By Craig T. Kojima, Star-Bulletin
Organic fare cooked up by chef Sean Kinoshita is on the menu at Sunset Grill, where there will be an Organic Farmers' Makahiki Saturday.
The South King Street venue tops 29 awardees in Honolulu magazine's Hale 'Aina event at 6 p.m. Jan. 20 at the Hilton Hawaiian Village Coral Ballroom.
Tickets are $75 for the culinary/musical event, featuring cocktails, sampling, silent auction and Doc Severinsen conducting the Honolulu Symphony. Formal attire is suggested; proceeds benefit the symphony. Call 545-2588.
Other winners in the annual awards program are: Sam Choy's Diamond Head Restaurant, best Hawaii Regional Cuisine; A Pacific Cafe Oahu, best new restaurant; Bali Restaurant, best hotel restaurant and best wine list; La Mer, best haute cuisine.
Also, Kakaako Kitchen, best meal under $20; Orchids, best Sunday brunch; Sunset Grill, best lunch spot; Nick's Fishmarket, best seafood; Hy's Steak House, best steak; Yanagi Sushi, best sushi bar; Gordon Biersch Brewery Restaurant, best place for a drink; and Hau Tree Lanai Restaurant, best location.
Ethnic-cuisine honors go to Golden Dragon Restaurant, best Chinese; Maple Garden Restaurant, best neighborhood Chinese restaurant; Buddhist Vegetarian Restaurant, best vegetarian; Kyo-Ya Restaurant, best Japanese; Singha Thai Cuisine, best Thai; Hale Vietnam, best Vietnamese; Kim Chee Restaurants, best Korean; Matteo's Italian Restaurant, best Italian; and Compadres Bar & Grill, best Mexican.
Finally, neighbor island winners include A Pacific Cafe Kauai, best Kauai restaurant; Dondero's in the Hyatt Regency Kauai, best Kauai hotel restaurant; David Paul's Lahaina Grill, best Maui restaurant; The Anuenue at the Ritz-Carlton Kapalua, best Maui hotel restaurant; Merriman's, best Big Island restaurant; and CanoeHouse at the Mauna Lani Bay Hotel, best Big Island hotel restaurant.
Rise and shine: 3660 On the Rise chef/restaurateur Russell Siu signs his new "On the Rise" cookbook 8 p.m. Friday, Barnes & Nobel Kahala. Call 737-3323.
Organic Makahiki: Entertainment by Na Hoku Hanohano award winner Willie K and by ki ho'alu (slack key guitar) artist/organic farmer George Kahumoku, and the cuisine of Sunset Grill's new executive chef, Sean Kinoshita, headline an "Organic Farmers' Makahiki" 6 p.m. Saturday, at the Restaurant Row eatery; $20, with proceeds benefiting the Hawaii Organic Farmers Association. Call 947-3683.
Roy's Crazy 8: A hot ticket is "Roy's Crazy 8th Anniversary" champagne/wine dinner showcasing Tavern on the Green chef Patrick Clark; TriBeCa Grill chef Don Pintabona; Veuve Clicquot champagnes; French, Australian and New Zealand wines; and a performance by the Iona Pear Dance Company Jan. 28, Roy's Restaurant; $95 plus tax and tip. Call 396-ROYS (7697).
New Year's quote: Joyce Rosencrans of Scripps Howard News: "This is a nation that counts macaroni and cheese as a vegetable. French fries, too. And leaf lettuce on a sandwich ... To be healthy, we must work at it. There's no vegetable gold mine on the way to work, and drive-through windows are usually fat-filler-uppers."
Freebies: Planning a Super Bowl party? You can get help from a kit on party planning, along with recipes and a a 2.5 ounce bottle of Frank's Redhot Sauce, all free. To receive the kit, send your name and address on a 3-by-5-inch index card to: Frank's Original Redhot Sauce, P.O. Box 307, Coventry, CT 06238.
Prefer tea to hot sauce? You might enjoy the free Stash Tea catalog. Call 800-800-TEAS or browse the company's Internet home page.
Go for the greens: The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine rates United Airlines No. 1 in offering vegetarian and low-fat foods. The Top 7 are rounded out in this order: Continental, No. 2, followed by TWA, American, USAir, Northwest and Delta.