honoluluadvertiser.com

Sponsored by:

Comment, blog & share photos

Log in | Become a member
The Honolulu Advertiser

Posted on: Sunday, February 20, 2005

THE INSIDE SCOOP
Birthday wishes come true at The "O"

By Simplicio Paragas
Dining Out Editor

Dorty Normil made a wish then blew out the candles during her birthday party last Saturday night.

Photo by Randy T. Fujimori

The "O" Lounge

Where: 1349 Kapiolani Blvd.

Call: 944-8436

Parking: $3 valet; free on Wednesdays

Note: A burlesque cabaret show is now featured every Saturday night, starting at 10 p.m.

Dorty Normil wasn't shy in admitting that she turned 32 years old — oops, young, that is — last Sunday. Looking for a place to celebrate her "day," this self-admitted romantic had several criteria in mind: The place had to have a private or semi-private room, good food, dancing and, overall, a nice ambiance.

She also wanted to play host to her party at a place that she had never been before. So, Saturday night at d.k Steak House was out and so, too, were Aaron's atop the Ala Moana, Nick's Fishmarket, Feng Shui at the Waikiki Hyatt Regency

Resort & Spa, Wonderlounge at the W and the Skyline at the Hanohano Room.

Exhausting the list of potential restaurant-turn-night-club-type places, I suggested to Dorty that she check out The "O" Lounge.

Opened late last year, The "O" Lounge (once the site of China House) is the brainchild of 33-year-old Elizabeth Watanabe, whose inspiration for the club arose after visiting a grunge-like place in New York City.

While this young entrepreneur captured the warehouse-size feel of a Big Apple club, in no way is The "O" Lounge "grunge" by any stretch of the imagination.

It has been done in Feng Shui chic, with the consultation help of Feng Shui master himself, Clarence Lau.

Imported teak "lounge" furniture and clever use of fine mesh screening for the private areas lend an air of exoticism to the room.

While wine, beer, cocktails and champagne flow freely here, the club's pupu menu presents a something-for-everyone-type list.

Dorty's menu included poke, Caesar salad, Island tomato carpaccio with fresh mozzarella, broiled hoisin-glazed beef back ribs, gourmet cheeses and Hawaiian-style kalua pork quesadillas, which were the hit of the party, according to Dorty.

Personally, my favorite pupu at the "O" is the ten-ounce rib-eye steak, which is sliced in thin strips then presented on a mound of Island greens and garnished with a bitey horseradish sauce.

A close second is the basket of garlic French fries. Seasoned with fried minced garlic — as oppose to just garlic salt or powder — these fries need to be chased down with a gulp of beer or crisp chardonnay.

While the food and ambiance at the "O" met all of Dorty's expectations, the service was impeccable, she said, gushing that the bouncers even held her drink while she danced the night away.

Happy birthday Dorty!