Category Archives: Dining Outside

Hawaii Eats: Mud Hen Water, Oahu

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A magnificent porchetta made with local pork and stuffed with a filling of taro leaves.
A magnificent porchetta made with local pork and stuffed with a filling of taro leaves.

Honolulu, Oahu, HI — At one point, Hawaii’s respected chef, Ed Kenney, had four restaurants. But following the throes of the pandemic, only one remains.

Mud Hen Water is still going strong, thankfully. Opened in 2015 with a strong locavore focus, it continues to be relevant and incredibly popular, among both locals and tourists, as I found when I dined there last week. It’s no wonder, too, because this is food that captures the cornucopia of cultures that comprise Hawaii, from the Mediterranean to most of Asia. With a homey Hawaiian quality and assertive flavors, this is food that you easily crave again and again.

With Kenney’s Kaimuki Superette next-door now closed, Mud Hen Water has taken over that outdoor space to offer al fresco dining. But even if you dine indoors, as we did, there’s plenty of air circulation from whirring ceiling fans and patio doors left open to take advantage of the balmy, tropical breezes.

The dining room sports ceiling fans and patio doors that stay open on warm nights, which are almost always the case on Oahu.
The dining room sports ceiling fans and patio doors that stay open on warm nights, which are almost always the case on Oahu.

Start with a playfully named Shurb a Dub Dub ($11), a bracing mix of vodka, lemon, ginger, and seasonal shrub, which in this case was a mix of guava and citrus. Zingy and tart, it’s exactly what you want on a warm night.

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Dining Outside at Anatolian Kitchen

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The delectable mix appetizer platter at Anatolian Kitchen.
The delectable mix appetizer platter at Anatolian Kitchen.

When the devastating earthquake hit Turkey last month, restaurateur Dino Tekdemir set to work immediately to launch a GoFundMe, and to donate 40 percent of proceeds from sales at his Anatolian Kitchen in Palo Alto on Feb. 16 to the victims of the disaster.

Born and raised in Turkey, Tekdemir, also owns the Austrian cuisine Naschmarkt restaurants in Campbell and Palo Alto.

With the people of Turkey still prominent on our minds, two friends and I took advantage of a brief respite from the savage rainstorms of late to dine outside at Anatolian Kitchen last week. With outside tables that spill onto the sidewalk and into the street that’s still closed to cars since the pandemic, it makes for a fine place to have a gal-pal lunch.

The restaurant's outdoor dining area.
The restaurant’s outdoor dining area.

A must-order is the mix appetizer platter ($29.95) that’s perfect for sharing and noshing. It’s an assortment of cacik, a tzatziki-like yogurt-cucumber-garlic dip; a thick, coarse hummus; moderately spicy muhammara made with walnuts ground with roasted bell peppers and a touch of pomegranate molasses; smoky eggplant puree; skinny dolmas rolled around rice pilaf with currants and pine nuts; and my favorite of fried eggplant chunks in a saucy mix of tomatoes, garlic, and bell peppers.

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Dining Outside at Bookie’s Pizza

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The unique 'nduja, pineapple and anchovy Detroit-style pizza at Bookie's.
The unique ‘nduja, pineapple and anchovy Detroit-style pizza at Bookie’s.

When a fine-dining chef who graduated from the Culinary Institute of America and worked at Michelin three-starred Manresa pivots to making pizza, you know those pies are going to be damn fine.

And at Bookie’s Pizza in Santa Cruz, they absolutely slay.

Tucked inside Sante Adairius Rustic Ales tasting room at 1315 Water St. in Santa Cruz, Chef Todd Parker has set up shop, turning out Detroit-style pizzas with California farm-to-table panache.

Parker was the chef at Manresa Bread’s Campbell location when it first opened, which is where I first met him. The plan was for him to become the head chef at sister business, Mentone, when it was to open in Aptos.

Chef Todd Parker.
Chef Todd Parker.

But the pandemic had different ideas, delaying the debut of the pizza-centric Mentone, and leaving Parker to contemplate what the near future held.

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Dining Outside at Momosan

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The "Tokyo Chicken'' ramen at Momosan at Santana Row.
The “Tokyo Chicken” ramen at Momosan at Santana Row.

Few things satisfy in winter like a bountiful bowl of ramen. If you’re still primarily dining outdoors, you’ll be glad to know that Momosan, which opened at San Jose’s Santana Row last year, is equipped with patio dining to enjoy your noodles al fresco.

“Iron Chef” Masaharu Morimoto’s new restaurant is the perfect place to people-watch on the Row as you slurp your noodles. The outside tables at the side of the restaurant sport compact awnings, enough to shield you from light rain, but probably not ample enough in anything heavier. The tables also have overhead heaters and free-standing ones to keep things fairly comfortable even when the wind picks up.

The bar inside the restaurant.
The bar inside the restaurant.

Given this ramen joint’s celebrity panache, it’s no surprise that prices here are on the higher side with ramen bowls going for $18 to $29. In comparison, Ramen Nagi’s bowls start at about $15. Still, there’s no denying that the ramen, and rest of the food here, is superlative.

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Dining Outside at Jaks

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The Karuveppilai chicken fry at Jaks in Santa Clara.
The Karuveppilai chicken fry at Jaks in Santa Clara.

With its chic, muted sandstone colors, the new Jaks at the Santa Clara Square Marketplace doesn’t announce itself conspicuously as an Indian restaurant.

Which is just what owner Michael Agnel intended.

The former general manager of Arka in Sunnyvale and operations manager at Sakoon in Mountain View, Agnel explains that he wanted to attract diners not only craving modern Indian cuisine, but ones who desired an elegant, upscale experience overall — no matter the food’s provenance.

To that end, he hired Mumbai-born Chef Prakash Singh to take regional Indian specialties and make them his own. Agnel also designed the extensive beverage program that includes the Peg Gastropub Bar inside the restaurant that sports a revolving 12 microbrewery selections on tap. A daily Happy Hour, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., features specially priced beers and cocktails.

The Peg Gastropub Bar inside the restaurant.
The Peg Gastropub Bar inside the restaurant.

The bar also boasts a sizeable selection of Japanese whiskies, tequila, and mezcal, not to mention a wine list that includes a 2018 Joseph Phelps Insignia for $450 and a 2018 Hundred Acre Napa Cabernet Sauvignon for $650 for big spenders.

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