April 2007 archive
Roland and Robert Cazimero have been top dogs in the contemporary Hawaiian music scence for three decades and their stellar chops and soulful songwriting and innovative adaptation of older tunes is unquestions. Each year, the Brothers Caz have rocked out…
The Four Seasons group took over the only two resorts on Lanai last year and sunk big bucks into renovations. The resorts -- one located on stunning Hulupoe Bay, the other in the crisp, green upcountry above Lanai City --…
I blogged a while back about the impact of the impending ban on bottom-fishing techniques used to scoop up a handful of succulent local varieites such as opakapaka and onaga. This presents a problem for Hawaii eateries with signature dishes…
D.K. Kodama's saucy wine bar / Italian rustic foodie joint on the Valley Isle will shutter in June as the Kapalua Resort undergoes massive renovations to Kapalua Village Golf Course, the Ritz-Carlton (closing for six months), and the Kapalua Bay…
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I had been meaning to write up this wonderful condotel set at the far side of Waikiki close to Diamond Head and the uncrowded shoreline on the eastern side of this resort town. Here's an image of the view…
The Wailea restaurant scene on Maui has, despite the uber poshness of the hotels on this peachy stretch of beach, remained utterly disappointing. Most of the hotel restaurants have failed to inspire widespread recognition or accolades, with patrons merrily decamping…
While most of the readers of Hawaiirama have families, some people want to go on kid-free vacations. Thus, the presence and popularity of resorts in the Caribbean where children are banned. Hawaii does not have any truly child-free resorts. But…
A nasty little bug, the Varroa mite, has decimated bee stocks on the U.S. Mainland. Due to its isolation, Hawaii had remained free of the mite and Hawaiian bee hives had continued to produce amazing honey treats. Now the mite…
I admit, I was lax in missing this review from the reliable and savvy Wanda Adams of the Honolulu Advertiser. Here she sings the praises of Eric Sakai, a 24 year-old culinary phenom who recently took over the tocque at…
What with all the fuss about Puna becoming the up and coming low-key vacation locale in the islands, it's time to revisit the black sends of Kehena. This one of the only swimming beaches on the Puna Coast of the…
ResortQuest Hawaii, a mid-to-low end hotel chain popular with families, will become part of the Barry Diller empire, according to this PBN article. This continue along the path of Hawaii acquisitions for Expedia / IAC. Expedia bought Activity World in…
Yes, Hawaii is the honeymoon capital of the universe (with Maui getting a particular nod). Apparently, lots of folks fly to Hawaii to get married, too. (We did- though we both had lived there before and did so again later).…
The agents over at Travel Hawaii, which is becoming a quasi-travel news agency focused on Hawaii, put together some good info on the smoking ban that has pretty much banned smoking in hotel rooms and public places. They put together…
I wrote a trend piece earlier this week on standup paddle surfing. Lo, what appears in my inbox but a note from a local PR firm pointing out that instructructors at Action Sports Maui ($109 per person for two hours…
Yet another fabulous edition of our statewide foodie roundup featuring all things edible and readable in Hawaii. A hefty and tasty salad bar in Kailua, Oahu. Maui Tacos' Tex-Mex-Hi coming to you soon. Kaimuki Town takes it down with "Downtown",…
This AP article published in the Vancouver Sun covers a trend I was totally unaware of, namely, pet owners schlepping their furry friends to Hawaii for a vacation. That is, not of the pets, although they clearly come along for…
This week the Hawaiirama call-out cocktail is hardly tropical in any real respect -- except that its a really lovely little libation and you can drink one in the Lobby Lounge of the Ritz-Carlton Kapalua,. The view, natch, is jaw-dropping.…
I've long envied the life of my good friend Dave Choo. A multi-talented writer and editor who works at local magazine shop Pacific Basin Communications, Choo is an encyclopedia of local food insights. Dave has just published a bunch of…
In Mobile, Alabama on April 14, the new Hawaii Superferry "Alakai" was christened. The massive 350-foot ferry, which will carry both people and cars, is set to sail for the Hawaiian Islands in May 2007. Service on the ferry will…
Fellow blogger Ian Lind is the only person I've seen willing to write about Don Ho's alleged close ties to a number of Mainland and Hawaii organized crime figures. If he walks like Sinatra and acts like Sinatra, etc. My…
This Star-Bulletin article details a new effort by the City and County of Honolulu to shut down illegal vacation rentals. According to some counts, 2,000 rentals do not have the proper permits and face fines of $1,000 per day. The…
This interactive dining guide actually has some decent coupons for locals and visitors. Free, of course. Coupons are either half-off for second entree, free desert or complimentary app. Selection is limited but there are some real winners -- Hiroshi Eurasian…
The editorial staff at Internet press release factory Webwire polled a bunch of locals as to their favorite beaches. The results were hardly illuminating, with no beach listed that isn't among the most well known in the state. The only…
This little-known and lightly visited beach sits just below Princeville Hotel and has the Hawaiian name Pali Ke Kua. The trail access to the beach is located just before the Princeville Hotel gatehouse running alongside the tennis courts of…
I've blogged about the amazing Sunset on the Beach series in Waikiki. This Sunday (meaning today) the film on offer is the Al Gore documentary about global warming. How fitting that the show takes place on a beach that could…
UPDATE: The Honolulu Advertiser has an enormous and well-done package on Don Ho, a veritble primer on his life and times. Don Ho, who had been suffering from chronic heart disease, passed on today. I was fortunate to catch his…
Jack Johnson's annual Kokua Festival on the North Shore of Oahu has become a perennial barn burner for locals and visitors. It is a rare chance to catch both Johnson and Pearl Jam front man Eddie Vedder in the same…
Here's a roundup of cool blogs / articles on the festival, which is the World Series of Hula. Wanda Adams at the Honolulu Advertiser has some great information on the topic on her blog. The Advertiser also has done a…
On a relatively dismal day out at "Number Threes" in Waikiki, I counted three guys on stand up paddle surfing boards (pictured here) go by. That convinced me the large marge barges of surfing are multiplying rapidly. What is…
Pacific Business News is reporting that the latest Hawaii visitors survey showed a strong improvement and reversal of the previous decline. The reason for the decline? Apparently weeks on end of heavy rain and a massive dam break on Kauai.…
On the heels of the last post, I'd thought I'd bring in another post on the topic. While La Ronde is long gone, the Top of Waikiki is still spinning, quite literally. Atop the Waikiki Business Plaza, the Top of…
Food blog SeriousEating has a nifty post on the history of revolving restaurants.Turns out the first one ever was opened in 1961 in Hawaii by Seattle architect John Graham atop the Ala Moana Office Building (where it remains today doing…
Norwegian Cruise Lines announced that it was moving the Pride of Hawaii to Europe. People holding reservations on this boat can switch to one of the other two NCL Hawaii vessels for their future cruises (and get a $50 credit)…
I've covered here before the Sheraton Waikiki's ongoing renovations. So when a news release hit my box claiming the hotel had completed $55 million in room renovations, I thought it might be a good time to update with the good…
A quick reminder from mother nature that even small, squishy packages pack a punch in King Neptune's Garden. The monthly box jellyfish onslaught that washes ashore in Waikiki and along southern shores of Oahu sent an unsuspecting visitor to the…
Getting this drink of the week thing going again, this week I have a excellent, refreshing recipe from the good folks at Honolulu branch of Morton's The Steakhouse. The drink is one of a slew of new signature mixed cocktails…
Ho, cuz! Barack got some kala! (That's money in Hawaii slang). So now that Barack has raised almost as much money as Hillary Clinton, me thinks he can afford a REAL NICE Hawaiian vacation at this point. Not that I…
Anyone who has driven around Waimea Bay couldn't have helped but notice the massive chain-link fence with thick metal rings setting the eastern cliff off from the road. But manmade measures apparently cannot hold back the gods. A rockslide…
More edibles for the masses, courtesy of the roving food monkeys at Hawaiirama. Honolulu Weekly happily sails into the Holokai Grill, the new Tiki's Bar & Grill clone in the also new Waikiki Beachwalk. The word? Order mixed drinks. Lots…
My (patient and gracious) fellow blogger Ian Lind did a post today that pointed to Hawaiirama (which explained the slight traffic surge today -- thanks Ian) and also pointed me to a new hyperlocal news service called Outside.in. I checked…
I've long envied the life of my good friend Dave Choo. A multi-talented writer and editor who works at local magazine shop Pacific Basin Communications, Choo is an encyclopedia of local food insights. Dave has just published a bunch of…
Pacific Business News in Honolulu has a piece detailing the woes of a top-Google ranked listing, Top-10-Hawaii.com / Hawaii Travel Network. This was a popular online travel site and referral network that sold all sorts of stuff -- cruises on…
I've long envied the life of my good friend Dave Choo. A multi-talented writer and editor who works at local magazine shop Pacific Basin Communications, Choo has somehow wangled gigs as a foodwriter for both Hawaii Business Magazine and the…
In its Sunday edition, the Honolulu Advertiser has a big breakdown of the ongoing to $2.3 million refurbishment of the Honolulu International Airport. The refurb is much needed. The airport is well known for subpar infrastructure. It uses 1970s-era shuttle…
That whistling sound on Kahala Avenue? Local real estate prices dropping even faster as the NYT, the style guide for the liberal monied set, picks up on the wacky doings in Kahala of Gensiro Kawamoto. The eccentric Japanese slumlord who…
The New York Times runs a feature piece in its Escapes section highlighting a nascent landrush in Puna, where Mainlanders seeking affordable real estate and alternative lifestyle folks seeking a live-and-let-live ethos are clamoring to snarf up lots in the…
Ringed black-lava sea cliffs, Hamoa Bay near the remote town of Hana was a favorite of literary icons and Hawaii lovers Mark Twain and James Michener. It's easy to see why. The soft, dark sands of this gray crescent composed…
Following on the heels of a tropical cocktail post (irony intended), a more sobering note. Ten of the state's 11 most dangerous intersections are on the Big Island. Which is particularly frightening as more than any other major island the…
I started doing this a while back with the blog and it kinda fizzled but am starting again, inspired in part by the success of my friend Jonas over at Drink of the Week. So, once a week on…
I track goings on in Kailua because its one of my favorite places to visit and the beaches are superb. We usually go to Kailua Beach Park because parking is easy. Lanikai is as pretty and a nice change of…
In the Kohala District of the Big Island, clouds of mist collide with volcanic mountain ranges. The resulting rains fill hundreds of mountain streams and create numerous waterfalls, most of which are not accessible to the public. This region is…
Maui has long been a magnet for artists seeking sun, tranquility and sky high prices. Thankfully, Maui Hands helps these creative souls monetize their vision and handiwork. This company, which has galleries on Maui in Makawao, Paia, Kaanapali and Lahaina,…
