The latest restaurant by chef and restaurateur Philippe Padovani will open Monday for lunch and dinner in the old L’Uraku space at 1341 Kapiolani Blvd., where he and chef Donato Loperfido opened ‘Elua and then Loperfido opened Sapori Enoteca/Birreria.

Padovani’s Grill will be a steakhouse, but more than that. Never far from his French culinary roots, he also will serve confit of duck leg, escargot, foie gras and Boeuf (beef) Bourguignon, as well as various chicken and seafood dishes.

Customers can have fish grilled, pan-sauteed "or whatever," Padovani said.

Pastas, risotto and gnocchi are also on the menu, as are a range of alluring desserts.

Lunch prices range from $9 for the soup of the day to $23 for the aforementioned Burgundy-style beef stew. Main course salads top out at $20 for the Grilled Ahi A La Nicoise, and a guest can choose an appetizer- or entree-size pasta, gnocchi or risotto dish.

The steakhouse action will be primarily at night, when diners can have their Black Angus Beef, milk-fed veal or double-cut Kurobuta pork loin chop served with a choice of sauce — and there are seven choices.

"I have great sauces. The sauces are the key — they make magic," Padovani said. Four sauce choices are offered for seafood dishes.

The "Great American Meats" range from $30 to $38, except for the Cote de Boeuf Grillee for two, at $70.

Serving a selection of premium chocolates and coffees from Padovani’s Chocolates at Dole Cannery at the new restaurant is a no-brainer, as is serving partner Loperfido’s imported wines and beers.

Padovani’s Grill will serve lunch from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. weekdays, and Monday through Saturday dinner service will run from 5:30 p.m. to "9:30 or 10," Padovani said. The semiprivate, eight- to 10-person dining room will be available for "chef’s table" dining, with one seating a night, and the restaurant has linked up with OpenTable.com, making online reservations possible.

Restaurant makeover offered

Producers of Food Network’s new prime-time show "Restaurant: Impossible" is looking for a Hawaii restaurant to showcase following the season premiere on Jan. 19.

Dates for the Hawaii shoot are pending, but upon arrival, star and celebrity chef Robert Irvine will have two days and a budget of $10,000 to transform a restaurant that has fallen on hard times or, at least, seen better days.

If you have seen "Kitchen Nightmares" starring Gordon Ramsay on Fox, you know the drill.

Only full-service restaurants will be considered, and applicants should be owners with strong, outgoing personalities willing to overhaul their menu, decor and theme. The casting decision might favor family-owned and operated eateries. The application is online at www.restaurantimpossible.com. No application deadline was given, but an official with the show told local publicist Beverly Clemente the choice will be made quickly.

Obama foments flip-flop flap

President Barack Obama sparked outrage at the New York Post with the appearance of the presidential tootsies during his Hawaii vacation.

Its coverage Wednesday showed a full-length shot of Obama wearing a casual shirt, shorts and rubber slippers with a headline blaring, "Should the leader of the free world dress like this — even on vacation?"

The story breathlessly proclaimed that Obama "broke one more historic barrier by setting a new benchmark for the limits of presidential casual wear."

Big poho. Je’like he nevah wea slippahs on his oddah island vacations? Go easy, brah, ain’t no beeg ting.

A voice of reason amid the cluelessness, Kathleen Hall Jamieson at the Annenberg Center for Public Policy at the University of Pennsylvania told the Post, "If you were born in Hawaii, if you grew up in Hawaii, if you vacation in Hawaii and you don’t wear flip-flops, then there is something seriously wrong with you."