what’s in a name? on oahu, it seems to be the secret to restaurant success
On a one-week trip to Oahu, I hit a plethora of dining hot spots: Alan Wong’s, Roy’s, Ola’s, Terry’s Place, Agnes Bakery, Morimoto, Sam Choy’s and Buzz’s Steakhouse. (Hey, eating is my job.) Do you see a trend here? It seems that in Hawaii, the mark of culinary glory is your name… on an awning.
I try to imagine one of the young chefs among my friends in New York, LA or San Francisco boldly plastering Mike, Annette, Brad, Barbara or Anne across their front door. What marks the antithesis of class in America’s trend-driven dining cities is a simple and straightforward method for tagging your brand in the land of Aloha. (Or is it simply a practicality in a place where the years of imbibing in “Maui Wowie” takes its toll on the memory?)
I’m straining my brain to remember the last mainland restaurant I visited in which, upon entering, you were automatically on a first name basis with its chef. Certainly, it is a rarity to find one that would be considered among its city’s finest. (The one exception may be Nobu, but how can you resist monogramming your establishment when you’ve been bestowed with such an adorable yet elegantly Japanese name?)
Regardless of how this trend began, it is a fairly safe bet that when traveling in the 50th state, you can count on a place where everybody knows the chef’s name.
