The Little Blue House

I must preface this with saying that while I did work at Halo Pub for a chunk of my senior year of high school, it was 1996 and I am sure that things change within a business in that amount of time. And, I truly, truly hated working there. However, pretty much everything about Halo Pub is better that TS. Even if working At Halo Pub made me bitter and angsty ,I still go there when I go back home for a visit for the coffee heath bar with hot fudge. Or a milk shake, because man, those are a pain to make. Or a banana split. Or a hand-packed pint. In no particular order: 1. Last I knew, TS uses anti-freeze in their ice cream scoops. Halo Pub does not. (I still have trouble with my right wrist after all of that scooping!) It makes for a better scoop, and well, who wants anit-freeze that close to their food? 2. Halo Pub ice cream is made in small batches, one flavor at a time, at the dairy. This is why you shouldn’t eat any of their ice cream if you have a peanut allergy. 3. Let’s see if I remember this correctly. Say you take the ice cream base. That same amount of ice cream base is pumped up and diluted to make 100 gallons of Breyers Ice Cream, 10 gallons of TS, 1 gallon of Halo Pub ice cream. It is thicker than anything else (see #1 about my poor sad wrist.) 4. I remember being told to polite turn down people who tried to order rocky road. Halo Pub wouldn’t make it because that marshmallow goo doesn’t grow anywhere. It’s chemically, and they were focusing on natural ingredients. I more than once had to explain this to kids who freaked out because the mint chocolate chip wasn’t green. You try explaining crème de mente to a stranger’s 6 year old. 5. You were right, they have control from beginning to end. Cow to scoop. It’s pretty amazing, and should be rewarded. Not to mention that they really did focus on quality, with their employees, the ingredients and the product. 6. At the time, TS paid $5.25 an hour and Halo Pub paid $6.00. A manager (there was one and sometimes two on every shift) made $15.00 an hour. A serving was $1.00 at Halo Pub and I think it was about $2.25 at TS. At some point it seemed to me that they were not trying to make much of a profit above what they needed to keep going and pay a living wage. Thinking about it, I really hope that I didn’t sign a non-disclosure agreement! Who can remember these things? M(a)ce: As a note, on a visit home a few years ago, I noticed that the price went up and that the ice cream was a bit more icy. I have no explaination at all. I've been back a few more times and generally, the ice cream has been fine. And of course, Good luck with your adventure!

There is that cheesesteak place in Kailua, though I don't remember the name or exactly where it was... Sorry. I pretty much stick to the city--excluding, of course, trips out to Molly's Smokehouse. Sun-Ki: As the best kosher style Deli in the state, does that mean that it is actually pretty good? Because I have been trying to find matzo ball soup, or a great egg salad sandwich or blintz or an egg cream, or a really good bagel, for what seems like a very long time. Am I going to be satisfied after taking the trip out there? -Emily

Thanks Pake. Welcome to eGullet. -Emily

Have any of you tried Lincoln Noodle House? (Assuming that it is still there). It isn't 24 hours like the one on Lawrence, but it much better. There is also the one on Western Ave, further north than Lawrence--the one with the screens? It was always my favorite 24 hour one.

If memory serves there was once a small takeout place on Kapiolani and Keamoku, across from the KFC, called Chicken Alice's. They served both spicy and mild versions (the mild of which was still pretty hot) of brick red, deep fried, wing and shoulder sections that I would later see elswhere as "Korean Fried Chicken". Alice's has long since departed (the restaurant I mean and not its namesake), much to the disappointment of my family, so I guess maybe this thread belongs in that other one as well. -c

At around 9 PM on Thursday, while getting on H1 on our way back from dinner, Chris and I ended up next to the Spam-Mobile. It is a huge blue Spam Box on wheels, with the license plate SPAM4U registered in Minnesota--the home of Hormel--and "Spamtastic" written on the side. I can only begin to imagine how much fun it must have been to be working on that boat.

Chris says that I shouldn't write a reply to this because it's like beating a dead horse--we all know that we are all tired of these lists and the stagnant nature of the Hawaii food "scene". But not replying could mean that the *reader* (hi Sasha) might not realize that some of us are angry about the stagnation. And I am pretty angry about it... And then I just end up sitting around, angry, and wondering how to fix it, how to change it, how to influence it in a meaningful way. Maybe those should be the questions that we ask (and try to answer) here. -Emily ps: For crying out loud: Compadres?

Um, I actually ended up overshooting the mainland and spent three weeks between Dublin, London, Strasbourg (France), and even a night in Basel (Switzerland). Twenty-four and a half hours of flying later, I ended up back home... Very, very jet lagged. Thanks for the welcome home! -Emily

Wow! It looks like I really missed out. I wish that I had gotten back to Oahu just a few hours earlier, and maybe without the killer 11 jet lag... Thanks for the report skchai! I think that have posted before about Legend's Vegetarian Restaurant in Chinatown, right across the way from its sister Seafood Restaurant. The Veggie menu is a riot to read, and all of the "meat" dishes are pretty amazing is taste, texture, and visual appeal. -Emily

A few months ago my family ordered some incredible mochi from the mochilady The Mochi Lady We got the big platter which had an awesome assortment of flavors, everything tasing extremely fresh. You just call her to order a few days ahead and then go by her house to pick it up. She even asks what time you're coming by so that she knows when to have it ready. I tried to order some for Christmas but when I called in early December I got a recording that said she was completely booked for the month and the first two weeks of January. -chris

We ended up there on its opening night, so I am not really sure if the experience we had would have been the same. Nonetheless, I enjoyed it.

I will think about L'Atelier, though if I remember, they don't take reservations? Anything else? Maybe the better way to ask would have been, what are your dream solo dining experiences in Paris? -Emily

Try a Vouvray Petillant, like Prince Poniatowski's from the vineyards of Clos Baudoin. (Which , I think, was given the appellation Premier Grand Cru de Vouvray in 1878.)

Basel is really pretty during the winter, particularly around Christmas... But I don't remember the names of any restaurants there--my mind just doesn't hold onto German. My favorite things to eat in Basel have always been the Rosti (like a hashbrown pancake) with ham and cheese and an egg on top. -Emily

Have some pub food Seriously it is an experience that you may not find in Hawaii. Can you (or someone) recommend one? And if I don't drink beer, should I go anyway? -Emily

I am the type of person who spent $500 at Charlie Trotter's, and walked out with a smile on my face because I really felt like I got a deal... But get angry when Indian food in Honolulu is just not all that good, but still costs more than $20 per person. So the better the experience, the happier I am to spend the money... Though, I don't really have $500 right now. Less than or about $100 (including decent but not ridiculous wine) for one is better... What are the chances that Rules would be open? And about how much was your meal? I love taxis. -Emily

A bistro is definately okay. The long and the short of it is that I am willing to spend a bit of money, but not Arpege at dinner prices, provided I am treated nicely and there is a decent wine list. I would prefer to not do "ethnic" unless ethnic is French or Spanish (two cuisines not readily available here in Hawaii). I think that I want to sit at a table and not a bar because I am shy, and bars can be a bit overwhelming. I want my experience to be pleasant, and I want to feel as though I have treated myself, because this night comes in the midst of lots of family holiday craziness and will be a small moment of sanity on my way to my sister's house in Strasbourg where I will probably have to babysit four French kids who don't speak English. I like traveling around Paris, and I don't yet have a hotel, so where it is doesn't matter... Except that it should be easy to get too, because if I am wandering dark alleys on my own at night, I will not be a happy camper, no matter how good the restaurant is. -Emily

I've written before--though mostly in the UK Forum--about my upcoming trip to Europe. Now it looks as though, in addition to my one night on my own in London, I will have one night on my own in Paris: January 3. Now, I am seeking your suggestions about where I should eat that night. I am willing to spend a bit of money, provided that there is a decent wine list and no English menu thrust upon me. (My French can be passable, and I am occasionally mistaken as some sort of European... Which I think is just because I can sort of speak French, and generally the French seem to assume that Americans wouldn't be bothered to try...) My friends in Paris are sort of useless for suggestions--this summer I ended up at Le Totem on someone's recommendation for a solo meal. Ugh. Please help! -Emily

I do feel rather odd going to a city like London, and somehow not knowing a single person there. It seems like a major oversight in my life so far. I am willing to spend a bit of money, provided I am treated nicely and there is a decent wine list. I would prefer to not do "ethnic" unless ethnic is French or Spanish (two cuisines not readily available here in Hawaii). I think that I want to sit at a table and not a bar because I am shy, and bars can be a bit overwhelming. I want my experience to be pleasant, and I want to feel as though I have treated myself, because this night comes in the midst of lots of family holiday craziness and will be my one moment of sanity (i.e. no family). -Emily

I'm not sure that I want to do Chinese--I live in Hawaii, and that is one of the very available choices at home. Thanks though! -Emily

I have posted here a few times about my upcoming trip to Europe. Now that the schedule is all set, I know that I have one night (December 26) on my own in London. I am looking forward to it and I really want to eat well that evening, though not too expensively. Being on my own in a (so far) strange city, I would prefer to venture not to far away from the hotel (near Kensington High Street) or at the very least, to have the destination not be too hard to find. Any suggestions are very welcome! Thanks, Emily

Thanks Sandra!

I spent New Year's Eve Day in New Hope in 1997--I had lunch at Wildflowers and ran across the street to have my palm read (who can resist such silliness the day before a new year starts when it is just there, across the street?). It was very pleasant. I actually spent a lot of the summer of 2000 shuttling a friend from the Princeton area to Wildflowers, where he waited tables. Is it still around? They had been making some changes when I was last there 3 and 1/2 years ago, with the bar upstairs and the additional weekend Thai food menu... Are they still opened on weekends until the new year? -Emily

Sounds like a plan.

You need to ask for a marriage bed or a French bed in order to avoid the whole twin beds pushed together thing.