Hot in Honolulu: Progressive dinners

Restaurant hopping with friends

April 16, 2010

By Kawehi Haug
Advertiser Staff Writer

Food trends, like fashion, come and go. And then come again. We’ve seen fondue make a comeback in recent years, and now, progressive dining is getting a new millennium boost with food lovers looking for new (or in this case, recycled) ways to eat out.

A social trend in the 1970s and ’80s, progressive dinners were essentially mobile potlucks. A group of eaters would go from home to home, with homeowners preparing and hosting different courses of a meal.

The progressive dinner has since gotten an upgrade, and groups of diners are doing their mobile dining in restaurants rather than at homes (though the old-fashioned way is fun, too).

We at TGIF, along with a few contributing food writers and notable local food bloggers, have put our heads together to come up with great progressive dining routes on Oahu that fit every appetite and budget.

Each of these routes provides locations and dishes for three-course meals, but there are no rules for progressive dining. If you have the time and appetite to go crazy with a four-, five- or nine-course dinner, we say: Bon appetit!