Michael Mina opens STRIPSTEAK, his first Hawaii restaurant | News, Sports, Jobs

James Beard award-winning Chef Michael Mina just opened his first STRIPSTEAK Waikiki in the heart of Oahu’s vibrant Waikiki district on Aug. 25. Presenting an evocative and modern twist on the classic American steakhouse, lighter, small plates, healthier seafood options, and sushi, sashimi and poke complement contemporary steakhouse sides.

The 8,600-square-foot restaurant is located at the newly redeveloped International Market Place on the third level Grand Lanai featuring expansive indoor, open-air patio seating for up to 120 guests and a private dining room seating up to 36 guests.

As the third STRIPSTEAK in his vast restaurant empire, Chef Mina has created a fun and innovative menu, bold in flavor and diverse in inspiration with the support of his Executive Chef Benjamin Jenkins, who oversees the culinary operations and will also participate in the Hawaii Food & Wine Festival in October that spans three islands.

“I’ve always been drawn to Hawaii and its vibrant culinary scene,” said Mina, who has appeared as celebrity chef at the Kapalua Wine & Food Festival on Maui.

“It’s special to be part of the warm hospitality the island community radiates and have my restaurant located in the historical setting of the International Market Place.”

At STRIPSTEAK Waikiki, hand-sliced cuts of prized Japanese and American beef are the star, prepared in Chef Mina’s signature preparation – slow poached in butter and finished on the grill. The freshest seafood is sourced on a daily basis for shellfish and raw bar selections. Skewers and small plates, sushi, sashimi and salads, entrees and Mina-influenced side dishes round out the menu and are also influenced by traditional plates from Japan.

“Chef Mina and I designed the STRIPSTEAK Waikiki menu to include healthier and lighter options such as abundant seafood selections and seasonal vegetables, but also made sure to honor his reimagined steakhouse dishes,” said Jenkins. “We were highly inspired by Hawaii’s food culture and source directly from the island’s bounty.”

Also found on the menu is Michael Mina’s tuna poke with Asian pear, toasted pine nuts, quail egg yolk, sesame and mint; Kauai shrimp with gin-cocktail sauce; carpaccio with hamachi, yuzu kosho and lime-shoyu; citrus-steamed onaga with ginger and scallion, Ho Farms’ long beans and organic tamari; robata skewer plate with gyu, tomorokoshi, butabara, asupara, tsukune; and the Luau “Feast” Seafood Tower, with king crab, a whole lobster, oysters, clams, shrimp, sashimi, sushi rolls and poke for four to six people.

Must try items on the menu include the World Wide Wagyu featuring Japanese A5 striploin, American skirt steak and Australian short rib; and lobster pot pie.

“With the amount of local product and culinary diversity found throughout Hawaii, we have the ability to create special menu concepts,” explained Mina.

“With that in mind, our menus are aimed to encourage ohana-style sharing with healthier protein and vegetable options available. Our menu is designed to the way our guests and chefs currently eat: light and with a clean and healthy palette.”

A team of sommeliers carefully curated the wines, focusing on boutique offerings from Bordeaux, Spain, Napa and Australia. Designed by lead bartender Raymundo Jaime, cocktails are updated versions of other classic libations, handcrafted for before and after dinner for happy hour daily from 2:30 to 5:30 p.m. Open for lunch and dinner, the restaurant is located at 2330 Kalakaua Ave. in Waikiki. For more details, visit www.stripsteakwaikiki.com. Slated to open in 2017 is THE STREET, A Michael Mina Social House, also in the International Marketplace.

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