Wine and dine at reopened Kevin’s at ARC

From left, Guam’s Food Guy Ken Stewart, Aqua Resort Club general manager Sachiko Gerrard, and Pacific Wine and Spirits president Dan Matsuno pose with the newly launched Aniti red and white wines during the Kevin’s The Prime Rib and Seafood Restaurant reopening and 5th year anniversary wine-tasting event last Thursday. (LEIGH GASES)

In a night that appealed to all senses, wine and hors-d’œuvres were served in Kevin’s The Prime Rib and Seafood Restaurant at Aqua Resort Club Saipan during their reopening and 5th Anniversary Wine Tasting event last Thursday night.

ARC general manager Sachiko Gerrard welcomed the VIP guests in attendance to taste the wines and the hors-d’œuvres that were served throughout the night and welcomed everyone to Kevin’s as it opened for the holidays.

Kevin’s is now open through the whole month of December with limited hours from 6pm to 10pm on Thursdays and Sundays with ARC’s new executive chef Inok Lee bringing Italian cuisine to the restaurant’s revamped menu.

Their new menu from The Chef’s Table is $75 which includes an appetizer, soup, entree, and dessert, while the Chef’s Holiday Menu at $100 includes wine flight, appetizer, entremet, entree, and dessert.

The wine bar featuring Pacific Wine and Spirits’ newly introduced Aniti red and white wines in the Aqua Resort Club’s Kevin’s The Prime Rib and Seafood Restaurant’s menu: Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Syrah. (LEIGH GASES)

“I really hope everybody comes here to try. I don’t think anybody will regret it. [They] are going to enjoy it,” said Gerrard.

Throughout Thursday evening, with music in the background from the band Channel B, the restaurant featured a bar boasting Pacific Wine and Spirits’ five new French vin de pays, or fine wine collection named “Aniti,” or spirit in Chamorro. 

The wines introduced to Kevin’s menu were the Aniti labeled Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Syrah.

The wines were then paired with hors-d’œuvres concocted by Lee.   

The white wines—Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay—were paired with a shucked oyster with green apple granita and crab cake slider with squid ink brioche and guacamole and Italian San Daniele ham with cantaloupe and balsamic gel and salmon rillette, respectively. 

The red wines—Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon—were paired with Winter Sweet Pumpkin Gnocchi with Blue Cheese Cream, and hickory wooden smoked beef rib eye with jalapeno aioli. A dessert of red velvet macaron and chocolate souffle was also served.

PWS president Dan Matsuno said it’s been a year in the making to create the French wines along with the local brand and label of Aniti, and they have worked together with ARC to launch it in the CNMI– with other hotels on Saipan and Guam to follow suit.

Guam’s Food Guy Ken Stewart, who was at the event, said that the wines “were a great introduction to wine from France… What I think more than anything else was how chef Inok Lee paired these wines. He literally tasted them all and created these pairings… as a food guy, he’s done an extraordinary job of pairing these wines perfectly with these appetizers… I almost had tears in my eyes [at] how exquisite the pairing was.”

Northern Marianas College vice president of Administration and Advancement Frankie Eliptico said that the wines were “smooth, full-bodied, and very delicious… ​​I’m glad that they’re introducing new flavor profiles to our local population and I look forward to seeing what other items that they’re offering.”

Earlier in the evening, Matsuno said he will sponsor some wines for the 2023 NMC’s Golf Open which Eliptico said he is looking forward to.