Starting today, you can enjoy a new watercress menu at La Tour Café for a limited time.
The business, known for its sandwiches served on fresh, artisan breads, has partnered with Sumida Farm to create specialty items in honor of watercress season. Chef Elijah Madayag — the farm chef at Sumida Farm — came up with the recipes for the various featured sandwiches, which will be available at La Tour Café for the next month.
The wagyu and watercress sandwich ($21.99) features a toasted baguette that's stuffed with marinated wagyu, baby watercress, mayo verde, herbs, banh mi pickles and fried shallots. It’s the same American wagyu beef that’s used in La Tour Café’s wagyu French dip with au jus, pho-ggie sandwich and wagyu melt. The wagyu is marinated in a lemongrass-teriyaki sauce, and the beefy flavor is nicely balanced by the bright veggies.
Chef Elijah's pork belly and watercress namul sandwich ($17.99) features toasted ciabatta filled with braised pork belly, Doenjang (fermented soybean paste) mayo, watercress namul, pickled red onions and cucumbers. The braised pork belly is the Vietnamese-style pork that’s featured in La Tour Café’s popular braised pork banh mi. Namul is a popular Korean side dish; this version is like a choi sum made with watercress.
The pork belly and wagyu watercress sandwiches are available at La Tour Café’s Iwilei and Kapolei stores.
This plant-based crispy tofu and watercress banh mi ($16.99) will only be available at Planted by La Tour Cafe. It features a crispy baguette filled with crispy turmeric tofu, baby watercress, mushroom pate, lemongrass sauce, cucumber, pickled daikon and carrots. The tofu packs a lot of flavor — especially when paired with the mushroom pate — and boasts a delicate crunch. The pickled veggies give it an overall refreshing flavor.
CONTACT
La Tour Café
Various locations
latourcafe.com
Instagram: @latourcafe
Kelli Shiroma Braiotta can be reached at kelli@alohastatedaily.com.
