As if chefs don’t already have to contend with slowed service due to a legion of shutterbugs snapping pics of their meals, these days many have to deal with diners lingering with “Pokemon Go,” the augmented reality game that has people flooding the streets in search of virtual creatures.
I am one of the guilty ones. Recently, while dining at Mediteranneo, a friend using the Go Radar app spotted a rare Lickitung two blocks away. Off we ran midmeal to capture the elusive creature, leaving the rest of our party behind at the table. My friend caught Lickitung. Mine escaped in a puff of smoke, probably payback for having attained one the easy way a day before, by walking 2 miles to hatch it out of an egg.
I didn’t know I had become addicted to the game until going to a Waikiki restaurant surrounded by four Pokestops, only to find none of them accessible. The stops draw out Pokemon and are fueling stations where one can pick up balls for capturing Pokemon, as well as tonics to revive and energize them after battles, and I was in desperate need of replenishment because no balls equals no play. I had a cache of 180 balls that went down to zero after a single night of Pokemon hunting in Kakaako, where food trucks such as Bao Boys and Wurst-Wagen (bratwursts, schnitzels and spaetzle) have popped up to cater to hungry Pokemon trainers, as players are called.
These days there are few things more frustrating than sitting down for a two- or three-hour meal without being able to multitask by rebuilding one’s Pokemon arsenal. It made me wonder which restaurants were Pokestops.
The first place that came to mind is Elmer Guzman’s Poke Stop, where poke is all about seafood, not virtual creatures.
Guzman said he was puzzled when sales at his Waipahu shop, at 94-050 Farrington Highway, started increasing by about 90 percent in July. (The Mililani location is not a Pokestop, sites established from game developer Niantic’s “Ingress” database; people can have a site considered for a stop by submitting a request to Niantic.)
“A good friend of mine said, ‘Hey, did you know Poke Stop is a Pokestop?’ and I said, ‘What are you talking about?’ I had to ask my daughter about it, and my staff said they noticed people were hanging out in the parking lot late at night, all looking down at their phones,” Guzman said.
“For research and development I had to get the app and play with it. I thought I would be on it just a couple of weeks, but now I’m into it. I’m on Level 21. One thing about me is, if I start something, I gotta go all out. I’m very competitive, so I gotta get more points than everybody.”
Due to his competitive nature, Guzman will be expanding beyond poke to introduce two new dining concepts this fall. But that’s a later story.
Coinciding with the game’s buzz, he’s added a “Pokemon Go” Bowl to his menu. For $7.95, it features sesame tako, creamy ahi, ocean salad and bubu arare over rice. If no one has placed a Pokemon lure (that draws more creatures to Pokestops) at the restaurant between 3 and 7 p.m. daily, you can get the “Pokemon Go” Bowl free by placing a lure and alerting one of the employees of your player ID.
“I’m very fortunate to be close to a Pokestop and gym (where the creatures battle),” he said.
Over at Hank’s Haute Dogs in Kakaako, ground zero for Pokemon trainers, being near dozens of Pokestops is a mixed blessing, according to owner Henry “Hank” Adaniya. Hank’s tables are kapu’d for hours by people doing more playing than eating, and his employees have had to clean up trash left by the late-night Poke-zombies.
“Business increased 20 to 30 percent while school was out, but the bulk of the crowd are adults that come out from 9 p.m., and they’ve already eaten.
“We close at 4 p.m. We tried staying open later, but they don’t have time to eat while they’re playing their game. They’re there from 9 p.m. to 2 a.m., when they get hungry again, but I’m gonna go to sleep by then.”
In the spirit of the game, he offered a one-time special during the Hawaii Pokemon GO Fest at SALT earlier this month, featuring an all-beef dog with yellow mustard, and lilikoi boba inspired by the idea of Magikarp caviar, based on the hopeless flopping fish that can be evolved into a mighty dragonlike Gyarados.
He doesn’t have any other specials planned, but hasn’t ruled it out. “Anything can happen at Hank’s,” he said.
WHERE TO DINE AND CATCH
Whether you can access a Pokestop depends on the accuracy of your phone’s GPS, and at any restaurant, access can vary depending on where you’re seated. At BLT Steak, you’ll have better luck sitting in the dining room closest to Beach Walk Avenue than in the bar. But here’s a list of restaurants and cafes with multiple Pokestops, compiled with the help of Toby Tamaye and the “Pokemon Go” community. Those who want to share more places, including single Pokestops, can email me at nkam@staradvertiser.com, and I’ll be able to add a more comprehensive list to my blog.
>> Big Kahuna’s Pizza: loaded pizzas at 550 Paiea St.
>> Blue Tree Cafe: juice bar and small selection of light, health-oriented salads and sandwiches, at 1009 Kapiolani Blvd.
>> Buca di Beppo: bountiful family-style Italian at Ward Village Shops
>> Chart House: seafood restaurant and bar at 1765 Ala Moana Blvd.
>> Dave and Busters: restaurant and bar at Ward Village Shops
>> Doraku Sushi: contemporary Japanese at 1009 Kapiolani Blvd.
>> Eating House 1849: Roy Yamaguchi’s modern spin on plantation heritage food at the International Market Place
>> Giovanni Pastrami: sandwiches, pizza and pasta at Waikiki Beach Walk
>> Highway Inn: Hawaiian fare at 680 Ala Moana Blvd.
>> Hank’s Haute Dogs: gourmet hot dogs at 324 Coral St.
>> Hokkaido Ramen: ramen and Japanese curry at 1108 12th Ave.
>> Il Lupino: Italian fare at Royal Hawaiian Center
>> JJ Dolan’s: pizza and pub at 1147 Bethel St.
>> Kaiwa: upscale Japanese fare at Waikiki Beach Walk
>> Mai Tai Bar: bar at Ho‘okipa Terrace in Ala Moana Center
>> Morimoto: contemporary Japanese fare and sushi at The Modern Honolulu at 1775 Ala Moana Blvd.
>> Real a Gastropub: fusion bar fare at 1020 Auahi St.
>> Ruby Tuesday: family restaurant at 4470 Kapolei Parkway
>> Shokudo: contemporary Japanese fare and bar at 1585 Kapiolani Blvd.
>> Stripsteak: modern steak house and raw bar at International Market Place
