March 2007 archive
Naitonal Geographic shooter DeWitt Jones resides on Molokai. When he's not out shooting the world, he focuses his lens on his home state with stunning results. His latest show features beautiful waves, lovely imageds of Hawaiian women, and natural wonders.…
Suds fiends, take note. Chef Jay Matsukawa at the Wiilows is mixing up another bodacious pupu menu for his monthly "Suds & Grindz" shindigs tonite (Marcy 30). It's a beergasm bargain -- $25 gets you a tasting flight of six…
Restaurant Epic, the lastest downtown bistro, shutters only a few weeks after opening to retool poorly-received menu. Honolulu Weekly gets fat at the Yard House, a new edition to the Waikiki Beach Walk with 130-odd beers on tap. Maui Time…
This is a cool article from No Ka Oi Magazine on Maui that details a bit about an effort by Valley Isle restaurateurs to create sustainable seafood menus. Right on! This is particularly important due to the rapid declines among…
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In my mind, this is the ultimate waterfall hike in the islands. Hi'ilawe Falls is a 2,000 foot cataract that booms into a semi-circular eroded volcanic bowl in Waipio Valley, a large, remote valley on the Hamakua Coast of the…
I remember when Formaggio opened on Oahu a number of years years ago. The decor was a bit odd. The location strange -- in a downmarket strip mall. But thanks to the inspired wine selections of local vino maestro Lyle…
The Royal Lahaina Hotel has the dubious distinction of being among the oldest resorts in Kaanapali. TripAdvisor's thundering horde rates it #33 out of 36 resort in Lahaina (they lump in Kaanapali with Lahaina for some reason). Considering that virtually…
Aside from Hawaiian, United and Aloha, ATA has more flights to and from Hawaii than any other big airline. All their flights go to the West Coast with a bunch of destinations. ATA non-stop routes go Las Vegas, Phoenix, Oakland,…
So the Honolulu Advertiser is reporting today that the Kiele V's mast had snapped twice in the past. That implies some sort of design problem with the vessel, as its fairly unusual to see mast snapping that often. The US…
I was having lunch today with one of the state's top chefs, George Mavrothalassitis at his restaurant, Chef Mavro, in Honolulu. It was a wine tasting lunch with is staff, something Mavro does each quarter to allow a democratic vote…
I've never been averse to lifestyle porn so when I first heard about Modern Luxury Hawaii, I thought "Cool!". The new mag by Modern Luxury group chronicles the lush life in the 50th state. They don't put their mag online…
Yesterday afternoon off West Maui a rough-and-tumble sunset booze cruise turned fatal as the mast snapped on the Kiele V, a catamaran carrying 50-odd tourists. The accident occurred in heavy tradewinds with gusts that were probably in the 30 to…
Continuing in our shameless publicity grab for Google props....aside from playing basketball and bodyboarding, Obama played tennis growing up in Hawaii. With sunny skies over 300 days per year, Hawaii is, of course, a tennis paradise. What many tourists do…
Travel & Leisure Golf plays through Hawaii's most exclusive and reclusive golf clubs. Honolulu Weekly rounds up really wierd and wonderful beers on tap around town. Mesa Air continues its outrageously low interisland one-way fares of $19. That whistling sound…
The Kauai County Council is considering a bill that would effectively freeze the growth of unlicensed B&Bs and vacation rentals on the Garden Isle. Maui and Oahu both have similar measures in place and there have been some crackdowns. Essentially,…
I wrote a while back about the phenomenal chocolate-dipped apple bananas at the Campbell Avenue Bakery in Kapahulu. Alas, the bakery appears to have shuttered. But I was fortunate enough to stumble upon a viable replacement in case of mad…
A few weeks ago Norwegian Cruise Lines (NCL) announced poor quarterly results and blamed Hawaii operations for much of the red ink. The head of NCL and Hawaii swore up and down that the company was here to stay. Clearly,…
I've hoofed it over the years a few times with Ken Schmitt's Hike Maui team and they are extremely professional and fun to hang out with. For the most part I've only hiked. That said, I find the idea of…
Locals and lifeguards call it "Luma-die Beach" after the high rate of drowning and the treacherous near shore waters pounded by surf and vicious currents. In other words, swim at Lumahai at your own risk and only in the summer.…
Now this is definitely a way I'd want to relax on Maui. Get up around 2:30 am to get ready for a 36-mile ultramarathon race which starts at 4:30 am and ascends Haleakala, the dormant volcano that dominates East Maui.…
Granted, you don't come all the way to Hawaii to expect to get great pizza. And for the most part, Hawaii trails in that category. You'll never find a pie from the island ranked up there with the greats of…
Waikiki on a rainy day with small children can be, well, a total frigging nightmare. Take away the beach, the ocean, the Honolulu Zoo and the park and there simply is not enough there for kids to do. You can…
First there was the McTeri Ribs and spam as a breakfast meat. Then we had the taro pie. Now its haupia (coconut cream) pie under the golden arches. Hilarious. And only in Hawaii.…
Sorry for the late notice but there are tables available at 9:00 pm at Alan Wong's for the latest in their monthly series of Next Generation dinners. This series allows the Wong's proteges to show off their best stuff with…
This modest cataract is perhaps the most touted in the Hawaiian Islands -- or at least the most trafficked. I've seen far too many guidebooks and travel journalists in for their one-week Hawaii flings do the 1.5 mile mosquito-laden roundtrip…
Continuing with our semi-regular series of highly speculative entries on what would Barack Obama be doing in Hawaii, we'll take a trip into his past. The new Obama is a relatively straight shooter whose only vices are smoking (not in…
This little park is a hidden gem tucked away from the rest of Kailua on the northern reaches of the vast Kailua Beach. How is it different than Kailua Beach Park and Lanikai? It's a little less crowded, for starters.…
On Oahu, the Star-Bulletin samples Goldfish (name of restaurant) sushi fare and digs fancy rolls. This comes on the heels of a quick write up of R&P Cafe, an heir apparent to the recently closed palace of plate lunch paralysis,…
I normally try to keep this blog Hawaii-focused, emphasizing local arts, music, and food. But when the Dalai Lama comes to the islands, its kinda a big thing. The Tibetan Spiritual Leader will be on the Valley Isle on April…
A shout out to all the folks who sell cool stuff, serve cool food, or run very cool places to visit. I am trying to ramp up our events coverage a bit, doing weekly roundups and moving later to a…
Star-Bulletin reporting. That makes six in the past four years. One dead, four injured. This was a 20 year-old helicopter with a six-year-old air worthiness certification from the FAA. With all these crashes, could it be possible that flying birds…
I admit, when I first heard the name of the company, which recently opened in the new Waikiki Beach Walk upscale retail and restaurant enclave, I figured this was just another mainland chai. Fortunately, I was mistaken. Malibu Shirts had…
My fellow blogger Ian Lind pointed to a USA Today story which tackles a topic that the media in the islands is afraid to touch, namely, the sometimes violent racial discrimination against Caucasians in Hawaii. The article was sparked by…
Three dead tourists plus the pilot. No obvious causes. No obvious signs of malfunction or trouble before takeoff. Just a radio distress call, a precipitous decent, and a crumpled whirlybird on a grassy field near the runway of the…
The annual Honolulu Festival kicks off this Friday with events in Ala Moana and Waikiki. Despite the ridiculously cheesy tagline/mission statement of the fest -- "....the premier cultural event, promoting understanding, economic cooperation and ethnic harmony between the people of…
Well, it sure did take me a while to get this up and running. But finally, for your fashion pleasure, Hawaiirama is flogging its own branded prods at the Cafe Press store. No, its not as lovely as, say, Sig…
Denizens of large metropolises on the mainland love to use OpenTable.com. It's a free online restaurant reservation service that lets you pick a restaurant by cuisine, region, and price range and then tells you which ones have online availability. There's…
I'd been hearing rumors about a great new place to eat in Hanalei for six months now. Something about tapas, which seemed incongruous as Hanalei is the ultimate country town. Not to say unsophisticated but, rather, the peeps sack out…
You've ponied up beaucoup bucks for the holiday of your dreams in Hawaii (or, if you're local, that luxe holoholo). Sure, you expect the resorts to charge a premium for food, drink and activities. But what the heck is a…
On the heels of the recent Hawaii Visitors Bureau survey results showing visitors growing disenchanted with Hawaii comes news that January visitor numbers were well below those from the same period in 2006. Couple this with the news from Norwegian…
One of the great things about Honolulu is that from virtually any place in the city you are only 15 to 20 minutes away from a relatively pristine, uncrowded hiking trail or spot of breathtaking scenic beauty. Witness Waahila Ridge…
Each year the Hawaii Visitors and Convention Bureau asks thousands of tourists who came to Hawaii how they liked it. For most of the past decade, they have liked it plenty fine. In the 2005 survey, visitor satisfaction started to…
Bonnie Friedman, the publicist for Maui's Ocean Vodka sent me note with the news that this fancy liquor made from organic grains and pure, chemical free water drawn from the deep oceans of the Big Island is now for sale…
