By Dave Donnelly
Monday, March 3, 1997
Michael Schlow, Andi Simpson
Michael Schlow, Andi Simpson
PEOPLE who are serious about their food should be advised that the cuisine of one of the country's hottest new chefs, the young Michael Schlow, is being served up this week at Bali-by-the-Sea. Schlow himself was at the restaurant for the past several days which means he was far from Cafe Louis, in Boston, when food critic Ruth Reichl featured him and his restaurant on the front page of the "Living Arts" section of the New York Times last Wednesday. She wrote about seven Boston restaurants, but Cafe Louis was No. 1 and Schlow's photo was prominently displayed on the front page of the section. Reichl wrote of the modest Schlow, "Frankly, I was dazzled by some of his food." So, too, were those who sampled it at the Bali ... Schlow’s fast rise
to culinary fameAND while crowds who are slaves to the Times, and particularly Reichl, were phoning his restaurant to get a table for dinner, he and his fiancee, Amy, were in the islands - she in the ocean and he in the kitchen ... Funny scene at Schlow's first evening at the Bali: A guest raised her glass and toasted, "Bon Appetit." A 30ish woman across from her deadpanned, "We don't like to say that." Turns out she was Dana Cowin of Food & Wine Magazine, a rival of Bon Appetit's. Asked what she did for the magazine, Cowin replied, "I'm the editor-in-chief." ...
GREAT spot for an after-dinner relaxation: The Lewers Lounge in the Halekulani. We stopped by the other night to listen to Loretta Ables, ably backed by pianist Jim Howard and bassist Bruce Hamada Jr. Jazz musician Ken Wild, formerly with Seawind and now a studio musician in L.A., dropped in and was installed on bass, with Hamada moving to piano and Howard soloing on flute. Great musicianship! Also in the room was Roslyn Freitas, who with Dustin Sparks is putting together the "Wishes & Wings" musical production at Ala Moana Center. Roslyn got Loretta to agree to be the voice of an endangered monk seal in their cast, and promised to write a song for her called "Nice 'n' Easy." Ables responded by singing the old standard song with the same name ...
Hollywood celebrates Grammy night, but Honolulu marks Andi night. The International Association of Business Communicators held its "Ilima Grammys" at the Hilton Hawaiian Village last week. The BHP staff headed by Andi Simpson not only walked off with 10 awards, including one for the BHP-sponsored Eddie Kamae film project, "Words, Earth and Aloha," but also won three national IABC "Silver Six" awards. At the conclusion of the evening, local IABC president Rick Klemm of the Hawaiian Sugar Planters Association wryly thanked everyone for coming to the "Andi Simpson/BHP Show." And as she was departing with awards in tow, one colleague stopped Dandi Andi and said, "Thanks for not entering in our category so we could win something." ... Andi is dandy
WHEN I first heard there was a bomb scare at the new Hawaiian Airlines terminal, I thought it must have come from someone made crazy by that rash of lame new Hawaiian Air TV spots featuring Ray Bumatai doing a kind of David Letterman imitation in a cab. But it turned out to be a false alarm ... Not everyone can afford to plunk down $125 to have dinner and smoke a cigar with George Hamilton, so Richard Field will be interviewing the actor on his KHVH radio show from 1 to 2 p.m. on March 15, and after the show they'll head for the R. Field Wine Co. in Ward Centre where the public is free to schmooze or have a stogie with the actor from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m. He'll also sign autographs ...
FANS of Armistead Maupin will be thrilled to hear that "Tales of the City" is coming to BRAVO beginning tomorrow night and running five successive Tuesdays. The "Tales" are based on Maupin's popular S.F. Chronicle columns about the gay life in the '70s when a diet pill called Ayds was well known and the dread disease AIDS was not. "Tales," starring Olympia Dukakis, first ran on PBS ... Tales of S.F.
