Chow.com has a great interview with Hank Adaniya, the founder of Hank's Haute Dogs in Kakaako and formerly a restaurateur par excellence in Chitown. Takeaway -- it's really, really hard to run a quality small restaurant in Hawaii because suppliers don't like dealing in small quantity buys. Adaniya almost went to (gasp) frozen French fries after spud frustration sizzled his brain. (This was part of my frustration with D.K. Steakhouse -- frozen fries at a top-grade house really suck). Second takeaway -- go eat at a small Hawaii restaurant. Chains are nice but the little guys deserve your support.

—Alex, 01/31/08