LarryG

You can find artisanal break at the KCC Saturday Farmers' Market in Row C. --Larry

I can see the point of view that Hawaii is not the place to come for food. Of course, there is good food here. There is excellent food here. Compared to other places, though.... Before I moved here I lived in Tokyo. Before that, New York. In between I frequently visited many cities in Asia, Europe and some in Canada. So I was disappointed when I came to Hawaii with regard to the variety and quality of restaurants. I mean, just try and find a few good Indian restaurants, as an example. As I learned more, I began to find some top-notch places. In comparison to Tokyo, though, or Vancouver, or New York, or London, it's slim pickin's. Yes, there are restaurants here that can hold their own, but this is still a small town for eating out. I also noted the huge thing we make about the good ones we have. Roy's would be one of many in New York. Etc., etc. I'm thankful for the good food we have, for the recent availability of heirloom tomatoes and other fresh ingredients at the KCC Saturday Farmers' Market, for the durian (which I love), the other Asian fruits and vegetables, for the tofu in the supermarket (try that in Iowa...) and for the restaurants reviewed here and elsewhere. I also miss the eating experience that is New York, and can see how someone used to something else might view Hawaii as coming up short in the eating department. --Larry

I wonder if anyone has tried and has an opinion on Super Pho, 3538 Waialae Ave, Honolulu. We were taken there by a friend orginally from Vietnam, and she thought it was really good, maybe "the best". Nanette and I enjoyed Bắc Nam, but we can't really compare the two. It's pretty new, although not "just opened".

I'm not sure this qualifies as "opened" since it has been around a while, also it is only open on Saturday, but I find one of the best places to scarf breakfast on that day is at KCC. Tomorrow looks especially promising. Here's the short writeup I put on my blog, to save you the trouble of going over there: ------ Friday, August 13, 2004 Breakfast bliss alert -- I can't wait for Saturday I hope the folks at the Saturday Market will be putting out extra tables this weekend. They're going to need them to accommodate the crowds lining up for breakfast. The KCC Saturday Farmers' Market tip sheet has my mouth watering already. And it's unfair, too -- I'll have to choose one dish, but I want to try all three! From the tip sheet, describing breakfast to be prepared by Chef Jim Gillespie of Sunset Grill at Restaurant Row: * Portuguese Sweetbread Monte Cristo (ham and cheese sandwich dipped in an island fresh egg batter and fried) * Wild Salmon Hash on Dean's Greens with Tarragon Vinaigrette and Hauula Tomato Relish * Roasted Eggplant, Island Vegetables and Goat Cheese in a Wrap What to do?? Maybe try one and take another home for lunch.

Thanks for the new thread on Hawaii food blogs and for the link to my own humble effort (I did put in a link on my blog to your eGullet page the other day, this is such a fantastic cyber-spot to visit). Probably there should be a separate topic on the Keeaumoku area, it's interesting enough and changeable enough to have its own discussion (oops, maybe it does already, I'm new here). For the moment, though, just let me comment that I did see the Okonomi Cuisine Kai web page earlier, in fact that's how I found out about the place. We were lamenting the lack of good cheap Japan-style street food such as was everywhere around us when we lived in Japan. On a cold day one could stop at a yatai (street stall) for steaming hot mochi, and okonomiyaki was a cheap snack at almost any festival. I miss that, and also the festival eels. But anyway, I was looking for the name of the shop we used to duck into after work getting off of the train at Nishiogikubo, and didn't find it. Instead I hit Okonomi Cuisine Kai's web page. Such are the foibles of the Internet. So I ended up right back here in Hawaii. Japanese web pages often reproduce area maps with little circles and numbers keyed to where restaurants or shops are (of course, they really need those maps there). I'd love to see something like that for Keeaumoku, maybe for Kaimuki. The Japanese-language guidebooks probably have examples. Here's a pdf file from the web. I really miss all the food possibilities in Kichijoji, by the way. Anyway, I think that kind of map would be useful to keep in my glove compartment for wandering around the area. With the little dots corresponding to eGullet Hawaii reviews, of course. Maybe a PDA version too, one day, for those with PDAs (in Japan you just bookmark the map on your iMode phone and it's always with you). Cheerz, --Larry

Thanks to your detaled review (and awesome photos!) we learned about this place, which we would not have found otherwise. On Friday we tried it out. ( eGullet needs to add some more smileys to the little list over on the left: maybe Burp! or Yum! (yeah... how come none of the smileys relate to food ? ) So just imagine a smiley here that is licking its lips in satisfaction. ) The noodles, which they make themselves, were the best I've had in Hawaii. I tried the curry broth and it was just right, neither too spicy nor too mild, with veggies and some meat included, to which I added an egg. As you would imagine, the place was spotlessly clean. Staff were quiet and very efficient. We also did a drive-by of Okonomi Yaki Cuisine Kai, which is nearby and which we haven't tried yet (couldn't find it when I was looking earlier because I forgot to take the address with me, dumb me). It looks very spiffy for an okonomi-yaki place, clearly it is a formula restaurant, classy and no doubt pricey. Keeaumoku is a strange neighborhood, a mix of quality, mediocrity and sleaze. And soon to have a giant Wal-Mart. I wonder what effect that will have... Cheerz, --Larry