QUICK BITES
Special promotions are abundant
By Wanda A. Adams
Food Editor
Lots of special promotions are taking place this month: Dixie Grill's popular Crabfest is back through June 23 at both locations (Ward Avenue and Kamehameha Highway in 'Aiea). Although the show is going on without Buster the Crab (that crustaceous balloon that flew over the restaurant in previous years), there are lots of "crab-atizer" specials and dishes such as crab-stuffed blackened 'ahi, soft-shell crab po'boys, and crab BLTs. Details and reservations: 596-8359 (Ward Avenue) or 485-2722 (Kamehameha Highway). ... Hoku's at the Kahala Mandarin Oriental Hawai'i is sponsoring a "Lobster Extravaganza" June 23-26, with special menu items featuring the most luxurious of seafoods, such as Chilean Lobster Essence Three Ways, Baha Lobster and Braised Beef and Kiawe-Grilled Hawaiian Spiny Lobster. Prices range from $11 to $18 for appetizers, $32 to $36 for entrees. Reservations: 739-8780.
And Father's Day is Sunday, with a number of restaurants offering special menus for brunch and/or dinner. Among the places we've heard of: Compadres Bar & Grill (family photo, kids eat free with parents, count the beans contest; 591-8307); Dot's Restaurant, Wahiawa (Baron of Beef brunch with entertainment by Frank DeLima, $19 adults, $11 children advance purchase; 622-4115); Sansei Seafood Restaurant & Sushi Bar at Restaurant Row (dinner buffet, $35 adults, $17.50 children; 536-6286); Dixie Grill (featuring barbecue to eat in or take out; 596-8359 or 485-2722); Brew Moon Restaurant & Microbrewery (four-course Beer Brunch, $28; 593-0088); Auntie Pasto's (family-style Italian menu with specials; 523-8855 on Beretania or 739-2426 in Kapahulu).
See pols cook at Taste of Honolulu
Easter Seals Hawai'i is gearing up for the 11th Taste of Honolulu event June 28-30 on the Honolulu Civic Center grounds near Honolulu Hale. New wrinkles this year include a "Ready, Set, Cook" competition between politicos (including Duke Bainum, Keith Kaneshiro, James Aiona, Clayton Hee, Dalton Tanonaka, Jon Yoshimura and others) and an "Eat Your Art Out" art fair, an exhibit of art pieces, many of them relating to food.
Among the restaurants that have signed up: Bali-by-the-Sea, Brew Moon Restaurant & Microbrewery, Chai's Island Bistro, Ciao Mein, Canoe's at the Ilikai, Gordon Biersch Brewery Restaurant, Musashi, Prince Court, Sam Choy's restaurants, The Willows and Tony Roma's.
The $3 admission fee directly benefits the Easter Seals children's program. Seniors (55 and older) and children younger than 12 get in free. Additional money comes from the sale of scrip for tastes. Free parking is available in the nearby city garage.
Information: 536-1015; www.Taste808.com.
Aston will open tiki bar in Waikiki
The Aston Waikiki Beach Hotel is having a lot of fun with the concept for its new restaurant, part of a $30 million renovation at the hotel near Kapi'olani Park. It's to be called Tiki's Bar and Grill and the style is "hip Hawaiiana" — that tiki culture thing that's very much the trend around the country. This includes a 30-foot volcano bar, the casual end of the Hawai'i Regional Cuisine spectrum on the lunch and dinner menu, microbrew beers and live Hawaiian music. The 10,000-square-foot restaurant is expected to open in October.
Italian-born chef Duccio Orlandini has joined Donatoni's restaurant at the Hilton Waikoloa Village. Born and raised in Florence, Orlandini has worked in New York and Key West, Fla., and came to Waikoloa late last year. He has spent recent months revamping the menu for the restaurant at the Kohala Coast hotel.
Send items of culinary interest to Quick Bites, Taste, The Advertiser, P.O. Box 3110, Honolulu, HI 96822. Fax: 525-8055. E-mail: taste@honoluluadvertiser.com.
