Gayot has again singled out Chef Mavro as its highest rated restaurant in Hawai'i.

Chef Mavro was the only restaurant in Hawai'i to earn Gayot's "Three Toques" and an 18/20 rating in a recent newsletter published on Gayot's Web site.

"See why Chef Mavro's eponymous restaurant is one of the top 40 restaurants in the country as you salivate over the menu and photos of a 15-course meal we recently enjoyed there," Gayot said in its "Hawaii Issue." (www.gayot.com/newsletters/hawaii/2009.html)

Gayot recommendations are based on analysis from professional restaurant reviewers, critics and food, travel and lifestyle experts.

U.S. FIRM GETS TOKYO ELECTRIC-TAXI PROJECT

Better Place has received an award from the Japanese government to conduct a pilot project in Tokyo for the world's first electric taxis with switchable batteries.

California-based Better Place will partner with Tokyo's largest taxi operator, Nihon Kotsu, in the project commissioned by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry's Natural Resources and Energy Agency.

In Hawai'i, Better Place has been selected to set up a $1 billion statewide charging network for electric cars. Better Place last fall signed an agreement with Hawaiian Electric Co. to make such service possible as early as 2011.

STUDIO BECKER TO OPEN SHOWROOM

Furniture maker Studio Becker plans to open a showroom for corporate customers in Honolulu next fall.

The firm, known for its upscale kitchen designs, said its Honolulu location will be modeled after its new 10,000-square-foot corporate showroom in San Francisco.

"Much like the showroom in San Francisco, the new Honolulu showroom will emulate the prestigious European fashion houses, highlighting products in a theater-like environment," the company said in a news release.

Studio Becker has operated a retail showroom in Honolulu's Gentry Pacific Design Center since 1988.