THERE are people who tell me they have never been west of River Street and I don't know whether to hug them in sympathy or hurt them and make their fear real. Wrap up a meal
with a trip to Salt Lake"Bad things happen out there," they say.
Thanks. By that kind of reasoning, I should have a bumper sticker that says, "I'm a survivor," for growing up in Waipahu.
I can't believe that these same people can't work up a little curiosity to go exploring. 'Tis far better to live it up than lead a surrogate life via TV news. Because of a concentration on crime and disaster reporting, a producer even admitted, "If all I did was watch the news, I'd be too afraid to leave my home."
I have a confession also. If not for a reader, I never would have found Giorgio's and Great City Wrapps in the Salt Lake Shopping Center. I have explored most of the developed portions of this island, but never found much reason to go to Salt Lake. Sorry.
On the other hand, it seemed the staff of Great City Wrapps had never left Salt Lake. When I asked for directions from downtown, one employee didn't know, two couldn't explain. By their instructions, I would have ended up at the Aliamanu military housing. I said, "Great," then consulted my trusty Bryan's Sectional.
Giorgio's and Great City Wrapps are sister eateries sharing space in a large, well-lighted room with food-court decor. Giorgio's serves up steam-table pastas from $3.19 to $5.29, with sauces that are about what you can expect for that price. Your best bet would be to try the day's special, which is cooked fresh. Pizza runs $1.99 to $3.79 for a slice or $11.99 to $25.99 for a whole 18-incher. Doughy calzone runs $3.59 to $3.99.
GREAT City Wrapps is the more interesting restaurant because wraps are still fairly new, offering an alternative to sandwiches or hot meals.Here, wraps, like burritos, start with a tomato, spinach, flour or wheat tortilla that is layered in rice. They depart from the burrito formula in fillings that can range from kalua pork to mu shu vegetarian tofu.
My complaint about most wrap joints has been that they fill the wraps with way too much rice. If the rice mound were the size of a manapua, the red dot on top of the pork bun would represent the rest of the filling at such eateries. In contrast, Great City wraps strike a nice balance between rice and other fillings.
The best wrap by far is the Cajun Shrimp ($5.25), spicy tiger shrimp somewhat defeated by the sweetness of carmelized onions. This is rolled up in a tomato tortilla with Spanish rice, black beans, sour cream and corn salsa.
I usually like pesto, but it was overwhelming in a Pesto Chicken wrap ($4.95) , the rice saturated with the oily, basil-filled sauce.
A Sushi Wrapp ($5.95) with grilled mahi also disappointed, tasting rather stale.
You would think they would have perfected the formula for a Mexican Burrito ($4.75), but this was a watered down mix of Spanish rice, grilled chicken, lettuce, black beans and corn salsa. A Texas BBQ Chicken ($4.75) wrap was similarly mild.
The most flavorful offerings were the Kalua Pork ($4.50), Caesar Chicken Salad ($4.75) and the Garden Vegetable ($4.75) wrap filled with crunchy cucumbers, red bell peppers, lettuce, black beans and corn salsa.
Wash it all down with yogurt-based fruit and power smoothies.
Great City Wrapps
Where: Salt Lake Shopping Center, 848 Ala Ilikoi (near Longs and Blockbuster)
Nadine Kam's restaurant reviews run on Thursdays. Reviews are conducted anonymously and paid for by the Star-Bulletin. Star ratings are based on comparisons of similar restaurants:
To recommend a restaurant, write: The Weekly Eater, P.O. Box 3080, Honolulu, Hawaii 96802. Or send e-mail to features@starbulletin.com-- excellent;
