn't know, Sam Choy is psychic. I swear, the man can read minds. How else would he know to include on his Sam Choy's Breakfast, Lunch & Crab menu every item I would want to eat? Choy's newest puts mood on front burner
Read 'em and weep: Maryland Blue Crabcakes. Wok-Steamed Manila Clams. Louisiana Catfish. Porterhouse Steak. Babyback Ribs. Crab, crab and more crab.
Situated in an 11,000-square-foot warehouse, Sam Choy's new crabhouse and brew pub is a "big city" restaurant worthy of San Francisco or Boston. These cities have restaurants that easily attract 380 diners at a time, the capacity of Sam Choy's BLC.
Choy said it was time to move to "the next level," after listening to friends wax ecstatic over restaurants abroad, only to come home to the same-old, same-old.
In spite of the room's size, no Sam Choy's restaurant can ever be described as alienating. He brings his homespun magic to the place, which has the feel of an urban fisherman's wharf, with its centerpiece 35-foot sampan and chalkboard signs enticing touristas with promise of fresh catch.
Choy promised a casual family restaurant, and food and prices tend to reflect this by day. Prices rise considerably when night falls.Families abound, but so do downtown types at lunch time. Make sure you have an understanding boss because with customers pouring in during opening week, lunches tend to last two to three hours. The businessmen seated next to us - having waited 2-and-1/2-hours for the first of their meals - quipped, "It's time for dinner already."
Breakfast and lunch are straightforward, but boast many Choy-isms. A hamburger, for instance, is topped with a Maryland Blue Crabcake, topped by a layer of melted cheese, which sort of defeats the purpose of savoring a delicate crabcake. (And they are most excellent crabcakes.) Snooty types would question the crabcake-burger combo, but it fits in with Choy's loco moco method of piling on the goods, local style.
IT'S in the evening that the seafarer's menu surfaces. There are fabulous starters, such as "Sam's Onolicious" char siu-style BBQ Babyback Ribs ($8.95), a basketful of Cajun-inspired Popcorn Shrimp ($7.95) served with chile-spiked guava ketchup and Sam's Original Fried "Po'ke" ($7.95), ahi that's been quickly stir-seared.
For a taste of crab, there are Stone Crab Claws ($13.95), sweet and meaty, if a tad dry. Those who want to "have it all," can do so with a Maine Lobster Clambake ($29.95) with a pound-size lobster; crunchy, sweet corn on the cob; boiled new potatoes; Portuguese sausage; and clams.
This is the real deal. No one in the kitchen will crack the carapaces open for you. As one customer said when watching a Roasted Garlic Dungeness Crab ($24.95) go by, "I would love to order that, but it's too messy." Actually, the flesh was too mushy.
Also difficult was fishing for the meat in Sam's Wok of Shellfish ($10.95). A little more customer friendly are Wok of Manila Clams ($7.95), which allow you to eat without wrestling with shells, and the Alaskan King Crab Combos, ($33.95) with ribs or New York Steak. Several of these paraded past our table, mostly delivered to women.
I have to say, power to sisters with appetites of real men. Sam's is no place to be caught nibbling on wussy salads. Sam's is about gnawing and noshing to the fullest. Joie de vivre fills the air, or in Sam's case, Choy de vivre.
Sam Choy's Breakfast, Lunch and Crab:
Where: 580 N. Nimitz Highway; valet parking
Hours: 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. daily
Prices: About $20 for two for lunch; $60 to $70 for two for dinner without drinks
Call: 545-7979, fax 545-7997
To recommend a restaurant, write: The Weekly Eater, P.O. Box 3080, Honolulu, Hawaii 96802. Or send e-mail to features@starbulletin.com-- excellent;
