Kimo

BTW, for all of you Hawaii Regional Cuisine fans, Alan Wong's (high-end spam and mac salad ) is expanding to the Big Island: Alan Wongs

Thanks Tejon for the update on one of my favorite dishes, spring roll noodles. I know where we're eating next weekend! Here's the skinny for other eGulleters: Noodlehead Restaurant 4226 NE Broadway Portland, OR 97232 503-281-6213 Open daily 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. No website - they are faxing a menu to me this morning. There is also a Noodlehead Restaurant in Beaverton as well (no affiliation). -Kimo

From a former Hawaii girl (18 years on Molokai, 8 years on Oahu, 2.5 years on Maui)... 10 things you gotta love about Hawaii: Ribs in Kihei - Azeka Ribs at Azeka Place (I believe they reopened a new locale post-1995) Hot bread from Kanemitsu Bakery on Molokai Fried rice at Rainbow Drive Inn (Kapahulu Avenue, Oahu) Spam musubi (all six islands) Komoda bakery cream puffs Gourmet plate lunches from Honokowai Deli & Okazuya (Maui) and Kaka'ako Kitchen (Oahu) Pork chops from the Manago Hotel (Big Island) Kua Aina burgers (North Shore, Oahu...still not used to the annex at Ward Centre) Poke (need I say more) Opihi (I am starting to cry...) I could make this list 101 things... BTW, I ate lunch at Uwajimaya (www.uwajimaya.com) at the International District in Seattle today. I saw spam musubis for sale (grabbed sweet bread and lumpia wrappers instead). Something that caught my eye after lunch: fried musubi with shrimp (five for $5.49--three "chefs" frying these little musubis, a special only for this week). Aloha, Kimo (only 21 days until my next visit to Hawaii.... )

I could not believe I forgot Komoda Bakery (sometimes the first stop for many after flying into Kahului Airport) for the cream puffs and Long Johns. The perfect reward for watching the sunrise from Haleakala Crater: T. Komoda Store and Bakery 3674 Baldwin Ave Makawao, Maui, HI 96768 (upcountry Maui) 808-572-7261 Closed Wednesday and Sunday "This unassuming bakery is a local legend in the area and has been serving the Upcountry for decades. Their baked goods are much-coveted, and people frequently line up in the morning for a chance to buy the tasty treats. The cream puffs (thick custard spilling out of light pastry) are the star attraction, although you'll also be seduced by the Long Johns (filled doughnuts) and the butter rolls. Cakes and cookies are also available. Whatever you do, make sure to go early. Almost everything sells quickly, and there's nothing worse than craving something you can't obtain."

I guess you could MapQwest it From a website: A Saigon Cafe 1792 Main Street Old Naoke's Steak House Daily 10 AM - 10 PM Sunday 10 PM - 9 PM (808) 243-9560 Vietnamese Cuisine Voted the Best Ethnic Eatery on Maui for the fourth year in a row in the 1999 Maui News poll of readers. Last year they tied for the Best Business Lunch in the poll. Try the summer rolls dipped in hot peanut sauce and their special crisped opakapaka. There is no sign out front, but obviously, they don't need one!

Miso soup, rice, fried saba and teriyaki chicken.

A few additions: A Saigon Cafe (Wailuku) is one of the best Vietnamese restaurants I have ever dined at. I am still trying to find something like it in Seattle/Tacoma. No sign on the restaurant. No sign on the door. I suggest lunch vs. dinner since it can be very, very busy at night. Lemongrass Cafe (Lahaina) - another excellent Vietnamese restaurant. Honolua Store (mentioned in an earlier thread) - offer "hobo" breakfasts and plate lunches (also offers mini-hobos with one scoop of rice rather than two). I know this sounds gross--I love Honolua Store's spam musubi (fried Spam wrapped with white rice and nori). Pacific'O (Lahaina) - Hawaiian Regional Cuisine, sister restaurant of I'o (same chef also creates the menu for Feast at Lele, a high-end Polynesian revue I highly recommend) Old Lahiana Luau (Lahaina) - this the best luau in the state of Hawaii (and the closest to being authentic from hula to cuisine).

Wow, talk about love for MGLloyd. BTW, the traffic is a lot better now with a couple of new cross bridges on the Gig Harbor side of the bridge as well as the slowdown re: tourists going to the Hood Canal and the Olympic Peninsula. I cross the bridge 10-20 times/week. IMO the best time to go west is prior to 4 p.m. or after 7 p.m. weekdays or anytime on the weekends. It'll be pretty manageable until Memorial Day 2004 when the visitors return to the Peninsula. Kimo

We lived on Maui for 2 1/2 years (very close to Kahana). For a small island, there is a great food/restaurant scene. Chez Paul (Olowalu, about five minutes from Lahaina) is approximately 20 minutes from Kahana. Chef/owner Patrick Callerec was the executive chef at The Ritz-Carlton, Kapalua for nine years prior to opening his own place. Classic French cuisine with a Hawaiian twist (nothing like it on Maui). I believe the restaurant is closed on Mondays. Nicolina (Kahana) is right next to Roy's (Kahana). My husband and I perfer that place (similar menu to Roy's) because it is not as busy nor as crowded. Menus may be viewed at www.roysrestaurants.com. In the same shopping complex (not very romantic) is Fish and Game (Kahana). Excellent seafood, reasonable prices, great lunches. This is the place to watch Sunday morning/afternoon football. Honokowai Deli & Okazuya (Honokowai) is the best "gourmet" plate lunch place on the island. Closes very early (6 p.m. I believe), not open on Sundays. Order the mahimahi in capers, butter, wine, mushrooms with rice and stir fried veggies (instead of the mac-mayo salad). The chef/owner was the executive chef of Mama's Fish House in Paia. I have friends in Seattle who ate at Honokowai Deli & Okazuya 10 times during their eight day trip in late 2002. Sansei Sushi (Kapalua) offers 25% (50% for local residents...if they're still doing it) on Sundays from 5:30-6:30 p.m. Get there at 5 p.m. and wait in line. We would order $100 in sushi for $50 on Sundays. Plantation House (Kapalua) offers stunning views, especially during whale-watching season (November to April, which I believe you are missing). One of the best places on Maui to watch the sunset. The food is okay-good, the views are spectacular. We would breakfast there every other Sunday (still stunning views, decent omelettes). Manana Garage is in Wailuku, approximately one hour from Kahana. It's close to the airport and may make a great stop on your way back to Kahului Airport (to return your car, catch your flight). Hope this helps. Report back...Kimo

We live and work in Gig Harbor and spend way too much time driving up to Seattle for meals as well. There are a couple of good restaurants within driving distance on Bainbridge Island as well as in Gig Harbor and Tacoma (less time driving to either town vs. waiting and taking the ferry). Tacoma is becoming a decent food town (still in Seattle's shadows)...and has wonderful food shopping as well (shop first, bring a cooler, then eat at one of the city's restaurants). And, there's a cute breakfast dive in Poulsbo (I cannot remember the name). My husband and I had reservations for our anniversary at the Willcox House, which is not too far from Poulsbo and is supposed to have a great prix fixe menu (had to cancel because our babysitter couldn't make it). Willcox House Welcome to the NW! We made the move from Maui two+ years ago and love it, especially with 50+ days over 70 degrees.

I agree with Mamster's comment re: chains not competiting against the high-end restaurants. The only example I can think of is Roy's...now popping up all over the country. This high-end restaurant chain is now in 12 states (!) and has trademarked its cuisine as Hawaiian Fusion Cuisine. The chain has not been successful in all locales and has already closed one or two restaurants. My husband and I miss the days when there was only one Roy's (Hawaii Kai, a Honolulu suburb we lived in for seven years). Prior to becoming parents, we would stop by on a Saturday night with no reservations, my husband wearing an aloha shirt and khaki shorts with slippers. We would eat pupus and drink beers downstairs in the bar area. Roy's

This is a great topic. For working moms like me, Outback Steakhouse, Cucina! Cucina! and Red Robin are life-savers when you (meaning the tired mom) just wants a served meal for your family...besides McDonald's. However, I refuse to go to the Cheesecake Factory or Todai with my 3 1/2 year old son and make him wait for 1-2 hours during peak waiting periods. I try to support the small neighborhood restaurants whenever I can...especially when they know when to offer the family friendly stuff--neat toys for the kid, cool coloring books and decent children's menus (beyond the same mac-and-cheese and chicken fingers..he likes to eat, too). Small, family-owned restaurants can learn from the "big boys" - signage is visible from the street; websites are user-friendly; menus make you want to order more; the servers know how to upsell beverages, appetizers and desserts; the take-out menus look good and are in a visible area near the register; the separate, colorful drink menu, hanging point-of-sale pieces and stand-up POS at each table are inviting; the big boys ask their drink vendors to "assist" in paying for the menus (at one restaurant I worked at, the distributor paid for the drink menu b/c we gave their brands major coverage in the drink names...not a decision I would have made, but it made business sense to the GM); average checks are higher; and employee training and development is taken seriously. One of the best servers I have ever experienced recently admitted his first server job was at Outback Steakhouse, which has a great training program. This guy was amazing. On his last day before going back to school, I told him how impressed I was with his service. And, he remembered the first time he served me and the hubby (and told me what we ordered for lunch that day). Restaurant chains can be a good thing, especially if they are training awesome servers like Jed!

During my tapas session yesterday, the salmon were jumping in front of the restaurant...and the fishermen were having a good time. I saw a number of families in attendance...the kids were enjoying the view of teenagers jumping off the nearby bridge. This is a good sign since we're finally taking our son for his first experience with friends next week.

Thanks, Tighe, for your interest in Gig Harbor restaurants (post from last night). So...I'm taking the plunge and posting my very first topic. I asked Jason Perlow if it was okay to talk about a client...he was fine with it as long as I state my affiliation. I am the marketing consultant for a waterfront restaurant in Gig Harbor, the Beach House at Purdy (TBHP). It is my favorite place to eat in the entire state of WA (I ate there 10+ times before finally meeting the chef and I'm meeting someone there for drinks/tapas at 3:30 p.m. today)...kind of reminds me of Cape Cod/Maine where my husband grew up. TBHP is a secret we "south of Seattle" residents have kept to ourselves...until now (I haven't seen a write-up about this place outside of Tacoma and Gig Harbor)... One of the most humble chefs I have ever worked with, Gordon Naccarato, 49 and co-owner/chef of TBHP, was born and reared in Tacoma. As a child he peeled potatoes to make french fries at the Little Ritz, his paternal grandparents' restaurant in Spanaway (near Tacoma). His maternal grandparents were from Sweden; he remembers the smells of butter cookies and freshly brewed coffee in their kitchen. At UW, Gordon cooked at his fraternity house, Sigma Phi Epsilon (which becomes very important 24 years later). After graduating cum laude (smart guy!) from UW, he moved to LA for law school at Loyola Marymount University. After two years, Gordon realized that his true passions were outside of the legal world. In the late 1970s, Gordon walked into Michael’s, the day before it opened. He started waiting tables and then moved back to the kitchen to learn. When someone left, Gordon would move into the next rung on the ladder. He worked with Jonathan Waxman, Nancy Silverton, Mark Peel, Ken Frank, Kazuto Matsusaka, Roy Yamaguichi, Billy Pflug and Jimmy Brinkley. After a couple of years, Michael McCarthy christened Gordon as its executive chef. After his stint at Michael’s, Gordon moved to Aspen in 1984 and opened Gordon’s with the late Bruce Paltrow and his actress-wife, Blythe Danner, as his partners. Gordon’s became an overnight success with reservations booked months in advance. For many years, Gordon’s was considered the “best place to eat between the Coasts” (The New York Times). The restaurant’s annual New Year’s Eve party was the hottest ticket in town with the restaurant’s windows covered to prevent the paparazzi from taking photographs of the stars attending. His regular customers included Jack Nicholson, Yoko Ono, Barbra Streisand, Goldie Hawn, Cher, Elizabeth Taylor, Ethel Kennedy, and Arnold Schwarzenegger. In 1988, Gordon was honored as one of the “10 Best New Chefs” by Food & Wine Magazine. In 1992, Gordon returned to Los Angeles as the chef of the Monkey Bar, owned by Jack Nicholson and Don Henley. Food critics and diners alike went wild for everything on the menu. “Gordon’s lobster tacos and 3-alarm risotto are as famous as the celebrities that pack the place” (The Los Angeles Times). The “global menu is the star of this remarkable hangout” (The New York Times). Gordon also served as the chef of Campanile in Los Angeles, the Raleigh Hotel in Miami, Le Colonial in Beverly Hills and Rix in Santa Monica. During the late 1990s, his father, Tacoma businessman Stan Naccarato, encouraged him to move back to the area to open up a restaurant of his own again. With Tacoma in the midst of a cultural and economic Renaissance, Gordon believed the timing was right to move home and open a neighborhood waterfront bistro. In 2001, Gordon returned to Washington and searched for the perfect location to open his restaurant. With the support of his family and friends, Naccarato opened The Beach House at Purdy at the location of “Pearls by the Sea,” a Gig Harbor landmark and owned by the family of one of his fraternity brothers from UW. According to thrice-weekly patrons, there are several “must see, must eat” items on the dinner menu. The Beach House oysters ($12.50) are a work-of-art…Hood Canal oysters roasted on the half-shell, creamed spinach, apple-smoked bacon, walnuts, parmesan and garlic breadcrumbs. The crabcake ($12/$23) is not your typical Seattle crabcake. Gordon’s crabcake is made with Dungeness crab, halibut and shrimp, Thai tartar sauce and Asian slaw. Other options include the goat cheese relleno ($9.50) with goat cheese, stuffed Anaheim chile, blue cornmeal, and avocado salsa as well as the steak frites ($23.50) with seared petite prime New York minute steak, button mushrooms, herb fries, tomato & Walla Walla onion salad (he will serve it only rare to medium rare only, don't ask for it well-done). If anyone would like to try this place as a group of eGulleters, please let me know. Gordon is finally taking Sundays and Wednesdays off (after working two years on his restaurant). The Beach House at Purdy 13802 Purdy Drive NW Gig Harbor, Washington 98332 Open Daily 3-11 p.m Beach Party (drinks and tapas/small plates) from 3-5 p.m. Dinner from 5-11 p.m. 253-858-9900 No website...yet (I'm working on it!)...Best, Kimo

I found out today. I do marketing for a small Japanese restaurant/sushi bar in Gig Harbor (Bistro Satsuma & Sushi Bar). Chef Tak Suetsugu and his wife Minae were the chef and co-owners of Nikko from 1997-2002 (before moving down south to Pierce County). Minae told me today. As you can imagine, the news was heartbreaking for her and for Chef Tak (who created the current kaiseki dinner still featured at Nikko). I couldn't believe it...so I called the restaurant and the hostess confirmed it. They have reservations available tonight, tomorrow nite and Saturday as well. Re: Roy's. The Outback Steakhouse people (deep pockets) have a stake in Roy's so you probably won't see that restaurant closing anytime soon. If anyone wants info on the restaurant scene in Gig Harbor, let me know. There are two restaurants here that are probably among the top 10 in the state.

Farewell...another restaurant is going out of business on Saturday night (August 30th) - Nikko at the Westin Seattle.

A friend (former hotel catering director in Tacoma and Seattle) had her wedding at A Country Location and recommends using Pyramid Catering. And, she has tasted menus at many of Seattle's top catering companies as well as restaurants (many have expanded to off-site catering). You may want to borrow a copy of Bravo Seattle as well. Good luck, Kimo

Missed the interview...it's online at KUOW: BBQ Interview

I now remember my not-so-memorable lunch entree--the Fish Club crab cake. I did enjoy the cookies and white chocolate creme brulee for dessert. BTW, the assistant server was great re: giving our party more bread and decaf iced coffee. Kimo.

A girlfriend and I lunched at the Fish Club last Friday. I ordered the $20.03 prix fixe (fried calamari, entree, creme brulee). The main dish was not memorable (I am racking my brain to remember what I dined on!); my friend ordered the salmon in filo. The front of the house needs major help, at least during lunch. I stopped by for menus a month ago and it took the manager two days to call me back. Not impressed by the server (he kept on saying this is his first week; the restaurant has barely been open and they are on round two re: servers?). I asked simple questions (wild vs. farmed salmon) and he had to go back to the kitchen three times for answers. And, the valets (free parking) lost my car. We expressed that we only had an hour for lunch and we left after one hour, 45 minutes (20 minutes for the lost car). I probably will not return...there are too many other restaurants I want to try! Kimo

I'm curious to hear about Cafe Juanita (about 10-15 minutes away in Kirkland) and San Souci as well. My suggestions: I've had several amazing business lunches at Seastar Restaurant...have never been for dinner (www.seastarrestaurant.com). The wine list is one of the best on the Eastside. This restaurant is located in downtown Bellevue. Expensive. I have had spectacular meals at Salish Lodge & Spa (www.salishlodge.com), located 20 minutes east of Bellevue next to Snoqualmie Falls; the sommelier worked under the sommelier at Seastar. And, the cheese tray is one of the best in the country. Very Expensive. If you're in Bellevue for lunch, I've had wonderful lunches at Pogacha Restaurant (can't find website, found a nice review at www.mainstreetdental.com/restaura.htm). Please report back on your one-day findings!

A friend goes down to Walla Walla 5-6 times a year and raves about the taco trucks (not really restaurants, but where everyone who works in the vineyards/farms/wineries/restaurants/bars go for a quick meal). Also, the chef from Salish Lodge & Spa is moving down to Walla Walla and opening his restaurant in first quarter 2004. At last count in Walla Walla, there are now over 50 wineries as well as the hometown of Whitman College...definitely a need for great hotels/B&Bs/restaurants/bars. And, it's still an affordable weekend away from Seattle... Kimo

On the Eastside, I had a great lunch last week at Nara's in Redmond (first visit, not my last). I probably had four or five pieces of unagi. I haven't been to Sushiman in Issaquah since last year. Reasonable bento lunch boxes. Tasty sushi. I don't know if they're still open. And, I love the owners of Bistro Satsuma and Sushi Bar in Gig Harbor (two miles from the Narrows Bridge), who were the co-owners of Nikko in the Westin Seattle from 1997-2002 (BTW, their current offerings are $2 less per roll than at Nikko). Maybe rent is cheaper in Gig Harbor...the prices are substantially lower than anything in Seattle/Belltown. I just had sushi there two days ago.