The Weekly Eater
VACATION planning has become relatively easy thanks to the Internet. There's nothing like being able to inspect hotel rooms and peruse menus before deciding where in the world you want to be. A cyber tour of
Hawaii’s restaurantsI'm considering going to New Mexico so I started my search for rooms. It would do no good to search for food. There are different reasons to go to different places and I go to New Mexico to stand under the big sky and feast on open space.
You can get a pretty decent picture of a place online, so I wondered what a typical tourist might discover of Hawaii cuisine through the Internet. It was quite a tour ... although not one I'd typically recommend.
Starting my search with Yahoo!, the first restaurant that appeared was Hooter's of Hawaii (http://www.hootershawaii.com), billed as "delightfully tacky, yet unrefined." (Remember, I'm playing a tourist who doesn't know a thing about Hawaii so I can't call up specific restaurant Web pages.)
At Hooter's I was greeted by Girl of the Month Christine, whose like is: "Passing by the zoo on my way to work and seeing the giraffes towering over the fence."
That was a bust, so I trudged on.
A Honolulu metro search raised confusion over island boundaries. Immediately, Maui eateries Chuck's Kihei and Moose McGillicuddy's Lahaina appeared, followed by Brennecke's on Kauai.
Looking under the "Burgers" heading, I found Gordon Biersch (http://www.gbhonolulu.com/gb/), where Marzen BBQ Babyback Ribs ($19) and a Garlic-Rubbed Hangar Steak with Marzen Mustard ($17) seemed appealing.
It was dinnertime and the search was making me hungry. So I did the practical thing and dialed up Room Service in Paradise to place an order for ribs at Brent's, one of Room Service's handful of participating restaurants. The home delivery service is available to Kailua (263-3463) and Honolulu (941-3463) diners. My dinner would arrive in 45 minutes.
A search under the "Fusion" heading brought up David Paul's Lahaina Grill (http://www.davidpauls.com). The site gives viewers an entrance, where you're whisked to meet the chef, posed with Diamond Head in the background. You can opt to visit the martini bar or chef's table before you peek at the menu.
I'd come to Hawaii for Kona Coffee Roasted Rack of Lamb ($28). And if you can't be here, you can use his recipe to make a Reconstructed California Roll.
Just like the restaurant, it's a four-star site and other restaurateurs seeking to go on line might want to take a look.
Other search engines such as Infoseek, Lycos, Altavista and Snap.com failed to yield the jackpot of restaurants I had hoped for. Most delivered straight text or listings in which half the restaurants had closed.
Some of the most interesting sites are those created by "real people," who want to talk about their favorite places. One is http://www.ics.hawaii.edu/~sugihara/dms95/restaurant.html, with a listing of mom-and-pop finds, most described in one line. Ja-Ja "serves spicy food."
Other sites welcome all feedback, and this can be fun if people are honest. This time, I could only find the Hawaii Review site (http://www.hawaiireview.com) where the mostly Japan visitor responses are "Happy." I suppose they use "Sad" for negative responses, but I couldn't find any.
The site was useful in that it gave the most comprehensive listing of noteworthy restaurants, from Alan Wong's to Kua Aina "Sandwitch." With this list I could begin to search for specific restaurant Web pages.
By this time I was starving and my dinner had arrived. There are still some things you can't get in the virtual world.
See a listing of past restaurants reviewed in the
section online. Click the logo to go!
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;
To recommend a restaurant, write: The Weekly Eater, P.O. Box 3080, Honolulu, Hawaii 96802. Or send e-mail to features@starbulletin.com
