Honolulu Q...again

Travel, Wine Tourism, and Restaurants Forum
1

I asked this at the ‘old’ site

Thanks Melissa for responding.

Copy/paste -
Going to Oahu…woohoo! next week.
Getting the F out of Dodge and leaving this stinkin wintery stuff for y’all snowmobeelers…
Gimme mai-tai’s, suntan lotion and thongs (foot or butt, either way)…

Anyway, I have heard mixed things about various places, i.e. well known restaurants.
Alan Wongs, Mavro, 3660, etc…but I have only one, maybe two nights to dine out nice…
So…
Who’s got the skinny??

ALSO, any wine shop recs? I finally decided NOT to lug bottles with me.

2

Bump.

Hey Dan, I wish I had better suggestions for you, but as I said on the other board, we mostly hung around the beach for meals and didn’t venture to any of the foodie hotspots. I can’t remember if I mentioned this, but several people recommended Alan Wong’s Pineapple Room to me as a fun alternative to his main restaurant.

3

I know it’s on the “other” board but there is a lot of good information here:

http://dat.erobertparker.com/bboard/showthread.php?t=185537&highlight=Honolulu" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

4

Phil, I forgot about that thread! Thanks.

Melissa, Pineapple Room sounds cool…also not so stuffy.

I too will probably spend most of my time on the beach and just tool around with the kids.
But we will be able to get away for a night or two.

5

I like the Pineapple Room but it’s just a little too “mall” for me. Don’t miss the real thing.

Definitely DO NOT miss Mitch’s Sushi!

6

Dan, don’t forget to stop at Waiola for shave ice. Be warned: some of the locals like to drizzle sweetened condensed milk on their shave ice. We tried that once, but I thought it was revolting!

7

Best continental food I had in Honolulu was at the restaurant “La Mer” at the Halekulani Hotel. Pretty decent wine list too. Get a table over-looking Waikiki beach and you’ll be set.

8

Well, not exactly the easiest thing to do with toddlers in tow…
But we did get to go out…

Per Bob Wood’s rec, we went to Roy’s across the street from Halekulani Hotel on Lewers. This was easily the best meal had all week. Excellent service, great flavors, super nice staff, fantastic presentations. Granted this is a chain, but it is well worth going. Prices were also very reasonable. Funniest thing is we were walking back from the international market and noticed the restaurant, and decided last minute to eat there with the toddlers…did I feel weird being the only one wearing a tank top in the joint? [d_training.gif] Ah well, I thought it was pretty funny as did my waiter.

Okay, Alan Wong’s…we were mildly disappointed. While the appetizers were excellent, the entrees were just good. Fairly pricey. Wine list was fine, though I would have expected a broader selection given the venue…perhaps this was just a case of too high of expectations. We were considering La Mer, but I heard they required jacket and tie…I guess the tank top wouldn’t have worked… [tease.gif]

Unfortunately we missed Mitch’s, but that is on the hitlist for next time, though I think ‘next time’ we go to Kauai…

There were a couple decent Thai restaurants on Ala Moana, and Duke’s was fun at the Outrigger…totally surfer friendly and laidback atmostphere.

9

I agree. I love this place every time I go.

10

Hey Dan… if you’re back, let’s hear about your trip! Food too.

11

You mean besides what I wrote above? [drinkers.gif]

Not much else on food…pretty low key overall, and after the first day, we just avoided eating at the hotel if at all possible.
Weather was better than when you went - we had a couple days of clouds early on, but the rest of the week was great.

Hanauma Bay was probably my favorite, though the video they make you watch first was silly but necessary. The snorkling was fabulous. Driving to North shore and Dole plantation was interesting…good grief the waves at Turtle Bay were insane. Waikiki was definitely very ‘corporate’ and next visit to Hawaii will be Kauai or Maui. Of course it didn’t help that the joint was inundated with ProBowl party fools… [gen_fro.gif] the brovahs and sistahs was in dah house yo…totally ghetto at the poolside bar every day starting at 3pm…damn near shit myself trying to squeeze betwix two sistahs to get couple drinks … [help.gif]

12

Totally missed that! But… but… what about the shave ice, brovah? And did you do hit all the tourist-fabulous sites? Diamond Head? Dole Plantation? Dish!

13

True, but a coat would have done. I was in a suit and tie, but saw some others in jackets sans ties.

You stayed at the Halekulani? I like that hotel - mostly because of La Mer. I stayed at the nearby then Sheraton (now Westin) Moana Surfrider, which is a very short walk to the Halekulani. In my hotel, an outdoor band near the beach would play The Platters’ “Red Sails in the Sunset” every late afternoon, hitting the finishing high note exactly as the sun disappears over the horizon.

My room overlooked the band and sea (I recall I was on the 4th floor), and I thought the band’s gimmick was cheesily quaint until around the 5th day - when I started wanting to lob pineapples at them everytime I heard the opening notes of the song.