CHEW ON THIS

STAR-BULLETIN / 1994 He's back, but this time he's promoting tacos.

Bu La’ia gives up politics but
campaigns for Maui Tacos

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Star-Bulletin Staff

Whatever happened to Bu?

The scraggly haired ex-gubernatorial candidate Bu La'ia, a k a "the Hawaiian Superman," is pitching tacos.

He has signed on with Maui Tacos to write, produce and star in promotional radio spots for chef Mark Ellman's chain of seven isle restaurants.

The spots are running on radio stations on Maui, Oahu and the Big Island. Bu's guiding principal: "I want to edumacate the local people how ono the food at Maui Tacos is."

L&L opens 55th eatery

The L&L Drive-Inn empire continues to expand. Eddie Flores opened his seventh L&L on the West Coast, in Carson, Calif. L&L now has 55 restaurants, mostly in Hawaii, but also in California and Oregon, serving up local-style plate lunches with two scoops rice and macaroni salad.

Flores and partner Johnson Kam founded L&L in 1976. The chain was recently placed on the Top 50 list of Regional Powerhouse Chains by the national magazine Restaurant News.

Last month Flores was awarded the 2002 Governor's Kilohana Award for his volunteer work in the Filipino community, including raising funds for the Filipino Community Center in Waipahu and serving as an officer of FilCom Center.

He has also led a 12-week lecture program, "How to Start a Really Small Business."

Learn organic cooking

The Palms Cliff House on the Big Island is offering cooking classes and farm tours that teach the growing and use of mostly organic produce, as well as island meats and fish.

The sessions run April 26 to 28 and include a day picking vegetables and fruits, followed by a picnic lunch and a hands-on cooking class.

A Sunday brunch and cooking class follow the next day. Cost is $375 for classes, tours and most meals. Discounts are offered for travel and accommodations. Call (808) 963-6076 or visit the Web site, www.palmscliffhouse.com.

Special events

Cheese Culture: The April meeting of the Mariposa restaurant's cheese club focuses on French wines and artisan cheeses, 6 p.m. Wednesday. On the cheese board will be Banon Chevre, Coeur de Bourgogne, Roquefort, Bleu d'Auvergne and more. Sommelier Robert Viernes will pair the selections with three wines. Cost is $20. Call 951-3420.

Cooking class and dinner: Learn to make a deluxe four-course meal, then sample it with wines, 6 p.m. Tuesday, 3660 on the Rise. The menu: French Onion Soup with a Cheese Crust, Chinese Steamed Chilean Sea Bass, Roast Chicken with Fresh Garlic and Soft Polenta Poached Pear in Riesling with Lychee Sorbet. Cost is $48. Call 737-1177.

All-American Lunch Buffet: The Parc Café's culinary tour of the nation stops down south in April. Added to the lunch buffet are Pecan-Crusted Catfish, Black-Eyed Peas and Ham Soup, barbecued ribs, fried chicken, macaroni and cheese, turnip greens and red rice and beans. The sandwich bar continues to serve New Orleans-style oyster and shrimp Po'boys, and southern favorites have been added to the dessert station.

Cost is $15.95. Children pay $1 for each year of age. The buffet is offered Thursdays and Saturdays. The Parc Café is located in the Waikiki Parc Hotel. Call 931-7272.

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