Our Picks for the Weekend
Star-Bulletin staff
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FOOD
3-Star Gourmet II
810 Richards St., Suite 100 / 566-6353
While restaurants statewide have been raising prices, 3-Star Gourmet II -- the original is on Bishop Street -- enters the picture (in a spot formerly occupied by a McDonald's) offering full plates at $7.50 to $8.50, giving basic ingredients a gourmet twist.
They do try, but in focusing on the upgrades, they fall short in the basics.
Chicken piccata with pasta ($7.50), for instance, is topped with a wonderful fresh saute of tomatoes, onions, mushrooms and capers. Four-star treatment, for sure, but the danger of using chicken filets this thin is overcooking, which is exactly what brought it down to three stars, or less, depending on how much you enjoy chewing and sawing with the plastic fork given to accomplish this task.
I worried about dryness with the seared furikake salmon ($8.50) as well, but was rewarded with a thick, perfectly cooked fillet. But here the problem was drowning the furikake in a thick, creamy dill sauce. I'd like to believe that most people who order furikake anything want to taste the nori, making the sauce superfluous. But this will seem trivial to hungry, budget-conscious office workers who may be willing to overlook flaws if the price is right.
They're open for early breakfasts, and make some great basic omelets for $5.75 to $6.25. Buttermilk pancakes are $4.25, and $5.25 with a choice of bananas, blueberries or macadamia nuts.
Open 5 a.m. to 7 p.m. Mondays to Fridays. Costs less than $10 per person.
FAMILY
Magic Island event offers fun for entire family
This weekend is your last chance to enjoy the fun at the Honolulu Family Festival at Magic Island.
Besides the usual assortment of E.K. Fernandez shows, rides, games and assorted food booths, the entertainment lineup includes:
» Friday: Royal Hawaiian Band (5 p.m.), Frank De Lima (7 p.m.) and the band Elephant (9 p.m.).
» Saturday: The Royal Hawaiian Band again (4 p.m.), a Celtic music and dance group (6 p.m.), Satellite Grey (7 p.m.) and Johnny Helm (9 p.m.).
» Sunday: The Kenny Endo Taiko Ensemble (3 p.m.), the Royal Hawaiian Band one more time (4 p.m.), Tell Mama (6 p.m.) and Pimpbot (7 p.m.).
Hours are 5 p.m. to midnight Friday, 10 a.m. to midnight Saturday and 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday.
Admission is free. Call 924-1907 or visit HonoluluFamilyFestival.com.
MUSIC
Blind musicians give performance at library
The "Out-of-Sight" concert, a special event featuring Hawaii's talented sightless musicians and singers, will make some noise at the Waianae Public Library.
Sponsored by Hui o Na Makamaka (Friends of the Library for the Blind & Physically Handicapped), the concert will introduce the audience to the many free services offered by the special library. More information and product demonstrations for and about the blind will also be available, along with refreshments.
The event will be from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday at the library, 85-625 Farrington Highway. Call 733-8444.
ART
Documentary on famed tattoo artist screened
Tattooing had part of its historical development in downtown Honolulu, so it's only apt that a documentary exploring the roots of American inking will be shown at a bar -- albeit a hip one -- on Hotel Street on Monday.
"Hori Smoku Sailor Jerry: The Life and Times of Norman Keith Collins" is about tattoos' most iconoclastic figure, considered by many as the foremost tattoo artist of all time and the father of modern-day tattooing. Collins had his last studio here in Chinatown during the 1930s. His uncompromising lifestyle and larger-than-life persona made him a legend.
Director Erich Weiss will attend the event from 7 to 9 p.m. Monday at Bar 35 on Hotel Street. The film will show at 8 p.m. in the bar's garden. Cocktails and pupus will be compliments of Sailor Jerry Rum, whose name is inspired by said tattoo icon. Go to either sailorjerry.com or horismokumovie.com.
MOVIES
Auteurs get 48 hours to make a movie
On your mark, get set, shoot!
The 48 Hour Film Project starts in earnest Friday from 6 to 7 p.m. as team representatives head to the Honolulu Design Center's Cupola Theatre on Kapiolani Boulevard to find out what character, prop, line of dialogue and genre they must include in their respective projects.
Forty-eight sleepless hours later, the completed films will be dropped off at downtown's Ong King Art Center, starting at 6 p.m. The films will then be screened Aug. 21 and 22 back at the Cupola Theatre from 7 to 10 p.m. The top three finishers will receive cash and equipment rental prizes. Admission will be $20 each night.
In 2007, some 30,000 filmmakers made films in 55 cities around the world. This year, the project is even bigger, with filmmakers in more than 70 cities taking on the challenge to make a film in just two days' time.
Send questions, stories or other story ideas or comments to: Features, Honolulu Star-Bulletin, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., Suite 7-210, Honolulu, HI 96813 or e-mail
features@starbulletin.com.
Please include your phone number.