Adm. Joseph Prueher, Sen. Dan Akaka
THE rains came down Saturday night at the grand opening of the Havana Pacific Club in Nauru Tower, but the tobacco stayed dry. I arrived rather late, and all the cigars meant to be handed out to invited guests were gone, but they managed to find one for me anyway. Gov. Ben Cayetano had already come and gone, and though it was meant to be a stop-and-go on his part, he stayed about an hour, I'm told. Actor Gary Busey was still there, smoking a stogie, not one I'd written earlier was "stinky" as crew members of "Hawaii Five-O" had groused. On reading in the column he was a cigar smoker, organizers sent him a couple of nice samples and invited him to stop by. He did, and ended up staying late . . . A sumptuous,
smoky cigar clubTHE Havana club itself is sumptuous, and the most expensively decked out private quarters I've seen in Honolulu, and has a wide selection of cigars and logo merchandise. It's located adjacent to L'Italiano, which owner Giuseppi Calo calls "The most expensive restaurant in the world." He might be exaggerating just a tad, but he says not . . .
Among those I ran into there was Michael Mandekic, owner of Tom Bergin's Irish pub in L.A. (a popular establishment started by Bing Crosby back in 1936) and Southern California regional marketing manager for the MGM Grand Hotel in Las Vegas. Those guys can smell where the money is . . .
AMONG those puffing away was Bruce Faber, former manager of Gordon Biersch and a partner in the Dixie Grille, opening across from Sports Authority on Ward Avenue. Faber was just back from a tour of the Southeast, gathering knick-knacks for the Dixie-flavored decor and recipes from the 40 meals he had while there. And while he can probably write off the Southern cooking, he'll have to work off the 12 pounds he put on . . .
SO if you're developer Sheldon Zane and you have some VIPs coming over for dinner, what do you make? How about reservations? Or better yet, call your cousin, Kelvin Ro, owner of the Kahala Moon Cafe, and have him come over and cater a seven-course dinner party. That's what happened last week when Zane and wife Gwen had as guests of honor the Commander in Chief of the Pacific, Joseph Prueher and Secretary of the Navy John Dalton. (Seafood, anyone?) The two said of the meal, "A Ro's is a Ro's is a Ro's," or something like that, pronouncing it "World Class." And they were really pleased when they came into the kitchen to thank the staff and found Ro pal Ray Sutter, owner of Cafe Vienna, preparing their favorite cappuccinos personally . . . Brass and class
NOT all those enjoying Kahala Moon cuisine get it catered to their homes. Congresswoman Patsy Mink was in for dinner last week, as was Sen. Dan Inouye. And two tables away from the senator's table was Herbert Hoover III . . . Meanwhile, back in Washington, Sen. Dan Akaka spoke out to a nearly empty chamber on what he termed an "anti-Asian bias" in reporting on illegal campaign fund-raising. He made a number of good points that were noted in The Hill newspaper, which covers goings-on in the Capitol, and Hill editor Albert Eisele wrote a long "On the Record" column saying, "The low profile gentleman from America's most multiracial state deserves to be listened to." . . .
SURF'S up? Just a little, apparently. Ads for Reyn's inviting customers to come in and meet surfing legend Phil Edwards and his new Reyn Spooner collection, stated he was a "Bonsai Pipeline pioneer." The thought of a tiny Bonsai wave -- unlike the monsters you see at the Bonzai Pipeline -- bring to mind bathtub ripples . . .
THERE was Paul Klink of Klink Inc., the guy who came up with the ubiquitous "Live Aloha" bumper stickers, waiting for the valet at Nick's Fishmarket Saturday night. If you suddenly see "Give Aloha" stickers, you can credit the DMV -- Klink ordered personalized license plates reading "Live" and they came out "Give." . . . What gives?
Contact Dave by e-mail: donnelly@kestrok.com.