My favorite place to go for a good old fashioned burger is W & M Bar-B-Q Burgers in Kaimuki. There is nothing fancy about their burgers - they don't use grass fed beef or load their burgers with all kinds of trendy ingredients. But that's what I love about them.
At 9 am on a Sunday morning, their small parking lot as full and there were at least 8 people in line who had the same idea as me - burgers and fries for breakfast.
Disclosure: I received passes to attend a screening of After Earth.
After Earth (PG-13) is in theaters now, and I was fortunate to attend an advance screening of the movie a couple of days ago.
A crash landing leaves teenager Kitai Raige (Jaden Smith) and his legendary father Cypher (Will Smith) stranded on Earth, 1,000 years after cataclysmic events forced humanity’s escape. With Cypher critically injured, Kitai must embark on a perilous journey to signal for help, facing uncharted terrain, evolved animal species that now rule the planet, and an unstoppable alien creature that escaped during the crash. Father and son must learn to work together and trust one another if they want any chance of returning home.
After Earth began with an explosive glimpse of a pivotal moment in Kitai's and Cypher's lives, and then we learned a few things important to the movie's storyline - how humans no longer live on Earth, and instead they live on Nova Prime, and how Cypher used his "ghosting" abilities to defeat creatures known as Ursa.
After deciding to take Kitai on one last trip before he retires, Cypher and his crew find themselves in the middle of a treacherous meteor shower, and they end up crashing onto the inhospitable Earth.
Seriously injured, Cypher advises Kitai he must obtain an emergency beacon in the tail of the spacecraft, which is 100 kilometers away, or else they will die (they are the only two survivors).
Although the ending is quite predictable, overall I thought the movie was good - it had a good amount of action, the special effects were pretty good, and I enjoyed watching Kitai go on his mission, as he faced numerous perils and had to find the courage to keep moving forward.
There were a handful of slightly funny moments throughout the film, but for the most part, the story is a straightforward action-adventure movie.
I thought Jaden Smith did a nice job portraying a son who longed for the attention of his father while also wanting to prove that he was not a coward and could do what was needed for him and his father to survive.
However, I thought Will Smith as a stoic father did not seem like a good fit. It seemed like he tried too hard to be emotionless, and I was hoping to see a little more of the humor, charm, and wit that I'm so used to seeing from him.
Undoubtedly Will Smith will still be a huge box office draw.
Ultimately, the depiction of Earth's future and its creatures, as well as the technology possible in a thousand years, was pretty cool, but the relationship between parent and child resonated with me, and it's what I enjoyed most about the movie.
After dinner with Nat and our husbands at J.J. Dolan's, we took a short walk to Restaurant Epic to indulge in desserts.
PB & J Crunch Pie
Chocolate Chip & Bacon Cookies
Chocolate Decadence Cake
Chocolate & Peanut Butter Molten Cake with Vanilla Ice Cream
Of all the desserts, the cookies were my least favorite. There was a nice contrast between the sweetness of the cookie and the saltiness of the bacon, but even though I love bacon, I prefer my chocolate chip cookies without them.
The PB & J Crunch was good, and I knew the Chocolate Decadence Cake was going to be good since I tried it before (it is indeed very decadent), but my favorite dessert was the molten cake.
It takes 20 minutes to make, but it's so worth the wait. The ooey gooey peanut butter center is sooooo yummy!
What a fantastic way to end the evening - enjoying delicious desserts with great friends!
Restaurant Epic 1131 Nuuanu Avenue, Honolulu, HI 96817 (808) 587-7877
Our family recently dined at Naupaka Terrace to celebrate my birthday!
Naupaka Terrace is an open-air restaurant located in the J.W. Marriott Ihilani Resort & Spa that overlooks the pool.
Complimentary Cheese Bread - (they only offer one serving)
Kids Cheeseburger with Fresh Fruit
Kids Chicken Tenders with Fries
All adult entrees come with all you can eat Soup and Salad Bar - lots of great salads and topping options, as well as Quinoa, Pasta Salad, Rolls, and more.
Soup of the Day was Tomato Bisque
New York Steak
Chicken Penne Pasta - rich and creamy, and very delicious
Complimentary Guava Cheesecake - delicious!
As expected with most resort restaurants, prices were high, and since it was an open-air restaurant, there were some flies that wouldn't leave the salad bar.
Our original server was nice, but service did seem a bit slow despite a nearly empty restaurant.
At one point we were waiting to order dessert, and we kept waiting and waiting and waiting. Finally another server, Scott, came by and explained that our original server had a family emergency and had to leave. We ended up not ordering dessert because my kids were getting restless, but Scott was super friendly, very funny, and efficient.
Overall, the food was delicious, our second server was great, and we really enjoyed our dinner at Naupaka Terrace!
Naupaka Terrace: 92-1001 Olani St Kapolei, HI 96707 (808) 679-0079
One night when I was just too tired (lazy) to cook, I asked my husband to pick up dinner, and he went to Daiichi Ramen & Curry in Kapolei, which opened a few months ago.
Chicken Katsu Curry - Delicious!
Mochiko Chicken without Curry Sauce. Doesn't look like much...
But once my husband poured on the Curry Sauce the plate looked a lot fuller because of all the giant pieces of vegetables.
Free 4-piece Gyoza during Happy Hour (2:30pm-5:00pm)
Even though it seems like they skimped on the Mochiko Chicken, I thought everything tasted good!
I LOVE Mexican Food, and we recently tried food from El Palenque in Wahiawa for the first time.
Side order Guacamole
Chicken Chimichanga
Steak Burrito
Everything was so flavorful - the rice, the beans, the guacamole, and the chimichanga were so delicious (my husband had the burrito, and he said it was good too).
I think El Palenque is my new favorite Mexican restaurant!
El Palenque 177 Kamehameha Hwy Wahiawā, HI 96786 (808) 622-5829
I had the privilege of attending a special event for select Yelp
Elites at Outback Steakhouse in Hawaii Kai. The event was designed to
introduce us to a few of Outback's new menu items. It was a great event
and I would like to thank Yelp Hawaii and Outback Steakhouse for
providing this complimentary tasting.
The
evening started with a sample of one of their new appetizers on the
menu - the crab and avocado stack. What a great way to start the
evening. The combination of crab, avocado, tomato basil and white corn
chips was heavenly.
Next
came the Steak Flights, consisting of two 3 oz. pieces of sirloin, and
one 3 oz. piece of filet mignon. The steaks were served on pieces of
crispy potato cakes. While customers will get to choose one of four
sauces (creamy diablo sauce, brandy peppercorn sauce, Bernaise sauce,
and wild mushroom sauce) to go with their steaks, we got to sample all
four. My favorite was the wild mushroom since it was the least spicy.
We
also got to sample their new cake pops - cheesecake melba, chocolate
peanut butter, and carrot cake. The cheesecake and chocolate peanut
butter were both too rich for my taste, but the carrot cake was perfect.
This past Saturday, I went to Honolulu Night Market for the first time with one of my friends who blogs at Hi Tea Style.
Honolulu Night Market takes place every month in Kaka`ako (along Auahi Street, between Keawe and Coral Streets), and each event features food, fashion, entertainment, and more.
Since we didn't want to struggle with finding parking, we arrived early (a little before the 6pm start time), and easily found parking in the Eat the Street Lot (a block away at 555 South Street). There were already quite a bit of people there!
We checked out some of the retailers in the Pinch of Salt warehouse, where Hi Tea Style scored some sleek arm candy from House of Aria for just $4 each!
There were several food trucks, and I tried Paul's Poppers for the first time (Spinach & Artichoke, and 3 Cheese Jalepeno - they were good!).
Hi Tea Style ordered Thai food from Olay's Thai.
There was a lot to see and do at Honolulu Night Market.
There was a fashion show, an art battle, a magician, a stilt walker, a Sip n' Sketch area, and so much more.
Honolulu Night Market is quite family-friendly - I saw lots of kids there.
Getting there early was a good idea - parking was easy to find, food lines were short, and we had no trouble finding a table to sit and eat.
Two years ago, Nat mentioned that J.J. Dolan's has the best pizzas on the island, and since my husband just LOVES pizza, we planned a double-date.
It wasn't until a recent weekend that the double-date finally happened, and my husband and I couldn't wait to try the pizzas!
Special #2 of the day - Tomatoes, Chicken, Rosemary, and Feta
The Giacomo - Sausage, Pepperoni, Olives, Salami
Chicken Wings
Jalapeno Poppers
Nat was right - the pizza is some of the best I've had on the island. Everything about both pizzas was super tasty - the crust, the toppings - everything. The pupus were delicious too.
I can't wait to go back and try more pizzas!
J.J. Dolan's
1147 Bethel St Honolulu, HI 96813
(808) 537-4992
I admit that I've never been a huge fan of Buca di Beppo, but after a recent visit with some of my girlfriends, I think I may have changed my mind.
Top left: Cheesy Bread Florentine - so yummy!
Top right: di Beppo 1893 Salad - full of pepperoni, salami, cheeses, red onions, peppers and more, and topped with a tangy Italian vinaigrette - this was very delicious
Bottom left: Fried Calamari - didn't try it
Bottom right: Spicy Chicken Rigatoni - this was really tasty, and quite spicy!
For dessert we (5 of us) shared the Colossal Brownie Sundae - brownie chunks topped with chocolate and vanilla ice cream, caramel and chocolate sauces, and A LOT of whipped cream.
OMG - the dessert was HUGE, and there was still quite a bit left over even after we all indulged in it, but it was a great way to finish off a nice dinner.
This was the best experience I've had at Buca di Beppo. Even though the food seemed to take a while, our server was good and the food was delicious - much better than dishes I've tried before.
And I must say dining with good friends always makes a meal enjoyable.
Buca di Beppo 1030 Auahi Street Bay, Honolulu, 96814 (808) 591-0800
From 12pm-3pm daily, they serve an "All You Care to Eat" Salad & Lunch buffet ($14.95 for adults), which my husband and I decided to indulge in.
They offered a variety of salads, fruits, and veggies, cheeses, crackers, and breads, along with several hot entrees (changes daily), such as Homemade Mac & Cheese, Chili, and Roast Pork.
The view was gorgeous from the restaurant!
Despite being given incorrect information from a female who answered the phone two nights before when I called to ask if the breakfast and lunch buffet price ($14.95) was the same for kids too (she said it's the same for adults and kids; even when I asked "so it's $14.95 for a 2-year old?" she still replied "Yes!), we still had a nice lunch (I couldn't find any kids' pricing info. on the Shorebird website, but on their Twitter account it says breakfast buffet for kids 4-9 is $9.95, and our server told us for the lunch buffet kids' price is $7.95).
When we arrived for lunch the hostess and our server were both great, the food was good, and the view was amazing.
And $14.95 for a buffet lunch? In Waikiki? That's an awesome deal!
Shorebird Restaurant & Beach Bar 2169 Kalia Rd Honolulu, HI 96815 (808) 922-2887
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