Mizutani’s eatery
will be missed

A wise man (the late Beatle George Harrison) once said, "All things must pass."

A recent example: Mizutani Coffee Shop, on Cooke Street in Kakaako. At the beginning of the year, owner Hiroshi Mizutani closed the hole-in-the-wall eatery and retired, after years of serving great local-kine grinds at wallet-friendly prices. The restaurant was small, cheaply but charmingly furnished, and -- unfortunately sometimes -- not air-conditioned. It could get terribly hot, especially in the kitchen, where cooks Mizutani and Andrew DeVelschow worked their magic.

Customers loved the place and its friendly staff anyway. My favorite dishes were the "mini vegetable-tofu" on rice with a scoop of macaroni salad, miso soup, the grilled cheese sandwich, and the Garden Burger. I can almost taste them now.

Mizutani's is gone, and I mourn its passing.

Mark Coleman

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