Prima

Elle took Umami to Prima his birthday (thanks, Elle!).  It's (very) loosely an "Italian" restaurant, but people that think they're going to an upscale Spaghetti Factory are in for a suprise.

Consider, the first dish of the evening, Fennel Panna Cotta ($11):

Fennel Panna Cotta

The idea here is to take some of the panna cotta, the puree, the fennel stem marmalade, and the coffee salt all in one bite, giving a complex sweet-savory, creamy-crunchy hit of fennel.  Good fun.

Or, the "Buffalo" Clams ($17):

"Buffalo" Clams

With celery, duck confit, and Franks Red Hot Sauce indicated on the menu, Umami and Elle expected a play on Buffalo Chicken Wings.  And that's exactly what these were, spicy and hot, and intensely flavorful.  They were a bit like Portuguese-style steamed clams, with the duck confit substituting for sausage.  Oh, and there was some ogo included, for some oceanic verisimilitude and some welcome crunch.  Very good dish.

Pappardelle

The Pappardelle ($16) consisted of, well, pappardelle, covered with a generous amount of a meaty curry bolognese that reminded Umami of the Thai-Laotian standard, Larb.  It was interesting that the curry presence was almost stronger in the nose than in the taste.  People watching meat intake should beware, it's a lot of meat.  (It's really good, though, so taste it at least).

Grilled Opah

The Grilled Opah ($21) was adequate, but not a must-have.  Of interest, though, was the opah belly rillette, which is the cube in the upper left.  It's essentially opah belly cooked in fat and made into a paste.  Umami and Elle used it as a spread on the crackers.  It was great with beer.

Bread Pudding

The Bread Pudding ($6) sounds promising:  brioche, streusel, konbu, bacon, maple, vanilla ice cream.  (Okay, Umami and Elle were roped in by the bacon.)  But the dish wasn't quite working, as the brioche lacked substance, it was too loose and, eventually, soggy.  Too bad, too, because the flavors were there, they just couldn't be properly enjoyed.

All in all, a very fun and, as Elle would say, "delightful" meal.  (Thanks again, Elle!).  Umami will be back.  

Prima

108 Hekili St

Kailua, Hawaii

888-8933

Vegas 2012: Serendipity Foot-Long Chili Dog

One of Umami's goals for the trip was to have a hot dog at Pink's at Planet Hollywood, but, alas, they seemed to have closed.  Devastated, Umami wandered north, ending up at Serendipity 3 at Caesar's Palace, because Elle still hadn't tried the Frozzen Hot Chocolate, but also because they did have hot dogs (and were open!).

Foot-long dog is juicy enough.  Chili was beefy.  Bun, however, was either poorly toasted, or plain dried out.  How can you have a dry chili dog?  Very odd.  Umami was just not meant to have a good dog this trip.  Next time.  Or, he goes to Hank's Haute Dogs.

Serendipity 3 (Caesar's Palace)
3570 Las Vegas Blvd S
Las Vegas, NV 89109
(702) 731-7373

Unclear on the Concept

Every so often you have to wonder what a store is thinking.  This gem comes from the Safeway in Hawaii Kai:

Real Picture of Real Sign . . . Not a Fake!

Not that Umami shopped for sushi at Safeway, but it does validate his decision not to.

And, anyway, Hana Sushi is in the same shopping center.

Safeway - Hawaii Kai
377 Keahole St
Ste A10
Honolulu, HI 96825

Hana Sushi

377 Keahole St

Ste C3
Honolulu, HI 96825

The Lament of Umami

And what then shall the makers of golden sponge cake do?

Or "creamy" cream filling?

And what then shall a carnival truck deep fry?

An Oreo?  A Cheeseburger?  *sigh*

A long, last, lingering look good-bye . . . 

Horde them away,

Hide them in a hiding place where no one ever goes, 
Put it in your pantry with your cupcakes, 

For Alas, the Twinkie, has left and gone away.

Hey, hey, hey . . . hey, hey, hey.

Umami Dominates COR Fantasy Football League

The Conquer, Oppress, and Raze (COR) Fantasy Football League inaugural season ended with Umami leading Don Meinel's Teeth to a convincing 136-77 victory over a game, but ultimately outgunned Miller Lite team.  Lite QB Tim Tebow could not deliver one final miracle and The Teeth rode balanced scoring (32, 21, 20, 20, 14, 11, 9, 9) to the title.  The Teeth (as they are affectionately called) finished 12-4, averaged an absurd 125 points per game, and look poised to gloat for a solid year.

Umami Wields the Hammer of COR

The Teeth took an unusual route to the top, surrounding team MVP Calvin Johnson with late round draft picks (Darren Sproles (13th round)), emerging talent (Rob Gronkowski (7th round)), late season bloomers (Percy Harvin (8th round)), castoffs (C.J. Spiller, dropped by Big Island Sausage), a shrewd trade (Matt Stafford for Rex Grossman and A.J. Green), augmented by canny waiver wire picks (John Kasay, 49ers Defense).

A good thing, too, since The Teeth faced their share of injuries (Andre Johnson, Jahvid Best), though at least they weren't injured when drafted (*cough* Peyton Manning *cough*).

They suffered through the frustrating inconsistency that is Ryan Mathews.

They endured the embarrassment for having their draft picks perform well for other teams (Willis McGahee, Reggie Bush), though not as bad as Big Island Sausage, who dropped Spiller just in time for Fred Jackson to suffer his season-ending injury.

Umami, asked for the secrets to his success, summed it up by saying:  "Talent, skill, luck, clean living, and a lack of Brett Favre will take you a long way.   And you can take that to the bank!"

See you next season!

Camille (and the Food Trucks) vs. HPD

Umami had a retirement luncheon (alas, not his own) to attend today at lunchtime. If not for that, he might have got to see KHON filming this segment:



Hopefully, they can get it all worked out.

Season's Greetings, Umami From

From our Galaxy to Yours, Holidays Happy, Hope you Have!

Elle's Birthday Pizza

Elle enjoyed her first visit to Round Table so much, she wanted to go for her birthday.  So, without further ado, here's Elle's birthday pizza:  Original Crust Italian Garlic Supreme ($21.59 for a medium).  Good stuff.

(Don't you love the background?  That's the color of the table top.)


Round Table Pizza
Enchanted Lake Shopping Center
1020 J Keolu Drive
Kailua, Hawaii  
808-261-4644

2011 Lego Advent Calendar

Umami exhibited poor impulse control while Christmas shopping the other day, picking up not one, but two, 2011 Lego Advent Calendars.  Yes, regression to childhood is now in full swing, but, really, how could he pass this up?

You know you want one . . .

The box says, "Includes Exclusive Yoda Minifigure!"  Yoda in a Santa suit!

Inside, there are 24 separate compartments, one for each day leading up to Christmas.  Where's Yoda?  After 13 days, still no sign of the wily Jedi master.

The top lid folds down, to reveal this scene

There are rebel pilots and wookies:

Space craft:

X-Wing!

And droids:

This IS a droid you're looking for

Umami figures, Lego + Star Wars + 2011 Edition = Collectible = Excuse to buy two.  $43 at Lego Store, so call it entertainment for $2 a day.  You could do worse.

Cold Ginger Chicken Cake Noodle

Sandy, the lady who owned Yuki Lunchwagon, apparently retired earlier this year and passed the reins of her lunchwagon to new ownership.  Now called Golden Bowl, the lunchwagon is on the same site as Yuki's and, for the most part, kept the same menu.

Recently, however, they've been adding new items.  One day, they had a Cold Ginger Chicken plate and a Teri Chicken Cake Noodle plate.  Since you can mix any two items, Umami ordered a mix:  Cold Ginger Chicken and Teri Chicken Cake Noodle.

There must have been a miscommunication, because what he got instead was Cold Ginger Chicken Cake Noodle . . .

Cold Ginger Chicken Cake Noodle

It's an odd mix, but the chicken was fine, and had lots of the ginger and green onion.   The cake noodle, alas, was so-so, hard, and luke warm.  Maybe the chicken cooled it off.  Would be better off just getting the chicken plate.  Maybe next time.

Golden Bowl Lunchwagon
Lauhala Street between Queen's Hospital and Board of Water Supply, on the Ewa side of the street.  It's the one closest to the street.