Wolfgang Puck Express is tasty but a bit disorganized

By Matthew Gray
Advertiser Restaurant Critic

Pizza maker Henry Sypongco offers a creation to patron James Paradise at the new Wolfgang Puck Express at the Ward Entertainment Complex. Deborah Booker • The Honolulu Advertiser Wolfgang Puck Express Ward Entertainment Complex, 1060 Auahi St. 593-8528 11a.m.-10 p.m. Sundays through Thursdays 11 a.m.-midnight Fridays and Saturdays Good

Among the most well-known of these is Wolfgang Puck, who has parlayed his name familiarity into a multilayered kingdom ranging from frozen supermarket pizzas to the rarified atmosphere of his Spago restaurants. Maui's Wailea resort now has a Spago and O'ahu has Wolfgang Puck Express, the casual eat-in, take-out segment of the Puck world, recently opened at the Ward Entertainment complex.

They have their interior look down, complete with many colorful splashes, plastic chairs and small tables arranged both inside the small shop and outside on the path along Auahi Street. A long exhibition kitchen of sorts separates you from the cooks, who toil away behind a glass counter area. A colorful hearth-style pizza oven is at the far end, cranking out "Wolfgang's Famous Pizzas."

However, disorganization pervades the place. Without clear signs to tell the customer exactly where to step-right-up and place an order, people tend to mill around, eyes glued to the overhead menu. After you figure it out and place your order at the cash register, the order-takers give the cooks the orders verbally, meaning these harried folks have to memorize the requests as they come in. Additionally, they don't give you a number with which to identify your order, or even take your name. The first time I was there, a cook called out, "pepperoni and mush," (a meat and mushroom pizza) and no less than three people stepped up. Confusing, but easy to remedy.

However, true to Puck's roots in the kitchen, the food is generally wholesome, freshly prepared, quickly served and tasty.

Two soups are offered at $4.50 a bowl: a butternut squash, and a tortilla soup. Roasted sweet bell peppers and chives enhance the squash soup, with roasted tomatoes and goat cheese lending their identity to the tortilla soup.

I had the Chinois chicken salad (regular, $6.95; full, $8.95) but was disappointed with the dressing, which was a creamy and too-mustardy blend; I'd been expecting the familiar Asian flavored sweet sesame oil vinaigrette. The salad itself was piled high with cabbage and lettuce, strips of chicken, green onion and crisp wonton skins. The mixed baby greens salads ($5.95; $6.95) were a triumph, however: assorted fresh greens are served with sherry vinaigrette, with a piece of crostini bread topped with goat cheese on the side.

The sandwiches all sell for $6.95 and are made with focaccia baked in-house. Four of the six choices are chicken-based; a chicken Caesar with romaine and tomato comes with sliced chicken, as does the BBQ chicken in a sweet and tangy sauce. The warm chicken aioli has melted provolone cheese, romaine, tomatoes, and red onion with cilantro aioli sauce. The pesto chicken sandwich has pulled rotisserie chicken on it, more flavorful and less dry than the sliced kind. A suggestion: Ask for extra dressing if you order the Caesar or aioli sandwiches.

The rotisserie chicken gets my vote as the best choice on the menu. A half chicken sells for $6.95; $7.95 with one side order (garlic mashed potatoes, excellent crunchy herbed french fries or caesar salad). The whole chicken, ideal to take out for a quick dinner at home, sells for $9.95 ($13.95 with 2 side dishes). These rosemary rotisserie chickens are perfectly cooked, browned on the outside and burstingly juicy inside, served with garlic butter.

Pizza choices — four-cheese plus tomato, basils and pesto; spicy chicken with peppers, cheese, tomatoes, leeks and spices; BBQ chicken; mushroom, pepperoni or a combination of the last two — are $8.95 for a dish-sized pie. A Margharita-style pie, with tomatoes, basil, and three cheeses, is $7.95. They're swiftly cooked to order in the large hearth oven, resulting in a chewy and crispy crust.

Wolfgang Puck is an industry as well as a man and perhaps the most successful, financially speaking, among the uber-chefs. No doubt the Express will iron out the little glitches in its ordering system.

Reach Matthew Gray at mgray@honoluluadvertiser.com.