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The Weekly Eater Nadine Kam |
Paula Kawajiri of Greek Marina, a new presence in Koko Marina Shopping Center, serves up chicken gyros.
Restaurateur brings
Greek experience
to Koko MarinaOVER the years I've encountered three types of restaurateurs: 1. The host: Loves cooking and company, and just wants a place to call home for entertaining. This person is content to oversee one cozy operation to fulfill his/her theatrical streak.
2. The conquistadors: This empire builder has one great concept that can be duplicated over and over, with the aim of market saturation one neighborhood at a time. Good ideas know no boundaries and Hawaii can prove to be too small for these types who then go looking for new territory to conquer, nationally and internationally.
3. The creatives: These might appear to be host types at first, toiling away at one business endeavor for years when -- presto! -- they perform a transformation act, and there's no predicting what form their next project will take. Rather than sticking to one basic idea, these experimental types will vary the formula, whether it means going bigger, smaller, trying a new theme or concept.
Reinvention is not an easy path, but that's part of the thrill. Just ask Tarek Guirguis. He opened The Pyramid as a sitdown Egyptian fare restaurant in residential Kaimuki in 1995, and it's still going strong. In 2001, he tried going the fast-food route with Aladdin in downtown Honolulu, only to find he didn't care for the format, preferring a more leisurely approach to dining.
It's sad when restaurants disappear because of all the labor and financing that go into them, so I was happy to see Guirguis bounce back with yet another concept: Greek dining in the Koko Marina Shopping Center, with seating indoors and out.
The location is not the best, behind the gas station and next door to Kona Brewing Co., which has dibs on the marina view, but when the sun sets, and with the sound of Greek music CDs, you'll almost forget the proximity to the parking lot.
WHILE GREEK menus are full of healthy vegetarian options, this is the kind of place that's attractive to opposites. We all know a few of those carnivore-herbivore couples, in which he likes tabbouleh ($5.95), the refreshing salad of bulghur, chopped parsley, tomatoes, mint and olive oil, and she likes souvlaki, with a choice of marinated grilled chicken ($12.95), lamb ($13.95), shrimp ($14.95), or a combination of all three ($16.95), which comes with a mini Greek salad. (Prices are a couple of dollars less at lunch time.)
You can eat as light or as heavy as you want, though through the summer months the lighter the better, as digestion takes too much energy. In this case, cold mezedes (appetizers) of baba ghanouj (eggplant dip, $6.95) and hummus (chickpea dip, $5.95) may be the best way to start. Skip these if you're planning to order the mixed vegetable plate ($14.95), which comes with both dips, pita, a trio of dolmades or rice-stuffed grape leaves and a trio of crunchy falafel (chickpea patties).
For non-dieters, I find a couple of hot mezedes quite addictive. There's spanakopita, the spinach "pie" (two pieces for $3.95) wrapped in crispy filo dough, and similarly, the cheese pie tiropita (two pieces for $3.95), filo-wrapped feta.
If you always wondered about the lure of smelt while watching dolphins and false killer whales leap for them at aquarium shows, well, wonder no more. Here, they're dredged in cumin, garlic and flour, deep-fried and eaten head, roe, bones, tail and all. Delicious!
Main courses range from popular gyros ($12.95) of thin-sliced lean roast beef and lamb, to a broiled rack of lamb ($16.95) or lamb shank ($12.95). About the only thing that should be made of lamb but isn't is the moussaka ($13.95), which was made of beef and skimpy on the eggplant to boot. Let's just say I have yet to find a commercial establishment that makes a version better than I can make myself.
Don't forget to save room for dessert of baklava, with honey and toasted pistachio halves layered between sheets of crisp filo.
Koko Marina Shopping Center, 7192 Kalanianaole Highway / 396-8441 GREEK MARINA
Hours: 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. for lunch Mondays to Saturdays; 5 to 9 p.m. for dinner Sundays to Thursdays, and 5 to 10 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays
Food 
Service Ambience Value Cost: About $30 to $36 for dinner for two; B.Y.O.B.
See some past restaurant reviews in the Columnists section.
Nadine Kam's restaurant reviews are conducted anonymously and paid for by the Star-Bulletin. Star ratings are based on comparisons of similar restaurants:
To recommend a restaurant, write: The Weekly Eater, P.O. Box 3080, Honolulu, Hawaii 96802. Or send e-mail to nkam@starbulletin.com
excellent; very good, exceeds expectations; average; below average.
