Entries Tagged 'Reviews' ↓

Starbuck’s is not the place to go for lunch. For free coffee, go to Starbuck’s Tuesday, April 8th, starting at 9:00 am and get a free cup of Pike Place Roast.

Pike Place Roast is named after the first Starbuck’s location, Seattle’s Pike Place Market, which opened back in 1971. Today, Starbuck’s has 1.4-million locations, or so it seems. But no free lunch.

Lunch at Nordstrom’s Cafe, in the bottom level of Nordstrom’s new Ala Moana Center store is not free, either. Lunch at Nordstrom’s Cafe is surprising, though. The lunch menu is varied. Lunch prices are affordable. The salmon and veggies lunch I ordered was tasty. Lunch service was quick and friendly.

True to form, Nordstrom’s cafe attracts the same kind of customer found elsewhere in the store; upscale and attractive females. I think of it as a free lunch for the eyes.

Honolulu’s most populous bird is the ubiquitous crane. From Waikiki to Pearl City, the skyline is dotted with crane after crane. If the building boom is easing on Oahu, you can’t tell from the sky birds.

Another crane will go up on Kalakaua Avenue across from the Hawaii Convention Center and amid the glassy shadow of the Century Center. Cranes mean buildings and this one will be a 16 story residential condominium which borders on affordable.

Affordable? At $750 a square foot? These condos will come in the standard studio, one and two bedroom styles, from about 400 to just over 700 square feet. The starting price? $292,000.

That’s considered affordable at about $750 per square foot.  I’m serious. That’s considered affordable.

Such affordability comes with a pool, a spa, a restaurant, and a fitness center. I’ll admit that the location is more than convenient with bus routes all over the place, and within walking distance of Ala Moana Center, the beach, and KFC. What more could a person want for $750 a square foot?

Parking?

A language that should be common to most of mankind, and it’s not English or music, is common sense. There’s a move afoot to teach Pidgin in Hawaii’s schools because, after all, Pidgin is a true language, not merely a dialect.

Such subtleties were lost on Joe Vento, owner of Geno’s Steaks in Philadelphia. He put up a sign which said, ‘This is America. WHEN ORDERING PLEASE SPEAK ENGLISH.’ Apparently Joe was concerned that local residents were lapsing into their native tongues when ordering his famous Philly cheesesteaks and he couldn’t understand what they were saying.

Fair enough.  It’s common sense, right?

Not so fast, Will Rogers. Philadelphia’s Commission on Human Relations found Joe’s sign to be a violation of anti-discrimination laws, though he says he did not refuse service to anyone who spoke anything except English. He just wanted them to speak English because that’s what he understands. English. Later, the Commission charged him with posting an ‘offensive’ sign. Common sense prevailed after the U.S. Senate voted to approve a, here it comes, ‘common-sense amendment to a bill which would bar federal employment regulators from suing a business that requires employees to speak English.

Whew. That was close.

Pidgin, like ebonics, and many others, is a delightfully engaging, rhythmic, entertaining, and suitable language, or dialect (I doubt if it matters which) and it has a place in our local society. Those who predominantly speak pidgin or ebonics or any other language just outside of mainstream English add much to our rich and diverse culture and are to be both commended and respected for their contributions.

Let a little common sense prevail on both sides of the linguistic fences.

If you want a good job, mobility in society, and respect from others, it pays to learn and use appropriate English, just as it pays to learn math and science. When our children hit the public school system the first thing they brought home was Pidgin. Our rule was simple. No Pidgin at home. Not ‘no Pidgin. Only ‘no Pidgin at home.’ It was not a rule meant to disrespect Pidgin speakers, but a rule meant to broaden our children’s horizons, their knowledge and their abilities. They learned to speak English and Pidgin and they know when to use both.

It won’t kill anyone if the school systems teach Pidgin. Hopefully, they’ll also teach when to use Pidgin and when not to.

My wife loves steak. Once a month or so we’ll venture forth to one of her favorite steak places. Some good, some not so much.

A steak house is always an adventure in varied dining. At expensive steak houses, such as Ruth’s Chris or Morton’s Steak House, you get quality meat, elegant dining, attentive service. Most of the time.

Our three most recent steak house experiences were at the new Ruth’s Chris Steak House on the Beachwalk in Waikiki. Food, dining, and service are so good that we no longer frequent the Ruth’s Chris restaurant near downtown Honolulu.

Variety is the spice of life, and it’s been awhile since we dined at Morton’s Steak House at Ala Moana Center, so my wife made reservations for Friday evening. We arrived on time and yet we had to wait. That’s not a good way to start an evening of fine dining. Not at 5:30 when few customers are present.

Once we were seated the evening’s festive dining began. Sort of. I don’t ask much from a restaurant, but I take into consideration that what I pay for is comparable to what I get. Morton’s and Ruth’s Chris are expensive, so I expect every aspect of the dining experience to reflect their attention, not only to the little things, but the basics; food and service. Our recent dining experiences with Ruth’s Chris have been positive. Maybe there was a reason we had not dined at Morton’s for a few years.

Our waiter at Morton’s was attentive and pleasant and explained various items on the menu. My wife always has questions so the extra details are appreciated. We both ordered a filet. I requested that mine come butterflied, medium well, with a touch of pink, and no more. I also ordered a house salad, a potato, and the spinach and mushrooms. The menu selection also came with some kind of shrimp in a sauce. That unexpected add-on turned out to be the best thing about dinner.

Music from Frank Sinatra played lightly in the background. Waiters and staff scurried about, all too often engaged in their own rather noisy conversations in full earshot of customers who, considering the prices they charge at Morton’s, would prefer more Sinatra, less waiter.

First on the table was the salad, very large and chilled. Actually, relative to salads at Ruth’s Chris, it was very, very large. In fact, the salad was so large that I had trouble getting through it (I feel bad if I leave too much food behind) before the entree arrived. My wife did not finish her salad. From there it was all downhill.

I’m certain that the chef accidentally spilled a container of Morton’s Salt into the spinach and mushrooms. Had it not been served to customers that evening the spinach and mushrooms could easily be preserved in a Waikiki time capsule to be dug up, fully edible, in another 100 years.

What about the steak? Steaks that cost as much as they do at such fine dining establishments need to taste better than steaks from Safeway or Foodland. This one did not. First, no butterfly. Second, medium-well was substituted for medium-raw, somewhat steak-like on the outer edges, still pretty much a cow inside. Third, what was edible was rough, the opposite of tender. Meanwhile, our waiter had disappeared, possibly using Morton’s copy machine to run off additional resumes, or to schedule an interview at Ruth’s Chris.

Dessert was Morton’s famous warm chocolate cake. It’s difficult to mess up chocolate cake, though in Morton’s defense, there’s no evidence they tried. There is evidence they worked hard to do just that elsewhere in our dinner. Though I cannot remember the specifics, I’m sure there were a few reasons why we did not dine at Morton’s over the past few years. Now I have plenty of reasons why it will be a few more years before we venture there again.

All in all, I spent $50 for a very large salad that came with a nice dessert, and plenty of steak for my wife to freeze for future lunches. The comparison between the elegant dining, excellent food, and superb service we’ve encountered at Ruth’s Chris Steak House in Waikiki puts Morton’s in a whole different category.

Henceforth, they shall be known as Morton’s Salad House.

Sekiya’s Restaurant in Kaimuki is closed. Why? Hawaii’s worst outbreak of E. coli 0157:H7 ever gave some Sekiya customers bloody diarrhea in the past few months.

Worse, the Health Department says Sekiya’s had repeated health inspection violations and will remain closed until the entire facility is decontaminated, disinfected, and sterile. All anyone knows is that the restaurant may open in the future.

It may be safe to say that customers who became sick because of the E. coli outbreak at the restaurant are not likely to attend Sekiya’s Grand Re-Opening. I think I’ll wait awhile.

Of greater interest is the Department of Health’s response to the situation. Apparently, the State doesn’t have enough inspectors to inspect restaurants with sufficient regularity. Problems like that experienced by Sekiya’s and their former customers come about because the Department of Health doesn’t inspect often enough.

Is that a cry for help, or business as usual?

Even after six customers complained of bloody diarrhea in December, Sekiya’s continued to serve contaminated food to customers until the latest crackdown. Now employees will have to learn how to wash their hands and handle food properly.

Even after going to the unprecedented measure of closing down a restaurant and dumping their food stock, the Department of Health continues to inspect restaurants. Sometimes.

Life is full of little catch phrases that add meaning and communication to our lives. Back when beef was bad and carbohydrates were good, the beef industry came up with, “Beef. It’s what’s for dinner.” I haven’t heard or read of a counter phrase from the bread industry.

Nike scored big with, “Just do it.” The dairy industry published and broadcast plenty of “Got Milk” ads to defend itself against those who think milk is really bad for us even when it’s supposed to be good. Hint: It’s really bad for us.

The Honolulu Star-Bulletin’s humorist, Charles Memminger, has what he calls the next great inspirational slogan: “Get Life On.” He owns the web site variations of Get Life On and has launched a media campaign to license the slogan.

Slogans come and go. We’re inundated with a constant barrage of slogans. They’re everywhere. Television, radio, web sites, newspapers, magazines, schools, books, bumper stickers (my favorite is ‘Visualize Whirled Peas‘). Most slogans are easily understood and most are easily ignored.

What’s wrong with “Get Life On?” Is it clothing for life? Is it an attitude to be wrapped up in? If it’s motivational and inspirational, for what does it motivate or inspire (other than licensing fees payable to Charles Memminger)?

Burger King did well with, “Have it your way.” Whenever I asked them to cut my burger in half they would forget about half the time. Maybe the slogan should have been, “Have it your way, sometimes.” Miller sold a lot of beer at “Miller Time” which means right after work as you’re driving home. That’s not the best time to drink beer. BMW produced, “The ultimate driving machine.” I drove it. It wasn’t.

Ala Moana is “Hawaii’s Center.” Center of what? Honolulu? Oahu? Shopping? Debt? It’s not parking. It’s gotta be the center of consumer debt. Pearlridge is “One good thing after another.” That’s true if you find an empty parking spot next to another empty parking spot. Like that’ll happen. Taxpayers spend millions each year on the Hawaii Visitors and Convention Bureau and the best slogan that their money can buy is “E Komo Mai.” That’s as easily understood in the Midwest as Get Life On is in Berzerkistan.

Phrases are easy. Phrases that mean something are more difficult. Phrases to be remembered are next to impossible without an ad budget. Get Life On needs an ad budget. A very big ad budget.

Timing is everything, and our timing today was poor. All we wanted today was a late lunch, some place to sit down and relax, a place with good food, modestly priced, and with free and easy parking. We eat quickly, tip well, don’t spill our food or drinks, and don’t make demands of the waiters, servers, or hostesses.

Today was not the day for a relaxing lunch. If you want lunch on a holiday in Honolulu you’re better off brown bagging it.

We tried Ala Moana Center first. Why? Lots of parking and many places to eat. Parking at 1:30 PM was horrible. Who knew that President’s Day was so popular that everyone had to celebrate their love of Presidents past by driving to the mall? Parking was next to impossible and so was the wait at any of the mall restaurants that had their own chairs (shared chairs at Makai Market, the food court, don’t count).

Alright, OK, what to do? Well, a quick visit to Safeway on Kapahulu was on the list for the afternoon’s activities, so why not stop at Genki Sushi on the way? Sorry, Charlie. Genki serves tuna that tastes good, not tuna to folks with good taste and no time to wait in line.

That was how the afternoon went. No parking problems at the fast food places, but if the restaurant didn’t have a menu hanging behind the counter clerk, parking and seating was next to impossible.Alright, OK, what to do next? I know– Safeway. I found parking but didn’t find the strawberry sorbet I came for, so I bought some take out sushi instead, then headed home.

10-minutes after eating the sushi I developed a stomach ache which lasted all day, all night, and well into my fading dreams. Then I remembered all those news stories about bad ahi being sold locally and making people sick.

The next time a holiday comes around I’m brown bagging it for lunch.

There are many reasons to conserve energy, whether it be electricity or gasoline. Both use oil which is a finite, non-easily-renewed energy source.

A barrel of crude oil is approaching $100, so energy from petroleum sources is expensive. And highly profitable.

Why does HECO, our local energy company, advertise energy conservation? They sell energy. But they spend money to advertise energy conservation. Why do they want their customers to use less of the product they sell?

I can understand why the government forces tobacco companies to spend money advertising against the very product they sell. It’s in the public interest because the diseases caused by tobacco products harm people, and often the public has to pay the price in increased insurance, higher taxes and premiums, and so on.

If we use less energy, as supplied by HECO, their revenue will drop, their profits will drop. So, how is energy conservation a good thing for HECO?

I suspect that energy conservation is not a good thing for HECO, especially if such conservation becomes widespread and effective, and actually causes lower revenue and profits, which, from what I can tell has never been the case. Therefore, it is easy to conclude that the advertising HECO does to promote conservation is lip service to make them appear as if they’re a responsible public service organization.

We live in a nation that loves lists. Not necessarily to-do lists, but lists of the best of whatever.

Each Sunday we get the latest list of the top grossing movies of the weekend. Every sport has a list of the top (best) teams. The best players make it to an all-star game. The best teams make it to the playoffs.

Hawaii has plenty of best lists. Island beaches show up on best beaches lists with regularity. Island resorts and hotels make the list of best resorts and hotels.

Local publications produce annual lists of best restaurants. We like to eat at places that are considered the best. Honolulu Weekly showcases the Best of Honolulu each year. Best night life. Best restaurants. Best places to do whatever.

Honolulu Magazine ran a feature last year on the Best Lawyers in Hawaii, including the best in a variety of lawyerly specialties. As you would expect with any list of lawyers, the list was suspect. After all, the magazine was loaded with advertisements. Ads from lawyers.

We love best of lists. Best restaurants, best homes, best cars, best career opportunities, best schools, best teams, best books, best music, best television shows, best movies. New to the best of lists in recent years are cosmetic surgeons and cosmetic dentists. How long will it be before we have a published list of Hawaii’s best psychiatrists, or best surgeons, or best podiatrists, or best chiropractors?

What about bus drivers? Wouldn’t you rather ride a bus driven by one of Hawaii’s best bus drivers? Or, be stopped and given a ticket by one of Honolulu’s best police officers?

A little competition can be a good thing for Hawaii’s internet users. It’s only fitting that Hawaii’s largest phone company and Hawaii’s largest cable television operator provider compete to provide better service.

Service? That might be a sore spot for many of their respective customers. Local phone company Hawaiian Telcom has suffered through a couple of years of troublesome customer service issues. Fortunately, they’re not the only phone company in town. There are choices.

The cable television folks at Oceanic, somehow connected to the megalithic Time-Warner media company, is pretty much the only entertainment show in town, so we have to take what they give us.

When it comes to telephone service, they compete against each other, with the nod for dependability going to Hawaiian Telcom.

What about local internet service? Both Oceanic and Hawaiian Telcom claim the fastest service. Oceanic says their cable-based Road Runner service is the fastest internet service in Hawaii. Meanwhile, the local phone company touts their network as Hawaii’s fastest.

They both can’t be right, can they?

They’re not, and they are, all because it depends. What do you mean by fastest? By using a broad definition, loosely defined, and more loosely applied, both claim the speed title.

In general, dollar for dollar, there isn’t much difference between Road Runner and Hawaiian Telcom’s DSL service. For both, if you pay less, the speed is less. When you pay more the speed goes up.

Hawaiian Telcom’s 3 meg service (measured as a maximum download speed of 3 megabits per second) is only $19.99, which compares favorably to Oceanic’s Road Runner 1.5 which is half the speed but half again as much money, at $29.95.

For cheap and slow, it’s advantage Hawaiian Telcom.

In the middle, Road Runner’s basic plan is$44.95 for up to 5 megs, while Hawaiian Telcom gives up to 7 megs for only $39.99. Advantage, to the phone company.

For screaming fast internet service, Hawaiian Telcom’s 11 meg service is only $49.99, while Road Runner’s 8 meg service is $54.90, and the ultra fast 15 meg service is a whopping $69.90 per month.

Clearly, the average value comes from Hawaiian Telcom’s DSL service vs. Oceanic’s Road Runner connection. But there’s more than meets the eye to the comparable prices and so-called speed ratings.

Generally speaking, and unless you’re downloading huge files each day, there is little practical difference between 3 meg service and 7 meg service. Email, web page browsing all looks and feels pretty much the same, whether the connection is from Hawaiian Telcom or Oceanic. There’s also little difference at the high end, from 11 megs to 15 megs because few servers elsewhere on the internet can send you files that fast anyway. Call it overkill.

Your mileage may vary, of course, but take it from someone who has used both Road Runner and Hawaiian Telcom’s DSL services, the dependability prize goes to the phone company. Invariably, my Road Runner connection would disappear two or three times a week, or slow down to a horribly ugly snail’s pace for an hour or so in the early evening.

I’ve used DSL for about eight years and can count the number of times the service has been down on one hand. Oceanic managed to match that level of service finger for finger but did so each month. The dependability advantage goes easily to Hawaiian Telcom’s DSL internet service.

Guess what? DSL still works when the power goes out, which seems to be more frequent in the past couple of years. I added a three hour battery power supply to my home network which kept it running for three hours when the power went out during the earthquake a few years ago. Of course, power was out for 15 hours, but still… When the power goes out, so does cable television, the cable company’s digital phone service, and the Road Runner internet connection.

Who would have thought that the Beep Beep slogan of the Road Runner’s perfectly unblemished record would ever be toppled by a lowly, local phone company’s internet connection?