Hard Rock Cafe rolled out a redesigned menu this past March, after more than 14 months in development. They’ve added 30 new items and modified 28 existing menu items which are now available at Hard Rock Cafe locations nationwide and Europe.
To showcase their new menu, Hard Rock Cafe Honolulu in Waikiki held a special private VIP media tasting dinner this past Thursday, where Yours Truly was one of fifteen guests invited, courtesy of Becker Communications.
First let’s take a look around Hard Rock Cafe Honolulu‘s Waikiki digs, where most of you local folks know they’ve since moved from the corner of Kalakaua Avenue and Kapiolani Boulevard, across the Hawaii Convention Center, further inwards into the heart of Waikiki at the makai (oceanside) corner of Kalakaua and Beachwalk. To note, the previous Hard Rock location is now a bar and nightclub named The Crown (previously Coconut Willy’s), while there’s also a restaurant inside the bar called Da Kitchen.
The street level entrance to HRC’s restaurant and bar upstairs is entirely a Hard Rock Cafe logo shop.
Here’s the main dining room in the restaurant upstairs…
Yes, those are all real acoustic and electric guitars that make up the “guitar wave”, albeit mostly generic and/or entry level models, unlike the autographed collectible guitars and other instruments set neatly into framed glass displays on various walls throughout.
The wave bar…
there’s also a large covered outdoor lanai if you prefer people gazing over the bustling sidewalk along Kalakaua Avenue within open view.
OK, here’s our area near the Chef’s table next to the stage, where they set-up a display of every dish that will be showcased this evening….
Let’s get in there for some closeups.
ROCKIN’ WINGS – Jumbo wings, coated with HRC’s signature smoked dry rub, slow roasted and served with blue cheese and carrot and celery sticks. Buffalo style, served with HRC’s Classic Heavy Metal sauce.
NACHOPALOOZA – Tortilla chips piled high and layered with three bean mix, Monterey Jack and cheddar cheeses, pico de gallo, jalapeños and green onions. Garnished with sour cream.
COWBOY RIB EYE – USDA choice 28-day aged 16-oz bone-in rib eye steak, grilled to perfection, topped with maître d’ butter. Served with Yukon Gold mashed potatoes and steamed broccoli
HICKORY-SMOKED RIBS – Fall-off-the-bone tender St. Louis-style ribs, rubbed with HRC’s signature seasonings and basted with hickory barbecue sauce.
Pier 38 Catch of the Day – Grilled catch of the day (Mahimahi)in a sweet soy glaze, topped with fresh mango salsa and grilled lemon, served with Yukon Gold Mashed Potatoes and fresh Broccoli
SPINACH ARTICHOKE DIP – Warm, creamy blend of spinach, artichokes and cheese, topped with Romano cheese and served with Parmesan flatbread
GRILLED CHICKEN ARUGULA SALAD – Baby arugula, thinly sliced grilled chicken, spicy pecans, dried cranberries and fresh oranges tossed in lemon balsamic vinaigrette, topped with crumbled feta cheese
SMOKED BEEF BRISKET – Slow-cooked beef brisket topped with hickory barbecue sauce and crispy onions on grilled sourdough bread.
ORIGINAL LEGENDARY® BURGER – Topped with smoked bacon, cheddar cheese, golden fried onion ring, crisp lettuce and vine ripened tomato.
HRC’s Tango Burger…
TANGO BURGER – Two single premium patties layered with slow-cooked Sloppy-Joe, American and Jack cheeses, tangy barbecue sauce and finished with blue cheese and horseradish mayonnaise
FIESTA BURGER – Toasted brioche bun layered with roasted jalapeño salsa, melted Jack cheese, freshly made guacamole, pico de gallo, crisp lettuce and vine-ripened tomato.
BBQ Chicken…
BARBECUE CHICKEN – Half chicken, brined then basted with HRC’s hickory barbecue sauce and roasted until fork-tender.
Onion Rings – served with Ranch & BBQ Sauce
CHEESECAKE MADE WITH OREO® COOKIE PIECES – Made in-house, a generous helping of Oreo® cookies baked in our rich and creamy NY-style cheesecake, with a decadent Oreo® cookie crust.
HOT FUDGE BROWNIE – Ben & Jerry’s® vanilla ice cream and hot fudge on a fresh homemade brownie, topped with chopped walnuts, chocolate sprinkles, fresh whipped cream and a cherry.
FRESH APPLE COBBLER – Served warm with vanilla ice cream, topped with walnuts and caramel sauce. Thick, juicy apples are mixed with the finest spices and baked until golden brown.
Fresh Island Mangoes (Hayden) for display purposes
Tropical Adornments for display purposes
Hard Rock Cafe Honolulu’s Chef’s Table, with HRC Honolulu General Manager CJ seated at the end on the far right…
Hard Rock Cafe Honolulu’s Executive Chef Ray Baysa introduced each course as they arrived…
Hard Rock Cafe Honolulu General Manager CJ took charge of explaining each cocktail served with the courses as the evening progressed….
On to the tasting, getting everyone loosened up to start, the first new menu item to make the rounds were Hard Rock’s flight of Margaritas by the name of “Air Mexico”…
AIR MEXICO – flight of signature mini margaritas, made with AVIÓN Silver Tequila and Cointreau Orange Liqueur. Flavors include wildberry, pomegranate, watermelon, blue curacao, mango or cucumber. (regular menu includes choice of 3 flavors,accompanied by a personal-sized-portion of chips & salsa); Watermelon and Mango flavors shown
AIR MEXICO – Blue Curacao and Watermelon mini Margaritas
Definitely the Blue Curacao was my favorite of the bunch, probably just because I like the color blue. lol Seriously though, the Avion Silver Tequila this was based on had a smooth delivery, where you had to be careful, as you could easily go through a bunch of these (and they had a lot!) without knowing what’s about to hit you. Sleeper cocktail for sure.
Also starting things off was HRC’s Balsamic Tomato Bruschetta…
BALSAMIC TOMATO BRUSCHETTA – Toasted artisan bread topped with herb cream cheese and marinated Roma tomatoes and fresh basil, served with a drizzle of basil oil and shaved Parmesan.
Pretty good. The fresh chopped roma tomato and basil topping was refreshingly light, and balsamic blend with basil oil was generously tasty, however the artisan bread could have been toasted more, and rubbed with more garlic (if they even did that at all).
Reception hour pupus was followed by their Spinach & Artichoke Dip…
SPINACH ARTICHOKE DIP – Warm, creamy blend of spinach, artichokes and cheese, topped
with Romano cheese and served with Parmesan flatbread.
Rather standard Spinach Artichoke Dip, tasting pretty much like the excellent Stonemill Kitchens brand Costco and Safeway carries. Speaking of Costco, even these chips tasted like the Pita Chips from there, albeit in a larger, flat wedge shape. Overall delicious, however I think they should get more creative with it, like adding crab, mushrooms, or “something” a bit more exciting so that it doesn’t taste store-bought.
Upon being seated, the first course to land on the table was Hard Rock Cafe’s appetizer sampler platter, which like the rest of the courses to follow, included individually served sampler-sized portions of each dish…
Onion Rings with BBQ Sauce, Nachopalooza sampler and Rockin’ Wings – first course appetizer sampler platter
The Onion Rings were fab’, especially with that excellent BBQ sauce it was served with, which was spicy, somewhat tangy, more sweet and very smokey. The very crunchy yet delicate Panko type batter crust adhered well to the nicely caramelized thick-sliced onion ring within. As simple as they were, yeah, these are some excellent Onion Rings.
My favorite ingredient topping the Nachopalooza Nachos was the 3-bean dip. Otherwise it’s hard to judge this particular dish on just a couple of bites. Nachos is something I need to indulge in like “a good pile’s worth” in order to get the gist of it. He he.
The Rockin’ Wings were pretty rockin’, like I’d say not quite Van Halen rockin’, but perhaps more Sammy Hagar rockin’ (depending who you like more of). They were indeed jumbo, juicy and tender, while the coating, said to be a reformulated smoked 10-spice rub, came across to me not much different — save for being a bit more BBQ-like — then the standard vinegar-based spicy Anchor Bar type wet sauce. I don’t recall which dipping sauce it was served with, only remembering it being creamy and tangy, however I’m not sure if it was quite Bleu Cheese, or more Heavy Metal. Good though. I always appreciate celery sticks with my wings, which were missing on this sampler platter, yet it is served with the regular menu order.
Complimenting this first appetizer course was HRC’s new “Magical Mystical Mojito” cocktail…
MAGICAL MYSTERY MOJITO – Hendrick’s and ST. GERMAIN Elderflower Liqueur, muddled with lime juice, mint and Monin Cucumber
To be honest, I’m not a mixed drink person, so even a Mojito is something of a novelty to me, and what made it even more novel was the shredded toasted coconut it was topped with. Loved that! Muddled lime is always welcome in my book as well. Overall a festively tropical, fragrant, light-bodied ‘n delicious drink.
Summing this first appetizer course up, between the Margaritas and Mojito, Onion Rings, Nachopalooza and Wings, it felt more like we were at a “Hard Rock Cantina” somewhere near the southern border. Hey, good idea. Note to corporate: consider starting a sister Tex Mex chain called Hard Rock Cantina!
Next up, we divulge in Hard Rock’s Steak, Salad and Mahimahi second course entrees…
Let’s start this one the correct way with the salad…
GRILLED CHICKEN ARUGULA SALAD – Baby arugula, thinly sliced grilled chicken, spicy pecans, dried cranberries and fresh oranges tossed in lemon balsamic vinaigrette, topped with crumbled feta cheese.
This salad like totally reminded me of the Parisian Salad Costco used to sell. Remember that one? It came as a “kit” that included a packet of dried cranberries, walnuts and feta cheese, along with the most delicious creamy, tangy and sweet Parisian Dressing. Well HRC’s Chicken Arugula Salad reminded me exactly of that, albeit tasting even fresher and multidimensional with the addition of Mandarin Orange wedges and Grilled Chicken. If you’re looking for a light ‘n easy dish to eat at an otherwise hard rockin’ restaurant, you’ll be very pleased with HRC’s Grilled Arugula Salad. Excellent!
Next let’s try the Pier 38 Catch of the Day…
PIER 38 CATCH OF THE DAY – Fresh catch (Mahimahi) grilled in a sweet soy glaze,
topped with fresh mango salsa, and grilled lemon. Served with Yukon Gold mashed potatoes and steamed broccoli
I was diggin’ the savory flavor of the sweet soy sauce, however I don’t think the Mango Salsa matched with that. Too much going on. Is this Asian or Tex Mex. Also, my particular cut of Mahimahi was overcooked to just over medium, whereas I prefer my cooked fish done like my steak: medium rare. Not raw in the center, but still “gelatinous” in texture, where it’s just begining to flake apart.
I must say, the Yukon Gold Mash Potatoes it was bedded on was excellent, especially the texture, being velvety, like they put it through a ricing mill. Next time I drop by I’ll have to ask Chef Baysa how he makes that Yukon Mash. Good stuff!
Next let’s try the steak…
COWBOY RIB EYE – USDA choice 28-day aged 16-oz bone-in rib eye steak, grilled to perfection, topped with maître d’ butter. Served with Yukon Gold mashed potatoes and steamed broccoli
Ah yes, cooked to medium-rare, leaning-on-rare perfection!…
Chef keeps this steak simple, seasoning with the perfect amount of Kosher Salt and Fresh Crack Black, letting the 28-day dry aged choice ribeye beef do all the talking. Grilled to perfection, wonderfully tender with a nicely crusted and seared finish. On top of that the semi-melted compound butter adds the finishing touch, giving each bite a silky rich finish, no steak sauce required. If you’re craving a good steak and a fun place to enjoy it, you can’t go wrong with HRC’s Cowboy Rib Eye. Another highly recommended dish!
The second and third course entrees were complimented with their Redberry Press Cocktail…
RED BERRY PRESS – Pressed tableside and great for sharing!Homemade lemonade, SVEDKA Clementine Vodka, fresh lemons, strawberries and raspberries.
HRC Honolulu General manager CJ was super excited when introducing this drink with its unique delivery apparatus. You simply keep pumping it to extract the essence of the crushed fresh lemons, strawberries and raspberries at the bottom. And they really do impart their flavors, albeit subtly with the lemonade and vodka concoction. It had just enough “bite” from the vodka to cut into the richness of the steak and BBQ meats, while the sweetness and acidity from the fruits married nicely with the pork ribs and Mahimahi (fish). While more of a “chick drink” in my opinion, with the dishes it was paired with, great choice.
With not much time to breath and rest, HRC’s 3rd course “Smokehouse” sampler entrees arrive…
SMOKEHOUSE HICKORY-SMOKED BBQ CHICKEN & RIBS COMBO – Hickory-smoked BBQ combo served withBar-B-Que Ribs and Chicken.
SMOKED BEEF BRISKET – Slow-cooked beef brisket topped with hickory barbecue sauce and crispy onions on grilled sourdough bread.
First of all, HRC’s Smokehouse BBQ Sauce ROCKS! Excellent balance of sweetness and tang, with a zesty blend of spices, some smokiness and best off all, good ‘n tomatoey “wet”. I like my BBQ meats smothered with BBQ sauce, and HRC delivers in that regard.
The BBQ chicken was a bit dry. Plus you know me, not a chicken fan. Next.
The Smoked Beef Brisket on Sourdough was certainly tasty, especially with the abundance of crispy onions and nicely toasted bread. However the thinly-sliced, generous helping of smoked beef brisket itself came across to me a bit dry and tough. A good soaking in some Au Jus would have been nice!
Now the BBQ Pork Ribs is the Hard Rockin’ bomb diggity! Yeah, I’m feelin’ the love with this one, baby! IIRC, they’re St. Louis cut ribs, smoked and grilled to tender, juicy fall-off-the bones perfection with a fantastic charred crust. It was a little too “loose” as far as tenderness, literally falling off the bones with hardly any stick. Which most BBQ judges would dink them on that, yet I loved it. I say Hard Rock’s ribs are in it to win for best ribs on Oahu. If you want some mighty tasty ‘n tender, smokey BBQ pork ribs, Hard Rock’s got your number. Highly recommended!
Full yet? Better not be, as next up is the fourth course with more entrees in the form of Hard Rock Cafe’s Legendary Burgers®…
LEGENDARY BURGERS® ORIGINAL LEGENDARY ® BURGER – Topped with smoked bacon, cheddar cheese, golden fried onion ring, crisp lettuce and vine ripened tomato.*
FIESTA BURGER – Toasted brioche bun layered with roasted jalapeño salsa, melted
Jack cheese, freshly made guacamole, pico de gallo, crisp lettuce
and vine-ripened tomato.*
TANGO BURGER – Two single premium patties layered with slow-cooked Sloppy-Joe, American and Jack cheeses, tangy barbecue sauce and finished with blue cheese and horseradish mayonnaise.*
As mentioned before, a peeve of mine are burgers that are piled to high. Case in point…
This is a SLIDER and I can’t fit it in my mouth! What do I look like, a lion or crocodile? Other than being piled too high, this here Original Legendary Burger was my favorite of the three, as the Onion Rings and bacon really enhanced the flavor of it.
That said, I think the chef or cooks didn’t have or spend enough time to sear the otherwise high quality tasting ground beef patties, as it almost tasted steamed, not grilled at all. Ack! It needed more time to sear and/or a hotter grill. Which is odd, as Hard Rock gets lots of rave reviews on Yelp for their burgers, so I’m sure this was just an isolated case.
To note on the beef patties, various blend combinations of premium ground beef and brisket, as well as fat to lean ratios, thickness and shape were taken into consideration during Hard Rock’s 2014 menu revamp, with freshness and quality being top priority, and that definitely shown through within the patty itself.
If they had only been flame-seared properly for this tasting, I can definitely see any three of these being stellar burgers. I’ll take mine next time with Swiss ‘n ‘Shrooms, thank you very much!
That brioche bun was fantastic, having a nice glutenous texture inside and slightly chewy crust that held up well. In fact, more than 27 types of buns were sampled before the final brioche bun was selected.
Fitting for burgers, the sliders were served with Hard Rock Cafe’s “Twist ‘n Shout” shake…
TWIST & SHOUT SHAKE (contains alcohol) – BACARDI OakHeart Spiced Rum, Guinness, DeKuyper Dark Crème de Cacao, chocolate syrup, vanilla ice cream and Monin Salted Caramel.
Topped with whipped cream, caramel, chocolate syrup and bacon pieces.
This is another cocktail that had General Manager CJ all worked up, repeatedly pointing out “THERE’S BACON IN IT”! And he’s right, this is one rockin’ take on a milk shake! It embodies almost all your taste senses, where you get the savory and salty from the bacon, sweet, rich and creamy from the ice cream and caramel, earthy from the Guiness and Chocolate and decadence from the Spiced Rum. It’s kinda’ like a B-52 shot on steroids, with similar flavor profiles and that layered effect. Summing it up, if there were ever a nightcap, this would be it. After this, time to close the bedroom door! Good, good stuff!
As if that “Twist & Shout” could have just as well been it, it’s time for the 5th and final course, the dessert round…
Fresh Apple Cobbler, Hot Fudge Brownie and Oreo Cookie Cheesecake
My goodness, on the “my tummy’s full meter”, from 1 to 10, I’m already at 11.5, and I gotta’ get through this now? This is Hard rock madness!
I think I can, I think I can, I think I can.
O.K., let’s check out that Hot Fudge Brownie.
HOT FUDGE BROWNIE – Ben & Jerry’s ® vanilla ice cream and hot fudge on a fresh homemade brownie, topped with chopped walnuts, chocolate sprinkles, fresh whipped cream and a cherry
It’s good, however a bit too “keiki-ish” for me. Meaning it comes across as sweet just for the sake of being sweet. I think it’s the “loose” Ben & Jerry’s Vanilla Ice Cream and syrupy Maraschino Cherry that did that. The brownie itself underneath is delicious, yet again, it all comes across as too sweet. If I were a 7 year old, sure, I’m all over this. yet for my more sophisticated adult palate, I much preferred the next two dessert dishes.
Let’s try the Oreo Cheesecake…
CHEESECAKE MADE WITH OREO® COOKIE PIECES – Made in-house, a generous helping of Oreo ® cookies baked in our rich and creamy NY-style cheesecake, with a decadent Oreo ® cookie crust.
Not to shine a light on their direct competition right up the street in Waikiki, but Cheesecake Factory would be proud to serve this NY-style Cheesecake laced with Oreo cookies crumbles. I mean common’, think of that combination: oreo cookies and cheesecake. How can that NOT rock your cheesecake world? It rocked mine, that’s for sure!
To note, the cheesecake filling had a sort of loose and crumbly texture in a good way. That made saved it from being overly rich, unlike someone had shoved straight-up cream cheese mixed with sugar in your mouth. It’s essentially a cheesecake with refinement.
I admittedly would have preferred caramel sauce instead of chocolate drizzled over it, but that worked. If you order this, most definitely ask for a scoop of vanilla ice cream to go along with it. That’s how I was eating it with the other desserts, and that was totally rockin’.
Finally, let’s try the Fresh Apple Cobbler…
FRESH APPLE COBBLER – Served warm with vanilla ice cream, topped with walnut and caramel sauce. Thick, juicy apples are mixed with the finest spices and baked until
golden brown.
OMG, the Apple Crumble is seriously “Crack Crumble”, it’s that addictinglicously delish. Is “addictinglicious” even a word? Well it is now! Fresh is the word, as in piping hot, where it tasted lke the chef had just whipped this up from scratch while we were enjoying our entrees. Words to describe would be golden crunchy, nutty and buttery, with the apple slices inside sweet and cooked to gelatinous perfection, coated with lots ‘n lots of cinnamon. Then you get that creamy cold vanilla ice cream and caramel melting all over it, and it’s like whereas the Oreo Cookie Cheesecake was The Eagles (the band), The Fresh Apple Cobbler is Metallica. Head-banging onolicious! If unsure which dessert to order, get the Fresh Apple Cobbler. Highly, highly recommended!
As if we weren’t already doing circles around Hard Rock Cafe’s bar in a sugar rush fit, they bring us this here Salted Caramel Cafe to go along with the desserts…
SALTED CARAMEL CAFE (contains alcohol) – Tia Maria, Baileys Irish Cream, Monin Salted Caramel, half & half, topped with whipped cream, caramel corn and caramel sauce.
Caramel Popcorn and Caramel topping a creamy cafe style mixed drink. Now if that doesn’t get your attention, I don’t know what will. Genius! To be honest, and as you can tell by its ingredients, it was a big too rich and creamy after sampling those three desserts, where a simple cup of coffee would have probably been better pairing. Yet I’m not complaining! I’d seriously love to have one of these on a late friday night at home on the sofa watching a movie. I wonder if a Green Tea Hurricane Popcorn Drink has already been done? Hmmmm!
Rounding up the evening, all in excellent new menu tasting presentation by Hard Rock Cafe Honolulu, great food ‘n drinks and lots of fun hanging out with really nice and interesting folks involved in the local multimedia scene and communications industry.
My greatest hits picks on Hard Rock Cafe’s 2014 tasting menu include the Onion Rings with BBQ Sauce, Grilled Chicken Arugula Salad, 28-Day Dry Aged Cowboy Ribeye, Smokehouse BBQ Ribs, Fresh Apple Cobbler and Twist ‘n Shout.
Want to say huge, huge mahalos to Christine of Becker Communications, as well as the hard working awesome team at Hard Rock Cafe Honolulu in Waikiki who presented the dinner, including Chef Baysa, General Manager CJ, Sales & Marketing Manager Cydney and Sales & Marketing Coordinator Jenny. You folks rock!
Hard Rock Cafe 2014 Tasting Menu:
Hard Rock Cafe Honolulu (Waikiki) Seating Map & Specifications:
Here’s Yours Truly with Cydney Chu (left; Kamehameha School… Imua!), Hard Rock Cafe Honolulu’s Marketing & Sales Manager, and Jenny Sayegusa (super fun!), HRC’s Marketing & Sales Coordinator….
Yes, I gained back lots of weight since a year ago… +20 lbs. to be exact. ack! Look at that gut! Hopefully I’ll discipline myself and get back in shape before the end of 2014.
Following is a gallery of Hard Rock Cafe’s corporate press release photos of the same dishes served at this tasting event.