QUICK BITES
Italy Mio Amore chefs' evening
By Wanda A. Adams
Advertiser Food Editor
It's not too late to plan to attend Saturday night's Italy Mio Amore tasting event and auction, 5:30 to 9:30 p.m. in the Hawai'i Ballroom at the Sheraton Waikiki Hotel. The event, a fund-raiser for the Hawaii Lupus Foundation and sponsored by Fujioka's Wine Merchants, this year is a sort of seminar in pasta, with chefs from around the city illustrating, through the dishes they create, how the different sizes and shapes of pasta are designed to pair with different types and textures of sauce.
Among those cooking: Donato Loperfido of Donato's, George Gomes of Sorrento's Maui, Eugenio Martignano of Nick's Fishmarket, Sergio Mitrotti of Cafe Sistina, Mark Anthony of Sarento's Honolulu, Daniel Delbrel of Sheraton Waikiki, Carol Longhi of Longhi's Ala Moana and Mariano Lalica of Meritage. Another highlight will be an expanded "dolce" station featuring Italian dessert wines.
A silent auction and a live wine auction with Dennis Foley of Zachys Wine Auctions and a pair of special tastings (chianti, $100 per person; Castello Banfi, $125 per person) complete the evening's events. For tickets, call the Hawaii Lupus Foundation, 538-1522, or drop by Fujioka's on the back side of Market City Shopping Center, 2919 Kapi'olani Blvd.
Chili challenge: Enter or just eat
Russell Siu's Kaka'ako Kitchen is hosting a Chili Recipe Challenge 6 to 7:30 p.m. Aug. 31 at the Ward Centre restaurant. During this cook-off, 15 finalists will vie for one of three prizes totaling more than $1,000 in cash and goods (including a trip to Kona for two). Celebrity judges, plus one "people's choice" judge, will decide the top three winners.
The deadline to submit recipes is Friday: Mail to Kaka'ako Kitchen, 1200 Ala Moana Blvd., Ste. 100, Honolulu, HI 96814 or fax to 596-9114.
For $10, you can taste all the entries plus get two Heineken draft beers and the right to vote in the People's Choice category. A portion of the proceeds benefits efforts to prevent child abuse in Hawai'i.
Martin Yan will dish up products
Yan can . . . appear, right here, from 9 to 10 a.m. tomorrow at American Restaurant Supply, 98-107A Kamehameha Highway, next to the Home World Store. Martin Yan of TV's "Yan Can Cook," founder of the Sensasian restaurant chain and the man who taught so many of us how to wield a cleaver and handle a wok, is back in Hawai'i to peddle his cook's tools and a new "Cooking at Home" cookbook.
French cheeses paired with wines
Doug Lum's Cheese Culture series continues at Mariposa at Neiman Marcus with cheeses of northwest France paired with wines from the same regions, at 6 p.m. tonight. Cost is $25 for the tasting. Reservations required: 951-3420. Future tastings: Southeast France, Sept. 3; southwest France, Oct. 3, northeast France, Nov. 12; and a holiday festival in December, details to be announced.
Ship's Tavern will close Aug. 30
Ship's Tavern, the fine-dining restaurant the Sheraton Moana Surfrider, is to close Aug. 30 because of a downturn in visitor numbers. The Sheraton is re-evaluating food and beverage programs at all four of its Waikiki properties, so expect to hear of further changes.
Quick Bites is published on Wednesdays. Send tidbits of food news to food editor Wanda A. Adams, The Advertiser, P.O. Box 3110, Honolulu, HI 96802; 535-2412 or wadams@honoluluadvertiser.com.
