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 the Diamond Head Grill restaurant at the W Honolulu from French maestro Guillaume Burlion, who lasted roughly a year, by my calculations -- despite strong reviews.

Sakai may be a young pup but he mos def comes in with some serious bona fides. The dude has already cooked at Aquarelle and Rubicon, in San Francisco. This after an education at the Culinary Institute of America, the West Coast training ground for top chefs. The menu is Italian inflected and liberally uses the increasing array of local ingredients (Hawaii has year-round growing seasons, y'all) to fuel a slow burn. The fontina and banyuls vinaigrette, as described by Wanda, sounds like a total yum. Since Hawaii is relatively weak in the Italian vein, Sakai should find a ready crowd of both locals and visitors. No doubt, I'm there in a flash!

—Alex, 04/23/07