Category Archives: 3) DESTINATIONS — in the U.S.

I knew when a very suave guy in a pink sport jacket with a folded handkerchief in his front pocket arrived with a group of about seven other equally interestingly-dressed people walked into Alan Wong’s – the famous foodie hotspot in Honolulu – that someone famous was part of this group. And there he was: Elton John. The entire restaurant played it cool – and no one made a fuss. But it was astonishing to sit at the table next to a singer I’ve listened to since I was a teenager – over 30 years.  The pink sport jacket guy turned out to be Elton’s husband (at last, my People Mag reading comes in handy.)

Beyond that, the food and service at Alan Wong’s was terrific – he does very creative takeoffs on traditional Hawaiian dishes, which we appreciated after almost 10 days of getting to know what those dishes are. We had a very unique take on poke (my favorite Hawaiian food) and a very clever “coconut” – coconut sorbet inside a chocolate brittle crust resembling a half coconut shell, served with a few native fruits and a yellow tangy sauce. Wow. We also had very good short ribs (we’ve eaten a lot of pork this trip) and red snapper in a miso sauce with corn and mushrooms, fantastic garlic mashed potatoes (one thing we never ate was poi. next time.) And I had the best mojito I’ve ever had (not that I’ve had many but this one had bits of watermelon in it and tons of mint.)

Earlier in the day, I toured the Iolani Palace and then wandered around Chinatown where I found a fantastic char siu place – a tiny hole-in-the-wall called, aptly, Char Siu House. The char siu pork was chopped behind the counter and served on a bed or rice with steamed greens. A Hawaiian food tour group prompted stopped by and the guide introduced the place as the best char siu in Hawaii.  Who knew? Around the block I stopped at Summer Frappes for a smoothie – mange, pineapple and kiwi. And thought of my friend Myra as I passed Myra’s Leis across the street.

Today, I toured Doris Duke’s phenomenal estate Shangra La, packed with Islamic art and artifacts on a glorious four-acre spit of land in a posh Honolulu neighborhood then D and I rented a car (dollar rental $48) and drove to the north shore to Hale’iwa, a fun funky surfer town, where we had a good burger and fries at Kua’aina sandwich shop and then made an obligatory stop at Matsumo’s grocery store for shaved ice. There was a surfer competition at sunset beach and watching the surfers try to make it through enormous waves and the famous Bonzai Pipeline (where the surfer rides inside a tunnel of water created by the wave as it arches up and over and then onto the water – was mesmirizing. The drive itself all the way around the island was gorgeous and next time I’d love to do some hiking around Waimea Valley, which is a gorgeous area of jagged mountains and valleys.  I was somewhat underwhelmed by Kailua but the beach did have the most perfectly soft sand I’ve ever walked upon – it turned to a soft paste when wet. After dirck left tonight (i leave tomorrow for san francisco, he had to go home) I found a perfect place to eat alone – the counter at a japanese noodle restaurant near our restaurant called Ramen Ezogiku.

 Tonight, before D left, we snuck in one last drink (I was back to maitais, dirck has stuck with Kona beer) at the Hosue without a Key – a lovely outdoor bar at the elegant Halekuia hotel next door. Three hula musicians and a beautiful woman dancing hula performed – a perfect way to say a reluctant goodbye to hawaii. Aloha.

I’ve loved this trip!