If you live in Hawaii or have visited the Islands, you’re probably not used to spending more than a few dollars for a musubi, a local comfort food consisting of rice and a slab of Spam wrapped tightly together with a strip of seaweed. Well, across the pond in Seattle, Scott Lutey, an award-winning chef who was recently hired to lead the culinary direction of seafood eatery Poke to the Max, has concocted a luxe musubi that is literally wrapped in gold and will cost you $250.
Named the Billionaire Musubi, this extravagant twist on a Hawaii classic is sold at Poke to the Max, one of the many restaurants founded by chef, restaurateur and TV personality Sam Choy. So what constitutes a $250 musubi? “We use an A4 wagyu, fresh king crab bought at $28 a pound and premium sushi rice,” says Lutey. “The 24-carat gold wrap really drives up the price, and we also put Ossetra caviar on top, which we purchase at $150 an ounce.” A Maui native, Lutey’s mission was simple. “I wanted to make it as expensive as I could,” says Lutey, with a laugh, “and still make it edible, of course.”
If you can’t drop $250 for a single musubi, don’t fret, most of us can’t. The menu at Poke to the Max still caters to the non-billionaires, and even serves a much more affordable Millionaire Musubi, which comes with Dungeness crab and a lower grade wagyu beef. Or you can always make your own Spam musubi, which might not have caviar or a gold wrapping, but is still ono (delicious). But, as Lutey puts it, “If you want to join the billionaire club, then you’ve got to order the Billionaire Musubi.”
