play. eat. repeat.

Beaujolais Nouveau + Chef Mavro = Wine Dinner to Die For

Kawehi Haug — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 02:37:43 GMT

On the heels of Chef Mavro's wildly successful Julia Child- inspired three-course menu that was offered earlier this summer, Chef George Mavrothalassitis and his crew of chefs have once again created a special, limited-time three-course menu, this one to accompany the release of the 2009 Beaujolais Nouveau. The three courses, created by Chef Mavro and Chef de Cuisine Kevin Chong, are specifically designed to be paired with the wine, which is a low-alcohol "new wine" produced in France's Beaujolais region by Georges Duboeuf.

Beaujolais Nouveau is a young, bright and fizzy red wine made from handpicked Gamay grapes. While most red wines improve with age, this one is all about freshness and should be enjoyed right away. Following the longtime French tradition of releasing Beaujolais Nouveau on the third Thursday of November, the 2009 vintage will be released November 19, 2009 around the world. In addition to Chef Mavro’s Honolulu dinners, special Beaujolais Nouveau dinners called "Le Beaujolais Nouveau est Arrivé!" (The new Beaujolais is here!) will take place in New York, Miami, Las Vegas and many other places.

Seating for the "Le Beaujolais est Arrivé!" dinner will be limited and available by reservation only, November 19-December 5, 2009, 6-9:30 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday. Call 944-4714 or email chef@chefmavro.com.

Chef Mavro’s Beaujolais Nouveau Menu
“Le Beaujolais Nouveau est arrivé!” includes three courses plus
pre-appetizer, pre-dessert & mignardises for $59.00

BEAUJOLAIS NOUVEAU GLASS 10.00 (BOTTLE 45.00)

Three Courses
SALADE DE CHAMPIGNONS SAUVAGES INDOCHINE
sautéed maitake mushrooms, green papaya,
sumida watercress, galangal and kaffir lime

COCHON DE LAIT LACQUE (served tableside)
crispy suckling pig, molokai sweet potato puree,
pickled mustard cabbage, white pineapple pork jus

FLAN DE CITRON DE "LA GRAND’ ILE"
meyer lemon curd, japanese cheese cake, citrus salad
ginger ice cream, pomegranate syrup

Wanted: pizza lovers!

Kawehi Haug — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 03:24:31 GMT

I'm looking for a few good pizza lovers to join me on a pizza crawl in an effort to find this city's best pizza. Here are the requirements, the guidelines and the low down on the Honolulu Advertiser's pizza crawl:

• You must LOVE pizza — all kinds of pizza. Picky pizza eaters need not apply.

• We appreciate and otherwise tolerate all kinds of eating preferences, but this isn't a challenge for vegetarians, vegans or people with an abundance of food allergies. Sorry!

• You will need some sort of transportation because we plan on hitting at least five pizza spots.

• You must have eating stamina! You will be required to eat at least one slice of pizza at every location. That's a lot of pizza, people, so if you're the kind of person who splits a personal pan pizza, then you might want to pass on this one.

• You must be able to participate in the entire crawl — just hitting one or two spots won't help us find our favorite pie maker.

• I will ask you to take notes on what you like and dislike about the various pizzas, and I will be using the notes to compile an article for the TGIF about our little adventure.

• You must be willing to be photographed, and you must consent to having your photo in the paper.

• The Advertiser will pay for the all the food, but we can't pay for alcohol, so if you like your pizza with beer (and who doesn't, right?), the beer is on you.

The Honolulu Advertiser Pizza Crawl
From 5 p.m. to whenever we finish on Friday, Oct. 9
Interested pizza lovers should e-mail me at khaug@honoluluadvertiser.com.

Flights of fancy: Twist at Hanohano's new wine bar

Kawehi Haug — Sat, 22 Aug 2009 03:05:47 GMT

Twist at Hanohano, the Sheraton's made-over restaurant located in the Hanohano Room, unveiled its new wine bar yesterday. The term "wine bar" is actually a bit misleading — this is more like a conceptual wine menu that is offered nightly in the lounge at Twist. Sticking resolutely to the theme of flying first class (and perhaps slipping into gimmick territory, but it's forgiveable), the creators of the "Flights @ Twist" wine bar have taken the concept of flying high and run with it. The Hanohano Room is located on the 30th floor of the Sheraton, and with two of its four longs walls being made of glass, letting in a spectacular, almost aerial, view of Waikiki Beach and Diamond head, it is indeed similar to being in an airplane — albeit a posh one. It's the feeling of being high above the earth — or being in flight — that prompted the minds at Twist to create their flight-themed experience. In addition to the flying high theme, Flights @ Twist is also a play on words: flights of wine, flights of fancy.

Flights @ Twist is essentially a wine tasting bar, which makes sense, given the flight theme of the place. There are five wine menus, each consisting of three flights of wine that share varietal and/or regional charactersistics.

Menu 1: Thunder From Down Under
A menu of Southern Hemisphere wines (bold reds): Casa Lapostolle Cabernet Sauvignon from Colchagua, Chile; Green Point Cabernet-Shiraz from Victoria, Australia; Terrazas De Los Andes Malbec from Mendoza, Argentina
$12 for the trio of flights

Menu 2: Europe
A menu of European wines (smooth reds and whites): Boutari Moschofilero from Mantina, Greece; William Favre "Champs Royaux" Chablis from Burgundy, France; Fattoria Le Corti Chianti Classico from Tuscay, Italy
$13 for the trio of flights

Menu 3: ABC (Anything But Chardonnay)
A menu of various white wines from around the world: Sokol Blosser "Evolution" White Blend from Oregon, Feudi Di San Gregorio Falanghina from Campania, Italy; Eroica Riesling from Columbia Valley, Washington
$15 for the trio of flights

Menu 4: ABC (Anything But Cabernet)
A menu of various California red wines: Au Bon Climat "Le Bon Climat" Pinot Noir from Santa Maria Valley; Ferarri~Carano Merlot from Sonoma County; Ravenswood Zinfandel from Sonoma County
$17 for the trio of flights

Menu 5: Go Green
A menu of sustainable and organic wines from Mendocino County, California: Parducci Sauvignon Blanc; Sterling Chardonnay; Paul Dolan Vineyards Zinfandel
$11 for the trio of flights

In keeping with the theme, natch, the wine menus are presented as boarding passes and the trio of flights come with a "passport," that gives some background on the wines. For a limited time, the restaurant is offering a 25 percent discount on all of the wine menus between 4:30 and 6:30 p.m. daily. Considering that the wines are very reasonably priced to begin with, the hapy hour special is a steal.

A pupu menu is also available, with good wine-pairing food, including ahi sashimi skewers with rice crackers for the Down Under wines, salumi, cheese and figs for the Euro wines, baked oysters and shrimp-stuffed zucchini blossoms for the white ABC menu, Peking-style duck and foie gras steamed buns for the red ABC menu and Kona kampachi and abalone salad for the green wines. Though the food and wine aren't officially paired, the Twist staff is able to make good food and wine pairing suggestions.

Flights @ Twist does just about everything right, which has a lot to do with the creators being willing to build an experience for their customers — the concept is well formulated and it's presented with style. The only factor that made the event last night less than perfect was the fact that the room was incredibly warm. Too warm to be comfortable. And there's something about eating raw seafood in a warm room that's less than appetizing. Plus, if it's about relaxing, sipping wine and taking in the view — which it is — having to stop and fan yourself, or worrying about your melting make-up is distracting, to say the least. But that's a minor misstep that can easily be remedied. But without a temperature intervention, people are going to have to escape into the air conditioned elevator for some reprieve.

Flights @ Twist
Seraton Waikiki's Hanohano Room
4:30-11 p.m. daily
Happy hour: 25 percent off all wine flights between 4:30 and 6:30 p.m. daily
921-4600

No Doubt rocks Blaisdell

Kawehi Haug — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 01:09:11 GMT

It's true what the critics say: No Doubt is back, and better than ever. By now it's no secret: No Doubt killed it last night in their first of two Honolulu shows. The crowd was way into it, and Gwen and gang performed the pants off of the place.

Tonight's show isn't sold out yet, and general admission tickets are selling for $20! Twenty!

If I had it to do all over again, I would go tonight too. But tonight I'll be at the opening of Slava's Snowshow, which I've heard is incredible, so no complaints here. I'll be live tweeting from Slava's tonight. You can follow me on Twitter, or follow me here on this page. My tweets will appear below this post.

Live tweeting from the No Doubt concert tonight

Kawehi Haug — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 01:48:06 GMT

I will be live tweeting tonight (with about a thousand other tweeps, I'm sure) from the first of No Doubt's two Honolulu shows. Matt Costa will open, and No Doubt is scheduled to take the stage at 8:30 p.m.

Follow me here (my tweets will appear on this screen) or on Twitter here.

Jason Tam does high kicks, and soap operas too

Kawehi Haug — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 17:58:51 GMT

Local boy and actor, singer, Broadway performer Jason Tam is starring in the new documentary "Every Little Step," which follows the audition and casting process for the 2006 Broadway revival of "A Chorus Line." Tam is featured in the film as he goes through the audition process (with 3,000 other people), and then eventually lands the role of Paul. The film opens today at Kahala Mall.

After doing "A Chorus Line," Tam landed the role of Markko Rivera on "One Life to Live," which is his current permanent gig. Last week, I sent Tam a few questions via e-mail about the new film. Here's what he had to say:

I have to ask: Where you wen' grad?
I graduated from Punahou.

When was the first time you performed in Hawai'i?
Well, the first time I EVER performed was at home doing skits and stuff. But the first musical I ever did was "Bye Bye Birdie" at Army Community Theatre. I was in the third grade and I played Randolph.

You were Paul in the 2006 revival of A Chorus Line and now you're Markko Rivera on One Life To Live — from musical theater to soap operas. Was it challenging to make that transition?
It was an exciting challenge to jump into the world of the soap opera at first because it moves so quickly, and unlike most theater there's hardly any time to rehearse. But now that I've been there for a while, it's like the past two years have been one long rehearsal, and I get more and more familiar with my character with each passing day.

Are you still doing theater work while doing television?
I am. I've been having a lot of fun doing a lot of workshops and projects that are in the developmental phase, like a new musical by Duncan Sheik and Steven Sater ("Spring Awakening") called "The Nightingale," a rock musical about a garage band called The Black Suits, a Peter Gabriel musical called "US" and most recently a new piece called "Give It Up" by Douglas Carter Beane and Lewis Flynn (who were responsible for the recent Broadway adaptation of "Xanadu").

Let's say you had to give up doing theater in order to be a successful television or movie star, would you do it?
That's tough. It depends on the kind of TV and film I'd get to do. I'd give up theater for a few years to be able to do an Aaron Sorkin TV series, like "The West Wing." But I don't think I'd be able to ever completely give up theater. It's part of who I am.

The new film, Every Little Step, is about the casting of" A Chorus Line," and you're one of the stars. Did you know the casting process was being committed to film?
I did. We were all told about it and had to sign waivers in order to audition. And it was pretty hard to miss all the cameras buzzing around.

Is "Every Little Step" an accurate depiction of the audition process? It looks painful and grueling and overwhelming!
It's pretty accurate. I'd say the only difference is that most casting processes don't take quite as long as the one for "A Chorus Line" (I think it was about eight months), but you can always expect lines of people and lots of call backs, no matter what you're auditioning for.

Three thousand people auditioned for the 2006 revival of "A Chorus Line," and you were one of the few who made the final cut. What went through your head when you found out you'd made it?
I felt like I'd been holding my breath for months and that I could finally breathe! I was so excited to be making my adult Broadway debut, especially with such a great show, and one that I'd watched over and over as a kid.

What will you remember most about doing "A Chorus Line"?
Two things: one is my cast. I saw them every single day for over a year, and they became like family. Some of my best memories are of us all warming up and goofing off together on the stage before they opened the house. The other thing is getting to open the Tony Awards. First we got to do the opening combination on the street outside of Radio City Music Hall. They shut down traffic on Sixth Avenue and everything, it was so cool! Then we got to come up via hydrolic lift from underneath the stage and perform the "One" combination to a packed, cheering Radio City. It gives me goose bumps just thinking about it!

What's your dream role?
This is gonna sound a little crazy but I've always wanted to play Sweeny Todd someday. He's such a complex character — fun to play as an actor — and the music is ingenious! And a close second is Hamlet.

Fast forward to the year 2020. What are you doing? What new challenges are you facing?
Ten years from now I'll be able to choose what I want to do next, and will work in all mediums of entertainment — a Broadway show on to a feature film, while on hiatus from a great TV series! I hope to be writing, developing and producing many of those projects.

Are you coming home anytime soon?
Yes, I'll be visitng soon, but never soon enough!

Live, from the Blaisdell ice rink

Kawehi Haug — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 03:18:26 GMT

This one's for the families: I'll be live tweeting from Beauty & the Beast on Ice tonight between 7:30 and 9:30 p.m. My plus one is a 3-year-old, so I'll have an expert close by. You can follow my tweets here (they'll appear at the bottom of this page) or you can follow along on twitter here.

Find more info on the event here.

Just FYI: Andrev Chuvilyaev , who plays the beast, is 6 feet 8 inches tall, making him the tallest figure skater in the world.

At the movies with Chef Mavro

Kawehi Haug — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 01:47:26 GMT

Chef George Mavrothalassitis, also known as Chef Mavro, and his wife Donna Jung, hosted a private screening Monday evening of the film Julie & Julia. The event was a who’s who of the Honolulu foodie/culinary set. We spotted chefs Alan Wong and Ed Kenney and local food writers Betty Shimabukuro and our own Wanda Adams, plus of course team Mavro. The movie, which is a two-in-one tale about the life of Julia Child before she mastered French cooking and the story of a woman who uses Child as inspiration to kick start her dull life, is charming, entertaining and inspirational. But don’t watch it on an empty stomach. It’s chock full of amazing-looking food. After the show we were dying for some boeuf bourguignon (the dish plays a prominent role in the film) but alas, it’s scarce in this city. We ended up at Side Street Inn eating escargot and sauteed mushrooms swimming in butter and garlic. Not purely French fare, but it hit the spot.

P.S. To the good folks at Side Street Inn: If the sauteed mushroom came with a basket of crusty bread to soak up all the garlicky buttery stuff, it would be extra awesome. Thanks.

Julie & Julia opens August 7 and it really is a wonderful movie. Meryl Streep as Julia Child is spot-on — she's all falsetto and clumsy and endearing. Here's a trailer for the film:

The tweet life

Kawehi Haug — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 23:07:20 GMT

In a perfect world, everyone would be (or would have the option to be) everywhere all the time. Like, you would come with me to a private screening of the new movie Julie & Julia, hosted by Chef Mavro. Or you would have come along last night to the MGMT concert and we would have formed an impenetrable wall of human support that would have staved off the throngs of sweaty misbehaving teenagers. And it would have been a much better experience.

I would travel with a posse if I could, but things being the way they are, I see no entourage in my future. But I have the next best thing: a modest Twitter following. So, tweeps, join me as we work through my social calendar for the next few days. I'll keep you updated on the goings on at the following events, 140 characters at a time:

Heartbeat Hawaii, 7 p.m. tonight
The new ongoing show at Level 4 (it's replacing the now defunct Hawaii Nei) is, according to its creators, a spectacle of Chinese martial arts and acrobatics. We'll see. I'll be live tweeting from the show.

Haberdashery, 7-10 p.m. tonight
How a band this cool has been overlooked for a year is beyond me, but maybe tonight will change that. The band, which describes its music as avant-garde dirty-gypsy anti-folk, is headlining the Mercury Rising outdoor concert from 7 to 10 p.m. tonight in the alley outside of the Mecury Bar. It'll be like a mini block party. I'm hoping to make over there in time to catch their set. if I do, you can bet on a few tweets.

Julie & Julia screening with Chef Mavro, 7 p.m. Monday
It'll be a Honolulu foodie insiders' party and I'll tell you all about it. I can't guarantee that I'll be able to tweet during the film itself, but I'll tweet until someone tells me to stop.

Follow me: @kawehi at twitter.com/kawehi, or log on to this blog and my tweets will appear on this page.

Live tweeting from the Eddie Vedder concert tonight

Kawehi Haug — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 02:31:57 GMT

Get up to the minute — or maybe more like up-to-the-15-minute — updates from the Eddie Vedder concert tonight by following my live Twitter feed. So it's not the same as being there, but I'll do my best (via 140 character messages) to make you feel like you're right there with us. Twitpics included. Follow: @kawehi

The Twitter feed will stream directly to this blog below.

Thanks for the memories, Michael Jackson

Kawehi Haug — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 01:55:26 GMT

Everyone's doing what I'm doing right now. Talking, Twittering, blogging, Facebooking about the death of Michael Jackson. My cynical self is telling me to stop already. To not be one of those wailing, hyperventilating King of Pop fans. I wasn't one when he was alive, and I'm not one now. But part of me — OK, most of me — can't help but be saddened by the loss of this person, this icon, this musical genius and master entertainer. Is it because I've listened to his music for as long as I can remember, and he's just sort of always been there, and now he's not? Is it because this is a sad end to a sad life story? Is it simply because the loss of life is sad? Honestly, I don't know why I should be so affected by this. I didn't know him. He didn't know me. But still, he was a part of my life. That sounds lame. Even to me. But cursed pride aside, I'm admitting that Michael Jackson was a part of my life. And now he's out of my life (sorry, I couldn't resist), and it's going to take some getting used to.

Every Michael Jackson song I know is tied to a memory. Scrolling through the music on my iPod, two things strike me: 1. No other artist appears on my iPod as frequently as Michael Jackson. And 2. Every one of his song titles triggers a memory. Every single one.

My life as told through the Michael Jackson singles on my iPod:

1. "Don't Stop Til You get Enough"
I'm a rebellious teenager in Germany. Me and my parents don't agree on a whole lot. But Dad and I agree that "Don't Stop Til You Get Enough" is the jam. Finding out that Dad digs Michael Jackson — even if it was the old stuff — is huge for me. When I left for college, we had serious negotiations about who would keep the MJ CDs. I left them for Dad.

2. "Billie Jean"
I'm a kid who thinks she can dance (I couldn't), and Michael Jackson in the "Billie Jean" music video is my teacher. I watch it any chance I get, and it prompts me to beg my parents to enroll me in jazz dance classes. They do, and I quit after a few lessons and concede that Michael Jackson is untouchable.

3. "Beat It"
My childhood friend Bobby loves Michael even more than I do. One of the biggest arguments we ever have is about which one of us sings the "Beat It" lyrics correctly. Turns out, we were both wrong.

4. "Thriller"
I'm not allowed to listen to "Thriller" because it's a Halloween-y song, and my Christian parents don't celebrate Halloween. But on the airplane from Honolulu to Manila, I plug in my complimentary headphones, turn the dial to the pre-recorded pop music station and finally get my chance to listen to "Thriller." Over and over and over again until we land in the Philippines. I felt like I had won some secret pop music war. My parents never asked what I was listening to, and I never told.

5. "Smooth Criminal"
I'm babysitting. It's late. The music video for "Smooth Criminal" comes on, and I get a little freaked out. Annie? Annie, are you OK? Who's Annie? And why isn't she OK? And I'm alone at night in a house with two kids, and I'm kind of scared of this smooth criminal. It isn't until I'm in college that I really listen to the song and understand it. But it's still scary.

6. "The Way You Make me Feel"
We're travelling for my parents' job again. I'm homesick. So homesick for anything familiar, and so I listen to "The Way You Make Me Feel" over and over again for about 90 minutes. I just sing and sing and sing — and dance — and sing and sing until I don't feel like crying anymore. It worked. I still listen to "The Way You Make Me Feel" when I feel junk. I've listened to it four times today.

7. "The Man in the Mirror"
A fellow rebellious kid buys the cassette single of "Man in the Mirror," and admits to me that he thinks it might help him change his life. I just talked to him on Facebook last week, and he said he knows for sure that it changed his life. It didn't do that for me, but I love the song.

8. "Black or White"
I'm driving with my parents from Bavaria in Southern Germany to Hamburg in the north. It's a long trip, and the folks and I can't agree on music. I put in Michael Jackson's "Dangerous" because Dad and I are fans. But Mom can't get over the fact that Jackson's been accused of child molestation (plus, she doesn't get the whole crotch-grabbing thing). I put on "Black or White" and try to convince her that he's not bad, he's just different. Just like the song says. She's not convinced (and neither am I, but never mind), but she concedes that the song is just good driving music. By the time we got to Hamburg, she was sold on the whole "Dangerous" album and it became a family favorite.

9. "Rock With You"
"Rock With You" was the first song on the first mixtape I ever made for a boy. I thought it really was about dancing. He thought I was awesome. Live and learn, right?

10. "The Girl is Mine"
I always liked this song. But I made the mistake of saying it out loud before I had the self-assurance to stand by my decision to like it, and on a road trip through Greece I decided that in the future, I wouldn't be so candid about my taste in music, lest I be ridiculed. I was 16. But guess what? I LOVE it. Bring on the ridicule because I'm a lover not a fighter.

My hunt for lunch wagons

Kawehi Haug — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 16:41:27 GMT

When we decided that a lunch wagon round-up would make a good cover story for TGIF, we knew it was going to take some time — and a whole lot of driving around the island, eyes peeled for parked trucks that might be selling some kind of food.

Over the course of a few months, I, and whomever I could cajole into going with me, circled this rock looking for the 309 lunch wagons that are allegedly in operation. (That stat comes courtesy of the Department of Health, which issues the food permits for lunch wagons.)

I can say this for sure: I didn’t find 300 wagons. Not even close. But I did find out a bunch of other things, like…

• I’m a wimp: It’s possible to make yourself car sick, even when you’re the one driving. How? By driving up and down every street in Kalihi looking for lunch wagons. Neck craning + frequent sharp turns = nausea. And when you feel like that, the last thing you want to encounter is a lunch wagon!

• I can’t go it alone: Next time I go on a quest for something as elusive as a parked truck, I’m taking people with me every time. Driving while trying to spot lunch wagons is hard! Not to mention a little bit dangerous and a LOT annoying to the people stuck behind me while I drive at granny speed and do that lost tourist thing: pulling over to get your bearings even if it means causing a 14-car pile-up. Yeah, I did it. I’m not proud of it, but at least I can blame it on work.

• I can’t trust my own eyes: A parked truck does not a lunch wagon make. I’m embarrassed to say how many times I came screeching to a halt in front of a parked truck on some back road somewhere because I thought it might be a lunch wagon. I even did it with a Fed Ex truck — as if the bright orange and blue exterior wasn’t a bold enough indication that I was in fact approaching a delivery guy on his morning route. Whatever. I blame it on the carsickness.

• I'm irrational: Even though I knew that lunch wagons are mobile — the ultimate moving targets — I still felt shocked and annoyed when I would arrive at a location that was supposed to house a lunch wagon (according to a website, a guide book, a colleague, my fallible memory), only to find an empty parking lot. Why it was so shocking to me that something as mobile as a truck would not stay in one place (the audacity!) is beyond me.

There are a ton of wagons out there that didn't make it into this round-up, and I'd like to know about them. What are your favorite mobile eateries?

In the kitchen with Chef Mavro

Kawehi Haug — Sat, 09 May 2009 23:52:05 GMT

Metromix was invited to take an inside look at how Chef Mavro and his team prepare for a dinner service. We also test tasted Mavro's four-course Mothers' Day menu, which was, in a word: extraordinary. Not that it came as any surprise to us. Chef George Mavrothalassitis, affectionately known as Chef Mavro, is the best chef in the state, hands down. He is, in my opinion, the unparalleled master of Hawaiian regional cuisine.

(Yes, I’m prepared to handle the inevitable barrage of criticism that’s going to fill my inbox as the result of making such bold statements.)

A small group of Metromix writers gathered in the kitchen of the King Street restaurant, not only to taste the exquisite dishes that are planned for Mother’s Day, but also to get a feel for how Mavro’s team operates. His 5-person culinary team is made up of home-grown chefs, trained at New York’s Culinary Institute of America. Mavro calls them the “New York mafia of local boys.”

Standing in the kitchen listening to Mavro describe his process, vision and cooking techniques, you get the feeling that, as a diner and food lover, when you’re in Mavro’s company, you’re in good hands. The guy knows what he’s doing. It sounds trite — and obvious — to say so, because of course he knows what he’s doing. He’s Mavro! But it’s more than that. It’s his confidence with ingredients. It’s his willingness to risk looking uncreative by only putting three items on a plate, while knowing that it’s the simplicity of his food that makes it extraordinary. It's knowing that star anise, maple syrup and hibiscus are meant to go together, even though no one's ever created that combination of flavors before.

Take a look at what it’s like behind the scenes at Mavro.

The special Mothers' Day menu is $74/person without wine pairings or $127/person with wine pairings. Seating for the Mothers' Day dinnr is at 5:30 p.m. Sunday. Call 944-4714 or visit www.chefmavro.com to make reservations.

10 reasons to LOVE Mix Cafe

Kawehi Haug — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 21:59:00 GMT

Chef-owner Bruno Iezzi opened the second location of his Mix Cafe about a month ago. Mix II, as it's refrred to by the staff, is everything the flagship Mix is, minus Bruno's amazing pasta (but the Beretania Street location still has it), plus paninis and an expanded breakfast and salad menu (both are still in the works). Here are 10 reasons to love Mix Cafe. I think of 10 more, and then 10 more, but I'll spare you the rambling and keep it short. If you want to read a full review, you can find it here.

10 reasons to love Mix Cafe

1. The place is cute. SUPER cute. It has green, blue, yellow and chocolate brown walls, with shiny red apples as decor. The chalkboard menu is decorated with fabulaous hand-drawn art. Dig the flying pink pig.

2. The food is incredible.

3. Chef-owner Bruno only uses fresh seasonal ingredients, which means that the menu might change from to time, but you know it's only because he refuses to use anything that's less than completely fresh. Better no asparagus than bad asparagus.

4. The roasted mushroom, tomato and fresh Bufala sandwich (pictured). The bread is crusty, the live oil is high quality, the mushrooms are fresh and locally grown and the imported fresh Bufala mozarella is perfection.

5. The coffee is strong, hot and delicious.

6. The staff is friendly...and wears cute berets.

7. The Si Si Oui Oui sandwich. It's a French-Italian hybrid of imported meats and cheeses on crusty olive oil-brushed bread.

8. They use eco-friendly take-out containers, so you don't have to feel guilty about getting your food to go.

9. All sandwiches come with a salad of locally grown mixed greens (whatever's in season, of course).

10. You can get an amazing sandwich, a piece of Bruno's chocolate cake and a glass of the house-made iced tea for less than $12.

Eat: Lemongrass Cafe

Kawehi Haug — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 02:16:46 GMT

Last Wedenesday marked the official opening of a new little lunch-only eatery on N. King Street. The Lemon Grass Cafe, though its name implies otherwise, it isn't so much a cafe as it is a community center that serves plate lunches. It's sort of an enigmatic concept to try and wrap your brain around because chances are you've never eaten at a place like this before, but it's basically a co-op of immigrants who take turns cooking their native food in a cafeteria-like setting in Chinatown.

The idea is that these people are learning the ropes of running a small business, but they're doing it together under the guidance of a non-profit organization — the Pacific Gateway Center — that was founded to help immigrants from Asia and the Pacific start small businesses here in the Islands. As a diner at Lemon Grass Cafe, you're essentially providing the business owners with practice subjects, and as such, I'm more than willing to patronize the place. Is it a slick-running restaurant helmed by culinary artists who can wow you with their inventiveness? No. It's a we're-all-in-this together club house that happens to have some really good homestyle food that you may not have tried before.

The menu changes daily, and rotates between Lao, Burmese, Singaporean and Indonesian cuisines. Today, it was Lao food, and on the menu was: lemon grass barbeque chicken, yellow curry fish, green papaya salad, tofu salad and white, brown ans sticky rice. The food ordering works like any point-and-pick place, and for $6 you can get any combination of the day's dishes. Servers fill Styrofoam luau plates with whatever items you choose, and drinks come from a cooler behind the service bar.

There's also a small market of hand-crafted items that are available for purchase.

See a photogallery of Lemon Grass Cafe.

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Lemon Grass Cafe
83 N. King St.
11 a.m.-2 p.m. daily
851-7010

A boulangerie in Manoa

Kawehi Haug — Fri, 22 May 2009 23:54:38 GMT

LIKE THE TITLE SAYS: a new boulangerie opened yesterday in Manoa Marketplace. I won't go into great detail about it right now, because I'll do that in a future issue of TGIF, but here's the quick and dirty of the place for the sake of info dissemination:

What's a boulangerie? Sounds stuck up: It just means a "French-style bakery." It sounds more high maka than it is. Really.

Who's behind it? The place is owned by Niel Koep, the former patisserie chef for the Four Seasons on Lanai.

How's the food? The pastries are sweet, delicate and flaky when they should be, dense and rich when they should be. The pizza is delicious — Chef Koep has created a signature crust that's both thick and thin. Yeah, he's a genius. The bread is hearty and rustic and fresh. So, how's the food? Fabulous.

*****
Fendu Boulangerie
Manoa Marketplace, next to Longs Drugs
6:30 a.m.-7 p.m. Tue.-Sat.
7:30 a.m.-5 p.m. Sunday
Closed Monday
354-0736

All American Rejects and Journey add shows

Kawehi Haug — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 00:57:19 GMT

Just a quick update on a couple of concerts: It was just announced that Journey will be playing a second Honolulu show on March 25. Tickets for the show scheduled for March 27 sold out within a few hours. Tickets are not on sale yet.

Also, All American Rejects is going to play a second show Saturday, March 7. Tickets are available at bampproject.com.

More concert news: Journey

Kawehi Haug — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 02:02:03 GMT

YEP, IT'S TRUE. Journey is coming next month, and you can bet your bad vinyl collection that show is going to sell out. Tickets are $55-$75 and go on sale Saturday morning at 9 a.m. at all Ticketmaster locations.

The show is scheduled for March 26 at 7:30 p.m.

What else is there to say? It's Journey. It's all been said already.

And if you haven't seen the YouTube video that convinced the world that Arnel Pineda would make the perfect Steve Perry sub, here it is:

Scene Update: New club events, old restaurants and concert news

Kawehi Haug — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 01:42:19 GMT

LET'S GET UP to speed on a few things, shall we?

•The big buzz in restaurants is that the DIY burger joint The Counter opened Monday at Kahala Mall. The place was pretty well packed at lunchtime. The concept is that you build your own burger from a long list of ingredients and toppings. It's like Burgers on the Edge, only better. It's a Cali franschise, and local restaurateur DK Kodama and actor Daniel Dae Kim (of Lost) are the money behind the new Honolulu location. It's way too early to know for sure, but this place might make the best burgers in town. Our lunchtime burgers were GREAT. That's all I'm going to say about it right now.

•This is already old news, but just in case it's new to someone: Brew Moon and Nick's Fish Market closed.

•Xyloh had its liquor license suspended for 30 days for a number of violations, including selling liquor to minors. When and if the license is reinstated, Xyloh must convert to a 21+ establishment.

•The of Montreal pre-show that was scheduled for Friday night has been cancelled. And in even older news: the of Montreal concert that is scheduled for Saturday night is going to be held at Loft, not Next Door as previously planned.

•The monthly party Camera Obscura moved from Loft to Indigo. It happens every first Saturday.

•Salsa After Hours, the Thursday night dance party at Rumours, is ending. Thursday is the last installment.

•He's Just Not That Into You is a really bad movie. Really. It's still showing all over town if you want to see for yourself. Consider yourself warned.

*Saturday is the grand opening of the Dragonfly Room's (click on the pictured flyer for a larger view of the club's new sked) new Saturday night line-up. It launches with "Recession + The Underground." It's 21+, with $4 drink specials.

•Go Jimmy Go is playing Saturday night at the Shack in Waikiki.

•Alt folk rock singer Bonnie "Prince" Billy (or Will Oldham, as he's also known) is doing a last-minute show at Mercury tonight.

•This Friday, CW's in Waikiki launches its new Friday-night thing: "The Happy Fridays" wrap-up party. It's an end of the week happy hour with no cover and $3 drink specials from 5-9 p.m.

Cheap eats at Hiroshi

Kawehi Haug — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 21:33:23 GMT

Hiroshi Eurasion Tapas in Restaurant Row is now offering its version of a value meal. Get a prix fixe four-course menu on Sundays and Mondays for $35 per person. That's deals, people. Seriously. And if you've never eaten at Hiroshi, you need to. Chef Fukui Hiroshi is a magician in the kitchen.

Chef Hirsoshi will create a new menu every month that will showcase locally grown products in an effort to support local growers. Cheap AND for a good cause? There's no reason not to go.

The menu for February:

First Course
Big Island baby abalone miso "sushi made with ogo, pickled red ginger, konbu rice and shiso.

Second Course
Maui cattle grilled Thai-style beef salad made with island mixed greens, Ho Farm's tomatoes, Japanese cucumber mint, Thai basil with nam pla red wine vinaigrette and garlic cheese bread.

Main Course
Panko seared mekajiki with kinguine paste, Ho Farm'sd long beans and Brussels sprouts, fresh tyme and roasted garlic soy butter sauce.

Sweet Course
POG twinkie made with orange twinkie, lilikoi anglaise and guava sorbet

Make reservations at 533-4476, and mention this menu to get the special deal.

South Pacific by Southwest?

Kawehi Haug — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 20:02:30 GMT

IT HAS A NICE RING to it, right? And this is pretty big news for us islanders: Five local artists have been chosen to participate in this year's South by Southwest Music Festival in Austen Texas. John Cruz, Anuhea, One Right Turn, David Tamaoka and Pimpbot will be joing 1,800 other bands and performers for the four-day fest that's scheduled to take place from March 18 to 22.

Congratulations to them...could this be Pimbot's big break?

Movie screening: 'Confessions of a Shopaholic'

Kawehi Haug — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 01:06:26 GMT

I HAVE A FEW PASSES to the pre-screening of Confessions of a Shopaholic to give away. If you're interested, shoot me an e-mail at khaug@honoluluadvertiser.com and I'll send you a pass. The screening is scheduled for tomorrow night at 7:30 p.m. at Kahala Mall.

As always, seating is granted on a first-come-first-served basis, so it's best to get there early. Like, one-hour-in-advance early.

Here's a trailer for the film:

It's always happy hour at Aku Bone

Kawehi Haug — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 00:42:28 GMT

IT WAS GIRLS' NIGHT OUT one night last week (what does it mean that I can't remember what day it was?), and we went to one of my favorite locals dives, Aku Bone.

And when I say local, I mean it. There's aku belly and poi on the pupu menu. That's why it's awesome. That, and the fact that right along with the super local fare is super regular fare like onion rings, fries and edamame (yep, we always order those too) and not-so-regular bar fare like rack of lamb that is pulehu-ed to perfection. It's the best lamb in the city. No joke.

The place is all local kitsch — kapa-and-lauhala-lined walls, Heineken-themed surfboards — and with that comes live Hawaiian music four nights a week, and — what else? — karaoke on the other nights. The service is always warm and friendly, which is reason enough to spend my money there.

Go to Aku Bone photo gallery >>>

*******
Aku Bone Lounge
1201 Kona St.
589-2020
Average drink price: $4
Average pupu price: $5

The world according to Twitter

Kawehi Haug — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 02:38:57 GMT

I TWITTER. (Is Twitter supposed to be capitalized? Yes? No?) I know, I know, I can barely get around to blogging and I'm going to Twitter?! Well ... yes. I'm going to try, at least. My Twitter name is Kawehi, if anyone wants to follow me.

I don't claim to get the whole Twitter thing. Like most social networking sites — and in accordance with my Gen X-ness — the whole follow me, be my friend, write on my wall culture is a bit beyond me. When I came of age, self-promotion was called arrogance, and we cynics liked to get all self-righteous about our humility. And now look at us. Self-promoting with best of them. Ah well, things change.

But this I can promise you: I will NOT Twitter my every move. No one cares, and I get that. My Tweets (yeah, that's what Twitter messages are called for the uninitiated) will focus primarily on event updates, restaurant news/observations and pop culture stuff — including putting into words some of the crazy thoughts that crowd my brain while I'm watching TV, at the movies, reading the newspaper, browsing the Internet, people watching. etc.

You can find my Twitter feed at the main Twitter site, and it will also show up on the main page of this blog. The feed is also on the right side of this page. See it?

Z Pizza is a good idea, but ...

Kawehi Haug — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 00:59:59 GMT

IT SOUNDS IMPOSSIBLE, (and I'm not convinced that it isn't) but the people at Z Pizza say they can make pizza healthy AND make it taste good. Maybe it was the night I went, maybe it was the pie choices I made, but for me, it wasn't love at first slice. But a little perspective, right? How bad can pizza be? Even the worst pizza is better than the best (insert gross meal here). So, with that in mind, I'll say this: If I want pizza, I wouldn't choose Z Pizza, but if someone else chose it for me, I wouldn't complain.

Z PIzza, which opened its first Hawaii location about a month ago in Ward Center, is a California-based chain that specializes in healthy, whole and organic ingredients. It's an admirable concept, but in practice, it makes for bland, unexcpetional pizza. Except for the Santa Fe. The Santa Fe pizza comes with all kinds of things, but mot notable is the corn and the briny green olives. Z also serves sandwiches, salads and pasta. If you go, go now while the weather is cool because the place is sweltering — pizza plus a lack of good air conditioning equals super sweaty restaurant.

What Z PIzza gets right, is that it sells pizza by the slice. So, find the pie you like and go back again and again for a slice of your favorite stuff. Plus, I hear the sandwiches are good. Next time.

********
Z PIzza
Ward Center (ground floor, by Crazy Shirts)
1200 Ala Moana Blvd.
596-0066
10 a.m.-10 p.m. Monday-Thursday, 10 a.m.-11 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 10 a.m.-8 p.m. Sunday
PIzzas: $10.95-$13.50 for small (10-inch), $19.95-$22.95 for large (14-inch), $23.95-$25.95 for extra large (18-inch)
Sandwiches: $7.50-$7.95
Salads: $7.95-$10.95
Pastas: $8.95