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The Weekly Eater

BY NADINE KAM

Sunday, November 11, 2001


Weekly Eater restaurant photo
KEN SAKAMOTO / KSAKAMOTO@STARBULLETIN.COM
Augie Tulba, left, Iva Kinimaka, center, and Lanai Taburo
clown it up at the Ukulele Cafe.



Grind ’em, smoke ’em,
laugh ’em up at Ukulele Cafe

Augie & Lanai, being local kine guys, love fo' eat local kine grinds -- das wid one "s" so as not to be confused wid da famous TV show "Local Kine Grindz" -- so dey show up at Iva's Place in Kalihi plenny times, so many times dey call Iva "uncle" lidat.

An' of course u know awready coz u read Star-Bulletin dat he one small staff, personal kine operator dat hog all da work himself, no reason 'cept das how he is, workholic. An' of course all dem guys going be frens coz jus' like Augie & Lanai da big stars of today wid "Island Rhythms" radio show, "Jan Ken Po" TV game show even, Iva himsef not so shabby, singin' wen he was mo' young den Augie & Lanai. (Chek out Dave Donnelly column page 19.)

Nex' ting u know, da 3 in restaurant bizness 2getha tanks to Cigar Emporium guy, Dan Leek. He had xtra space wen he move from Pearl Kai to where Stuart Anderson stay 'an so he let dem make restaurant in da xtra space. Flo-recent lite not too nice but thass OK; guys no care. (An' at Cigar Emporium whass so cool for wahine ees not da smoke in da hair, but da leftova box, cardboard kine $1, wood kine $4, so nice I buy 3 mysef, but u guys I waiting fo' da big bambucha one, da one wid the shelf, drawer, make nice jewelry box. I know get one hidden behind da counter lidat but somebody hogging, so go smoke plenny an' call me wen cigars pau coz I waitin' fo' da box only.)

But das off da subject -- wea I wuz? -- Oh yea ... So Iva, he awready get Diner's, get Iva's Place, get Iva's Place Too, wat fo' he need one 'nother restaurant, headache I tink. But da guys work 2getha, da two funny guys dey come an' give Iva's recipes new names afta famous-kine frens like dose TV stars, so on da pupu menu get Robert Pipikaula ($8.95), Shawn Chicken Ching Wing Dings ($4.95), Tiny Tadani's Teri Tidbits ($3.95), an' music people too like Fiji's Fish & Fries ($4.95) an' Sean Na'a WOW!!! Laulau (dat last name I tink Frank DeLima make up befo' Augie & Lanai, but das OK coz Frank he no mo' restaurant, yet, anyting can happen I know. Dat laulau pretty salty, but get plenny pork an' dey make 'em wid chicken if u tink u 2 fat, on diet coz oshare thass wai.)

All da food stay simple, like homemade, coz das whass important to local kine guys, not fancy rainbow-color stack 'em up food wid da small orange or black fish eggs on top.

Also get Shumai Lanai ($3.50) but no fair dat Augie, he so kolohe, he go hog da bes' fo' name afta himsef! Dat Augie T Bone Steak so ono, 12-ounce charbroil dat Iva make one perfeck medium. Little bit salt. Little bit pepper. Pau. Even get nice vegtable on da side, cauliflower, broccoli, carrot. He steam 'em and still stay crunchy. How u figa? Like magic or somtin', maybe Iva jus' get da talent.

If u fo' real hungry, gotta get da C&K chicken and kalbi, das one good combination wid 2 strips teriyaki barbecue shortribs, an' da chicken golden and juicy. Plenny food fo' $7.95, I tinkin' das good deal. Or maybe u like da real kine Hawaiian Kanaka Kombo ($7.25). Dis get kalua pig AND laulau, plus poi or rice, pipikaula, lomi salmon, sweet potato, haupia. So much u gotta call Augie & Lanai ova, help eat.

Da kalua turkey dey say juicy, but dis one I no tink so, but maybe das my fault coz I tell Iva I no like gravy wid dat; I always tink 2 much fat an' salt in gravy thass wai. Plus da ting served on bread, look mo' skimpy den one nice sesame-seed bun.

Maybe bes' of all, even if dey workin' hard, dey try make party too. Get music Thursday to Saturday nites. Dey tryin' to make stuff happen da adda nites too, but u know dey jus' wen get started las' month. Need time fo' tings happen.

Augie & Lanai play here 8 p.m. Fridays, get cover charge, always different depends who's musical guest. Augie, he stay vacation dis week so tonite and tomorrow going get dat bolo head, goofy eyeball, funny smile guy Mel Cabang fo' make u laugh for $15 -- watch out no sit in da front row yeah, or u know he going make funa u, not da adda way 'round, 'cept kinda hard fo' hide coz da room stay small.

Sunday, dey have Hawaiian brunch buffet ting going on 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., all-you-can-eat $9.85.

So I go ask Iva if dis enuff restaurants fo' him now, an' he go, yeah, coz dis time is somting diffrent, make him feel 2nd childhood lidat.

"There's always something happening. I entertained for 30 years, now I'm cooking, my friends come in, and you know, sometimes I get on stage and I sing a little bit."

Jus' den, one adda customa, he go make interruption coz he like pay fo' dinner, an' he ask, "How long u stay open tonite?"

An' Iva, he bin in bizness so long but he don' know. He go, "9, 10, 11, 12, until I fall down."

Lanai & Augie's Ukulele Cafe

98-1254 Kaahumanu St. (near Stuart Anderson's) / 484-5757

Food

Service 1/2

Ambience

Value

Hours: 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily; pupu 10 p.m. to 2 a.m.

Cost: Less than $10 per person



See some past restaurant reviews in the
Do It Electric!

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;
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 nkam@starbulletin.com



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