Capische?

A perfect end to a great trip.  Capische?

I'm now sitting at home and my ride to work this morning was opposite of what we have been used to seeing in Maui the past week and a half!  Snow!  Yep, it snowed last night on the hills and a bit in Concord.  I went from 80 degrees and sunshine to 36 degrees and snow.  My body is in shock.

Anyway, for our last night on Maui, we decided to pay a visit to my brother's home turf - Capische? - the restaurant where he slaves five nights a week as a food runner.  This is the infamous restaurant that I first bragged/blogged about last year and I have come full circle to review it once again.  This time, it was even better believe it or not.

We got there about 8:00 p.m. after a day at the beach and my brother had us all set up at the bar, champagne poured into our glasses the moment we sat down.  A nice touch if I do say so.  It takes a moment to settle in and admire the ambiance that this restaurant exudes.  Dark and quiet; secluded up in the Wailea hills; candlelight; servers dressed in black; and live piano playing in the background.  My brother, unbeknownst to us, had us all set up with our first course, the "apps."  As a reminder, they serve fresh baked bread (I mean HOT when you tear into it) and olive oil and balsamic vinegar.  To die for.

• First up, gazpacho.  I've never had it before.  Its a cold soup of watermelon, tomato puree, and mint...I think there may have been some onion...also with the watermelon and tomato chunks.  He brought us a taster of it in a dainty little cup.  It was good, surprisingly (cold soup?) and the flavors were very unique together.
• First on the triple appetizer platter was the caprese salad.  Soft and creamy bufala mozarella imported from Italy with a Kula tomato wedge garnished with garden basil, Maui onions, and a coriander vinagrette.  The cheese was great, almost melt in your mouth good.  How can it not be, it came straight from Italy?!
• Next we had what I deem my favorite thing from Capische, the mushroom truffle risotto.  This may be strange to some who know me, and know that I despise mushrooms.  This CREATION includes tasty risotto in a sauce of white truffles, summer truffles, oyster mushrooms, and parmesan.  If you can ever have a dish where truffles grace your taste buds, DO IT.  To anyone that visits the island of Maui, please come here, even to taste the risotto.
• Finale of the apps was the gnocchi - usually prepared pumpkin flavored; however, my brother advised against that for the evening.  He had us set up for the lamb ravioli...but he didnt know that we couldnt quite eat the little babies. So he called it off at the last minute (Aaron, so sorry, its my conscience) and had the gnocchi prepared with the ravioli sauce...it was delish.  Roasted red peppers...mmm.

My mom was done for after the appetizers.  But me and Rachel werent.

• Entree 1, Moani:  Shrimp Carbonara (mind you I had a tough time choosing between this and the fresh catch of the day, onaga, herb crusted with whipped potatoes).  Aaron warned I should get the 1/2 portion for fear of pure amount of FAT loaded in this dish.  Uh uh.  Full order for me.  Three HUGE delicious shrimp atop the carbonara penne, loads of cream, panchetta, and Maui onions.  So rich and creamy and a perfect compliment to the shrimp.  I ate the whole thing - it was challenging, but there was no way I was wasting any of that meal.
• Entree 2, Rachel:  Meat and Potatoes:  Filet mignon with a gorgonzola cream sauce, served with whipped potatoes and an onion jus and thick stocks of asparagus.  I had to taste it, of course.  My God.  I have never seen, tasted, or heard of a better prepared steak.  So tender you could cut it with your fork.  Perfectly cooked.  Serious kudos to the chef who prepared that steak.

We sipped on Capische Cosmos and lemon drops in between bites of our heavenly meals and thought we could not eat anymore.  Well, we wanted the tirimasu.  I advised my brother.  Here is what we actually got (thank you brother, for adding 10 pounds to my waistline):

• The tirimasu....oh man....so soft and fluffy, so flavorful.  Creamy and coffee.
• Freshly made banana ice cream swirled with nutella and chopped hazelnuts.
• Chocolate mouse topped with hazelnuts (so rich!).
• And the vanilla creme brulee served with Gran Marnier (spelling..sorry) soaked strawberries as your last bite.

Wow, we could not even finish the dessert sampler he brought out for us.  We rolled home.  Thank you so much to my brother for his food suggestions and pairings.  They were amazing once again.  To everyone else, EAT HERE.  It may be a little more $$$ than some other places, but well worth it.  The atmosphere is so amazing, great for a romantic evening for couples too.  Like I said, a perfect ending!