The big-hit dishes from all Fred’s restaurants
Friday - April 20, 2007
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Podcast | WineAndDineHawaii.comWhat’s the main benefit of having owned some of Honolulu’s best-known restaurants? Ask restaurateur Fred Livingston and he’ll tell you that it makes menu planning in a new venture a whole lot easier. On the menu at Tower Grill you’ll find some of the best-selling dishes from Fred’s 23 years in the restaurant business.
There are barbecued ribs from Davey Jones Ribs and cioppino from The Trattoria; both restaurants closed to make way for the Waikiki Beach Walk project which opened earlier this year. There’s the famous Caesar salad from Matteo’s, Livingston’s Italian restaurant in Waikiki that was sold last year, Slavonic Steak from the Crouching Lion and a colorful Cobb Salad from Sunset Grill. There’s even a selection of breakfast items on weekends resurrected from The Tahitian Lanai.
“When you’ve been in the restaurant business this long,” says Livingston,“you learn what sells and what people like, and we thought that this would be a way of keeping the good dishes on the menu.”
With the sale of Sunset Grill last year (and its closure last month ) Livingston seemed set to bow out of the restaurant business, but Tower Grill came calling.
“I love this spot,“he enthuses over lunch at the second floor Aloha Tower Marketplace location.“It was empty for about a year, and because we own Don Ho’s downstairs, we knew we’d be happy with the way Aloha Tower management operates,” he says.
Livingston is obviously happy to be back eating in another of his own restaurants, and pleased that Tower Grill shares a great view of the harbor with Gordon Biersch Brewing Company and Don Ho’s. “This is a great place,” he says looking out of the open windows to the water.
The menu at Tower Grill,in addition to featuring famous past best-sellers, is a combination of American fare and bistro style dishes. Lunch offers a selection of salads, sandwiches and entrees that include fish,chicken and pasta dishes. Dinner offers more entrees, including the aforementioned cioppino ($24),ribs ($21),steak and king crab ($39) and a fresh catch of the day ($20).
There’s an average selection of wines (about 30) that start at $5 a glass for house wines from Fetzer Vineyards.
Certainly the view is lovely. And if you’re looking for a place to take out of townies who want some sashimi and a cocktail on the water, then Tower Grill should please.From the outside lanai,watch harbor life pass before you as you sip a cocktail or enjoy a selection of Tower Grill’s pupu. On weekends there’s a Sunday brunch where Livingston is proud to resurrect part of the Tahitian Lanai menu.
“Our popovers were famous,“he says,“and people still love our eggs Benedict and our Monte Cristo sandwich,” says Livingston of the famous deep-fried ham, turkey and cheese sandwich.
Asked which restaurant he liked most, Livingston replies, “Whichever one I was having dinner in that evening!”
Tower Grill Aloha Tower Marketplace 537-4446
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