THE NIGHT STUFF
Ryan's Grill still attracts a large late-night crowd

By Derek Paiva
Advertiser Entertainment Writer

Left to right, Jennifer Chan, Keoni Shultz and Sharyl Taoka, all of Honolulu, meet at Ryan's Grill in Ward Centre. Photos by Rebecca Breyer • The Honolulu Advertiser

Sal Giampapa of Pearl City ponders the menu.

Conrad Nakamoto, left, of Kailua, and Jodie Nakamitsu of Kahala chat over a Ryan's pupu.

Ryan's Grill at Ward Centre Dinner service till 1 a.m. daily Bar open till 2 a.m. daily 591-9132

If you don't count Zippy's Makiki, that is.

I won't divulge exactly how many years ago that was. Heck, even I'd rather not recall the actual count. What I do remember is being instantly impressed.

Ryan's had much to take in and enjoy. A wicked huge late-night food menu. An equally impressive drink menu. Terrific service. Relaxed atmosphere. A half-dozen older and seriously gorgeous women on a table next to us enjoying a night off from Monterey Bay Canners.

It takes a bit more to impress me these days. Fortunately, Ryan's still delivers on all counts.

Tables in Ryan's dining and bar areas still teem with casually dressy twenty- and thirtysomethings on weekend nights. We dropped by 'round 10 p.m. on a recent Saturday after work-related plans for hitting a nightclub went the way of a sudden biblical downpour.

Molly, our server, quickly proffered menus, a smile and personable conversation and attention that kept us happy till we left.

The downpour outside ruled out anything with alcohol for us. So we were happy to find a handful of cleverly concocted alcohol-free drinks tucked within Ryan's vast signature cocktails menu.

My partner in Night Stuff's cranberry apricot splash ($4) came on refreshingly sweet with chilled juices of both fruits, finished with a tart kick of fresh lime sour. My citrus mojito ($4.25) arrived tall and bursting with a sweet and sour tango of pineapple juice and fresh lime, orange and mint.

Ryan's pupu menu seems to get larger with each visit, but we selected a trio of favorites.

Our order of Ryan's much-loved — and much-copied — hot Dungeness crab and artichoke dip ($11.95) was one of, literally, dozens flying out of the open-air kitchen while we were there. Served with wedges of fresh-baked, herb-infused foccacia bread, plump artichoke and crab morsels tussled in a blend of deliciously gooey Parmesan cheese and thin slivers of onion are best gobbled while still piping hot.

With subtle hints of citrus, our chicken egg rolls with spicy peanut dipping sauce ($7.95) proved tasty with or without a just-peppery-enough side dip. Though dusted with five-spice seasoned flour, some calamari with a side of spicy plum sauce ($8.95) proved unusually bland sans dip for my partner. I, on the other hand, delighted in dunking calamari — and equally dusted and deep-fried slices of fresh red jalapeno pepper — into the pleasantly piquant plum sauce.

Ryan's island contemporary decor, artwork and furnishings haven't changed much over the years; a fact I still find oddly comforting. Also unchanged, though I'm no longer single: more than enough eye candy scattered throughout to please both sexes. (Monterey Bay Canners, however, is now Brew Moon.)

In a city notorious for swiftly embracing the newest coolest thing, then tossing it aside like so many unusable game tokens — Dave & Buster's, anyone? — Ryan's survival might seem remarkable. But it really isn't.

Stop by late on a rainy Saturday night with friends, order some drinks and food, say "hi" to Molly, and you'll understand why.

Reach Derek Paiva at dpaiva@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8005.

Nightspotting

Bad girls: Every music genre has its foul-mouthed instigators. Rap had 2 Live Crew. Alt-rock had L7. Classical had Mozart.

And electroclash? It has New York-based Avenue D.

Imagine J.J. Fad and Stacey Q mixing up their '80s-era synth beats with profanity-laden tales of anonymous sex, promiscuous peers and, well, more anonymous sex. Daphne D and Debbie D are all that, some fluorescent pink lycra and a roll of duct tape.

They're also performing at Wave Waikiki Saturday, and at Tuesday night's Pussycat Lounge. Expect time-tested faves like "Slut," "Bang!" and prom-theme-in-waiting "Donkey Punch."

Doors open at 9 p.m. both nights. Cover is $10 Saturday, $7 Tuesday. 941-0424.

One more for Jason: Everyone who knew Jason Bogle seemed to love him. A Kailua boy with a love of the ocean and a promising pro-surfing career, Jason was a much respected, down-to-earth and talented presence in the local and national surfing community. After an extended battle with Ewing's sarcoma cancer, Jason died Sept. 29. He was 26.

Jason's many friends are hosting an event to raise money for his family's expenses, and bone cancer research. It's at the Hard Rock Café tonight from 9 p.m. In addition to surf industry prize packs, the raffle will include donated pro model surfboards from Jun Jo, Shane Dorian, Ross Williams, Kalani Robb, Sean Moody, Fred Patachia, Jason Shibata, and many more.

Can't stop by? Buy a raffle ticket! Call Russ Inouye at 371-7900, or Hard Rock Café at 955-7383 for more information.