When kumu hula, singer and musician Robert Cazimero was asked to participate in the 50th annual Merrie Monarch Festival in April, he was a little hesitant–he generally competes only every 10 years, and swept the awards in 1995–until he heard they wanted his halau for hoike night. The hoike, one of Merrie Monarch’s most treasured moments, is held on Wednesday of Merrie Monarch week and never televised.
STARVING NO MORE / We get island fever for a lot of reasons–even artistically. Compared to San Francisco, it often seems like our stream of visiting artists is closer to a sad trickle.
Listen Up / The Islands have always hosted more jazz than blues, dating back to the 1920s, when the genre first spread across the world and Louis Armstrong and the other greats played Chinatown clubs. (Check out Satchmo and Andy Iona on the 1928 album Jazz Goes Hawaiian.) Blues however, has simmered on the backburner of the local scene, only growing stronger recently.
WALK IT OFF / In a short matter of time, Oahu’s food scene got serious. The explosion of restaurants, pop-ups, food carts and farmers’ markets prove that a more sensitive culinary consciousness has finally reached the mainstream.
Island Films / Four movies made in our Islands, some with local actors in significant roles, are now available for your home viewing pleasure. Samsara, that psychedelic sequel to Baraka, is one trippy flick.
New Kids On The Block / Tonight, we’re doing something different. We’re going to throw you a warehouse party with a dance floor, strobe lights, a veejay and a caterer.
What: Honolulu Weekly Literary & Arts Party When: Thu., Jan. 17, 6-8:30 p.m.
Kids These Days / Wherever there is a bad idea that can’t be amended, there is also a wary elder echoing the age-old adage, “You can’t polish a turd.” Thanks to recent scientific strides from the Discovery Channel series MythBusters, that myth was officially put to rest; you can totally polish a “high-gloss” turd using a glossmeter. Similar is the polished aesthetic behind 23-year-old Chad Maluyo’s Crappy Kids clothing line.
Off the Chain / Sculpting a new you for the New Year? Consider cycling indoors.
Excerpt from Do One Green Thing / Did you know that cosmetics and personal care products are the leading reason for calls to poison control centers in the United States? Every day, one out of every 13 US women, and one out of every 23 men, is exposed to cosmetic ingredients that are known or probable human carcinogens, according to the Environmental Working Group.
Simple Joys / When Kelli Ann Harada answers the phone, you can immediately hear in her voice the adorability so apparent in her artwork. No one else could’ve started [doodlipoop.com], the webstore featuring punny and heartwarming designs on stationery.
Excerpt from Do One Green Thing / Why organic beer? It’s better for the environment and thus our overall health, from the growing of the barley and hops without petrochemical pesticides and fertilizers, to the strict limitation on chemicals used in brewing and cleaning the factory equipment.
To Read, or Not / Untold Stories of a Real Estate Diva, a self-published book by Honolulu Realtor Stephany Sofos purported to be a tell-all of the Honolulu real estate industry, is more of a depressing symbol of our current publishing economy than anything to sit and enjoy reading. Despite Sofos’s promise of well-dished dirt, Diva comes off as, well, the work of a diva: a first draft that somehow got printed, composed of garbled, vainglorious, run-on sentences.
Adult Beverages / Need some sharp ideas to get you half seas over and three sheets into the New Year? We did, so we asked Kyle Reutner, the managing bartender at Town restaurant in Kaimuki and co-owner and -founder (with business partner Maria Burke) of Imbibe Hawaii, to help out.
to Get and Give / If thinking about one more mall trip makes you feel like crying, here’s a place where you can find great last-minute gifts, hilarity and charity. Art & Flea’s third annual Ugly Sweater Party will feature more than 60 local vendors carrying an abundance of handmade items, vintage pieces, antiques and local art.
New in Kaka’ako! . . . again / The dust that never seems to settle in Kakaako isn’t borne of gang fights or the constant construction on Ala Moana Boulevard (I mean, will that ever end?). It’s from new and unique shops that seem to open up every 20 minutes.
Holiday Grinds Simple Steamed Pudding / We couldn’t resist sharing this recipe, just in time for the holidays, from Weekly contributor Wanda A. Adams.
The State’s incentive to “Buy Hawaii, Give Aloha,” recently announced by Governor Abercrombie, is based on the idea that consumers confine holiday shopping to local businesses selling locally created products. But, what does being “Made in Hawaii” mean, and how strict is such a label?
What to Wear / At a backyard gathering, Blair Townley is wearing a black and white trucker hat with the words “Get Salty” emblazoned on the front. Everybody grins at it.
Salt shakers are out, salt pots are in. Lanikai Pot and Plant’s salt pots are little dishes that sit in the center of your dining table, complete with a small wooden spoon and Hawaiian sea salt to season your dishes in a more elegant and pure way.
We can recycle plastic containers with 1s and 2s on them, but what about the rest? Millions of tons of plastic make it into our oceans each year, not only making it hard to walk on the sand without stepping on crap, but screwing up our sea life.
I never know what to buy the men in my life. All they seem to want are boxers and video games, and I can’t pick out either.
Earrings, pushpins, and other small trinkets are easy to misplace. Heart Stumps, hollow birch or cherry wood tubes held closed by an elastic band, are the perfect solution.
Especially for the active, staying fresh can be a problem. Many deodorants double as antiperspirants, which contain aluminum and chemicals that can be hazardous to your health.
Not enough things are handwritten anymore. Computers may be faster, but they miss that personal touch that comes with someone’s signature curvy letters.
For this year’s Food + Drink issue, we compiled 100-plus memories of the fantastic bites we’ve taken, the culinary experiences we’ve undergone and other tasteful moments of absolutely loving what Hawaii’s food scene has to offer. The result is a mixed plate of the Weekly ‘ohana’s favorite dishes, libations, produce, places and some lesser-known joys.
Respect Your Veg At long last, vegetables are being recognized as culinary stars. The following dishes have two things in common: They’re veggie-centric, if not strictly vegetarian, and best eaten on the spot.
Paitan Broth: Kyoto Ramen Yotekko-Ya If you’re a ramen lover, you know the most important element of the bowl is the broth. At Kyoto Ramen Yotekko-Ya, the paitan broth ($9.95 for paitan chashu ramen) is deeply savory.
Naan: Cafe Maharani “The dough is just special,” says owner Chris Rahman of Cafe Maharani. The naan ($2.99) is made to order and handled very delicately.
Asian: Green Door Cafe Enter into Green Door Cafe to find a whole ‘nother world. Owner Betty Peng is a one-woman show (don’t start with her, or else) and cooks all of her Singaporean dishes to order.
Byron’s Drive-in The vacant, former Byron’s Drive-in building still stands near the airport since closing its doors in February. “We’d always go [to Byron’s] late at night,” says Sabrina Thompson, a Tripler Hospital nurse.
Shinsato Pork: Guava Smoked Scott Shibuya of Guava Smoked made a splash in the farmers’ market scene with his finger-licking good, guava wood-smoked Shinsato Pork. “I really wanted to be my own boss,” he says.
Cheese: Surfing Goat Dairy Owners Thomas and Eva Kafsack moved from Germany to Maui and found that they missed receiving fresh goat cheese from their neighbors’ backyards. A few goats from the Big Island (and a huge investment) later, Surfing Goat Dairy was born.
Decadent Fries: Home Bar and Grill These aren’t ordinary fried potatoes. Chef Neil Nakasone’s Parmesan truffle fries ($8) are an elite class of spuds.
Rotations: Taste Some might say Chef Mark “Gooch” Noguchi and partner Amanda Corby, with the help of another power couple, Poni and Brandon Askew of StreetGrindz, fleshed out the pop-up trend with Taste. But: “Actually, Adam is Taste,” Gooch explains, referring to Taste’s general manager, Adam Lock.
Healthy Food Truck: Beet Box Cafe The Beet Box Cafe is a sit-down eatery located in Haleiwa Town, but their bright yellow lunch wagon is also worth following. The lunchtruck serves organic, vegetarian burritos ($7-10), a special of the day made with farm-to-table ingredients ($10-12), smoothies ($7.50), kombucha ($5) and snacks such as baked goods and dried fruits ($3).
A Cook’s Catch When it comes to fish, freshness really matters, so eating local from our Hawaiian waters is always in the best of taste. Health and sustainability also count.
Whole Foods & Down To Earth Down to Earth offers strictly vegetarian delights such as Bombay spinach, eggplant parmesan, stuffed shells, Thai curry and vegetable korma ($9.59/pound). The tofu and eggplant are always sourced from local producers.
Edible Land: Permablitz Fruit trees flourish in Hawaii but sadly, much goes to waste. Permablitz aims to change that.
Foraging: Strawberry Guava at Waahila Ridge Strawberry guava is invasive to Hawaii, which is why I don’t feel an ounce of guilt picking the small, red fruits in (free!) handfuls whenever I hike up Waahila Ridge. When they’re a light red color, just pull them off the trees, check for bug-made holes and bite in.
Nutmeg and Cloves: Frankie’s Nursery Want to spice up your kitchen? Lynn Tsuruda of Frankie’s Nursery says they sell spices grown in Hawaii, by the plant or the fruit.
Filipino: Pacific Drive out to Central Oahu and find Pacific Supermarket, a haven for all things Southeast Asian. With the Leeward community’s large Filipino population, access to local favorites at Pacific is a big deal.
Korean Chew: Taegu Taegu, more properly pronounced as dae-goo, is either a variety of cod, sliced into strips and seasoned, or a seasoned side dish. There is some confusion, as I came to realize while asking my born-and-raised-in-Korea mom, because those side dishes are made with different fish.
Matcha Latte: Peace Cafe Peace Cafe, a second home for vegans, carries a matcha (green tea) latte with a secret. “The first sip is always the most important,” explains an employee.
Good For You: Kombucha A SCOBY is a symbiotic colony of bacteria and yeast integral to making kombucha. Kombucha, a fizzy tea, is full of promises to boost detoxification, immunity and digestion and joint health.
Free: Whole Foods Whole Foods Market Kahala offers free cooking classes at CookSpace in Ward Warehouse. “We just did a Health Starts Here cooking class,” says Whole Foods marketing supervisor Natalie Aczon.
Wine Tasting: Kalapawai Cafe Every second Sunday of the month at 3:30 p.m., Kalapawai Cafe holds a free wine tasting. “We [have] five wines.
Dear Friends, Readers, and Advertisers, I am sorry to say that this will be the last issue of the Weekly that we will print. I am sad about closing but I see no way that we can maintain our revenue stream and our fiscal health.
Native Hawaiians and preservationists have pledged to fight a law, signed by Gov. Neil Abercrombie on May 28, that will allow some construction projects to begin before the site has been fully inspected for ancient burials.
Imagine you’re walking through downtown Honolulu and, rather than bypassing an empty, blighted park, you’re drawn into an urban oasis–a forest of fruit-bearing trees and shrubs. You could spend your lunch break chatting with friends in the shade of an ‘ulu tree–and, if you’re hungry, pick whatever’s in season.
Road Rule On May 20, Gov. Abercrombie signed Act 73, requiring all vehicle passengers to buckle up regardless of age or seating arrangement.
Tourists enjoying the Waikiki waterfront were treated to Hawaiian phrases such as “Aole, aole, aole GMO!” chanted by protesters in the March Against Monsanto on Sat., May 25. Translation: No GMOs, ever.
The Hawaii Community Development Authority (HCDA) made its proposed plan to redevelop the Kakaako district available to the community during an open house on Thu., May 23. HCDA Executive Director Tony Ching began with a presentation of the new Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) plan before letting residents ask questions.
In 2011 the city Department of Transportation Services (DTS) was tasked by then-Mayor Peter Carlisle’s administration to shave $10 million from its budget. Over the course of a year, several bus routes were cut and many more were shortened or reconfigured and the frequency of service decreased.
You mentioned in your May 29 GMO article (“Big Pharm Fallout”) that GMO bans were placed on taro and coffee in 2008 in Kohala County. However it was an islandwide ban in Hawaii County.
What a great quote: “I understand that it’s frustrating that we can’t get past the issue of homelessness . .
I know space is limited and you couldn’t put everything in one small article (“Art with HART,” May 29). Here is the rest of what I wanted to have said.
Have five or more contractors “compete” by tackling sections of roadway (“Road Repaving,” May 29). Criteria for competing are expenses, timeliness and a level of quality assurance standards.
Thanks for this article (“The Naked Truth,” May 22), I’m Mykel Hicks, grandson of Sharon Hicks, and I am so proud of my grandma for all she has done for herself, this family and specifically me. She is an amazing grandma who comes with a moving story I hope can help people around the world.
Please remind readers that the HCDA is not interested in providing housing for minimum wage individuals or families, but in providing property developers with profitable opportunities; that our ancient water and sewage lines were not designed to support the needs of thousands of condo and apartment dwellers, but no one is interested in replacing them because no one wants to pay the price (“Civix,” May 22). As a result, Kakaako’s streets are regularly flooded with no sidewalk retreat for pedestrians, wheelchairs, bicyclists, skateboarders, etc., and constantly excavated/repaired to accommodate one project after the other.
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