The Weekly Eater

By Nadine Kam
Star-Bulletin

Thursday, January 1, 1998

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The ABCs of
eating great in 1998

THE wave of restaurant closings seems to have slowed in 1997 when compared to the revolving door of eateries in 1996.

Practical thinking made all the difference. Restaurateurs have largely ignored the notion of "atmosphere," the better to put value on the plate.

"Value" doesn't mean cheap. It just means we want to pay a fair price for what we are given, whether dining upscale or family style. No one wants to feel sick to their stomach when it's time to pay the bill.

This year may be remembered as the year of the Incredible Shrinking Restaurant, a trend we'll keep seeing in coming years with more niche products such as Italian-style sandwiches on foccacia served by Panini Grill and salsa bar fixings at Maui Tacos.

In 1997, the openings that caused the most excitement were Sam Choy's Breakfast, Lunch & Crab; Dixie Grill; and Palomino. Other than that, it was pretty quiet. Too quiet. Let's hope we can say "I ate great in '98." Already, I'm looking forward to chef David Paul Johnson bringing a bit of his Maui magic to the renovated Colony Surf Hotel in February. Also Oahu-bound: San Francisco's Jeremiah Tower and another high-profile neighbor island chef.

HERE are some dining possibilities for 1998 and beyond:

Know your ABC's: I'm talking vitamins. With more information pouring in every day about proper nutrition, it'll become easier to predict the proper fuel for any occasion. Wedding party planning or upcoming school exam's got you confused? Ginseng may be just the thing to boost your energy level and mental alertness.

Health food stores have long provided food supplements like bee pollen and lecithin for the body conscious. Juice bars followed suit, zapping their drinks with vitamin, mineral and amino acid boosters. Restaurants could easily do the same, customizing soups and stews as prescribed by you. There's no need to reach for the salt shaker when a dash of neutraceuticals may do your body more good.

The countertrend: Of course meat lovers won't all give up at once. Vegetarian is often cited as a human and planetary ideal, but just this year a study vilified the raising of greens -- with chemical needs, soil depletion and run-off -- as being more toxic to the environment than raising pigs or cattle.

Perhaps the constant nagging about watching our fat and sodium intake had the opposite effect anyway. Like naughty children, we threw caution to the wind, revisiting the martini; steak (64.2 pounds consumed per person, according to the U.S. departments of agriculture and commerce); and embracing salty, sugary li hing powder, which these days tops everything from cigars to cakes.

What's next? Maybe li hing powder as a way to fool kids into eating their veggies.

And about that beef, America's favorite food has been merely repackaged with regional themes to give it more exotic appeal, i.e. Oahu newcomers Dixie Grill and Outback Steakhouse, respectively serving up tastes of the South and Australia.

Just souper: In past years we've elevated coffee, tea, juice and tequila to gourmet status. Next year's liquid's gotta be soup. It can be delicate or weighty, heavenly or wicked, sheer or dense. No one has yet dared to give soup the star billing it deserves. That is so wrong.

Grinds.com: You can't run a restaurant these days without offering a companion Web site that let's browsers know what's on the menu. In bigger restaurants, computers allow waithelp to converse with the kitchen without busy staff tripping over one another.

Can't wait to see terminals at the table. Maybe there'll be no more misunderstandings when we tell the cook ourselves, "Make my burger medium rare, with organic lettuce and onions, no mayo, and dressing on the side, with a pinch of li hing powder."

Nadine Kam's restaurant reviews run on Thursdays. Reviews are conducted anonymously and paid for by the Star-Bulletin. Star ratings are based on comparisons of similar restaurants:

-- excellent;
-- very good, exceeds expectations;
-- average;
-- below average.

To recommend a restaurant, write: The Weekly Eater, P.O. Box 3080, Honolulu, Hawaii 96802. Or send e-mail to features@starbulletin.com