thankyou dinner

OK Now that I have my accessories figured out any ideas for a nice place for me to take my friend to say';Thanks'; for inviting me to stay for free in Hawaii. I was thinking of a nice dinner. Price is not really important. She lives at 7----Walua Rd.(I don%26#39;t feel comfy writing her exact address)

thankyou dinner

Don%26#39;t know where that road is and am too lazy to map it. But if N. Kona/S. Kohala is in driving distance, here are some ideas:

Pahui%26#39;a at Four Seasons

Alan Wong%26#39;s Grill at Four Seasons

Browns Beach House at Orchid (we had a terrific meal there 1/16)

Canoe House at Mauna Lani

less money:

Huggos in Kailua

thankyou dinner

i second the Canoe House.

Great location and perfect meals every time

Thanks fo rthe advice. How about some locals? When I tried to map it I got confused because she said it was near the beach but on the map it looked far. Anyway I think it is south of the Kona airport near the University of the Nations.

Check out the restaurant reviews at konaforum.com. It%26#39;s geared for more local places instead of the touristy ones.

looks to be between central Kailua-Kona and Keauhou ... so you have to decide if you want to drive a fair distance north out of town for dinner to dine at the best places, or stay in town. I imagine you%26#39;ll have a way better sense of this once you%26#39;re on island so you might want to gather some names and wait and see.

In your general area,

You could go south to the Outrigger or Sheraton or north to Huggos or Kona Inn.

If your friend already lives in Hawaii or is a frequent visitor (I missed this info), if I were in your place I%26#39;d probably ask her 1) her favorite place or 2) name a place you%26#39;ve always wanted to eat and we%26#39;ll go.

If she is a newbie to the island, then I imagine she%26#39;d be impressed by you researching a fabulous place and surprising her.

Last thing -- what%26#39;s her taste in food and mood?

My friend lives part time in Hawaii and part time inSanDiego. She knows her way around I am sure however I know from experience that when you tell someone you%26#39;d like to take them out somewhere for dinner and they should pick the restaurant,they tend to kind of ';low ball it'; since they don%26#39;t want to take advantage of you.

I am kind of surprised that the only restaurants that people mention are in hotels. I always think that hotel restaurants are fine if you are staying there and don%26#39;t want to travel much for dinner but even here in SanDiego we have our share of fine hotel dining but yet when folks ask for suggestions we don%26#39;t usually mention those restaurants. I guess every town is different. I f locals want to celebrate a birthday or an occasion do they go to the hotel restaurants?

Local economics is that the resorts are where the most expensive restaurants are sustainable. Alan Wong has a non-hotel restaurant on Oahu but on the Big Island, he%26#39;s at the Four Seasons. An exception to the ';:hotel'; location is Roy%26#39;s at Kings Shops, near Mauna Lani. We ate there last night and it was supurb, with attentive staff and a good wine list. Firs time we%26#39;d been back in a few years but it seems to have turned aorund.

';I f locals want to celebrate a birthday or an occasion do they go to the hotel restaurants?';

Yes, quite often, if we can afford to and if the view is important.

The resorts here, with their huge resources compared to the small restauranteur, have snagged all the gorgeous views. Their resources attract the highly skilled chefs.

There are non-resort restaurants like Merrimans, Daniel Thiebaut, Roy%26#39;s, Bamboo Restaurant, Kilauea Lodge, Restaurant Kaikodo, but they can%26#39;t offer an ocean view or for most of these any kind of architectural interest. (Kaikodo has it, in a historic building, and the Lodge has the fireplace),

People come here and they want to sip cocktails and see a sunset over the ocean when they dine, but the little guy simply can%26#39;t acquire a lease on that kind of property.

Thanks for the explanations. I understand better now although it makes me kind of sad.

Another thing you%26#39;ll see when you get here is that in many areas, a prospective restauranteur can%26#39;t just ';put up a building'; in a likely location. It%26#39;s all lava! The resorts that make the investment in developing on lava become hubs for shops and restaurants.