Reunions & Restaurants Make Good Couples!
My husband, Rod, had a close friend, Becky. Becky moved away over 25 years ago. One day, she must have been feeling nostalgic and she set out to track him down. She found him via the Internet, sent him a letter (USPS no less), came home to visit from Michigan and invited us to dinner with her and her sister-in-law, Cheryl!
Rod and Becky talked on the phone about where to go. After these two clowns got beyond 7-11 being too cheap and Zippy’s being too expensive, the location was kind of left in limbo.
Rod’s task then was to find a place for us to eat. He is not a restaurant person but he likes to be comfortable.
Hmmm… a place not too fancy, not too cheap but comfortable with good food. We thought about it a long time and Rod remembered a place we have been to off and on over the years. Monterey Bay Canners! “Oh yeah, good idea!”

We figured this would be comfortable enough that we wouldn’t have to worry about suits and high heels, but still nice enough to make a nice impression on these two lovely ladies. I’m not a seafood person but, as it turned out, Becky is! Perfect!

The one thing I remember about Monterey Bay Canners is that they have some awesome stuffed mushrooms! Mushrooms to die for! I’m not driving so that also means I get to have a margarita! Alright!
We picked Becky and Cheryl up at their hotel in Waikiki. They were staying at the Outrigger Hotel. We talked all the way to the restaurant, of course, and got to know a little bit more about each other. Becky is a kick and kept us fascinated with her memories of things that happened to them all those years ago. Memories that even Rod himself had forgotten. Men! Tsk! Cheryl and I listened to the warm-hearted tales as Rod drove us all to Pearlridge Shopping Center.
Monterey Bay Canners sits just on the edge of this shopping center, across a rather expansive parking lot from Macy’s. The fascinating thing about this area is the watercress farm. The walkway leading to the entryway door of the restaurant hangs right over it! A watercress farm right in the middle of this busy town! It’s a unique location, to say the least.

When we sat down in the restaurant the conversation just continued. Rod and Becky had a lot of catching up to do!

In the photo above, Rod (left), Cheryl and Becky talk story after being seated just before sundown. You’ve gotta love these two ladies — very friendly, down-to-earth and easy to talk to! The comfort level was just there. Hard to explain but, it just was! They were a lot of fun!
While Rod and Becky continued to catch up on things, we ordered food! The stuffed mushrooms, of course! They were delicious as always! Rod and Becky both had lobster and shrimp and they both enjoyed it and were very satisfied. Cheryl ordered the stuffed salmon which was made with the same technique as those wonderful mushrooms. What a meal! I had steak and an absolutely wonderful li hing margarita!

Rod kept teasing Cheryl (left) about how she looked like Shirley Temple. She kind of does look like her… cute smile with a sweet personality to match… yep, that would be like Shirley Temple. Both she and Becky (center) got a little too much sun that morning. They looked like cherubs but I know Becky was feeling a little more like a fire cracker than a cherub! Her quick wit and sense of humor certainly leaned more towards a fire cracker.
Our waitress, Lehua, was very friendly and very attentive — always taking that extra time to be sure we were enjoying our meal. I think we were all so into the food and our conversation that we didn’t notice much about what was going on around us. Obviously I was since I forgot to take pictures of our main dishes. We were all too full for dessert.
Rod and Becky argued about who would pay the bill and Becky ended up paying. It’s Rod’s turn next time, girl! The food was great, the company was wonderful and the night brought two friends together after many years.
Thanks, Monterey Bay Canners, for good food and comfortable ambiance. Thank you, Lehua, for tending to us. Most of all, thank you, Becky, for the company and the wonderful meal!
Becky called Rod the next day and says she will come back to visit every year! We’ll see what place we can terrorize when Becky comes back home next year!
I have been hungry all morning. I was checking out other blogs and so many were talking about food. When in doubt and in Honolulu, if you can’t make it to a Zippy’s restaurant, get a Spam musubi! I’ll talk about Zippy’s soon, I promise.
What do you do when you see a tomato walking on the street? You investigate! If it’s not the Fruit Of The Loom guys, it’s got to have something to do with food! No, that’s not underwear our little tomato is carrying, it’s menus!
If there is one thing that Honolulu has, it’s a lot of restaurants. If there is one thing that residents love to do, it’s EAT! There are many restaurants but some are often overlooked because either they are very small,they are out of view of the mainstream, their menus consist of somewhat esoteric entrées or any combination of these characteristics.
There’s definitely a Japanese influence but, there is something more that I just can’t quite put my finger on. Perhaps it’s the boss who picks up on a customer’s possible likes and dislikes. I had the crab and vegetable set with miso and sushi rice. The chef/owner automatically said to me, “you don’t want fish eggs do you?” I just looked at him and said, “No, I don’t.” I was actually confused by his question because it was so unexpected. He was right, I don’t do fish eggs. To be honest, this was not my kind of meal at all. But, it was late and I was desperate. By the time I left, I felt satisfied both with the food and with the service. The servings are not skimpy and the food is good… and fresh!
