The many flavors of New Year’s Eve
Friday - December 26, 2008
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A bite-sized look at New Year’s dining.
New Year’s Eve Italian Style at Sergio’s.
It’s hard not to rave about the food at Sergio’s,especially when you can sample signature dishes (and a free taste of the chef’s Tuscan pizza) for under $20.
A sunset dining special runs nightly from 5 to 6 and includes a pizza slice, salad, pasta and dessert.
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But if you want a taste of celebratory food, head over to the Kapahulu restaurant for a New Year’s menu that includes an antipasto ($18) of Kona cold-water lobster meat,strawberries and avocado; Maccheroni alla Chitarra ($29), a dish of homemade pasta tossed with zucchini, pepperoncini, roasted tomatoes and Bottarga; and Coda di Rospo Ossobuco-Style ($36); and monkfish braised in Barolo wine, fresh herbs, plum tomatoes and served with a butternut squash puree.
There’s a four-course dinner for $80, or choose a la carte items from the New Year’s menu.
Sergio’s Italian Restaurant Kapahulu Avenue 737-4461
Stage is Set.
There’s a new chef in the kitchen and a new menu on Stage at the trendy restaurant located within Honolulu Design Center.
Lunch entrees start at $15 and there’s a three-course $25 fixed-price lunch that changes daily.
Try the mushroom pasta (farfalle with button shiitake and porcini mushrooms) or the Stage burger, which comes with Angus beef, sauted mushrooms and onions, house-spiced bacon, Swiss and Cheddar cheeses on a house-made potato bun served with french fries or potato salad - lots on the plate and plenty to share.The atmosphere is casually elegant, and you’ll certainly get a very warm welcome from the experienced staff.
At dinner there’s a similar menu of salads, steaks, fish and Asian-inspired American classics. Wines are offered by the glass, and there’s a fairly comprehensive list of bythe-bottle choices.
Stage Restaurant Honolulu Design Center second floor 1250 Kapiolani Blvd. 237-5429
Longhi’s New Year’s Eve.
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Bob Longhi has always said that Longhi’s serves the kind of food he likes to eat, and this end-of-year night is no exception. On the menu are a few of the owner’s favorite dishes, including a Dungeness crab and avocado cocktail.
“There’s a five-course menu that includes some of our most-popular dishes - including Bob’s favorites,” says Longhi’s manager Mary Ann Bowman.
New Year’s Eve at Longhi’s also includes the kind of festivities you’d expect from one of the city’s hottest late-night dining spots.
“There will be music and dancing until 2 a.m., and fireworks and a countdown at midnight,” says Bowman.Early reservations for dinner will be taken at the restaurant from 4 to 8 p.m., and then a five-course, set menu will be offered between 8 and 11. Dinner includes crab and avocado cocktail, Mandarin endive salad, lobster cannelloni and a choice of entrees: Opakapaka Veronique, Shrimp and Scallop Longhi, Chicken Marsala or Filet Mignon with Barnaise. The five-course set menu is $85 and includes dessert, party hats, noisemakers and an evening of lively entertainment.
Just a few hours after closing, Longhi’s will reopen for breakfast. “We’ll open at 8 a.m. for breakfast on New Year’s Day,“says Bowman.
For those up bright and early on the first day of the year, breakfast at the second floor Ala Moana Center location offers a fabulous array of classic breakfast dishes - all done with the Longhi’s flair and style.Eggs Benedict are given an elegant touch with lobster or crab, orange juice is freshly squeezed, and breads and pastries are all hand-made on premise. Try the Italian Frittata with Hollandaise Sauce ($12) - a Longhi’s classic since 1976.
Longhi’s Restaurant second floor, Ala Moana
947-9899 http://www.longhis.com
Head to the Korean Buffet for New Year’s Family Dining.
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If an inexpensive family gathering is on your to-do list this holiday weekend, Korean dining offers choice and great value. Yakiniku Camellia Buffet on Beretania Street offers some of the best kalbi in town along with a large selection of seafood.
You’ll find dozens of choices on the all-you-can-eat buffet, where raw meats, seafood and numerous vegetable dishes give diners limitless access to Korean favorites. Freshly made by the owners each day, the sheer volume of food on the buffet line is quite extraordinary.
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At lunchtime there are 45 different dishes with six types of meat and five varieties of seafood including shrimp, squid and sashimi. At night the selection increases to 50 items. There’s chicken, pork, bulgogi, kalbi and a Korean favorite, abomasum (cow intestine), which is boiled and then marinated in - you’ve guessed it -a secret sauce.
“It’s very popular, and there are not too many restaurants that serve it,“says owner Mi Hee of the Korean delicacy.
For $12.95 at lunch and just $19.95 at dinner, this all-you-caneat buffet offers outstanding value.
Yakiniku Camellia Buffet 2494 S. Beretania St. 944-0449
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