Wandering chef returns with a new menu
Friday - June 20, 2008
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There’s a wave of change sweeping through Indigo Restaurant. I stopped by last week to chat with owner Glenn Chu, and was instantly reminded of the bond I feel with this fascinating place. Set in the heart of Chinatown, I first discovered Indigo in its previous incarnation as a piano bar. Going there with friends while on vacation one evening, I decided to move to Hawaii to live. When Indigo opened in the same space in 1994, I was just beginning my personal journey of discovery through food and wine, fascinated by the chefs and farmers and fishermen I was starting to meet.
One day, delivering a beer newsletter around the islands, I stopped at a grocery store in Haleiwa. As I was dropping off the papers, the owner came out from the back of the store wearing a butcher’s apron stained with blood and invited me to lunch at “this great new restaurant, Indigo.“The “butcher” was Lyle Fujioka and I still remember where we sat, what we talked about and how the beginnings of my wine and food magazine, Gusto, began to form. Fast-forward 14 years and Indigo is getting a face-lift. Coincidentally, wine guru Fujioka is a large part of the new look.
“We’re introducing a wine carafe program, and Lyle will be here to help customers with the wines,“says Chu. “We feel that food is about gathering together and being social - not just about eating - and we want people who are passionate about food and wine around us.”
In a somewhat serendipitous turn, chef David Cruz returns to the kitchen. David was part of the original Indigo team, leaving the Islands to further his culinary talents and hone his skills in Malaysia and beyond.
“I’m happy to be back,” he says. “Glenn and I always stayed in touch, and this feels like the completion of a circle.”
But don’t worry that your favorite dim sum might disappear, (Chu creates the most gorgeous chicken shiitake pot stickers,) or those fabulous crab cakes with chipotle aioli may be removed, or that unique dishes like Buddha’s Feast and Tofu might never be seen again. Cruz’s mission is to complement rather than change the Asian-influenced menu that has become Indigo’s culinary signature.
“Glenn does a lot of complex dishes with multiple sauces,” says Cruz. “Our aim is to keep all the flavor, but essentially have less on the plate.We’re going to strip away some of the dishes, keep the core elements and find new concentrations of flavors.”
Expect to hear the occasional concentration of acoustic guitars and harmonious voices, too. David is part of the musical Cruz family.“Yes, I called my brothers,” says David with a smile,“and Ernie and Guy have already committed. I ran into John the other night and he said ‘You need anything I’ll be there.‘“Rumor has it that the Cruz brothers will appear Tuesday June 24 when Chu and his staff officially welcome David as their chef.
“Music and food and wine all interweave”, says Cruz.“They’re all things that give people a lot of pleasure.”
When I think back to my lunch with Lyle on that sunny afternoon 14 years ago, it’s hard not to reflect on the incredible change in the Hawaii food and wine scene. As young chefs continue to rise, sustainability becomes part of our everyday conversation and old friends return to newly designed spaces, Indigo patrons should get ready for the ride.
Indigo Restaurant 1121 Nu’uanu Ave. 521 2900
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