At Shark's Cove wagon, foodies are biting
By Will Hoover
Advertiser North Shore Writer
If the idea of an overgrown lunch wagon featuring gourmet grub prepared by a certified chef seems over the top, don't mention it to Gloria Sterman.
Deborah Booker • The Honolulu Advertiser
"It's the best thing that's happened for me," said Sterman, who belongs to a growing number of regulars smitten by Sharks Cove Grill, which rolled onto the North Shore landscape about six weeks ago and appears to be here to stay.
Jacque Rarick, left, chef/owner of Sharks Cove Grill, attracts yet another customer with her lunch wagon's more-than-your-ordinary-plate selections.
"I love it that I can go to a fast pickup place and have a choice of real greens and brown rice instead of deep-fried and white everything."
Sharks Cove Grill offers two major attractions, according to John Moore, another regular.
"The food and the view," said Moore. "There's nothing else like it."
Chef Jacque Rarick admits that the thought of slinging cuisine from a lunch wagon never crossed her plate while she was studying to be a culinary artist.
"And then a family friend, Chet Naylor, said: 'If I could just get the right location, it would be really fun to buy a truck and do something out of it.'
"I said, 'What the heck — let's try it.' "
The right location came in the form of a piece of property across from Shark's Cove owned by Elaine Niimi. Now, Niimi has become one of the grill's ardent fans.
"The fish is from Hale'iwa," said Niimi. "The vegetables are grown on the North Shore. The taro buns are baked special. The sauce is homemade. Because she serves gourmet food from a lunch wagon, people are coming in from Honolulu.
"Jacque (pronounced Jackie), is very creative. She's certified, you know."
Rarick trained in culinary arts at Gros Bonnet, which translates to "The Big Hat" in French. Eight months ago she earned her own hat.
"She's a capable chef," said James Hughes, director of the Travel Institute of the Pacific, which offers the year-long culinary arts program. "She knows what she's doing and has all the fundamentals. And where she goes with it — who knows?"
Hughes might not have imagined Rarick wearing her bonnet in a roadside eatery that's nearly twice the length of the average chow wagon. But the idea struck Rarick and Naylor as inspired.
"We decided I would be the hands-on creator of the recipes — the chef on the inside — and Chet would sort of do all the other stuff that isn't much fun," she said.
"We thought we would make it a little nicer than the normal lunch wagon — you know, put a little gourmet touch to everything."
Naylor, a third-generation restaurateur from a family that once owned a chain of 24-hour coffee shops in California, said the lunch wagon itself is a specially designed mobile kitchen of the sort used in Hollywood to feed film crews. It was brought to O'ahu a little more than a decade ago by Burger King to be used for special events on a military base.
Naylor picked it up recently from a local concession vendor for considerably less than its original $225,000 price tag, he said.
"It's fully equipped — just like a kitchen in a restaurant," said Naylor. "It's a 30-foot aluminum truck with an all-stainless steel interior. It has two hoods, an Ansul fire-prevention system, four built-in refrigerators with compressors, a three-pot sink and a hand-washing sink."
"It has ice-making capabilities, its own water supply. It's completely air-conditioned and you can drive it anywhere you want on the island."
The grill's biggest seller is the Pesto Marinaded Skewers (shrimp, bell pepper, mushrooms, zucchini, cherry tomatoes and onions), with rice, hot buttered Kahuku corn and a small salad, for $8. The menu also includes fresh fish, teriyaki chicken breast and skewered tri-tips, as well as chicken, fish, veggie and hamburger sandwiches and salads for $5 to $7.
"The Fresh Fish Sandwich with grilled onions and cheese has become our signature sandwich," said Rarick. "People are always telling us, 'We love those purple buns.' "
For those who aren't into taro buns or skewers, the kitchen is capable of virtually anything, said Rarick.
"If somebody wanted us to whip up a souffle, we could definitely do it," she said.
Just don't ask in the middle of the noon rush.
Reach Will Hoover at whoover@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8038.
