We got takeout from Lemon Grove on Wednesday. Yolanda said that Coop was spending almost all of his time in the Chula Vista location, trying to get things up to speed. Guess it's not quite there yet.

Pork ribs at Lemon Grove were their usual outstandingly smoky selves. Brisket was also succulently smoky, but a little fatty compared to usual and a little salty; minor complaints, though.

lol. I do remember you posting that in other threads.

On rice, I like 'em over easy using low heat so the whites set but the yolks are jiggly, then top it all with pepper and oyster sauce.

On toast or grits, over easy, salt and pepper, butter on the toast or grits, top it all with lots of hot sauce.

In a sandwich, over medium so the yolks don't run, salt and pepper, with a swipe of mayo and plenty of hot sauce.

Did you try the doong (or joong)? My grandma's were the best (even though I didn't like the dried shrimp & mushrooms), but the few I've had since she passed away many years ago have contained little besides rice.

Thanks for the correction, Malcolm. I had 'El' on the brain, not only from El Gallito, but also from El Mexicali in Indio, where we were about to go before switching to La Perlita.

Melanie, the menu is pretty varied, including breakfast, soups, tortas, and mariscos. The pescado frito, lengua torta, carne asada gorditas, shrimp&octopus tostada, and chorizo con huevos look interesting. BTW, I misstated the porkiness of the taco. The flavor probably derived more from the cooking fat (lard?) than the tripas itself. But, the textures combined with the lardiness were awesome. And, they didn't skimp on the tripas, either.

Melanie, thanks for posting your friend's recommendation. We were running errands near downtown PD today and I stopped into Taqueria Sinaloense to grab a tripas taco. What a treat! Crispy, chewy, porky, and so good! Definitely not an every day dish (cholesterol could get outta hand) but maybe once a week.

And, Malcolm, totally agree with you on El Gallito. We've been there several times, and, while not bad, not much more than run of the mill. We went to El Perlita last night, based on a mention on another thread and almost 170 favorable posts on yelp, and were pleasantly impressed. Not much atmosphere, but great value/quality ratio. I had (a la carte) shrimp tostada, chile relleno, and 2 lengua tacos, spouse had chicken fajita plate. Everything delicious, service by the family that owns the restaurant exemplary, and the bill, including Belvedere martini and a Jameson, was under $40.

Yeah, I thought it was especially remarkable that it was 2 different guys who are mature native locals, on two different occasions, three years apart. And, yeah, you're right, neither one lives in the neighborhood. One's in the Garden District and the other's in the 'burbs. We were walking down Chartres to Frenchmen St on the recommendation of our two transplant new friends, when we took that left turn at Jackson Square to go to the park. We've made hotel reservations for January, so, if we're able to show up, we'll be walkin' to Frenchmen.

Will have to give Blacksmith Shop another try.

Count me as firmly in the saute camp. Bryant suggested I order the crab sauteed, and it is the way I'll ask for it from now on when it's in-season and fresh.

Thanks! I live in SD now, but visit family in Boston every year. They don't like going into town much, so we end up mostly eating at or near their homes. I have a lot of places, including ICOB, on the 'gotta go' list.

My wife and I stopped in NOLA for three nights a couple of weeks ago on our way home to San Diego from Durham, NC. As was the case on our last visit three years ago (hard to believe it’s been that long), we would like to thank the people of New Orleans, easily the most hospitable we’ve met anywhere, and the locals and visitors who post on this board, for helping us have a fantastic time. We really need to come more often.

1st day
We hit the Carousel Bar right after we checked into our hotel. It was pretty crowded at 4:30, but we found seats at the bar. The remodel really opens up the space, but the atmosphere around the bar seemed like we remember from last time. I asked the bartender (don’t remember who it was) for a recommendation, and without hesitating, he said sazerac, seconded by the guy next to me at the bar. After my first sip, I couldn’t have agreed more. The guy next to me turned out to be a NOLA native who is the superintendent of a nearby parish school district. Talk got around to food, and he gave sterling recommendations to the oysters Rockefeller at Brennan’s and po’ boys at Parkway. We told him we were headed to Galatoire’s that night, and he said it’s one his favorites. He’s also a horn player, so we talked about music, too. He recommended several places on Frenchmen, but strangely, just like another local we met at Carousel 3 years ago, he said it might be a little iffy to walk there after dark. He also spoke highly of Irvin Mayfield’s and said that Bombay Club was worth checking out, too. Said it was too bad we were leaving on Friday, because he would be playing at Seafood Festival that night.

Several sazeracs later we decided to walk to Galatoire’s before we got into trouble. As was the case last visit, the loaf of hot, crusty, and feather-light French bread was great. I had sautéed soft shell crab and lamb chops, my wife had shrimp remoulade and crab Yvonne. The soft shell crab was one of the best things I’ve ever eaten, without a doubt. I love fried soft shell crab, but sautéed, it rose to a completely different level of flavor; every bite was an explosion of crab succulence. The only reason I can think of for not ordering a second one was my sazerac-addled brain couldn’t connect the dots. My wife’s shrimp remoulade and crab were both outstanding, and the black bottom pecan pie we split was a nice way to finish up. Our server, Bryant, was great. Stopped in at Irvin Mayfield’s for a set afterward. Ellis Marsalis was scheduled, but had to go out of town so a local progressive jazz band filled in. Good set, nice relaxing place.

2nd day
We woke up feeling pretty fuzzy, so I took a one-block walk to get an order of beignets from the Bourbon St. location of Café Beignet. I failed to eat one immediately, so they were tainted by the amount of time they spent in the bag, but they were very good. We never did an A/B test with CDM, but nonetheless found these beignets to be pretty tasty.

We ended up having a late lunch at Cochon. We split wood fired oysters, fried alligator, Louisiana cochon, and banana pudding. Everything was very good, especially the vegetables accompanying the cochon. The lightly battered alligator nuggets were perfectly fried and had a perfect texture, although they didn’t have a lot of flavor. The oysters, while tasty, didn’t have a trace of smokiness. The cochon itself was a tender, moist, nicely flavored ball of shredded pork with a nice crust on the outside. The Louisiana hayride was the perfect drink to clear the cobwebs.

Back to FQ for a hurricane at Lafitte’s Blacksmith Shop (not that great). Dinner was at Upperline, which I’d been looking forward to for awhile. It turned out to be a charming restaurant where we felt like dinner guests at the home of a gracious hostess. However, the food wasn’t as good as we’d hoped. We started with another great loaf of French bread. For my 3 course dinner I chose fried veal sweetbread w/burrata&olives, roast duck, and bread pudding, along with a side of fried oysters St. Claude. My wife’s 3 courses were shrimp remoulade w/fried green tomatoes, cane river shrimp w/mushrooms , and crème brulee. Best items were the sweetbread, mashed sweet potato side accompanying the duck, and the perfectly fried oysters. The St. Claude sauce was too assertive for the oysters, though. Likewise, the burrata and olives were good with each other, but didn't go with the sweetbread. I was looking forward to the duck most of the day, but the actual bird was unfortunately quite overcooked. The shrimp remoulade was good, but unexceptional. JoAnn is truly a lovely lady and hostess. She told us that the front dining room had just re-opened the previous Friday after repairing damage from Isaac, but that offices upstairs still weren’t ready.

3rd day
Three martini lunch at Commander’s. The garden room was closed, so we had a window table next to the patio in the rear dining room. Lively crowd and a great lunch. I had the two course lunch, choosing turtle soup and shrimp&grits. My wife had the 3 course creole luncheon with creole gumbo, bbq brisket, and bread pudding soufflé. The gumbo, with its rich smokiness, was out of this world, one of the best things I ate on this trip; my wife only let me have a couple of bites, though. The turtle soup was fantastic, and the creamy cheese grits and big, fat grilled shrimp were a perfect entrée. The brisket was also very, very good; very tender from the slow smoke and not overpowered by the barbecue sauce. Loved the soufflé, but there were bites of pasty bread here and there. Don’t know if it’s meant to be that way. Our server, Clayton, was excellent, and those 25 cent martinis were just outstanding.

After a short stroll through the neighborhood, we took the bus back to Canal (the bus had apparently replaced the trolley all the way down St. Charles), then straight to Carousel Bar. It was very crowded at 3:30, too. We had dinner reservations at Herbsaint, so the plan was to have a drink here. Sat next to a NOLA native now living in Atlanta who was back in town for a conference and headed with a group to dinner at SoBou. He told us he misses Mr. B’s the most. After he left, a couple of guys, who were buddies, sat on either side of us. Both were transplants who had moved to NOLA 7 and 10 years ago, from Michigan and upstate New York, respectively. They played off each other like morning drive-time DJs and were a ton of fun. They both gave SoBou a thumbs down, listing Galatoire’s and Felix’s among the many places they liked. Talk got around to music, and they said we should walk down Chartres to Frenchmen and that we should definitely come back to town during Carnival.

So, after too many sazeracs, we cancelled Herbsaint and started walking down Chartres to Frenchmen. While my wife was changing into walking shoes in Jackson Square, a local guy on a bike overheard us talking about Frenchmen and told us about a concert going on at that moment in Armstrong Park. So we headed over there, listened to some good music, and had a couple of really good grilled andouille “dogs” (there was some real smoke in those sausages). I was still wearing my jacket from lunch, so, after the concert ended, I decided to hit Galatoire’s and try to have one more sautéed soft shell. Alas, they had run out for the day, and next day would be hard to do, because it would be Friday lunch, and we had to head to the airport by 3.

Departure day
We had a little trouble getting up, but made it to lunch at Emeril’s. Only two other tables were occupied when we got there at 12:45, but the dining room was more than half full when we left. Last time we had lunch there 11 years ago, I had a truly memorable roast duck. This time we split the gumbo (chicken/andouille), which was very good but not as good as Commander’s. Also split the chicken and corn waffles, shrimp mac ‘n cheese, and banana cream pie. Standout by far was the pie. It was as good as it’s reputed to be. I had high expectations for the chicken and waffles, and the waffles and watermelon slaw didn’t disappoint. The chicken breasts, though, were overcooked (didn’t have good luck with poultry on this trip), and had far too much crust, sort of KFC extra crispy on steroids. The mac ‘n cheese was good, but pretty ordinary.

After lunch we walked up to Cochon Butcher and picked up a muffaletta, which we had for dinner when we got home. It was a good sandwich, but we thought that the muffuletta we got at Central Grocery three years ago had a better olive salad and better bread.

Another great visit. Although the remodel has changed the ambience at Carousel, we found the bar itself to be as convivial and as much fun as on our last visit in 2009. The sautéed soft shell crab at Galatoire’s, creole gumbo at Commander’s, and banana cream pie at Emeril’s were my favorite dishes, especially the crab. I will regret not ordering a second one until the next time I can have one (I mean two). Our best food experiences were at the places we re-visited from last time, Galatoire’s and Commander’s. Herbsaint is definitely on the list next time. Also mulling Clancy’s, Gautreau’s, Felix’s, Casamento’s, Bayona, oysters Rockefeller at Brennan’s, and a re-visit to Mr. B’s. Think the next visit might be in January.

OK, what i really meant to say is I'm jealous of your appetite, even the smaller version.

AugustusMedici, I'm impressed with your appetite. We had lunch at EMP last Monday, then scored an 8 pm table at Per Se the next night when they called to tell us on Tuesday afternoon. We had to pass it up, because my wife wasn't feeling well, but in retrospect, I don't think we would have enjoyed the tasting at Per Se as much because of the volume of food we had at EMP the day before.

Good question .I called on Friday to ask, and was told that it was available every day. Then our server on Monday said that we happened to be there on a day. the duck was being offered Guess I'd call to be safe.

We had the same experience at lunch on Monday. The duck was offered as a replacement to the four main protein items on the third row of the ingredient grid as long as we both selected it and at no extra charge.

We spent 3 nights in Waikiki at the beginning of May. I concur with the recommendations for Helena's (if you can find someone to take you opihi hunting, you can get the best dish on the island for free; otherwise opihi and squid lu'au are the best dishes I had at Helena's), Ono Hawaiian, and Nico's to fit inside the $30 budget. You should be able to do that at Side Street Inn, too (original location or Kapahulu). We found a couple of happy hour deals at Top of Wsikiki that were pretty good (calamari and bbq pork sliders). View of Waikiki there is awesome. Getting a good table to see it is hit or miss (we lucked out on timing).

Think he's talking about Plantation Gardens, which is down the same road as the Sheraton Po'ipu. I agree with you, Hunt; nice setting, but food not the greatest. We last went there in 2010, but haven't been back.

+1 on gratitude for the detailed report. Did not know Daniel Barron's CV. Seems like an interesting, if uneven, experiment, which makes the name "Evolve Cuisine" apt. Also a reasonable fare for the fare. Hope we're able to catch the next event..

Just saw your post today. The four of us sampled several items last night, including the quail and the goat cheese mousse, both of which were excellent (really, all was excellent, perhaps the only exception being the corzetti with morels, not because of the preparation, but because the morels contributed more texture than flavor). The quail had a crispy skin and was done to a perfect medium. The spring peas were bright in both color and flavor. The goat cheese mousse was a perfect counterbalance between a savory-sweet mousse and tart rhubarb. A nightly special of tagliatelle with chick peas, olives, green garlic, and a whole egg yolk in the center was superb. Half our group nixed the sweetbreads, so they never made it to our table (sigh).

Also of note was the asparagus flan, which had a rich asparagus flavor. Highlights of the night were the old standards, tajarin with butter and sage, rabbit meatballs (loved the turnips), and terrina di torrone.

Service was a model for other restaurants to follow in terms of professionalism, courtesy, attentiveness, unobtrusiveness and affability. We had a cocktail at Artusi before we were seated, and service there was the same as at Spinasse, maybe even more affable. If our daughter and son-in-law lived closer to town, we would try to visit both Spinasse and Artusi every time we came to Seattle.

Garden island BBQ is open for lunch, too; I was wrong about that. Duke's Barefoot Bar is the ground level part of Duke's Canoe Club. Can't provide any info on Hanalei Dolphin, but we've never been disappointed by Hukilau.

Just got back yesterday from a very long visit to Kaua’i. We always stay in Waipouli, and this year we never went farther north than downtown Kapa’a (we were lazy). Also, didn’t eat out all that much. That said, from an eastside standpoint, for casual places (can’t vouch for toddler friendliness; we were just two adults) I’d suggest

Mark’s Place in Puhi – local plate lunches. My favorites are chicken katsu and loco moco. Cheeseburger and fries (Lamb Weston frozen fries, but dang good) are pretty good, too. Open 10am-8pm M-F (check their website), outdoor dining only on picnic tables in an industrial park. Daily specials.

Garden Island BBQ, Lihu’e – the best Chinese (although Wong’s in Hanapepe has one dish that is among the best I’ve had anywhere) on the island, serving family style and combination plates. Dinner only, closed Sunday. Very reasonable pricing for what you get, and very good. Sizzling steak plate is terrific, shrimp and snow peas is very good and an amazing deal, Hong Kong style fried chicken is fantastic. The chow mein cake noodles were very disappointing.

Duke’s Barefoot Bar, Kalapaki Bay - $3 happy hour fish tacos on Tuesdays from 4-6 are one of the best deals on the island. Outside of that they’ve got something for everyone, but higher priced. We’ve seen a parent walk across the sidewalk to Kalapaki Beach with the kids while the other parent eats and holds the table. The hula pie is an outstanding dessert, and one will feed two adults and the toddlers easily.

Pono Market, downtown Kapa’a – this is a deli with two indoor tables and a few sidewalk tables. Open at 6 am. Very good local plate lunches and poke. The beach isn’t far behind the deli, if you want to picnic. Look on yelp for photos of the menu. Pork lau lau is very good (they’ll be out before 1 pm), musubi is great (those’ll be gone by 10 am), shoyu poke is awesome. They have daily specials. Cash only.

Hamura Saimin, Lihu’e – we only had lilikoi pie here this year; weren’t in the mood for soup. But based on our past experiences (Hamura, Waipouli Restaurant, Mark’s) no other place on Kaua’i does saimin better. Cash only.

Monico’s Taqueria, Wailua – really good seafood burritos and tacos. Not cheap ($16 for a seafood burrito, which was very fresh and flavorful, however), but worth it if you want something Mexicanish. If you’ve had Mexican seafood in Baja, it won’t be the same, but the seafood is fresh and it’s good.

Kaua’i Pasta in Kapa’a – not real cheap, but really well prepared pasta dishes (as a side note they also provide the meals for Alaska Air 1st class going to the mainland, and the meals were very good). Loved their butternut squash ravioli and spaghetti and meatballs.

Kaua’i Bakery at Kukui Grove shopping center in Lihu’e – cream filled malasada. A fairly firm Portuguese doughnut overflowing with a delicious creamy custard.

Farther south:

Brick Oven Pizza in Kalaheo buffet every Monday and Thursday - $15 pp, great pigout (don’t know if toddlers eat for less). Awesome buffalo wings, good rudimentary salad bar, terrific spaghetti w. parmesan, bacon, olives, olive oil, peppers, etc. Pizza good, nice cream cheese dessert pizza. Didn’t try Brick Oven in Wailua.

Kukuiolono Park Golf Course Clubhouse – panoramic views of the South Shore from the hillside of the park. The clubhouse has a nice cheeseburger and fries for $7 or so, depending on the extras on the burger. Fun and cheap 9 hole golf course here. Cash only, closes just before sunset.

Anniversary or Special Dinner:

Hukilau Lanai – nice setting at the Kaua’i Coast Resort. Everything well prepared. Love Wally’s salad, the ono, local meatloaf, and macadamia nut tart.

Duke’s upstairs – lovely view if you get a table overlooking Kalapaki Bay. Ono, opah, mahi prepared several ways, very extensive salad bar. Also beef, chicken and ribs. Nice tropical décor. Like their macadamia crusted mahi and ono. Hula pie here, too. Wine is expensive, cocktails weak, staff can be distracted.

Bull Shed – this place gets no love online, but is generally well-liked by locals. Simple protein, salad bar, and side. Salad bar is nowhere near as extensive as Duke’s, you get white rice as the side with all your entrees, and it costs $3 if you want a baked potato instead. Gigantic prime rib is great, though, (Texas style, which is grilled on one side, is a nice change of pace), teriyaki sirloin is terrific, lobster tails are huge and reasonably priced, and the grilled daily fish special is very tasty. Restaurant is 10 feet from the ocean, décor is dated, cocktails (strong) and wine are well-priced, staff is friendly.

Farther south:

Red Salt in Po’ipu – lovely restaurant in the Koa Kea Hotel. Very well-executed dinners. They’ve lost two executive chefs in the last 11 months, so nothing new on the menu. They get mad love online for their breakfast, too, but we’ve never been able to make it down there before they stop serving at 11 am. Delicious seared scallops and lobster ravioli.

Josselin’s in Kukui’ula Village, Po’ipu – trendy tapas oriented restaurant by celebrated chef Jean Marie Josselin. Uneven. Loved the corn brulee and 36 hr braised, then glazed and grilled pork belly, but not crazy about the seared scallops, shrimp&duck tacos, or sliders. Very attractive space, but pretty loud.

Lotta places we didn’t visit this year, so this is not an extensive list.

Update on the Shieldses from last week:

http://philly.eater.com/archives/2012...

Looks like they've put down roots in Philly.

Maybe Cheeky's staff's attitude toward kids depends on when you go and how crowded they are. We were there a year ago in March with our (then) two year old granddaughter and her parents, and the server and hostess couldn't have been nicer, getting us a table in the corner away from heavy traffic and setting her up with a booster seat. But we went on a weekday, and it was after noon, and there weren't a ton of people waiting for tables.

Without a doubt, Joebob, the feedback here was valuable. Unless there was an overwhelmingly negative response from the fine dining posters here, we weren’t gonna pass up dinner at AWR. Dinner wasn’t perfect, but yeah, Hunt, that coconut was a knockout. Our subsequent meals there must end with the coconut.

Photos by Alicia's customers on yelp are absolutely mouthwatering. So much food, so little time.

Wife and I just spent 3 nights in Honolulu, staying in Waikiki. We followed a well-worn chow path in our short trip, but wanted to jot down some thoughts to help someone else plan a future visit.

Nico’s Pier 38 – stopped here on our way from the airport to Outrigger Waikiki. Saw the old space on TV only, but new space is large and very attractive. Had fried ahi belly, wife had fish n chips. Fish n chips were fish n chips, but fish tasted great, and fries nicely crispy. Two pieces of fish in ahi belly plate, smaller piece was very tender but had a fair amount of cartilage. Larger piece had the firm texture of ahi from elsewhere on the fish. Tomato salsa was very good, mac salad was very bland with too much mayo. A little disappointing.

HWAK – had a mai tai at sunset here before going to dinner. The setting was magical, and the mai tai was one of the best we’ve had.

Alan Wong’s – report on this thread: http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/847211

Helena’s Hawaiian Food – I think my favorite meal. Got there at about 2:30, only waited about 10 mnutes. We had:

opihi – the best; tastes like the ocean, perfectly toothy
luau squid – taro leaves and squid cooked in coconut milk; I could eat this 3 times a week
fried butterfish collar – worth the trip by itself; crispy skin and tender, luscious meat
kalua & cabbage – deep smoky flavor from an imu; cabbage sautéed to just the right crunch
pipikaula – just like on TV. I thought they were a little tough, but I need to do more research

Mai Tai Bar – met a friend who moved from Kaua’i last year at Ala Moana Center after lunch, just in time for happy hour. A big and popular covered, open-air bar at the top of Ala Moana Center with a terrific happy hour. We just drank and talked, but the pupus going by looked and smelled great.

Roy’s Waikiki – we followed manomin’s recommendation and went for a late dinner. We were still a little full from lunch and happy hour so we opted for pupus at the bar. Randomly picked a malbec by the glass, and it paired really well with our food.

chicken spring rolls – crispy and flavorful like a spring roll should be; nice dipping sauce
tomato salad – local peeled tomatoes, cucumber, onion, radish, goat cheese, goat cheese panna cotta, wasabi vinaigrette. Wonderfully composed, beautifully plated, bright flavors.
manila clams – I’ve always preferred soft shell clams as steamers, but these wok-fired clams in a black bean soy nage were succulent, and the nage was addictive. Three sticky rice balls that brought back memories of Thai street food were perched on the rim of the bowl for sopping up sauce. After they were gone, I started drinking the sauce out of empty shells.

Alicia’s Market – another local friend picked up plate lunches there and we had lunch in Kapiolani Park. Roast beef, shoyu poke, smoked brisket, potato salad, and kimchi. Beautiful smoke ring on the brisket. It would hold its own against some of the best Texas brisket. Excellent roast beef, poke, kimchi, and potato salad. I’d like to sample a lot of their other meats.

Top of Waikiki – after a post-lunch hike up Diamondhead, we did happy hour here on our last night. My wife’s charm scored us a table in the bar, and it was in perfect position to catch the full panorama of the Waikiki strip in the setting sunlight and for us to see the sky turn color as the sun dipped to the horizon. I’d been talking up Side Street on Kapahulu for the last week but the hike up Diamondhead made her tired instead of hungry, so we elected to have happy hour pupus here. The only memorable pupus were the calamari and the bbq pork sliders. Calamari included rings and tentacles, which is my favorite part; light, crunchy batter, perfectly fried, a nice sweetish remoulade; delicious. Slider had a terrific warm, slightly toasty bun, nice smoky shredded pork, and a great creamy coleslaw. Furikake fries were soggy.

Ono Hawaiian Food – we had a few hours to kill after checking out of the hotel, so we got laulau, sweet potato, and haupia to go and ate it in the hotel lobby area. I liked that Ono left the laulau bundled in the ti leaf so it could steep until we were ready to eat. Best laulau I’ve had so far.

Turns out our friend who got us lunch at Alicia’s is a food nut, so he’s volunteered to do a food tour for us next visit, which, with any luck, will happen next year.

We showed up at AWR a half hour before our reservation after a sunset mai tai at HWAK, but hostesses didn’t miss a beat and we were at our lanai table after a 10 minute wait. Had 5 course tasting with wine pairings. The pairings were among the best I’ve had (champagne, French rose, Kabinett Riesling, Beaujolais, Sauternes), really enhancing each dish. To borrow from KaimukiMan, AWR didn’t bat a thousand, but we enjoyed it a lot. Service was superb (Yuki was our server) and platings (except 1 course) were gorgeous. I don’t think the 5 course menu has changed in quite some time, so I’ll just hit highlights.

Warm, crusty and airy roll required a lot of self-control not to inhale.

1st: Ahi tartare was a little overpowered by the rice chip it sat in; mango ceviche delightful, tomato soup and kalua/foie gras/mozz sandwich outstanding, especially the tomato soup which was the star of the night. Kitchen very gracious about wife’s dislike of raw ahi and subbed seafood cake.

2nd: Seafood lasagna full of clean flavors. Minor quibble with pasta being chewy near the edges.

3rd: Onaga perfectly cooked, corn and mushrooms ideal complement. Miso sesame vinaigrette very harmonious and was lick-your-plate good. Onaga a little salty, just enough to be noticeable.

4th: The one whiff of the night. All elements extremely well-prepared except overdone zucchini spears. Wife’s short rib had large vein of fat running through it. The disparate elements on the plate---a gorgeous shrimp on top of a kalbi-style boneless short rib, one broccoli floret, one cauliflower floret, and two zucchini spears---with a little bowl of white rice on the side, had no cohesiveness, and the dish was a letdown as the final savory.

5th: presentation of mini-coconut was fabulous and we ate it all even though we were full.

All in all, a lovely dinner and a nice introduction to AWR. We need to return to Honolulu soon.

Call the Grand Wailea and they'll direct you to AMASIA. Found out tonight that the soft opening started a week ago. The menu is supposed to be tapas oriented. Chef Wong is in NY right now for a James Beard Foundation event and will go to Maui when he leaves NY to prep for the grand opening of AMASIA in about 4 weeks.

Thanks, manomin. The hostess tonight said he was on Maui indefinitely so I got worried. We're taking a little side trip from Kaua'i cuz we haven't been to Honolulu in 15 years. Got an open dinner on Thur or Fri, so Roy's Waikiki might fit the bill, especially if it includes items not found at the restaurants outside Honolulu. Was also thinking about 3660 on the Rise and 12th Ave Grill.

We'll be in Honolulu for 3 nights starting tomorrow and have a reservation at Alan Wong tomorrow night. We've learned that he and his main staff are in Maui for the new restaurant opening. Wanted to ask the regular diners at Alan Wong if they've been there when he wasn't in the kitchen and if there was a dropoff in execution on that visit. Just read a blog post about a recent disappointing meal by a longtime diner there, who was told that Chef Wong was in Maui. Maybe I'm needlessly anxious, but it'll be our first visit and I want to reduce chances of disappointment. Thanks.

From what I 've read, it looks like Fred Atkins, who with partners has run Kilohana for 25 years, bought the restaurant with other investors from the Wallace family effective 1/1/12 and reopened it as Gaylord's on 1/9/12. Couple of links:

http://www.bizjournals.com/pacific/print-edition/2012/01/06/new-owners-give-kauai-restaurant-its.html

http://www.midweekkauai.com/2012/01/g...

We ate at 22 North a couple of times in 2010 and loved it. When we last ate at Gaylord's in 2009, the menu was uninteresting, the dishes we had were poorly executed, and our server was smarmy. We're gonna be on island in about a month, so we'll probably give the new incarnation a try.