MARINE CORPS BASE HAWAII - Pau hana time at the Officers’ Club just got tastier as Marine Corps Community Services launched a soft opening of its new Club Pub menu, Feb. 13, and hosted a grand opening, Feb. 28.
Club Pub menu items are now offered in the Maui and Kauai Rooms of the Officers’ Club. Club patrons can order these dishes Wednesdays and Thursdays from 4:30 to 8 p.m. and Fridays from 4:30 to 8:30 p.m.
“The Officers’ Club and MCCS are proud that we’re introducing this new concept to stay in line with what our customers can look for off base,” said Norman Cote, the general manager of the Officers’ Club and the Staff Noncommissioned Officers’ Club. “We’re always trying to keep up with the trends to enhance our facility and what we provide to our community here on base.”
The Club Pub menu items are “tapas style.” Tapas comes from the
Spanish word for “cover,” and is typically a small appetizer served
with a beverage.
Chef Renato Sabalburo, from the Officers’ Club, visited other eateries on the island to research current trends and find ideas for a new menu.
For weeks, Sabalburo and his team of cooks experimented with various dishes. MCCS employees tasted the new dishes, Dec. 18, 2012, and they were “well received,” according to Don Figueira, a food and beverage general manager with MCCS.
Figueira said the staff worked extensively on this menu, even meeting months prior to the grand opening.
“The feedback has been overwhelming, and I’ve heard a lot of people tell me Club Pub is a good idea,” Figueira said. “I’m very confident patrons will enjoy the new menu.”
Retired Army Master Sgt. Bill Buck and his wife Carolyn visited Club Pub, Feb. 22. The Bucks, of Tully, N.Y., visit Hawaii during the winter, and have eaten occasionally at the Officers’ Club on the base.
This was their first sampling of Club Pub menu items. Bill Buck ordered fish and chips.
“C’est magnifique,” Buck said about the food. “The food is fresh and crispy. (The venue) is very comfortable, pleasant.”
Many service members shared a positive sentiment, like Chief Warrant Officer 4 Ken Glass, a financial management resource officer with U.S. Marine Corps Forces, Pacific. The new menu restored his favorite chicken wings, which had been discontinued since he returned home from deployment.
“We’ve printed the menus and have them on our desks,” said
Maj. Nora Tyer-Witek, who works at the Office of Special Counsel,
Legal Services Support Team, Legal Services Center.
Tyer-Witek and her colleagues came to eat at Club Pub, Feb. 22.
They tried the applewood-smoked bacon with creamed corn and
asparagus rolls.
“It’s like deconstructed corn chowder,” Tyer-Witek said. “Who
would have thought to put creamed corn on bacon?”
Sabalburo said the bacon paired with the cream corn is like corn chowder and “a different way to present it.”
Figueira said the plates are new and in varying shapes.
“Presentation is a 10,” said Maj. Joe Androski, a senior defense counsel or LSST at the Legal Services Center. “It doesn’t look like bar food. It looks upscale.”
Members of Helicopter Anti-Submarine Squadron Light 37 also
visited Club Pub the same day. Cmdr. Gregory S. Thoroman, commanding officer of HSL-37, said Club Pub has many high-quality selections.
“It’s nice to be able to eat food that’s not popcorn,” Thoroman said, referring to previous limited snack options in the Kauai Room prior to dinner.
The menu is available online at http://www.mccshawaii.com/oclub/.