From paradise to the chilly climes of the Pacific Northwest, the Waimea Brewing Company of Kaua‘i is going big time. A Northwest-region paper recently reported that the Kaua‘i-based company opened shop near Seattle — not an easy place to pitch
From paradise to the chilly climes of the Pacific Northwest, the Waimea Brewing Company of Kaua‘i is going big time.
A Northwest-region paper recently reported that the Kaua‘i-based company opened shop near Seattle — not an easy place to pitch brews because the Northwest is known as the land of micro-brews and a thousand taps.
The Kirkland restaurant sits just across Lake Washington from Seattle. Complete with woven bamboo wall coverings, palm trees, a tiki-esque bar and beachy surf murals, the restaurant is hyping its Polynesian roots.
But the food, not the beer, recently got chilly reviews from one mainland critic — specifically, that it wasn’t “Hawaiian-enough” for her taste.
“I say that as someone who is a big fan of Hawaiian food and a lover of the plate lunch,” wrote Penelope Corcoran in the Seattle-Post Intelligencer. “But maybe that’s the problem: What Waimea’s kitchen is cooking up right now isn’t Hawaiian enough for me. It’s Hawaiian-tinged. It’s a melange. It’s muddled.”
Strong words. But folks at the original Waimea Brewing Company said they sent two of their own chefs up to the mainland to cook the same stuff they cook right here on Kaua‘i — and, judging by the crowds, it’s a big hit here.
“We’re pretty much full for both lunch and dinner,” said Paul Akana, manager of the Kaua‘i-located restaurant in Waimea. “We get in about 100 people for lunch on a good day.”
The biggest gripe from Corcoran was that the menu lacked macaroni salad, something which the Kaua‘i restaurant doesn’t serve either.
Corcoran said the Kalua pork was “dry,” though she liked the quesadilla and Nui Nachos.
But what about the beer?
Strangely, the company’s nine core brews got no mention in the write up. That’s probably because they’re still fine-tuning the brewing process there that they’ve already mastered out here on Kaua‘i.
“Perhaps once Waimea’s brewing equipment is installed and it actually makes its beers on site, things will change,” wrote the restaurant critic.
Meanwhile, Kauai’s Waimea location brews beer for tap, and will be bottling their original suds for shipping soon, Akana said.
