Had dinner tonight at Trailblazer Tavern, the new Hawaiian restaurant inside Salesforce.
I arrived at the tail end of happy hour. I could not take advantage of the specials at my table, but had to order at the bar, and the overworked bartender said he would not put a food order in unless I had a seat or remained rooted to the spot, because otherwise the food would come out, he wouldn’t be able to find me, and he would have to return it. I got an oyster, a glass of white, and the dungeness crab lumpia while I waited for the rest of my party to arrive. The oyster, a kumamoto with Thai mignonette, was refreshing, and I was sorry I didn’t order more. The lumpia was also nice: crispy but not soggy, accompanied by sharp black pepper dipping sauce. But it was $9 on the happy hour menu and $16 after 6 p.m., and I would have been pretty disappointed if I’d paid full freight for this portion size.
We got the ahi poke nachos, which tasted exactly like what you’d expect. I didn’t get a picture.
Heart of palm sunomono with king crab, cucumber and macademia nut.
Porcheta lau lau. I didn’t actually try this, but my dining companion claimed it was good, “especially the skin.”
Miso honey-glazed butterfish with banchan and bok choy namal. This was everyone’s favorite.
Koshihikari rice, black truffle butter
“Coffee & Cream Shaved Ice”: Vanilla manulele panna cotta-tapioca, lamill coffee gelee
The restaurant really felt like it was housed inside a hotel or a casino – it was a huge loud open-air space situated next to the bustling corporate bar, and we were situated by a door which kept opening and closing, making everything a bit drafty. Our server kept disappearing for long stretches, and we had to flag him to order our food, and again to order dessert.
We enjoyed the food, but nothing was particularly fantastic and the value was definitely subpar. The meal was fine, but I won’t be back anytime soon.
