Anyone out there looking for some fresh, excellent Mediterranean Rim cuisine? It has to start somewhere, but if you're on the island of Maui, that's kinda far from Greece, far away from Spain, France, Monaco, Italy, Malta and a few other places (my brain can't function I been up too long).
So then my foodie friends seeking more than a filling plate lunch, you want something refreshing, healthy, and you want that true beach ambience, well well, head down to Wailea and look for Sarento's On The Beach, and you'll get what you been looking for. Here you'll find relaxation, just smell the ocean breeze, see the Keawakapu Beach, white sand, trade winds, fun people walking up and down with smiles. Yeah, this is the place.
So I paid a visit to my friends there, Mixologist Barbara Cobey gave me a call, "Hey Ron stop by and check us out." I'm like, "Sure Barbara, let me hot wire a rental car and I'll be there tonight by 8:00pm." By the way, I live 30 miles away and the bus service doesn't go that late, so I had to hot wire a Nissan.
So I got there, and Barbara welcomed me. I sat at the bar and met a Mr. Brown. Now Mr. Brown came from another part of the world, but he was a friendly man, we shook hands and exchanged hellos.
"Hey do I know you?"
"No, but Barbara told me you are Mr. Brown."
"Oh, and you are?"
"About to get arrested if the cops find that Nissan."
"Hah?"
"Never mind Mr. Brown, ah just enjoy your Mai Tai."
"Okay."
Barbara tells me, "I'm going to get you something to eat."
"Nah, I'm fine, I'll just nibble on these Pistachio nuts and some ice water."
Wait time out, am I some kind of dumb ass? She invites me to a fancy restaurant and all I'm gonna eat is nuts and ice water? Yeah, I'm full, I'm easy, I just wanted to talk with my friend Barbara, and meet Chef Geno Sarmiento. Chef was out on the road tending to his other restaurant Nick's Fishmarket in the Kealani Hotel in Wailea.
Barbara introduced me to Rich her bartender in training.
"Hi Rich, sup bro?"
"Hi Ron nice to meet you."
"Cool."
Come to find out Rich is a warrior in the restaurant biz, he lives in Kihei up the road, and used to drive 30 miles to a gig in Kaanapali, and when done, drive 30 miles back home to crash out. Nice guy, really cool.
As the evening goes on, a waiter steps up right behind me, "Sir here's you meal."
I'm like what is that? Wow it's huge! Nice.. I see tomatoes and looks like Mozzarella on top of the tomatoes, and I know these guys, I sold these guys before at Down to Earth, it's my old friends Arugula, sup guys? And underneath, it's a Herb Crusted Veal Milanese, with White Truffle Oil Vinaigrette.
"Hey Ron you know what Milanese is right?" asked Barbara.
"Is he like the guy that plays linebacker for the Jets? Ah Brandon Milanese, 6-3 235, out of Eastern Omaha, 3rd round draft pick in 05, blew out his ACL?"
Barbara tossed her bar towel to the back, she looked at me and shook her head, "No, Milanese means." And she goes on to describe what it means. It means this. Well she told me a story but I forgot, because I was worried about the cops busting me for hot wiring that Nissan. So I Googled it, and well, Milanese is Spanish for fried chicken or beef. Ah okay I got it, Veal Milanese is what I had. So if I wanted to fry a goat, it'd be Goat Milanese. Okay got it, it ain't Brandon Milanese of the Jets, wrong channel, wrong page, get me a doctor I need help!
And ooo, the drink, it was her creation, what a Mixologist, she created for me this awesome drink called Lime and The Coconut. It had a coconut rim, instead of salt like those Margarittas. And it had fresh lime juice, some Coco Lopez, and Bacardi Limon and it was shaken not stirred. I freekin felt like 007. All I needed to be was 6-2, and have a couple of dumb chicks by my side and a car that could fly, not a hot wired Nissan out in the graveled lot.
Cool. I ate a Cotolette Capricciosa which was the veal and the salad on top of it, and drank a Lime and The Coconut, and not to mention a whole bowl of Pistachios and a glass of ice water. Now the ice water, that was great too. But if you are looking for a great Mediterranean Rim restaurant, then Sarento's on the Beach is the place to go, and the menu is really excellent.
Look at this work of art.
So this is what the Cotolette Capricciosa tasted like. It had a nice flavor first of the fresh tomatoes, cheese, and the rocket. And then, you get down to the Veal Milanese, and the Truffle Oil Vinaigrette, it was excellent. Refreshing, and definitely not obnoxious, with a hint of love. Oh yeah, it had a hint of love Baby!
Lime and The Coconut :)))))
The drink was smooth, not too sweet, kinda mellow, and that's what I needed, because the sweat was pouring down my forehead, just thinking if the cops was in the parking lot looking for me. Ha ha, I'm pretty swift.
Me and Mixologist Barbara Cobey
Barbara was trained at the Wynn Resorts in Las Vegas, Nevada, she really knows her stuff, watching her shake, stir, blend... man she has it down! And she's a good conversationist too. Her husband, what a blessed man, man. Okay now I gotta make it back to Lahaina, I have to find another car to hot wire, I think I saw a an old Toyota pickup next to Five Palms...
But wait! Chef Geno is sitting at the stool next to me wearing a Titlelist Cap, okay now this is our first meeting, thanks to Barbara. "Hey Chef, I'm Ron, what did you shoot today?"
Senior Executive Chef Geno Sarmiento
wearing the Titleist cap
"Ha ha, I just got back from Nick's at the Kealani," he said. He really looked tired.
"Well, I liked the Veal I just ate."
"Yeah? If I made it for you it would have been better," he said.
"I bet it would."
Of course he was just kidding around. We both got to know each other, come to find out Chef Geno has been with the company for 20 plus years. He was trained in Oahu at a small culinary school, but worked his way up, paid his dues, and is now one of Maui's top chefs.
"I like to learn, to continue to learn," continued Chef Geno. "I read a lot of books on chefs, not neccessarily recipe books or cookbooks, but stories on chefs, what their philosophies were, how or what made them click."
Ah, Chef Geno likes to pick brains, I like him already. Chef Geno told me, once he got his degree to be a chef, he didn't really need cookbooks, he'd look at a recipe at a glance and could figure it out. Wow! I got to get my reading glasses out, and look at the pages for a while.
"You need to learn methods of cooking, once you learn that, and learn how sauces are made, you can do anything. But when I read a book on a chef, it's pretty much learning about that person as well. You can be called a chef, but that's just a title, the chef is a person." Man, this is a cool chef, or ah... person I'm talking to.
"A chef needs to know every aspect of the kitchen, if a pantry guy calls in sick, he has to be able to bust ass at his station, not sit back."
I worked for chefs like that, guys that would rather sit in the office and make the others slave it to the max if the staff was short for the night. Hey Chef Geno, you da man.
We talked more, and he wanted to know my background, I told him I am not a chef like he was, but because of the cooking shows we produced with me cooking, I had to use that as a stage name. Chef Sambrano, also my blog site's name. But I'm not a true chef, a true chef worked from the ground up, and trained under other chefs, me I worked and learned, my brother and brother inlaw are both chefs, I have friends that teach me what they know in cooking. I really seriously can hold my own, I do some small gigs for couples, that I can do, but throw me to a few hundred for a catering, I'm toasted! I'm rattled, I wasn't made for that kind of chefing job. But I told him my true calling was media work, bringing people together, learning about food. I told him my dream would be to start my production company and produce killer food and cooking materials for people to use, that would be a valuable source. He agreed, he told me he did community work, teaching kids how to cook, how to be responsible citizens in the community, now this is an awesome person, Chef Geno rocks, he rules the school.
"I believe that people should learn to cook, that way they know what is going into their foods," he said. "One time we taught kids how to make fresh pasta, and how to make Malasadas (Portuguese Donuts without the holes)."
One of his mentors was George Gomes. Apparently back in his beginnings Chef George taught Geno what life was about, not just the ktichen. This is a learning thing folks, everyone who is successful, usually had a mentor. And George did great, because Chef Geno has to oversee the kitchens at Sarento's, Nick's Fishmarket in Wailea, and trek to Kaanapali to the Hyatt Regency to visit the kitchen staff and Sonz. Now this is a rock and roll chef, he's the real deal! Me? I act like one on tv, and I do pretty good I must say. Yes I can make those sauces he was talking about, I can do what the pro cooks do, I used to be those guys, but now in my old age, it's just home cooking. The last gig I did was for a family of 5, that was easy. But Chef Geno sometimes needs to be prepared to create and cook for hundreds, now that's rock and roll, that's heavy metal. Me? I'm in a soft rock band called Tears. Ha ha.
Okay so Chef is getting tired, I noticed that his wrist had some Ace bandage on it, he told me he injured the wrist lifting a heavy piece of luggage. Man, does he work part-time as a bellman? No he was doing some personal lifting. So that's that for this post. Come in and see Chef Geno, Mixologist Barbara Cobey and the rest of the staff at Sarento's. Or visit their sister resaurants Nick's Fishmarket and Sonz.
www.tristarrestaurants.com
So then my foodie friends seeking more than a filling plate lunch, you want something refreshing, healthy, and you want that true beach ambience, well well, head down to Wailea and look for Sarento's On The Beach, and you'll get what you been looking for. Here you'll find relaxation, just smell the ocean breeze, see the Keawakapu Beach, white sand, trade winds, fun people walking up and down with smiles. Yeah, this is the place.
So I paid a visit to my friends there, Mixologist Barbara Cobey gave me a call, "Hey Ron stop by and check us out." I'm like, "Sure Barbara, let me hot wire a rental car and I'll be there tonight by 8:00pm." By the way, I live 30 miles away and the bus service doesn't go that late, so I had to hot wire a Nissan.
So I got there, and Barbara welcomed me. I sat at the bar and met a Mr. Brown. Now Mr. Brown came from another part of the world, but he was a friendly man, we shook hands and exchanged hellos.
"Hey do I know you?"
"No, but Barbara told me you are Mr. Brown."
"Oh, and you are?"
"About to get arrested if the cops find that Nissan."
"Hah?"
"Never mind Mr. Brown, ah just enjoy your Mai Tai."
"Okay."
Barbara tells me, "I'm going to get you something to eat."
"Nah, I'm fine, I'll just nibble on these Pistachio nuts and some ice water."
Wait time out, am I some kind of dumb ass? She invites me to a fancy restaurant and all I'm gonna eat is nuts and ice water? Yeah, I'm full, I'm easy, I just wanted to talk with my friend Barbara, and meet Chef Geno Sarmiento. Chef was out on the road tending to his other restaurant Nick's Fishmarket in the Kealani Hotel in Wailea.
Barbara introduced me to Rich her bartender in training.
"Hi Rich, sup bro?"
"Hi Ron nice to meet you."
"Cool."
Come to find out Rich is a warrior in the restaurant biz, he lives in Kihei up the road, and used to drive 30 miles to a gig in Kaanapali, and when done, drive 30 miles back home to crash out. Nice guy, really cool.
As the evening goes on, a waiter steps up right behind me, "Sir here's you meal."
I'm like what is that? Wow it's huge! Nice.. I see tomatoes and looks like Mozzarella on top of the tomatoes, and I know these guys, I sold these guys before at Down to Earth, it's my old friends Arugula, sup guys? And underneath, it's a Herb Crusted Veal Milanese, with White Truffle Oil Vinaigrette.
"Hey Ron you know what Milanese is right?" asked Barbara.
"Is he like the guy that plays linebacker for the Jets? Ah Brandon Milanese, 6-3 235, out of Eastern Omaha, 3rd round draft pick in 05, blew out his ACL?"
Barbara tossed her bar towel to the back, she looked at me and shook her head, "No, Milanese means." And she goes on to describe what it means. It means this. Well she told me a story but I forgot, because I was worried about the cops busting me for hot wiring that Nissan. So I Googled it, and well, Milanese is Spanish for fried chicken or beef. Ah okay I got it, Veal Milanese is what I had. So if I wanted to fry a goat, it'd be Goat Milanese. Okay got it, it ain't Brandon Milanese of the Jets, wrong channel, wrong page, get me a doctor I need help!
And ooo, the drink, it was her creation, what a Mixologist, she created for me this awesome drink called Lime and The Coconut. It had a coconut rim, instead of salt like those Margarittas. And it had fresh lime juice, some Coco Lopez, and Bacardi Limon and it was shaken not stirred. I freekin felt like 007. All I needed to be was 6-2, and have a couple of dumb chicks by my side and a car that could fly, not a hot wired Nissan out in the graveled lot.
Cool. I ate a Cotolette Capricciosa which was the veal and the salad on top of it, and drank a Lime and The Coconut, and not to mention a whole bowl of Pistachios and a glass of ice water. Now the ice water, that was great too. But if you are looking for a great Mediterranean Rim restaurant, then Sarento's on the Beach is the place to go, and the menu is really excellent.
Look at this work of art.
Lime and The Coconut :)))))
The drink was smooth, not too sweet, kinda mellow, and that's what I needed, because the sweat was pouring down my forehead, just thinking if the cops was in the parking lot looking for me. Ha ha, I'm pretty swift.
Me and Mixologist Barbara Cobey
Barbara was trained at the Wynn Resorts in Las Vegas, Nevada, she really knows her stuff, watching her shake, stir, blend... man she has it down! And she's a good conversationist too. Her husband, what a blessed man, man. Okay now I gotta make it back to Lahaina, I have to find another car to hot wire, I think I saw a an old Toyota pickup next to Five Palms...
But wait! Chef Geno is sitting at the stool next to me wearing a Titlelist Cap, okay now this is our first meeting, thanks to Barbara. "Hey Chef, I'm Ron, what did you shoot today?"
Senior Executive Chef Geno Sarmiento
wearing the Titleist cap
"Well, I liked the Veal I just ate."
"Yeah? If I made it for you it would have been better," he said.
"I bet it would."
Of course he was just kidding around. We both got to know each other, come to find out Chef Geno has been with the company for 20 plus years. He was trained in Oahu at a small culinary school, but worked his way up, paid his dues, and is now one of Maui's top chefs.
"I like to learn, to continue to learn," continued Chef Geno. "I read a lot of books on chefs, not neccessarily recipe books or cookbooks, but stories on chefs, what their philosophies were, how or what made them click."
Ah, Chef Geno likes to pick brains, I like him already. Chef Geno told me, once he got his degree to be a chef, he didn't really need cookbooks, he'd look at a recipe at a glance and could figure it out. Wow! I got to get my reading glasses out, and look at the pages for a while.
"You need to learn methods of cooking, once you learn that, and learn how sauces are made, you can do anything. But when I read a book on a chef, it's pretty much learning about that person as well. You can be called a chef, but that's just a title, the chef is a person." Man, this is a cool chef, or ah... person I'm talking to.
"A chef needs to know every aspect of the kitchen, if a pantry guy calls in sick, he has to be able to bust ass at his station, not sit back."
I worked for chefs like that, guys that would rather sit in the office and make the others slave it to the max if the staff was short for the night. Hey Chef Geno, you da man.
We talked more, and he wanted to know my background, I told him I am not a chef like he was, but because of the cooking shows we produced with me cooking, I had to use that as a stage name. Chef Sambrano, also my blog site's name. But I'm not a true chef, a true chef worked from the ground up, and trained under other chefs, me I worked and learned, my brother and brother inlaw are both chefs, I have friends that teach me what they know in cooking. I really seriously can hold my own, I do some small gigs for couples, that I can do, but throw me to a few hundred for a catering, I'm toasted! I'm rattled, I wasn't made for that kind of chefing job. But I told him my true calling was media work, bringing people together, learning about food. I told him my dream would be to start my production company and produce killer food and cooking materials for people to use, that would be a valuable source. He agreed, he told me he did community work, teaching kids how to cook, how to be responsible citizens in the community, now this is an awesome person, Chef Geno rocks, he rules the school.
"I believe that people should learn to cook, that way they know what is going into their foods," he said. "One time we taught kids how to make fresh pasta, and how to make Malasadas (Portuguese Donuts without the holes)."
One of his mentors was George Gomes. Apparently back in his beginnings Chef George taught Geno what life was about, not just the ktichen. This is a learning thing folks, everyone who is successful, usually had a mentor. And George did great, because Chef Geno has to oversee the kitchens at Sarento's, Nick's Fishmarket in Wailea, and trek to Kaanapali to the Hyatt Regency to visit the kitchen staff and Sonz. Now this is a rock and roll chef, he's the real deal! Me? I act like one on tv, and I do pretty good I must say. Yes I can make those sauces he was talking about, I can do what the pro cooks do, I used to be those guys, but now in my old age, it's just home cooking. The last gig I did was for a family of 5, that was easy. But Chef Geno sometimes needs to be prepared to create and cook for hundreds, now that's rock and roll, that's heavy metal. Me? I'm in a soft rock band called Tears. Ha ha.
Okay so Chef is getting tired, I noticed that his wrist had some Ace bandage on it, he told me he injured the wrist lifting a heavy piece of luggage. Man, does he work part-time as a bellman? No he was doing some personal lifting. So that's that for this post. Come in and see Chef Geno, Mixologist Barbara Cobey and the rest of the staff at Sarento's. Or visit their sister resaurants Nick's Fishmarket and Sonz.
www.tristarrestaurants.com
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