Quickbites: Benihana rebrands, pho demo, cannabis dinner, more

A NEW BRAND FOR BENIHANA

Benihana in the Hilton Hawaiian Village Waikiki Beach Resort has been redubbed Rocky’s Japanese Steak Teppan Restaurant in honor of its namesake founder Hiroaki “Rocky” Aoki, a Japanese wrestler who opened the first Benihana of Tokyo restaurant in New York in 1964 with the philosophy of dining as “eatertainment.”

The Hilton Benihana opened eight years later with the same formula of theatrical chefs preparing meals in front of guests seated around a teppanyaki grill.

The teppan specialties remain, but the name change allows the restaurant to veer from the Benihana format to feature localized specialties including okonomiyaki and teppan sushi, such as California roll topped with grilled shrimp or beef.

PHO FOR ALL AT COOKING DEMO

Vegetarian pho is the topic of this month’s Eat Well for Life cooking demonstration at Adventist Health Castle, 6 p.m. Nov. 29.

Gordon Au, a Castle food-service employee, will lead the class.

Cost is $12, which includes samples and recipes. Reservations are required at least a week in advance; call 263-5050.

TICKET TO FRANCE

Take a quick trip to France Dec. 1 at a benefit gala for Island Pacific Academy.

The event, themed “Grand Expedition en Provence,” is set for 5 to 9 p.m. at the Hawai‘i Convention Center.

Convention center chef Kevin Nakata has planned a menu of classic Provencal dishes, including duck cassoulet with white beans, beef bourguignon and ratatouille.

The dinner will honor Susan Murray, senior vice president for Queen’s Health Systems and chief operating officer of Queen’s Medical Center – West Oahu, for her work providing health care to the growing Leeward Oahu population.

Tickets are $175, available at islandpacificacademy.org (click on “events”). Proceeds from ticket sales and live and silent auctions support scholarships, financial aid and educational programs at the Kapolei-based academy.

BENEFIT FOR THE BIRDS

This year’s Turkey Tailgate donation drive at Murphy’s Bar & Grill collected 87 birds and three bags of canned goods, all headed for the Hawaii Foodbank.

Murphy’s, along with the Oahu Swim Academy and Oahu Fresh, sponsored the seventh-annual drive on Thursday, collecting 1,325 total pounds of food from donors who stopped by the downtown restaurant throughout the day.

All donors were given $5 vouchers for food and drink at a party at Murphy’s that night.

GET YOUR BUTTERBEER HERE

For “Harry Potter” fans who’ve wondered what butterbeer could possibly taste like, Consolidated Theatres has a reasonable facsimile.

A butterbeer float is on the concession-stand menu for $8 through Sunday at Consolidated Ward 16 and Olino by Consolidated in Kapolei.

The drink, made with vanilla ice cream, butterscotch syrup, caramel, vanilla cream soda and whipped cream, is on a special menu created to mark the opening of “Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald” last week.

Also available are the churro Elder Wand ($4) and at Olino only, Newt Scamander’s Burger ($11) and Grindelwald’s Potion ($10), a rum drink with cream of coconut and lime juice.

Quickbites is a weekly listing of dining events. Email items to crave@staradvertiser.com.