Part of the joy of visiting the Hawaiian Islands is trying out the local foods. Restaurants offer everything from the classic plate lunch to a candlelight dinner complete with fine wines. On most of the main islands there is a community college that not only offers culinary courses, but opens its doors to the public to show off the results.
The Culinary Institute of the Pacific at Kapiolani Community College invites the public to enjoy a meal at the 220 Grille Restaurant located at its Honolulu Campus. Dine on anything from seafood cakes with mango salsa to grilled salmon accented with a buttery miso sauce. Sample home-made ice cream on banana pudding or coconut flavored tapioca. The menu changes constantly and since this is a classroom environment, a limited amount of each dish is made. You may not get your first choice but the moderate prices and the amount of available items make this a positive dining experience. The 220 Grille Restaurant is open from Tuesday to Friday from 11 a.m. to 12:45 p.m. whenever classes are in session.
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Another opportunity to sample some of the creations of the Culinary Institute of the Pacific is at the Ka Ikena Restaurant, also on the grounds of the Kapiolani Community College. Offering a combination of Hawaiian, Asian and American cuisines, the menu is always changing. Lunch items could feature shrimp scampi or roast rack of lamb. The dinner menu gets even more elaborate with fish grilled in macadamia nuts or spicy Szechuan grilled New York Steak and tempura shrimp. Both lunch and dinner menus are priced as complete meals ($30 per person as of 2011). Some items on the dinner menu have an additional charge. Reservations are preferred for lunch and required for the dinner service. Lunch seatings are at 11 a.m., 11:30 a.m. andn noon. Dinner seatings are at 5:30 p.m., 5:45 p.m. and 6 p.m. The restaurant is open Tuesday to Friday during the third week of every study module.
Diners at this 75-seat restaurant not only get an ocean view, but the opportunity to see their food being prepared in the Exhibition Kitchen in the center of the main dining room. Open Wednesdays and Fridays from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., the Class Act offers an assortment of Asian, Pacific Rim, French and Italian dishes. Samples include roasted tomato soup and black cod broiled in sake and miso. The restaurant uses a fixed price menu, charging $30 per person (as of 2011).. Selections vary daily. A 16-seat private dining room is available. The Class Act is open during the school semesters. Reservations are advised.
The Manono Campus of Hawaii Community College welcomes the public to enjoy a meal in its cafeteria, at the on-site Da Ohana Corner Café and its Bamboo Hale, formerly called the Gourmet Dining Room. The venues are open Tuesday through Friday, the cafeteria is year round and the café is only open during the spring semester. Both offer an assortment of salads, sandwiches and bento boxes, a Japanese-style lunch to go. Pastries are available from an in-house bakery. The Bamboo Hale, also open during the spring semester, works its menu around certain themes. In the past Bamboo has offered items from France, Italy, Brazil and Mexico. Hours are 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Reservations are advised.
(ref 6, see page 17)
