FL MORRIS / FMORRIS@STARBULLETIN.COM At the Easter Seals' annual three-day fund-raiser Taste of Honolulu this past weekend, Star-Bulletin writer Dave Reardon dug into his Salmon Fillet with Yuzu Vinaigrette on Saturday. The dish came from the Colony Steak and Seafood Restaurant at the Hyatt Regency Waikiki.

The man who ate everything

. . . or at least tried to, in a valiant
attempt at this weekend's Taste of
Honolulu, the annual eat-athon for Easter Seals

---

By Dave Reardon
dreardon@starbulletin.com

Blame is a beautiful thing. It's as delicious as cream cheese and much easier to spread. I've put on 50 pounds over the past 10 years and am always looking for new culprits to share the guilt.

Changing metabolism? A distinct lack of self-discipline? Nah ... it's my girth-right to point fingers.

Those 23 restaurants represented over the weekend at Taste of Honolulu don't help me much in my battle to stay under the double-century mark, despite my attempts at moderating gluttony.

I've become a chubby yuppy, and Taste of Honolulu, you're partly to blame.

But hey, it's for a good cause. Easter Seals stands to make a quarter of a million dollars. And we all have to eat, anyway.

In previous years, Taste has been more like "Scarf" or "Gorge" for me. I try to ride every ride at this culinary amusement park as quickly as possible, as many times as my scrip supply allows. And the result is similar to what happens when an 8-year-old tackles the roller coaster seven times: At the end of the day, I didn't feel very well.

FL MORRIS / FMORRIS@STARBULLETIN.COM You're never to young to start on the path of good eating, as Torri Kozumi found out Saturday as he enjoyed the tastes at Taste of Honolulu with his mom, Audrey Kozumi.

This time, since I have to write about it, I try to pace myself better.

Others of the 50,000 strolling through the grounds of Honolulu Hale over the weekend who weren't "working" were in full consumption mode, however.

You can't blame Ricki Hong, formerly of Makiki and now a resident of Las Vegas. By 3 p.m. Saturday the California Hotel blackjack dealer has doubled-down on kalua pig dishes. She can't decide which is better: the kalua pig and lomi salmon from Marian's Catering or the Smoked Kalua Pork Sandwich with Garlic Fries from Gordon Biersch.

"I had to catch up with the local food," Hong says. "The orange chicken (from Eastern Garden) was really good, too. But the drinks are best. Oh, and being with friends I haven't seen in a while."

Hong says she planned her vacation to coincide with the event.

Lynnette Kim, one of several friends with Hong, jokes, "She came home just for Taste of Honolulu, not for us."

Best of Taste People's choice awards voted on by those who attended: Best poultry dish: Tony Roma's Barbecued Chicken Best seafood: The Willows' Bacon-Wrapped Shrimp with Lobster Cream Sauce Best pork: Tony Roma's Original Baby Back Ribs Best beef: Le Bistro's Slow and Low Short Ribs Best vegetarian: Down to Earth's Eggplant Parmigiana with Orzo Pasta Best Salad: The Colony Steak and Seafood Restaurant's Tomato and Maui Onion Salad Best pasta: Ciao Mein's Marble Pasta with Scallops Best dessert: The Colony's 16-Layer Chocolate in Paradise Cake Most spirited staff: Tony Roma's Best-decorated booth: Pipeline Cafe and Big Island Steakhouse (tie)

Hong inspires me. While Taste of Honolulu is about more than pigging out on kalua -- Easter Seals directly helps at least 1,200 families annually in Hawaii -- the food is definitely the star attraction.

I get a little busy, first with an appetizer of Sesame-Seasoned Asparagus with Shiitake Mushrooms from Ciao Mein. Pretty and tasty, but soggy. This seems to be one of those dishes that don't hold up well outside of the restaurant environment. The Marble Pasta with Scallops fares better, voted best pasta dish by attendees.

The restaurants themselves aren't the only ones competing.

Dalton Tanonaka and Duke Aiona, candidates for lieutenant governor, match wits and woks in a "Ready... Set... Cook"-style cook-off, with Tanonaka's chicken hekka and Aiona's salmon dish finishing in a dead heat. There was no runoff.

"No one won," former TV anchor Tanonaka said. "The judges were our wives. What are they going to say?"

Aiona, who was a real judge, is learning fast about running for office. He's sampled several dishes, but wisely declines to pick a favorite -- and also slips in that his campaign war chest doesn't include a budget for riding every ride at Taste of Honolulu.

"They are all very good," he says. "If I had unlimited funds, I'd try them all. It all looks good."

Enough politics. It's time to get back to the hourly grind.

According to Easter Seals Chairman Don Robbs, Eastern Garden has 15,000 pieces of dim sum on hand. I decided to cut the supply down to 14,996.

Dim sum is a delight best enjoyed while lounging on a weekend morning with a pot of tea -- in a restaurant. But who's complaining? The crispy and juicy shrimp won ton is the highlight.

By this point, without even realizing it, I've reached yuppy Nirvana. How else can you describe the ultimate graze-athon, where every other dish is salmon something-or-other and a retro funk band (the excellent eight0eight) plays covers of songs that were hits in both the '70s and the '90s?

I go for the Salmon Fillet with Yuzu Vinaigrette with Tomato and Onion Salad from the Colony. Prior to gulleting every bit of this generous sample, I never would have thought of venturing into Waikiki specifically to eat at a restaurant at the Hyatt Regency Waikiki. Sticker shock might still scare me away, but I plan to at least check it out. Mission accomplished, Hyatt marketing department.

Food, food, food, friendly people, music, wine and beer. And television? If you're not alert, you'll stumble over a cable and lose your lemongrass ahi from Hilton Hawaiian Village.

FOX-2 did six hours live on Saturday. "Live TV at an event of this magnitude is close to suicide," Easter Seals Vice President Billie Gabriel says. "For the whole event, you would not believe how much behind-the-scenes planning goes on. It's a year-round planning process that we run like a small business. The 1,800 volunteers are key. We figured out that without them it would cost us $68,000 for that amount of labor."

The volunteers are compensated with scrip, much of which goes to longtime favorites such as the Black Tiger Prawns from Chai's Island Bistro and Poha Bread Pudding from Prince Court.

Best performance by a new artist? The exposure that the succulent slow-and-low short ribs from Le Bistro receive at Taste should keep owner and chef Alan Takasaki busy in the coming months.

The Culinary Institute of the Pacific at Kapiolani Community College also makes an impressive debut, hooking up with HMSA to provide some healthy and tasty selections.

"We understand that when it comes to nutrition, you can shout from the rooftop, but if it doesn't taste good, people are not going to eat it," HMSA spokeswoman Stacy Evensen said. "So teaming with (CIT) was a natural for us."

With that in mind, I give Kapiolani Community College's Kristin Van Boderaven's Leaning Tower of Pizza a try.

The portobello, tomato, Maui onion and eggplant skewer isn't quite what I expect. The pizza format (the other ingredients normally go on the portobello cap) isn't field expedient, hence the veg-kabob.

But the flavor -- the grilled vegetables enhanced by a citrus, rosemary and wine marinade -- is terrific. A sprinkle of Gorgonzola adds richness.

And a few calories.

When it's all over, I realize one thing: I have only myself to blame. CIT and Down to Earth offer lots of healthy choices, and so do most of the other gourmet-type venues.

And all that walking around had to burn some fat.

Rationalization is a beautiful thing.

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