HawaiiStories: Places to eat at the Ward Entertainment Center

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Posted by Stella on September 1, 2002 7:07 PM:

As far as Wolfgang Puck's goes, you're always better off getting his frozen dinners from the supermarket anyway. The salads and the lasagna are pretty decent - not crazy about the pizza, though.

I have yet to try Coldstone Creamery; personally, the prices kind of scare me from being too adventurous with their ice cream. Besides, Holotta's at Pearlridge makes their ice cream the same way Coldstone does, at a much more reasonable price.

Went to Old Spaghetti Factory last week, though - ordered a plate of spaghetti with half mushroom marinara and half Browned Butter with Mizithra Cheese. Chowed it all down along with the bread. Yummy.

And Kaka`ako Kitchen's char siu chicken salad (with soba AND won ton!) is, to say the least, the bomb.

And for a place that's crawling with chain-store coffee, I'm partial towards Ward Warehouse's Coffee Works, even though some of their drinks and merchandise are beyond my price range.

Has anybodye here ever eaten and/or purchased food from the Farmer's Market? I'm curious.

Posted by helen on September 1, 2002 7:36 PM:

I think I spent about $7 for that large cup (and it was pretty big) and a can of Diet Coke soda.

Posted by Linkmeister on September 1, 2002 9:35 PM:

Talk about restaurants that have stuck around: The Chowder House, Ryan's, Compadres, Spaghetti Factory; when I worked at Lion Coffee on Queen I used to hit all the Ward restaurants.

Posted by Stella on September 2, 2002 12:31 AM:

Speaking of places that are still around - Kincaid's (my first birthday in Hawaii with Meg, and then my 25th with my sister), Mocha Java (to which I ask: Why?), Honolulu Chocolate Factory, Stuart Anderson's, and Yum Yum Tree.

And speaking of the places that aren't: 'Tis a pity I didn't get to blow money eat at A Pacific Cafe when they had their Oahu branch next to Compadres.

Posted by scrivener on September 2, 2002 10:33 AM:

First of all, I love the post that started this: "Might as well discuss..." :) I guess we "might as well" discuss just about anything! From now on, I'm beginning every post with "Might as well...!"

Second, I hate to break this to you, Stella, but Coffee Works moved in the beginning of July to Lanai. Yep. Lanai. But you can still get their coffee via mail order or from one of the other Ward Warehouse stores. I can't remember which one.

As for Mocha Java, it's high-quality, light lunch-fare. I love it. The coffee's good, and there was a time when it was the only place on Oahu to get an espresso shake (their famous Mocha Choca Lotta Ya-Ya used to be twice the size it is now and the same price, but for a while, nobody else had anything like it). There seem to be very few places where you can get such an assortment of nice crepes (remember, the other half used to be Crepes Fever), and the sandwiches and salads are light and yummy.

I found Wolfgang Puck's to be way overpriced for what you get. I mean, you get enough food, but it lacks soul. Coldstone was great, but there needs to be more seating indoors, especially on hot days.

There's a chinese plate lunch place at Ward Warehouse. I wandered past one evening last week. A sign said I could get two entrees and a starch for $4.99, and one of the items it named as an entree was sesame chicken.

I had some KILLER sesame chicken at a place in Nashville several years ago, and have been trying to find something in Hawai`i that was a decent approximation ever since. So I took a look at the steam table, and said, "Your sign says sesame chicken, but I don't see any here."

The Chinese man said, "Oh, here. This is sesame chicken." He pointed to the orange chicken, which was plainly marked "orange chicken."

I said, "Um..."

He said, "Orange chicken, sesame chicken, same."

I said, "You're telling me that the orange chicken is prepared with sesame seeds?"

He said, "Yeah, yeah. Sesame inside."

I was extremely skeptical, but the novelty of trying orange chicken (a favorite of mine anyway) prepared with sesame seeds intrigued me, so I said, "Okay. That and the beef broccoli with noodles."

The Chinese man tonged some noodles onto my plate, then grabbed a plastic bottle from the shelf behind him. He popped the bottle open and quickly sprinkled sesame seeds all over the orange chicken on the steam table. He gave me a sheepish grin.

Needless to say, I'm still looking for the Nashville sesame chicken, and I'm pretty annoyed at the little man for misleading me, but the orange-sesame chicken was still not bad, though the beef in the beef broccoli was tough and the broccoli overcooked.

When I feel I'm deserving, I go to Kua `Aina--the best hamburger on the island. And one of my favorite places to dine alone is Scoozee's. The orange-macadamia pesto is yummy.

One of my least favorite eating spots in the entire Victoria Ward complex--indeed, in all of Hawai`i--is the McDonald's Express, next to the Sports Authority. I'm a big fan of McD's, but the Ward McD's is just nasty. The floors are always disgusting, the service is always lackadaisical, and the food is as carelessly prepared as it could possibly be. It's as if the people who prepared my order tossed ingredients up into the air, and if it happened to come down on the wrapper in the shape of a Big Mac, well, I got lucky.

The McD's at Kahala Mall is equally guilty of careless fast food prep.

Finally, I'd like to say that while I dislike trendy places, I love whatever the heck you call the kind of fare offered at places like Dave & Buster's. You know what I mean...the TGI Fridays Dave & Busters Chili's stuff. I call it Yuppie Dining, which sounds derogatory, but I'm a Yuppie, so I guess it's okay.

Posted by Ryan on September 2, 2002 10:43 AM:

I wasn't impressed with Wolfgang Pucks. They don't exactly exude warmth toward the customer on first contact ("Be sure you order right and order fast!"), and the food was just okay considering they want about $12 for a "quick lunch." The best dish I got there was their cheapest, the chicken and fries.

I was happy with the food at Dave & Buster's, but the hourlong wait for the food after ordering was a problem. Not quick.

I love Kaka'ako Kitchen, but not as much as I did when they were off Pi`ikoi near Ala Moana. Now that location had character.

My feelings about Scoozee's are well documented on the web. Just do a Google search for the place. (Hint: Unlike scrivener, I can't stand the place.)

But Kua`aina Burger? Incredible. Always a toss-up between them and Ted's Bigger Burger on Monsarrat for "best burgers ever." Of course, if you use the Kua`Aina in Haleiwa, there's no contest.

Further down the street at the Warehouse, I love the Old Spaghetti Factory, and that's not just because a cousin was once a manager there. Cheap, good eats, and it's one of the few places where I'm not self-conscious about making noise (or having kids that do).

I also like Kincaid's (mostly for the desserts) and Ryan's (for on-an-errand workday lunches) and Stuart Anderson's (for the meat, of course). But I don't go to Yum Yum Tree anymore. That restaurant chain is a far, far cry from what it was ten years ago, before it changed ownership and menus half a dozen times.

I liked Coldstone, but learned quickly that the "small" is the biggest I can handle. It's just too rich. I get Reese's Peanut Butter Cups in plain Chocolate. Jen's goal is to recreate Ben & Jerry's New York Superfudge Chunk. A friend of mine liked the place so much, she wanted to start a franchise. Turns out she wasn't alone. There were 150 applications for three licenses here.

Posted by Linkmeister on September 2, 2002 10:46 AM:

Speaking of TGIF, I noticed a picture of that distinctive awning in India somewhere, and I immediately wondered what they served there instead of burgers. Somehow I doubt that they got a dispensation from the national government to serve beef.

Posted by helen on September 2, 2002 11:03 AM:

First of all, I love the post that started this: "Might as well discuss..." :) I guess we "might as well" discuss just about anything! From now on, I'm beginning every post with "Might as well...!"

Why thank you! Of course the last two entries touched on food, there was no entry on the Ward complex and had dinner there on Sunday.

One thing about the server error, I only got one email message from you (same with my server error from a couple of days ago, it only generated one email message and not two).

Posted by Ryan on September 2, 2002 11:21 AM:

On the server errors, I'm not sure what's wrong. The other blogs being run by this Movable Type install work fine (it's on 'rebuilding' that the error occurs). The only differences between those blogs and this one are the number of users and the fact that it maintains two versions of itself - the main one, and the PDA version. I'm hoping it's server load, and not something in the code.

Your best bet, when you get the error, is to assume first that your post still went through and that the entries were still rebuilt (which seems to be the case, most of the time). So instead of using the "back button" on your browser (which would then set you up for an accidental double post), just go to "hawaiistories.com" and check first.

If lost comments become a problem, I'll try removing the PDA doppleganger, and if that doesn't help, reinstalling MT.

Posted by Stella on September 2, 2002 3:38 PM:

::Stella cries on Scrivener's shoulder::

Oh well. I'm already tired from squabbling with Starbucks over losing another mom-n-pop operation to them.

But Kua`aina Burger? Incredible.

Amen. Burgers and fries don't get any better than this. (Until, that is, I finally make it out to Haleiwa.)

I don't go to Yum Yum Tree anymore. That restaurant chain is a far, far cry from what it was ten years ago...

I stopped going there when I found out that one of my, ahem, former acquaintances worked there. That, and Kaka`ako Kitchen has been serving better food.

As for the ultimate Dave & Buster's experience, just do what my sister and I have done the last time we were there: Order the pupus and stay away from the "ultimate" cocktails. (That's what we both love about that place - they let you sit in the dining room even when you're just having drinks. And, hell, it frees up more $$$ to buy points so you can whup ass on Ms. Pac-Man later on in the arcade...)

Posted by Albert on September 3, 2002 8:16 AM:

Wolfgang Puck. I was thinking of this as a new topic on "places to avoid". My fault for having mentioned to Helen that I was curious about their "tortilla soup". Not only do they give you a cup, not a bowl, of the stuff, but they charge five bucks for it. And it sucks.

Kua`aina Burger is wonderful, though, Coldstone okay (although like Ryan I'll never again ask for more than a small). I liked the grill that was where Kaka`ako Kitchen is now better than the Kitchen. Food's okay, but like all the places at the Ward complexes, overpriced. As I told Helen, maybe Wolfgang gets away with those prices because people aren't shocked after having spent a small fortune at the refreshment stand in the theatres.

Posted by Aaron on September 3, 2002 9:22 AM:

Gaucho Grill (next door to Wolfgang Puck's) is pretty damn good. Argentinian food. The steak is filled with garlic and the price ain't bad. Also, they serve some of the best mojitos on the island.

Posted by scrivener on September 3, 2002 10:28 AM:

What's a mojito?

Posted by Stella on September 3, 2002 2:15 PM:

Mojito: mint, lime juice, white rum. Haven't had one myself. Yet.

Note to self: must check out Gaucho Grill, then - I love South American food, and those waiters look HOT! ;)

Posted by Linkmeister on September 3, 2002 2:51 PM:

Scrivener, you beat me to it...fajitas I know, mojitos I didn't! :)

Posted by helen on September 5, 2002 11:52 PM:

Gaucho Grill (next door to Wolfgang Puck's) is pretty damn good. Argentinian food.

Went there in February to celebrate a friend's birthday who spent a couple of weeks in Argentinia a few years ago. Food was good, friend suggest I try something called floan (or something like it) which is their version of custard.

Posted by bunny on September 6, 2002 3:43 AM:

Mojitos are good. When my roommate came back from Rio in 1990, she brought back the rum and recipe. That was fun summer all right! Our recipe used superfine sugar, too, though.

The 5-spice and sesame chicken is great at the shopping place with Old Navy, Sam's, Honolulu (?) Craft Supply & laser tag (I'm sorry, I have no clue where it is, just that it's out Pearl City direction). There's a food court kind of place and the place to go to is the one closest to the far windows on the left (not near the entrance, in other words). Don't know the name, have had the 5 spice chicken there twice the last two visits. Yum!

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Places to eat at the Ward Entertainment Center

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