The Weekly Eater

By Nadine Kam
Star-Bulletin

This story is excerpted from the April 25 column.

---

One need only hit the road to find the proof. This may not be true everywhere, but recent western sojourns have been unremarkable from a culinary view. In Phoenix, Ariz., where the most popular restaurants are in shopping malls, the wait for a table averages an hour and once you're seated you have to wonder why people are willing to wait for food as flat and monotonous as the terrain. (No, I didn't try RoxSand's, a restaurant with Hawaii roots and the most promise. I didn't want to wait in another line.)

In Portland, Ore., the only show in town is Wildwood in the trendy Northeast, and in Seattle, there is perhaps one good restaurant for every five in Hawaii.

So a restaurant like Scott's Seafood Grill and Bar, with roots in California, may be good there; great if it were in Phoenix; but merely tummy filler here.

FOR a seafood restaurant, its offerings are limited when compared to Kincaid's or any upscale Chinese seafood restaurant. Scott's doesn't have the multiple offerings of whole lobster, crab or other shellfish and fish one might expect.

Prices are higher than at other theme restaurants. And the food, though making use of the Pacific Rim formula, just doesn't sparkle the way it might at the hands of a Roy Yamaguchi or Alan Wong.

Crab Cakes ($12.95 for two) were encased in a tough panko shell, as sturdy on the outside as ready-to-heat prepackaged nuggets. A mild Thai sauce accented with ginger and lemongrass gave a much-needed boost to the crab meat.

Beef and Lobster Carpaccio was given an Asian accent drizzled with an unimaginative soy sauce mixture.

Blackened Sea Bass ($19.95) was served in a sauce that resembled weak tomato-vegetable soup. The chefs avoided further sauce problems by serving a combination of prawns and perfectly grilled sea scallops ($23.50) in little more than butter and cream.

Light eaters with light pocketbooks have a couple of options in the likes of vegetarian Angel Hair Pasta ($12.95) and a Hawaiian Coconut Fish Stew ($9.50), that goes easier on the coconut milk than certain Waikiki restaurants trying to impress tourists.

Scott's has come a long way from opening day, but in this competitive market, it needs to try a little harder in the food department. Staffing is fine though.

Where: Aloha Tower Marketplace
Hours: 10:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday to Thursday; to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday
Prices: Dinner for two about $50 to $60 without drinks.
Call: 537-6800

First-timers this year include Acqua, Bueno Nalo, Diem Vietnamese Restaurant and Cafe, Hoku's, Kahala Moon, Pacific Vegetarian Cafe, Portofino, Sam Choy's Diamond Head, Scott's Seafood and Trilussa.

Tickets are also available to the event's June 22 Bishop Square gala kick-off bash, featuring a five-course dinner created by 10 top Honolulu and neighbor island chefs. Tickets are $125 per person. Call 536-1015.

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