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The Epicurean Traveler
Winging to Hawaii
text and photos ©2007 by Scott W Clemens
On my most recent trip to Hawaii I found a pleasant surprise on Hawaiian
Airlines.
In this age of box lunches on airlines that charge $10 for the discourtesy
(think United), Hawaiian Airlines has actually upgraded the food service
on its flights to and from Hawaii. Passengers now enjoy menus with authentic
Hawaiian flavors, and First Class passengers will find a level of service
not seen in many decades, with a new tasting menu designed by Chef Beverly
Gannon, Hawaiian’s Executive Chef and the owner of two Maui restaurants,
Joe’s and Hali’imaile General Store. The tasting menu allows
customers to order as in a restaurant, with a choice of two of three entrées
for breakfast, and three of five entrées for lunch and dinner.
Twenty entrées have been created and will be shuffled to ensure
that frequent fliers have constant variety.
Hawaiian has a fleet of 29 aircraft, with 145 flights daily. Hawaiian
was the nation’s top-ranked airline for service in the 2006 Airline
Quality Ratings. The airline also led America’s carriers in on-time
performance for 2004 through October of 2006. However, as a journalist
(as opposed to a public relations apologist), I have to report that we’ve
experienced dismal on-time results in 2007. As relatively frequent fliers
to Hawaii from San Francisco (5 round trips in 2007), we’ve experienced
a total of 13 hours of delays, though admittedly one was an 8-hour delay
where a replacement plane had to be ferried empty from Honolulu when a
problem was discovered with our original plane. Nonetheless, we hope for
improvement in 2008.
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personal digEplayers |
If you can afford it, First Class is a wonderful luxury and the best way
to ease into an “island” frame of mind (atypical roundtrip
coach fare will cost $666, while First Class runs $2,160). You’ll
board first, of course, and have your choice of drinks, including spirits,
wine, champagne, and juice drinks such as guava, or Chef Gannon’s
Pomegranate Passion, created exclusively for the airline). There are three
flight attendants for the First Class cabin, which seats 18, and the service
is attentive.
A movie is provided in both First Class and Coach, but travelers can opt
for a personal digEplayer personal entertainment system ($15 in Coach,
free in First Class) with noise-canceling headphones. The digEplayer comes
with a wide selection of television programs, music, music videos, and
about a dozen movies from which to choose.
The meal service begins and ends with warm moist towels with which to
refresh yourself. The meal is served on a white tablecloth, with decent
flatware and glassware. My breakfast included:
• a warm croissant and fresh fruit plate
• herb cheese scrambled eggs with chicken apple sausage
• a curried vegetable filo trangle with roasted potatoes, bell peppers
and rosemary
• and a moist fruit tart
My dinner choices were:
• Prawn with Mango Salsa
• Assorted Cheese Plate with Garnishes
• Sliced Beef Rib with Braising Jus, Garlic Mash Potatoes and Spinach
• Dessert – Hazelnut Gelato with Chocolate Sauce
The other two entrées on the menu that night were: 
• Pecan Crusted Chicken Tenders with Corn Polenta and Maple Dried
Fruit
• Baby Steamed Carrots and Yellow Squash Filled with Peas
Other entrées from Chef Gannon’s menu include such delicacies
as Hawaiian Crab Cake with Pineapple Salsa; Rock Shrimp and Lemon Pepper
Ravioli with Creamy Sun-Dried Tomato-Basil Sauce, and Chicken Tandoori
served with Makhani Sauce and Sultana Basmati Rice Pilaf.
On the week I flew, lunch entrées included:
• Duo of Savory Shooters: Asparagus and Olive Tapanade, Basil Goat
Cheese and Tomato Parmesan Crumble
• Fresh Sage Infused Chicken Breast with Shallot Beurre Blanc over
Saffron Risotto
• Pepper Crusted Cold Poached Salmon with Cucumber Dill Dressing
• Spinach and Garlic Stuffed Ravioli with Pomodoro Sauce
• Braised Beef Top Blade with Wild Mushroom Sauce over Slow Simmered
Herbed White Beans
I should note that on my flight, I asked for an Australian Chardonnay
with dinner. The first bottle was corked. When I mentioned it to the steward
he immediately discarded the tainted bottle, opened a second bottle with
the professionalism you’d expect from a sommelier at a good restaurant
(no questions, no trying to foist the tainted bottle on unsuspecting customers),
and made sure the wine was to my taste. He was also punctual with refills
of wine, water and coffee, and close by for requests without hovering.
The woman who sat next to me had specific dietary concerns which required
a special meal to be prepared onboard. Again, the service was attentive
to her every need. You couldn’t ask for more from a fine
restaurant wait staff.
We’ve traveled to Hawaii a couple dozen times, mostly on vacation.
With one exception, I’d never stayed in Honolulu; we either transited
to Maui, the Big Island, Kauai or Lanai, or if on Oahu we stayed on the
North Shore. This time, however, I was visiting my son who is going to
the University of Hawaii, just up the hill from Waikiki. So I elected
to stay in the Waikiki area. Not wanting to splurge on a beachfront room,
when I’d be spending most of my time on campus, I searched for a
reasonably priced condominium and found just the ticket at the nine-story,
48 unit Outrigger Regency on Beachwalk, just a half block from the Outrigger
Reef hotel on Waikiki beach.
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Guests at the Outrigger Regency on Beachwalk are just a leisurely three-minute
walk to the beach, and they have the use of the pool at the Outrigger
Reef. My one-bedroom condo was large, modern and air-conditioned, with
two flat screen TVs, wired free internet, a large kitchen, a living room
and a deck with a view of Fort de Russy park and the ocean over the tops
of the palm trees. The one and two-bedroom condos run between $200 and
$350 a night — about the same as a room at the Outrigger Reef. However,
the condo is far more spacious, and eating in can save you a bundle of
money. I did eat about half my meals at my home-away-from-home (there’s
a small grocery store on the bottom floor). If you would rather eat out,
there are three Japanese restaurants on Beachwalk from which to choose,
as well as an Italian restaurant. And of course, a half block walk will
bring you to the Shore Bird Restaurant in the Outrigger Reef hotel, where
you can cook your own meat and seafood over the grill, and eat with a
view of Waikiki beach.
HAWAIIAN AIRLINES:
U.S. & Canada Reservations:
Daily Hours: 5:00 a.m. - 9:00 p.m. Hawaii Standard Time (HST)
Toll-Free: 1-800-367-5320
OUTRIGGER REGENCY BEACHWALK:
Call Outrigger:
U.S., Canada, Guam:
1-800-OUTRIGGER (688-7444)
Worldwide: 1-303-369-7777