Can’t Stop, Won’t Stop
If it weren’t for a fateful dentist appointment, Saosin vocalist Anthony Green wouldn’t have gone home and started jamming with old friend Colin Frangicetto, who was recovering from the breakup of his band, This Day Forward. A few experimental tracks later, the two began Circa Survive, an ambitious rock outfit combining Green’s ethereal vocals with Frangicetto’s myriad instrumental talents.
Teach the Pre-K Keiki Well
Multiple bills, including SB 1084, which would allow the appropriation of funds for private preschools, are advancing through the Legislature, so the Weekly asked Dee Jay Mailer, CEO of Kamehameha Schools and an advocate of early childhood learning, for her perspective. Kamehameha Schools’s investment in preschools seems to have had great results in students’ continuing education and achievements.
Breaking Ground and Moving Earth
As an architect, artist, academic and expert urban dweller, Sean Connelly leaves a lot of ground to cover in A Small Area of Land (Kakaako Earth Room), a site-specific, conceptual indoor megalithic sculpture erupting with a breadth of natural materials, Hawaiian history and galactic alignment. Imagine a local, smaller-scale Stonehenge and you’d be riding a comparable wave.
The Frog Scientist
Dr. Tyrone Hayes / Growing up in a segregated town in South Carolina, the young Tyrone Hayes studied tadpoles in his yard and won a scholarship to Harvard. As a professor of Integrative Biology at UC Berkeley, while doing research on the effects of atrazine, Hayes discovered that the popular herbicide causes chemical castration in frogs and possible hormonal disruption in humans.
Firebird
At The ARTS at Marks Garage, filled with sunlight, hang Debra Drexler’s wall-sized abstract paintings in fiery yellows, reds and blues. A professor of art at UH Manoa who lives in Kailua and spends her summers painting in her Brooklyn studio, Drexler met with the Weekly shortly after Hurricane Sandy flooded the city, bringing to mind the dark undercurrents of her luminous work.
Cruz Control
Savory Stage Presents
Food & Drink / Chefs are the new athletes, with confidence bordering on cockiness. Chef Robert Irvine of Wiltshire England, and host of the Food Network’s Restaurant: Impossible, is no exception.
Consequence of Sound
As the former frontman of hardcore punk bands Black Flag and Rollins Band, Henry Rollins is best-known for his caustic lyrics and an intense, raw delivery of opinions. The outspoken activist hosts a weekly program on the public radio station KCRW and performs spoken word events, or “talking shows,” all over the world, averaging more than 100 shows a year for the last 28 years.
Stay Young, Go Dancing
Fifteen years ago, up in Bellingham, Wash., Ben Gibbard started the alternative-rock band he dubbed Death Cab for Cutie, while in Honolulu, some of us were too young to know much about music beyond what we heard on Krater 96. Fast-forward to 2012: DCfC has released seven albums, including their latest, Codes and Keys, and been nominated for multiple Grammy Awards for hits such as “I Will Possess Your Heart.” They’ve certainly won ours.
Haunani Apoliona
Q&A / When Haunani Apoliona was first elected to the Office of Hawaiian Affairs in 1996, the Honolulu Weekly reported that she “handpicked” a coalition of OHA candidates–Colette Machado, Hannah Springer and Warren Perry–“to bring the spirit of cooperation to the notoriously dysfunctional agency.” Apoliona, who holds a master’s degree in social work, left her position as president of Alu Like, a non-profit organization dedicated to helping native Hawaiians, and became OHA’s longest-serving chair, from 2000 to 2010. Her tenure, she says, has helped foster “OHA’s reform and maturation into an entity of focus, discipline and accountability in service to our Native Hawaiian beneficiaries,” Now that Apoliona is up for re-election, the Weekly caught up with her to discuss OHA’s past and future.
The Life in the Line
The greatest tattoo artist of our time–anointed by our own Hotel Street’s Sailor Jerry–is also a fine artist, book publisher, filmmaker and, thanks to his Ed Hardy line, an unexpected fashion icon. In conjunction with the Tattoo Honolulu exhibit at the Honolulu Museum of Art, Hardy will be giving a talk at the Doris Duke Theatre on July 6 at 7:30pm before a screening of Emiko Omori’s acclaimed film, Ed Hardy: Tattoo the World.
Easy Waves & Buckwild Catsup
Jason Mraz, best known for his billboard breaker, We Sing, We Dance, We Steal things, is coming back to Oahu for one final stop before preparing for his biggest North American tour to date, which launches later this summer. Kalani Wilhelm gets to the bottom of Mraz’s current record–Love is a Four Letter Word–his creative process and…ketchup?
This week
Honolulu Confidential
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.
Favorite Dishes
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.
Noodles
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.
Baked Goods
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.
Mean But Worth It
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.
RIP
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.
Meat
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.
Dairy
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.
Snacks & Desserts
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.
Pop-Ups
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
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).
Seafood
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.
To-Go
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.
‘Aina
Edible Land: Permablitz Fruit trees flourish in Hawaii but sadly, much goes to waste. Permablitz aims to change that.
Fruits
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.
Spices
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.
Specialty Markets
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.
Lesser Known
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.
Coffee & Tea
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.
Healthy
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.
Cooking Classes
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.
Alcohol
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.
Aloha ‘ino
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.
Phasing
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.
A Food Forest
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.
CIVIX
Road Rule On May 20, Gov. Abercrombie signed Act 73, requiring all vehicle passengers to buckle up regardless of age or seating arrangement.
Hell No, GMO
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.
Done Deals?
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.
TheBus
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.
No one for GMO
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.
Sovereignty issues
What a great quote: “I understand that it’s frustrating that we can’t get past the issue of homelessness . .
Not pono
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.
Git ‘er done
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.
A memoir’s reach
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.
Fix Kakaako
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.


