"We're not here to be mediocre," asserted the linebacker-sized chef. "We want to be distinctive from the rest and we're going to be great."

Since coming on board the revolving restaurant late last year, Priester and his kitchen crew have come a long way from being just another Waikiki tourist trap.

"We've gotten people's attention," Priester said. "We've taken big risks and the payoffs have been great."

On New Year's Eve, Priester and the rest of the staff will pull out all the stops and end the year on a bang.

"We're going to blow it out," Priester said. "We're doing three seatings and offering a special holiday prix-fixe menu."

The first seating begins from 5 to 5:30 p.m., with dinner costing $65 per person. From 7 to 7:30 p.m., the price goes up to $75 and increases to $95 during the last seating from 9 to 9:30 p.m.

The three-course menu starts with a choice of broiled earthy Hamakua mushrooms, crabcakes or a piece of merlot-and-red-miso-glazed beef tenderloin prepared on a sizzling hot rock.

To refresh the palate — or further stimulate the appetite — a refreshing Kula baby lettuce salad will be garnished with fresh, plump Waialua tomatoes.

"We've got a great product," Priester said. "I think we're doing enough to get people curious and wanting to come up here."

To pique their taste buds on New Year's Eve, Priester and his multi-talented kitchen staff will prepare three of their more recent creations, including herb-crusted lamb chops, propped up against a mound of mashed potatoes and decorated with ribbons of zucchini; a towering steak-and-shrimp Napoleon, stacked with a portobello mushroom and risotto cake; and the espresso-glazed barbecue pork loin chop, accompanied by roasted cornbread and an apple-jicama slaw for added texture.

"One item that's not on the regular menu but will be on the New Year's Eve one is the opakapaka Wellington," Priester said. "It's something a little different and fresh."

All dinners will come complete with dessert and a glass of bubbly to clink in the new year.