Michael Mina’s latest project, TRAILBLAZER TAVERN, in partnership with Hawaiian-born chefs Michelle Karr-Ueoka and Wade Ueoka of Honolulu’s MW Restaurant, is now open in the Salesforce East building.
The project is a big one: 7,000 square feet! Designed by Bishop Pass, there’s a mezzanine for up to 72 guests that overlooks the lobby, while the main dining room and bar have 34-foot ceilings, with 24 seats at the bar (with a white bar top and teal blue base) and 47 seats at a mix of standard tables, banquette seating, booths, and more. Deep orange, sea blue, trellises, and green foliage create a tropical feeling. The private dining space holds up to 18 guests, plus the outdoor patio can seat 54 guests at rattan furnishings and colorful tables and chairs (there are also heaters and string lights). The accordion-style glass doors will open on the ground level on nicer days.
The menus of elevated Hawaiian comfort classics include shareable dishes of sashimi, poke, crudo, pupus, and dim sum, plus favorites from MW Restaurant: unagi and butterfish arancini with nori tsukudani and kabayaki mustard, and SPAM musubi with housemade, mochi-crusted, smoked pork-arabiki meatloaf. There’s a mixed plate sandwich (spicy Korean pork, kalbi, fried chicken, and mochi hoagie bread); mochi-crusted fish with somen noodles, assorted banchan, and yuzu kosho-soy vinaigrette; and Hawaiian-style stew and rice, with oxtail, corned beef, pork belly, and peanut risotto.
Desserts look fun, like a tropical fruit creamsicle brûlée with lilikoi sorbet, tapioca pearls, tropical fruits, and lilikoi custard; malasada bread pudding with banana kinako ice cream and miso apple cream; and coffee and cream shaved ice.
The cocktail menu from Brian Means is full of craft tropical cocktails, local and Hawaiian beers, a private selection of bourbon and Japanese whiskey, and the wine program from Rajat Parr features a boutique, 100-bottle wine list with an emphasis on “low-intervention wines” from around the world.
Open Mon-Fri 11am-2pm for lunch and Mon-Sat 5pm-10pm for dinner. Happy hour is Mon-Fri 3pm-6pm. 350 Mission St. at Fremont, 415-625-5445.
Unagi and butterfish arancini. Photo: Nicole Parisi.
