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If anyone is in the Glendale area and looking for an incredible cheap eat, go to Elena's Greek Armenian Cuisine. This place has amazing chicken and lamb kabobs as well as really good fallafel and very good (for a restaurant) meat grape leaves. They roll them tight like lebanese/middle eastern style, but have a garlic sauce that is a bit more reminiscent of the egg sauce that greeks put on dolmades. Other places I have found that are very good have been Carousel for middle eastern food in Glendale, Porto's Cuban bakery for both pastries as well as cuban pork sandwiches. There is an amazing Italian restaurant in Eagle Rock called Casa Bianca that is cash only and has been family run since the mid 1950's. I have not been to the high end restaurants such as AOC or even Joe's yet, but I aim too if my budget improves:) Does anyone have any suggestions for the Burbank, Glendale, North Hollywood areas of LA?

I spent last weekend in San Diego. Based on the reviews and recommendations in this thread by JParrot and Pete, my family tried Kiyo's Japanese Restaurant and the Sushi was wonderful. We enjoyed the salmon, fatty tuna, halibut, and shrimp tempura rolls. Other places highly recommended are The Afghanistan Kyber Pass in Hillcrest, Hodad's burgers in Ocean Beach, and the Bar-b-que house for sandwiches in Ocean Beach.

They are serving Boylans sugar cane cola.

We took our friends out to dinner there as a last meal before they move to Indiana. We had the foie gras, sausage biscuits, deep fried crab cakes and the shrimp for appetizers. I was not a big fan of the foie gras as it was missing something - but I can't put my finger on it yet. The shrimp were huge and cripsy and the lemon/citris sauce was a great touch. The deep fried crab cakes were very good and seeing that the crab fritters were not on the menu Saturday, this was a good substitute. The sausage biscuits were great. Some at the table didn't care for the gravy as they thought it was too spicey, but I liked it a lot and didn't really notice any true kick. There was a little bite to it, but I am not a fan of spicey food and this did not bother me in the least. Two of us had the crab bisque and my wife had the cold carrot soup. The bisque was a bit on the salty side for what I am used to at Ray's in Arlington or other versions ... but as this restaurant is relatively new and still working things out, I imagine it was just that version that night. There were still nice chunks of crab in the bisque and it was very good (aside from the salt). The cold carrot soup was just as good as we had sampled at the preview dinner. This is a heck of a soup and if I didn't love crab so much, this would be a no brainer staple for me to order. I am glad my wife likes it so that I can still get a taste or 2! For mains our friends both had filets. I had the NY Strip and my wife had the veal. That veal is amazing! I had it at the tasting and really liked it. The only time I have had steak in the past month or so was at Corduroy last Monday, so I ordered the NY strip. It was as expected, one of the best steaks, if not the best steak I can get in DC. The mushroom was exquisite with the bone marrow sauce. At the Don Rockwell preview for Ray's Classics he had the mushroom but it was cooked for a mass party of serving at an equal time, and Michael had mentioned that night that the preparation was not what he would be doing for ordinary small tables. He was spot on ... this mushroom was memorable! For sides we had the corn pudding the spinach souffle and the potatoes augratin. The spuds were wonderful as the cheese was sharp and noticeable (not always the case with this dish at other restaurants). I didn't have any of the spinach so I can't speak to it, but the corn pudding was interesting. I had never had it before and I expected it to be sweet, but it was more of a substitute for mashed potatoes without the butter and definitely not overly sweet. I liked it once I could adjust for my expectations vs. the actual item. For desert it was cheesecake for the wife, milk and cookies for me and one of our friends and the 4th had the chocolate trifle. Deserts were very good all around. The milk and cookies were interesting as the carbonated chocolate and regular sweet milk didn't quite wow me as much as others. The dark cookies were wonderful. The highlight of the evening, aside from seeing our friends for the last time in a while, was having Michael stop by the table several times and he was wearing a full blown suit. I didn't recognize him at first because I would have expected an hawaiian shirt and shorts. The restaurant was very busy and the table behind us decided to give him a lot of grief because he is not serving coke/diet coke at this restaurant. I am a huge soda drinker and this didn't even bother me in the least ... and if it had, this is the sort of thing that would be an afterthought as you talk about the meal on your way home, but not something that I would give the owner of a restaurant an impolite ear full over. To each their own I guess, but Michael handled it very well considering he has been putting in 18 hr days. The total check for 4 people (with dinner graciously comped) was still extremely reasonable. We didn't have wine on this outing as we were with our baby and our friends don't drink, but even with wine, this would not have broken the bank and we were completely stuffed with left overs to take home.

My wife and I joined a friend last night at Corduroy. Rissa was very friendly and Ferhat went out of his way to wash off a soothie that our 8 month old had dropped on the floor. Had the Corn Soup, Steak, and Hazelnut kitkat bars. Wonderful meal. My wife had the Beet salad, steak, and peach tart. Our friend had the corn soup, scallops, and the blueberry tart. Everything was excellent and made our 2nd venture out to this restaurant well worth the trip from suburbia into the city. This was the 2nd best steak I have had at a restaurant in the DC area (best still goes to Mr. Landrum), but it was very surprising. The scallops looked amazing. I liked the parsnip soup (from our 1st visit) better than the corn, but the corn was still excellent.

First of all, JPW ... great post! Second ... Pete you need to read the fine print ... ribs require a reservation on Open Table for parties of 12 or more "Do you know who I am" type people who will require no less than 2 hrs of service.

Saturday night my wife and I dined at Corduroy for the first time. The free valet service definitely makes it convenient for a DC restaurant. The atmosphere is exactly how most on this thread have described ... very quiet. Thank you to Rissa and Ferhat for taking such good care of us! Rissa met us at the entrance and was very delightful. She came by several times to our table and was extremely friendly. Ferhat was our server and did a wonderful job explaining all the dishes and the ingredients behind them. We had the 6 course tasting menu. When we sat down there was sparkling white wine wating for us as a starter. A very nice touch. With our amuse and 1st 2 courses we had a half bottle of Sancerre, Bernard Reverdy 04 which paired up quite nicely. First we had an amuse of parsnip soup w/ tarrogon cream. This soup was amazing. I can't put my finger on the different flavors but the soup was delicious. Against better grace I found myself removing the doughy center of the bread to sop up the remainder in the cup. It was the only thing holding me back from licking it clean. My poor wife, she can't take me out anywhere! The first official course was the seared scallop over garlic mashed potato and chardonnay sauce. This was really wonderful. The scallop had no sand or grit in it. My wife can't stand scallops and she was raving about this dish. The second course was the crispy soft shell crabs with wilted greens and verjus. This was also very delicious. Unfortunately, I had just been to Komi on Friday night and I favor their presentation of the crab a little better ... the shell seemed softer and the crab more flavorful. With that said, the greens complimented the crab without taking away from the flavor and it was a delicious course. The next course was the peppered rare Ahi tuna with sushi rice and hijiki. This was great. The Ahi was just as fresh as the Ahi we had in Hawaii. The sushi rice and hijiki complimented the tuna perfectly. Very flavorful and just enough sear to add flavor to each bite but not take away from the wonderful taste of the fish in its most basic form. Next, we had the Ballotine of Free-Range Chicken with Foie Gras Sauce. This was truly interesting. This dish was really delicious and we could appreciate all the different flavors and the immense softness of the chicken .... fork melted right through it. I am not the biggest fan of chicken compared with other meats unless you are deep frying ... so I was not as impressed with this compared with the tuna or the scallops. And as good as this was, especially with the foie gras sauce, the last main course was my favorite ... the lamb with goat cheese ravioli. The lamb was perfectly cooked and not gamey at all. It was warm red verging on pink around the edges and plenty of juice, but no blood. I have to thank heavens whenever someone serves us lamb because I love lamb (my favorite red meat) while my wife is not a huge fan. She has ordered it when highly suggested by wait staff at certain restaurants, but I think she had a bad experience years ago and hasn't quite gotten over it yet. The good news ... more for me! The goat cheese ravioli was good but seemed out of place with this wonderful lamb. My wife disagrees as the ravioli was the highlight for her. Our 6th course was the desert ... chocolate souffle with chocolate ice cream on top (Baked Chocolate Sabayon) for me and a strawberry tart for my wife. We had desert wine with each. Ferhat did a great deal of shaving the table clean from all my bread crumbs several times and re-folding my wife's napkin as she excused herself from the table. He was very knowledgeable about the food. The only knock I would give is that there seemed to be a long pregnant pause between courses that seemed to linger a little longer than we would have expected. This may be due to the food being cooked to order and freshly prepared, but we had to wonder if it was more due to the fact that the tasting menu is a requested item, not something normally adverstised and as a result the rhythm may just be a little off since it is not the norm. We didn't care for the red that was suggested for our meal, the Chambolle-Musigny, Domaine Magnien Michel, Les Fremieres. This was a bit too young for our tastes and although it seemed to become a little more drinkable as it breathed, we felt that a white for the last 3 primary courses before desert would have been better. The red worked more for the lamb, but not nearly as well for the tuna, chicken, and the residual crab flavor in our mouths when first introduced. Despite the red wine, the other wines were well suited to our tastes and the food was wonderful. This is a wonderful place for a quiet intimate dinner with wonderful food. It is sad that on a Saturday night the restaurant was not 100% packed with food and wine so good... but it is also great to know that you can get a great meal on a Saturday night with no wait unlike all the chains that are engulfing suburbia.

My beautiful bride and I had the greatest of pleasures Friday night ... dining at Komi. I must admit that we were anticipating a much different experience than we received. I, personally, was filled with doubts about the descriptions that many have posted here. I was humbled. Simply, we were blown away. Kate was our server and Anna visited us often with fine pairings of wine. I will have to post our wine pairings later as I have temporarily misplaced the list ... Anna was kind enough to write it down. We arrived a bit early and they had no problems seating us early. We were quickly given a starter sparkling wine that was very fruity and a bit on the sweet side. It was a great spirit lifter after having spent the afternoon trying to get into the city through holiday traffic. They had the soft shell crab that Nadya summed up in her May 9th posting, and I have to agree that the soft shell crab is the best I have had. We were at Corduroy on Saturday night and had the softshell as part of the tasting menu and it was great, but didn't quite match the intensity of the flavor or the softness of the crab underneath the deep fried breading. The first course also included sliced meat (almost like gourmet chipped beef) with housemade relish; the dates with marscapone cheese, olive oil and sea salt; olives; crustini's w/ truffled beet tsatsiki and taramasalata; stuffed squash blossom w/ marinated celery and red grapes; and the housemade crackers ... smoked paprika, asiago cheese, and sesame. The only other thing I can remember (there were a lot of items in the first course) was a goat cheese ball with anchovie in the middle and crispy breading outside (not sure what it truly was ... but it was sprinkled around the edges). This came with cucumbers that were finely diced but each piece was powerful and blended wonderfully with the anchovie and cheese. We had the same sparkling wine that we started with throughout the first course (I think we finished a bottle between the two of us). Next came the pasta course. Anna brought out an acidic white wine for my wife and a greek red wine that was very earthy. The white worked well with my wife's ravioli with ricotta and almonds, but we agreed that the greek red paired better with my papadelle w/ goat ragu and cinnamon. Both were extremely good. Then we received a very pleasant surprise ... an extra course of pasta. I would like to think that Anna or Kate brought us out a second round because we truly had problems deciding which pasta to get at the beginning of the night because it all looked good and because we were clearly loving the food and the experience all evening. Unfortunately, I think it had more to do with my wife's response to Anna regarding how we were enjoying ourselves and the meal thus far ... and my wife's response can't be repeated here ... but I am still having a hard time believing that my wife said such a thing in public. I'll just say that it was all good! So our glasses were filled with a different white and red. This time my wife had a much less acidic white to pair with her pesto pasta. She loved this pasta just as much as her ravioli and had a hard time figuring out which she liked more. The wine seemed very subtle at first, but after tasting the pasta, then became very acidic. It was a weird experience but a good one. I was paired with an oaky red that paired well with my pasta. I forget the name of the pasta but it had lamb and was in a red sauce. We couldn't believe that there was still more food coming ... 3 more courses! At this point my memory is a bit fuzzy on the wines. My wife had the stuffed Guinea Hen w/ apricots, hen of wood mushrooms, and fiddlehead ferns. It was the last one they had in stock for the evening so my wife grabbed it up. I had the speck wrapped tuna over farro. My wife's hen was wonderful but I have truly never had tuna taste or prepared the way this was. I have had seared ahi numerous times. I had a wonderful seared ahi on Saturday and Corduroy ... highly recommeded, and at many restaurants in Hawaii when we were there in early May. This Tuna was not rare or just seared ... it was cooked through, but it was soft like rare Ahi and the fork just pierced straight into it like a hot knife in butter. The fish wasn't flaky or falling apart like tuna in a can or a tuna steak. The speck wrapped around the tuna in such a way that it acted like skin on the meat ... that intimate, rather than a meat wrapped around another that you would normally picture attached by a tooth pick. The flavor combination was out of this world. We were given 5 cheeses to sample during the cheese course and by now I was merrily drunk and my memory is a complete disservice from a name standpoint. There was a very rich blue cheese. Two gooey stinky cheeses that were very smooth texture and sharp flavors. The first was on a spoon and the milder of the two was sliced like brie. The last two cheeses were goat cheeses. My favorite was the goat cheese that had the mold on the top and bottom to cut off and tasted very mild like syrian cheese but was brittle like fetta. Finally the desert course ... I had a hard time deciding and bless Kate and Anna's heart for putting up with such high maintenance customers. We were just having such a great time. My wife was set with the recommendation of the Strawberry & phyllo combination. I just couldn't seem to decide between the chocolate donuts or the baklava ice cream. They brought us all three. We split the chocolate donuts which were wonderful. The baklava ice cream was really pistachio ice cream and three phyllo wafers that were coated in the rose water syrup with sprinkled pistachios on top. So I scooped some ice cream onto the disk and at it like cheese on crackers ... and yes, it tastes just like baklava ... just cold and a little sticky instead of warm and a lot of sticky. Finally, they brought us cinnamon and spice lolipops with the check. This was a magnificent meal and the wines were good. Don Rocks had given me a recommendation of Kir-Yanni Xinomavro Red, but I didn't see it on the Menu so we went with the pairings. Wines can make a meal extraordinary or ruin the experience depending on how well or poorly matched they are. Anna and the staff at Komi did a great job for us. The service was tremendous as well ... water glasses refilled often, and before you are hitting bottom of the glass. Wine glasses refilled as appropriate. Every time my wife had to excuse herself, her old napkin was removed from the table and a new one was situated in front of her. The other great thing about Komi was the vibe and atmosphere. The intangible factor. It wasn't so loud that you couldn't have a conversation with those at the table, but there was a lot of energy and background noise from everyone in the place having a great time. There was no pretentiousness or stuffiness to be found. The people there, especially Anna, truly look like they love what they are doing. They treat you like old friends treat you when they have you over the house and are trying out some new concoctions. Here is a sample here, a taste there, and oh ... more wine! Part of the reason why the service is so good is that they pool the tips, so everyone stops by with water, or plates of food, of just a smile. Everyone was working in unison off the same page. Most people say that the best first date is a date that you don't want to end and that leaves you yearning to see that person again. This is what Komi felt like. Don Rocks said it best in his October posting when he compared the feeling you get as your meal is winding down at Komi with the saddness you feel when reading a great book as it is coming to an end.

I would agree that they were the best for the chain bagels except for H&H. H&H isn't quite the same because they are usually located in independent delis and sandwich shops where they ship the dough to the location and the locals bake it. So some locations may not be consistent. This is versus the chains that actually have their own consistent storefront franchise.

After reading all of the gushing reviews and Nadya's soft porn I am taking the Mrs. to Komi tonight. Since Sabastian is no longer there, are there specific bottles or by the glass wines I should have or should I go with the wine pairings? Also, how do I choose a pasta or a main when everything that is described sounds so wonderful ... these are the kinds of tough decisions I wish I had more often.

I stopped by there on my way to work this morning to give them a try. I like that they put spread on both halves of the bagel and that they don't have any of that nasty corn meal on the bottom like Einstein Bagels. Unfortunately, these bagels are not in the same league as my favorite in the DC area ... Bethesda Bagel (formerly whatsabagel) on Bethesda Avenue. These guys have been serving out bagels with long lines for a while now. You go in and it is an organized chaos as there are more servers behind the counter than the counter is wide ... so you have to wait to be called and track your server through the maddness. They get everyone out pretty quickly and their bagels are the perfect blend of good size, crusty outside and chewy inside. I remember back in 1995 when I was out of college and Brugers bagels were coming into the area everywhere (to be replaced by Einstein ...yuk). Brugers put in a location about 4 doors down from Bethesda Bagel and when I would go out there on the weekends you would see a long line out of Bethesda Bagel and not a soul in Brugers. Needless to say, Brugers moved out pretty quickly.

I know the book has been around for 6 years or so, but I recently read Kitchen Confidential while I was on my trip to Hawaii and it was a great read. Out of curiosity, does anyone know who he is referring to as Bigfoot? Also, has anyone here actually tasted Anthony Bourdain's food? Does he suck per his own self assessment or is he just being self depricating?

My dad used to take me there when I was growing up and the crust was buttery and the cheese ample. I stopped in about a year ago and the sauce was thin with clumps of tomato and not enough cheese to balance the pizza. The crust did not have the same flavor I had remembered as a kid. Maybe my taste buds have changed, but I was pretty disappointed when I had returned. Many of my friends from the area have also remarked that the restaurant is a shadow of its former self.

I have been to the Reston one several times and always get the same thing ... a modified chicken trio where I will have the chicken w/ goat cheese described above, a piece of chicken grilled with olive oil and some garlic, and a piece of chicken marsala. The bread is ok. I like this better than Macaroni Grill, I refuse to touch olive garden (that tells you where this ranks vs. them), and San Vito in Ashburn is pure junk (better than olive garden, but not when the check comes considering what they charge for that stuff). This is as good as Maggianos, but doesn't offer the family style belly buster meal for parties of 4+.

I believe it is supposed to be a lot of seafood .... if Michael Landrum and Michael Hartzer can do with seafood what Michael Landrum has done with steak and crab bisque .... oh my ... don't get me started. I still have to focus at work to earn my living!

I just recently started making crab cakes and my beginner version consisted of following the old bay recipe (online w/out mustard version ... they have two versions). I purchased the can of jumbo lump crab meat from Costco for $14. I found that they stayed together longer when I let them sit in the fridge for 3 - 4 hours after making them into cakes but before cooking. I have a long ways to go, but for an initial attempt, they weren't too bad. I will start tweaking the recipe going forward and may have to try the sardine idea. I fried mine the first time. Is it better to fry or bake crabcakes?

I admittedly have not been to many of the Indian restaurants listed by others on dr ... especially the one in MD, but I have been to a bunch of them in the 7 corners area and around Ashburn/Sterling/Herndon. Minerva in Herndon has had the freshest and best tasting Naan as well as great butter chicken and tandoori chicken. The chicken has been very moist and juicy vs. dry and overdone which is what we normally find at most of the other local indian restaurants.

Pete ... you have been a great unofficial supervisor, but yes ... DR.com is the place for breaking news and information

I have been to the Falls Church location twice. Once a few years back and once a few months ago. The first time I was there they were busy and the food was very fresh and the service was good. The last time I was there during a slow period (2pm on a Saturday) and there wasn't anyone in the place. The service was very slow and the food was not so fresh. I think this may be the kind of place to go to when it is a lot busier.

I finally made a reservation for next Saturday evening and requested the tasting menu. I have read numerous reviews suggesting different dishes. I have a few questions for the masses here ... Is it recommended to go with the wine pairings or order one of their excellently priced wines that would cost almost double at other places? Pardon my ignorance on this, but what is the normal practice for wine pairings ... do they open up really great stuff that works wonders with the food, or do they serve what they normally sell by the glass that works wonders with the food? Also, are there any appetizers that are so out of this world insane that one must order it because it is not part of the tasting menu? I had a tasting at Roy's in Hawaii and the waiter recommeded one of the best appetizers I have ever had which wasn't part of it ... I could have had it as my last meal it was so good. Thanks for the feedback!

Tonight I got to dine at Ray's for the second time this week ... what a great week this is turning out to be. We got there at 7 and Michael recommeded a glass of wine while I waited for the rest of my party ... I forget the name of the wine, but it was amazingly drinkable for a 2005. I think it was a Cabernet, but I may be off. We were there for almost 2 hrs (it is Michael's fault ... he had that posting about the Evo and the things it may do to you and we were hooked on it way past our meal). I had the requisite crab bisque and went with the 12oz NY strip since I had the hanger on Saturday. I was there with a former boss who is trying to woo me to his current job ... he let me pick the restaurant and then picked up the check .... the only thing better than RTS and great wine is free RTS and great wine! He had the House special (NY Strip with mushroom sauce and blue cheese crumbles I believe) ... and he loved it. It was his first time out to RTS. Needless to say, the evening was great and I can look for my officially negotiated offer by tomorrow. Point to note .... either we are really good at negotiating or drinking the Evo sends people into mad fits of submission. I don't suggest repeating my evening unless you trust the company you are with since your brain may escape into euphoria and all logic goes on holiday. The service tonight was interesting ... we were taking our time because of wine and a ton of exhaustive negotiations but we never felt rushed and because of the weather mixing with late arriving parties, the flow of the evening never seemed off. Cheers again to Michael and his excellent staff!

We took my mom to RTS on Saturday night for mom's day .... we all had the bisque and the hanger steaks and they were great as always. We were there when they first opened since we had the baby with us and didn't want to damper the atmosphere later as the place got busy. We saw the disclaimer notes by Michael on a document about the restaurant that was distributed to the table prior to Michael handing out the menus. I have one suggestion that may help you weed out more of the element you are hoping to avoid ... post that document on the board outside your restaurant next to the menu you have displayed. Some people may be more put off if they have waited to get a seat and don't agree with your reasonable policies. Also, you free up the table faster if they leave before being seated instead of after they are seated. ... not that I can even imagine someone reading your rules and getting put off when they are so close to nirvana.

Finally ... the rest We hit the cheap eat of Big Island Grill in Kona and Ken's Pancake House in Hilo. The Big Island Grill was similar to a hawaiian diner ... food was ok and cheap, but nothing stood out. If you want big portions of nothing special, for a good price, this is your place. One thing to note ... they had a pinapple coleslaw that was actually pretty good, but that doesn't make it worth going out of your way for. Ken's Pancake House in Hilo is a different story. We had read all the reviews by the travel books and trip advisor and it made it seem like this was a diner that was really really good ... turns out that most people don't seem to know what really good is (or I am some sort of breakfast food snob). The best breakfast we had on the Hilo side was at the mexican place, Luquin's. I had a mexican breakfast and my wife had normal pancakes, homefries, eggs ... etc. The prices at Luquin's were the same as Ken's, but the quality and service was much much much better. Ken's may get its positive reviews because it is the only 24 hour diner in Hilo, but there is nothing special about the food. It was stale and boring even for breakfast food which is sad. I already touched on Cafe Pesto in Hilo ... so the only other bad review we have is Donatoni's ... the very fancy, highly recommended Italian Restaurant at the Hilton Waikoloa Village Hotel. We were there on a Sunday evening and had pushed our reservation back to 8pm. When we got there we were offered inside or outside seating. We first chose outside. we were on the water (the Hilton's private lagoon) and there were tiki torches lit all around. Ambiance and atmosphere were great. Unfortunately then the waiter showed up and it went downhill from there. We were given a wine menu with over 20 pages of wines but they didn't have a Somelier. The waiter shows up dripping with sweat and reading off notes that he has on his hand. I don't mind dealing with someone new, but he needed a shower and a towel and we were both turned off by the idea of this guy delivering food to us. Plus he didn't know anything about wine. My wife polietly asked to be reseated inside where it was "cooler" and our new waiter didn't show up until 8:35 to ask about wine/beverages. By this time we decided that we would skip wine since we had to be up really early for a snorkeling excursion the next morning. I told the waiter that I would like a diet coke and had a question about the menu for him, but midway through me trying to say this, he walked off with what my wife described as a disgusted look on his face. I guess he didn't like the idea of us not ordering their wines (which many bottles were priced over $200 and some approached $900 for). He returned 10 minutes later and at this point we were highly considering leaving this place. We placed our orders and he argued with my wife becasue she wanted just red sauce with her Cannollini and he insisted that she should have it with the white on top and red on bottom or order something else. When the food came it was great ... I had a ribeye which was tough on the edges but very flavorful inside. Unfortunately, we Michael hasn't put out a BIG Island RTS yet ... so we had to suffer. I liked the taste I had of her Cannollini. The salads before the main meal were also very good. We skipped desert and we noticed that the complimentary cookies that everyone was getting with their checks were not given to us. We left and the next day I noticed in the room there was a # to call if anything was truly disappointing during the stay. I called and they put me through with the assistant restaurant manager. He wasn't on duty the night we were there, but he tentatively scheduled us for dinner a few nights later suggesting that they will comp the meal and do everything they could to win us over. Two days later the restaurant manager (new guy named Felix) meets us to discuss with us our experience. We tell him and he acts like we are on crack and must be crazy because his restaurant only receives the best recommendations and reviews. He then says that we can stick with the reservation we have and he will comp us $100 off the check (the 2 salads, soft drinks, and entrees without desert or wine on Sunday was $115). Considering how arrogant and uninterested this manager was ... I loved it when my wife suggested to him that he just comp our meal from Sunday night the $100 instead. He did and we called it a day. We spent more at Roy's and Merriman's and were happy to do so. This was simply a case of us being a small fish compared to what they are used to in customers and the new manager putting too much emphasis on what past customers/reviewers have thought and not caring to ensure that a former standard of excellence is kept up. Final note .... for anyone who has seen the recommendations for Tropical Dreams ice cream .... if you are on the Big Island ... go up to a town called Hawi (pronounced havi) on the north west coast .... there is a coffee shop there that has great prices for the size of ice cream and replaces flavors every 4 - 5 hours. We tried many and I am not normally a fruit flavor fan on ice cream compared with chocolate or other derivations ... but their strawberrys & cream flavor was the best. The strawberries were fresh into the icecream not frozen ... so when we had it, they were full of flavor and still a little tender, not rocks within the icecream.

Now for the good restaurants ... The first on the list is a casual italian restaurant called Cafe Pesto (recommended by some on here). They have two locations and we went to both of them, but we only recommend the Kohala coast location. The pizzas, salads, and drinks are very very good. We really enjoyed their garlic herbed vinagrette dressing on their house salad (very fresh organic baby field greens). The pizza was bistro style with a good amount of cheese and a sauce that you could taste but didn't overwhelm. I tried the fish special and was disappointed by the lack of freshness (it smelled and tasted a little fishy). The Hilo location offers the same food, but the wait staff are much younger and less professional. We actually saw the waitress hanging out with the host/asst. manager and watched him grab her a$$ and hold his hand their too long and too frequently for comfort. Also, there was a musician there on the Saturday night we were there and he was going back and forth between james taylor, jim croce, and religious Jesus tunes. It was akward. The location is along a row of shops looking onto the ocean (with the main highway in between). Unfortunately most of those shops, including corner units, were boarded up and looked like a ghost town. The Kohala location was night & day different, so try them out if you get a chance. Another good/decent restaurant was Island Lava Java. This was recommended by booklovingbabe and others and we gave them a good try. We were there twice for breakfast. They serve 100% Kona Coffee (get the dark roast) and their cinnamon buns/rolls were the best I had ever had. We found 2-for-1 coupons for their coffee in one of the numerous free tourist guides. They are along the coast in Kona and you can enjoy your breakfast and coffee outside looking at cruise ships coming into Kona or just the comings and goings of the regulars. A good restaurant in Hilo is the Seaside Restaurant. If you go there, the fish is very fresh, but nothing is fresher than the Mullet. They have them in a pond out back and will pull them out fresh and cook it for you. The volcano roll appetizer is an amazing sushi roll and the fresh ginger and wasabi go great with this. I made the mistake of getting a surf and turf ... by adding on the prime rib with my fish. Fish was great, prime rib was super fatty, over cooked, and lacked flavor. Stick with the fish at this place (which I imagine most do). The crowd there were all locals with their families. No tourists aside from us could be readily identified. The wine list is only good on the chef's recommendations page ... which only has a few selections but one is Silver Oak at $95 ... which is a very good price if you can find in a restaurant. Unfortunately, my favorite wine doesn't go very well with fish, so it won't pair up with the food very well. We would definitely go back to this place again ... the sushi and fish were really wonderful.

My wife and I just got back from the Big Island a week ago and have a bunch of recommendations ... for not just Kona, but for the Big Island in general. The following posts will cover our favorite restaurants while there (Merrimans, Daniel Thiebault, Roy's Waikoloa Bar & Grill, Luquin Restaurant), very good restaurants (Cafe Pesto - Kohala Coast, Island Lava Java, The Seaside Restaurant), and disappointments (Donatoni's, Cafe Pesto - Hilo, My favorite meal was at Merriman's. We had the wine special that night ... a Spanish Flight tasting. Unfortunately I did not take notes for which wines they served, but they were all very young and could have used a few more years. The goat cheese crackers that they served to cleanse the palete between tastes were amazing and the pinot grigio that was recommended with the meal was great. We shared the Crispy Rice Paper Lamb Spring Rolls and the Taster of Keahole Lobster. Both were wonderful. The different textures and flavors of the lobster made you feel like you were a judge on iron chef. It was great. For Dinner I had the Mixed Plate which had the Ponzu Mahi Mahi, the Wok Charred Ahi (specialty of the house) and a filet steak medallion. I switched the Hamakua Mushroom sauce with the Cabernet Foie Gras sauce for the steak. I was glad that I did because on my filet was grilled foie gras which was wonderful. For desert we had the chocolate purse which is a molten chocolate dish (without any unnecessary fruit combo like chocolate orange). The molten chocolate is contained in a very very thin light chocolate crisp which is pulled up at the top to look like an old purse or money bag. It is accompanied by Tropical Dreams Tahitian Vanilla ice cream, which was amazing. The tropical dreams ice cream is made on the big island and is super premium grade ice cream. Very very good to say the least. My wife had the Lamb which was roasted. She liked hers so much that she wasn't willing to share In the same area, Waimea, a few doors down on the other side of the road is Daniel Thiebault. This was my wife's favorite restaurant. We were there for lunch and their lunch menu was much less formal than the dinner. The menu mainly comprised of sandwiches and salads. We both ordered the lunch special, a macadamia nut crusted ono but had different salads. Mine was just fresh organic baby greens with an oriental dressing. My wife had a more elaborate salad with goat cheese, fruit, nuts and organic greens. We both shared strawberries with brown sugar and whipped cream for desert. I imagine that their dinner's are more interesting but the fish and salads were incredibly fresh and very well prepared. My wife is not normally a big lamb eater, so it was surprising that she ordered it at Merriman's, but it also goes into consideration as to why she liked Daniel Thiebault a little better. We were staying at the Hilton Waikoloa Village for the first 6/8 days of our trip. Near us in the King's Shops was Roy Yamaguchi's Waikoloa restaurant out of his chain of hawaiian fusion restaurants. This was a very close second for me in terms of favorites, but my wife was discomforted by the loud noise. This place is very very loud and people are constantly running around .... but the service, food, and presentation were superb. We had the tasting menu. I had the steak and my wife had the ono. Both were delicious and the appetizer was my wife's favorite ... a sampler but the ribs were amazing. The meat fell right off the bone. The shrimp and the spring roll were also well done. I also ordered an appetizer off the menu knowing that my steak would only be 6 - 8 oz. I asked the waiter what he recommened and he suggested a crispy hoi fish that is not offered at other locations. The sauce on the plate was in a ying-yang display with the crispy fish in the middle, veggies that looked like slaw (did not taste like it though) on top, and rare seared ahi on top of that. The sauces (have no idea what they were) sent me to places that sauces rarely send me. Usually sauces seem to overpower the food itself and are used to mask lower quality or poorly prepared food ... but when done right ... will just accompany the food and act as a catalyst to bring out flavors or a side that you may not have anticipated. That is what his food did and it was great. The service at Roy's is second to none. The restaurant was packed (sold out), and we were there at 7:45. The water boy was also the bread boy and he always made sure that we had a hot mini-loaf of bread on each of our plates and that the water was full. I don't ever remember him filling the glass and I never remember my glass getting below 1/2 full. At one point my wife was looking for the waiter because the runner brought out the wrong salad. The waiter appears out of nowhere, looks at the table, as my wife it about to tell him about the mistake he says "That's the wrong salad" and he was back in a minute with the correct one. We were very impressed with how everyone was working as a team there and despite the fast pace hustle, everything seemed in harmony. The final top recommendation we have for the big island is a mexican restaurant that is open from crack of dawn till late night in a town called Pahoa which is 15 minutes from Hilo. The restaurant is a dive that has been expanding itself over time to own the entire building which it occupies instead of being just one shop of many along the small main drag in town. We were there as breakfast was ending and lunch was starting. This is not a place to get dressed up for or be formal with, but the food was the freshest Mexican I have ever had. The tortillas, salsa, mexican sausage and drinks were all top notch. This put to shame some of the authentic places I have been to in Old Town San Diego and clearly makes one recognize how far the chains (Don Pablos, Uncle Julio's Rio Grande, Chi-Chi's, Chevy's, etc...) are from authentic. This place is out of the way but is clearly worth it if you will be anywhere close to Hilo.