PABLO'S CANTINA

PABLO'S CANTINA

HONOLULU, HAWAII

The old Comprades Mexican Restaurant in Ward Center has now become Pablo's Cantina. The place has been renovated with a inside/outside bar and Cantina decor. We had lunch here on a Sunday. There were only about four tables with people and a few patrons at the bar watching football. Even with a small crowd, it took awhile to get service. The waitress was very friendly and did everything possible to make us feel comfortable. It seemed there were other employees but she was doing it all for all tables. This meant that service was very, very slow.

We got some warm chips and salsa to start. The salsa was good but lacked any heat. I went to the hot sauce wall and pulled off a bottle of Mad Anthony's Hot Sauce. The combination of the heat and flavor of this sauce coupled with the fresh salsa was perfect. I mixed the two together and had a darn good hot salsa to enjoy. I ordered the Three Street Tacos ($8.50). One Steak, One Pork and One Carnitas. I was a bit surprised when they arrived as they were tiny. The waitress asked me if this was going to be enough. I said we should be o.k. with the Shrimp Coctktail we ordered. "Shrimp Cocktail" she asked. Oh yes forgot to order that. She apologized and went back to the kitchen to order it. The Street Tacos were small, dried out and really lacking any flavor. They are served with diced onion and cilantro with a wedge of lime. Really could not believe they were so dry. Perhaps they were sitting under a heat lamp for awhile I thought. The Shrimp Cocktail ($9.95) had some nice shrimp in it but was covered and soaked in ketchup, onions and tomato with a little clam juice. The flavor is good, but there is just too much sauce. You cannot just eat Ketchup straight. Needs some substance in there. My daughter had the Kids Un Taco ($4.99). One Beef Taco served with French Fries. The Taco was delicious she said but it fell apart from the start. The shell was like a soggy mess. She called it "mushy". The fries were terrible. Frozen type that have no crunch and taste like the grease they were cooked in. The waitress apologized for the slow service and was very nice. She explained that they just opened and hope we come back. I will go back and try a few other menu items before I write this place off. Burritos, Fish Tacos, Chile Rellenos and Mexican Salads and Burgers also are on the menu.  UPDATE: 6/11.  Pablos Closed.

CONGRESSMEN CHARLES DJOU DINNER

CONGRESSMEN CHARLES DJOU

DINNER MESSAGE TO FRIENDS

Copy and paste the youtube link below to watch the complete message from Congressmen Djou

http://www.youtube.com/drewomite#p/a/u/0/Z_cZAAe91PY

CONGRESSMEN CHARLES DJOU DINNER

CONGRESSMEN CHARLES DJOU

DINNER FOR CONGRESSMEN CHARLES DJOU

CONGRESSMEN CHARLES DJOU DINNER

AT HOME

We were honored to host Congressmen Charles Djou and his with Stacy for dinner right after his television debate with Collen Hanabusa. Charles and Stacy came to our home minutes after the debate and were greeted by an excited crowd of supports that watched the debate live on t.v. As Charles entered our home, the crowd cheered with approval and support. The evening was filled with great wine, food and people. Our menu included an assortment of fresh Island Poke, Assorted meats and cheeses, fresh fruit and a delicious four course meal catered by Kahai Street Kitchen. Kahai Street did an excellent job presenting and serving the meal. Tuxedo clad waiters walked the room with Spicy Ahi Poke served on Chinese spoons. The poke was topped with Wasabi Aioli and garnished with Black Tobiko Caviar. I could not stop eating these taste bombs. Simply delicious. We also enjoyed an Assorted Bruschetta platter with fresh diced Mozzerella and Tomatoes, Olive Tapenade and Hummus served on a toasted garlic crostini. The Kataifi Wrapped Shrimp served with sweet chili sauce was a huge hit. Not one left over on this item. Entrees included; Sauteed Opakapaka with a Lomi Tomato Beurre Blanc sauce, Ricotta Stuffed Chicken Medallions with Sun Dried Tomato Creme Sauce, Tuscan Marinated Garlic Herb Steak with Chimichurri Sauce. The Chimichurri sauce put this dish over the top for me. Grilled Marinated Vegetables and rice finished off the dinner servings. For Dessert, we had the famous Pyramid Cakes from JJ's French Bistro. After dinner Charles spoke to the group of almost 50 supporters gathered in our living/dining room. Charles spoke about fiscal responsibility and the burden that is being put on our children to pay back Americas out of control debt.

ROYAL HAWAIIAN HOTEL

ROYAL HAWAIIAN HOTEL

HONOLULU, HAWAII

Spent a wonderful evening enjoying the sunset, cocktails and dinner at the Royal Hawaiian Hotel in Waikiki. This was a awards banquet for the Home Builders in Hawaii.

KELI & EVA MAKE PANCAKES

Keli and Eva started their day making pancakes with chocolate chips and bananas.

QUEEN ANNE'S REVENGE - PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN

QUEEN ANNE'S REVENGE

PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN

The legendary Queen Anne's Revenge from Pirates of the Caribbean fame was docked in Ko'Olina today while filming a new movie. The ship is beautiful and full of details.  I had originally posted this under the heading "The Black Pearl".  A fellow blogger corrected me on the name of the ship.  This is the actual ship used in the Filming of the new Pirates of the Caribbean Movie On Stranger Tides.

KO'OLINA GOLF COURSE

KO'OLINA GOLF COURSE

KO'OLINA, HAWAII

Was blessed to play a great round of golf with Tom Norton and friends at Ko'Olina today. This is a beautiful course in the resort community of Ko'Olina. The new Disney Resort is being built right across the street. Play this course now as it will probably be booked solid daily when Disney opens. This is one of the nicest and most beautiful courses on Oahu. Nice water features and well maintained course.

CHAI'S ISLAND BISTRO

CHAI'S ISLAND BISTRO

HONOLULU, HAWAII

Enjoyed at fantastic meal at Chai's this week. Great food and time spent with our good friends Tom and Arlene and their son and his wife and two year old daughter. I have always liked the food at Chai's but feel that the prices are just a bit high.  I started with the Lobster and Butternut Squash soup ($9). This was a great bowl of soup. Rich and creamy and full of flavor with a lobster won ton in the middle. Perfect starter. The Caesar Salad ($8) was a sight to behold and very impressive presentation. My wife loved the flavor and said she liked it a lot. Two of us enjoyed the de-constructed Beef Wellington ($38). A filet of beef topped with a mushroom and pate in puff pastry. Served with mashed potatoes and vegetables. Everything on the plate was delicious but I would prefer a "constructed" Beef Wellington served the traditional way. Really good though. The Wok Fried Prawns ($33) were a huge hit. The whole Snapper ($37) was said to be tasteless. The Veal Tenderloin ($37) review was great. Tom enjoyed the Snapper ($37) and loved it. This is a bit pricey for a small piece of fish in my eyes. Children's meals go for $10 each. One had pasta with sauce and the other had Chicken Fingers with Fries. Keli enjoyed the chocolate Pyramid Cake ($9) from JJ's Bistro in Kaimuki. Other desserts included Sorbetto Sampler ($8) and Apple Tart ($8) and Vanilla Ice Cream with Berries ($6). An evening at Chai's includes live music by some of Hawaii's finest recording artists. This is good if you want to listen to music while dining. If you want to talk I would recommend taking a seat on the outside lanai where the music is more of a background and not overpowering any conversation. Service was really good on this night and the wines were good but a little too high priced. A Duckhorn Merlot goes for $100. The Stags Leap Chardonnay is $70. The wine list is limited and there are some values and lower priced bottles. Chai's Island Bistro is really good if you are not on a budget or paying the bill.

UPDATE:  THIS RESTAURANT HAS CLOSED BUT CHAI'S OPENED ANOTHER

ON KAPIOLANI BLVD.

DECONSTRUCTED CEASAR SALD

BUTTERNUT SQUASH SOUP

DECONSTRUCTED BEEF WELLINGTON

WOK FRIED PRAWNS

VEAL TENDERLOIN

FRIED SNAPPER

CHOCOLATE PYRAMID CAKE

INFERNO'S WOOD FIRE PIZZA

INFERNO'S WOOD FIRE PIZZA

HONOLULU, HAWAII

What would you say if I told you that you could find a good pizza in a parking lot of a flooring store on Nimitz Highway. Well it's true. Inferno's Wood Fire Pizza sets up for lunch service in the parking lot. They have a trailer with a 800 degree wood fired oven set up and are serving pizzas for $8 to $10 each. And yes, the pizza is good. We tried the Margherita with San Marzano Tomato Sauce, Basil, Tomatoes and Parmigiano-Reggiano Cheese ($10). The crust is cooked perfectly with a nice char on the edges. The crust is thin the way I like. You can taste the tomato and basil, but the sauce was a bit weak to me. I would prefer a bolder sauce. My friend wanted more cheese, but the cheese factor was good for me. We also tried the Daily Special which was a Kalua Pork Pizza with red onion, garlic and mushrooms. My slices had glumps of garlic that overpowered everything else. Not my favorite pizza. The menu includes classics like Cheese, Pepperoni, Sausage and BBQ Chicken. You can also do a one topping pizza for $8 and and 2-3 topping pizza for $10. There is a small table next to the oven that seats about six people. I would recommend calling in advance and placing your order for pick up.

808-375-1200. This is good fresh pizza. I am looking forward to returning to try some more.
Click link at bottom of page for updated post on Inferno's.

http://greateatshawaii.blogspot.com/2013/06/infernos-wood-fire-pizza.html

UNIVERSITY OF HAWAII FOOTBALL

ALOHA STADIUM

HONOLULU, HAWAII

Keli hanging out with a few of the Rainbow Dancers. Great pre-game fun plus we won the game. GO BOWS!

11TH AVENUE MEXITLAN GRILL

11TH AVENUE MEXILAN GRILL

HONOLULU, HAWAII

I was so excited when I read in the paper that a new Mexican restaurant had opened just minutes from our house. The ad stated that the owner/cook is direct from Mexico City. Finally we may have some good Mexican food in this town I thought. The restaurant is located behind the Big City Diner in Kaimuki in what used to be a small Japanese restaurant. The place probably seats 30 people comfortably and is clean. Service was quick and good. We tried the tacos of course. Baja Fish Tacos ($11.95 for 3). Soft tortillas filled with fresh fish, sour creme, cole slaw, salsa, aurora dressing and spicy sour creme. There was not much salsa on the tacos and the dressing was thousand island dressing. Not too Mexican to me. Spicy sour creme was not noticeable. These tacos were a bit bland and lacked a good sauce. The house salsa served witch chips and tacos is a bit bland and does not seem fresh. Could have come out of a can. Not much flavor and no heat. Really wish they had a better sauce. We tried the Three Taco Plate ($9.95). I chose Asada (chopped rib eye steak), Birria (Shredded Beef), and Pastor (Pork marinated in Mexican Adobo. The Asada steak taco was good but again needed a good salsa. The Birria shredded beef really tasted like cinnamon and was a little sweet. I liked the Pork taco best but it still needed a good salsa to give it a punch. All of the tacos are topped with a little pickled red onion which adds a little flavor and heat. The Rolled Tacos ($10.25) is a large plate of four rolled tacos filled with Chicken. They are covered in lettuce, avo-creme, salsa, verde sauce and sour creme. The chicken was boiled and pretty bland. The dish needs some cheese and again some sauce. The menu also features Burritos, Salads, Wraps and some speciality fish and shrimp items that I would love to go back and try. The waitress was friendly and the food came quickly. Presentation was great. Yes, the name of the place is Mexitlan Grill. Not Mexican Grill.

UPDATE:  OUT OF BUSINESS

Djou For Hawaii: "Hawaii Families"

DREW'S STAR APPEARANCE IN CHARLES DJOU 

TELEVISION COMMERCIAL