Hannah's a Fusion of Flavors

Hannah's Fusion Bar and Bistro is located on the West End of Main Street in Hyannis. Hannah's is a brand new restaurant that follows a string of disasters at that location. Mentioning anyone of them would send any fine diner into apoplexia. So we entered with some trepidation.

Executive Chef Binh Phu and his brother, Chef Uy Phu are the creators of Hannah's. Binh is an alumni of the Culinary Institute of America and was executive chef in a few local haunts before opening his first restaurant in Woods Hole in 2002. To paraphrase the Vietnamese-born Binh, "True fusion is American. There are no rules in cooking, just guidelines."

Flavor is the order of the day at Hannah's. Everything we tried had flavor and lots of it. The combinations are indescribable, but always delicious. New flavors, combination of flavors, new and strange ingredients, with a strong Asian influence, combined to make the meal an explosion of flavor.

We started with Pan Seared Scallop and Lobster Cakes with Pesto-Cilantro Aioli, which was excellent as was the Buffalo Mozzarella, Green Peppers, and Tomatoes with field greens Salad. The combination of subtle flavors in the vinaigrette dressing made an ordinary salad, special.

With the mostly seafood menu, we ordered the the Sauted Sea Scallops made with Fresh Pasta of the Day tossed with Mushrooms, Smoked Bacon, Tomatoes, Artichokes, Roasted Garlic Cloves, Madeira Cream Sauce. The combination of flavors was nothing short of spectacular.

The Baked Prawns stuffed with Lobster and Sea Scallops topped with Fine Herb Butter Sauce, over Avocado and Yellow Tomato Salad were prepared with artist's palette. The presentation of the food on the plate was pure culinary art. By the way it was fantastic.

We didn't have room for dessert, but the hostess gave us a couple of Hannah's poker chips, good for dessert the next time we visit. The dessert menu was a simple, yet exciting selection of favorites.

Wine and Cocktails
We started with a very expensive vodka martini, made well and presented with style. We also ordered a glass of champagne. Glass by the wine was priced inconsistently. A glass of Asti and a glass of champagne were priced the same even though one of their bottles was twice the price of the other. So we moved on to a bottle of reasonably priced chardonnay. The wine list can only be described as eclectic. Nothing is boring in this place, not even the wine list.

Service
We were met by a sweet girl who seated us by a window. We were then greeted by a striking young waitress. Soon we discovered that all the wait staff were attractive, as were the patrons at the bar, and almost everyone else in the place. It was like stepping into shangri-la.

The service was efficient if somewhat timid. But who wouldn't be intimidated by the food. The floating floor manager made up for any oversights, stepping in where needed.

Atmosphere
If streetscapes are your thing, get a window seat and watch the world walk by in all its glory and warts. Otherwise, sit behind the half wall and watch the chefs operate in the open kitchen. Either show will keep you entertained for the evening. We dined on the early side so we suspect we missed the show at the bar that was to come later in the evening. This is a hip and trendy crowd. And young.

Parking is always challenging on Main Street, but valet parking was available on this night. High ceilings and hard floors keep the noise level at deafening. Enough so that you can have a cell phone conversation and not disturb anyone. But the noise was mostly sounds of people enjoying themselves. The interior decor was city bistro.

The food is the thing here. The food alone rates this diamond in the rough, 3 ***. We can't wait to get back to try more of the menu. Add good service and a sophisticated atmosphere, mostly provided by the other patrons in the restaurant and you have a winner. The prices were not outrageous, but still rate 3 $$$.

The food at Hannah's brought tears to our eyes and put smiles on our faces. We even started laughing out loud at one point recognizing our good fortune at having found this place.

www.hannahsbistro.com