MUD HEN WATER SCORES NATIONAL RECOGNITION
Restaurant critic Bill Addison has fallen for the culinary magic of chef Ed Kenney. Addison, critic for the website Eater, has compiled a national list of 38 Essential Restaurants, and Kenney’s Mud Hen Water is on it for a repeat appearance after being selected last year.
Said Addison of the restaurant’s charm: “Hawaiian food exists in its own delicious, swirling cosmos. In dishes like his version of grilled squid luau, whole fish cooked in coals, and chicken long rice croquettes, Oahu native Ed Kenney connects the cultural dots like no one else on the islands.”
Addison traveled for 34 weeks and ate nearly 600 meals in 36 cities to compile the list, which he began publishing in 2015. Eater provides food and restaurant content with reviews, videos, features, travel pieces, podcasts and more. See his full list at eater.com.
Mud Hen Water is at 3452 Waialae Ave. Call 737-6000 or visit mudhenwater.com.
ROY’S WRAPS UP ANNIVERSARY YEAR
Roy’s Restaurants’ 30th-anniversary tour of the state ends where it began — at the chain’s flagship in Hawaii Kai.
A gala dinner Sunday — dubbed “Beyond the Bay” — will benefit the Hawaii Red Cross and the Hawaii Youth Impact Program, a University of Hawai initiative for at-risk middle-school students.
Roy’s Hawaii Kai opened in 1988, the first of chef Roy Yamaguchi’s 11 Hawaii restaurants. He hosted a kickoff anniversary event there earlier this year, then took the tour on the road, hosting a benefit at each location (except Goen Dining + Bar, which just opened last week).
“Beyond the Bay” will feature an all-star selection of guest chefs: Nobu Matsuhisa, Celestino Drago, Hubert Keller, Raphael Lunetta, Michael Mina, Vikram Garg, Hank Adaniya, Alan Wong and Michelle Karr-Ueoka.
Yamaguchi’s own dishes will be Pono Pork “4 Way” Ramen, Niihau Lamb Loin with Sizzling Tomato Pepper Sambal and Roasted Wild Mushroom “Poke.” Roy’s private-label wines will be poured.
The event runs 6 to 9 p.m. with entertainment by Bobby Moderow Jr. of Maunalua and chef Keller, an avid DJ.
Tickets are $155. Go to RoyYamaguchi.com or call 396-7697.
BE A BIG TIPPER FOR A GOOD CAUSE
Go out to eat on Friday or Saturday and you could run into The Law.
It’s Tip a Cop time, which means officers will be waiting tables to earn “tips” for for Special Olympics Hawaii.
Find them at all Oahu California Pizza Kitchen locations, Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. at Ala Moana Center and Big City Diner in Ward Village.
The fundraising event runs 5 to 9 p.m. Friday and 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 5 to 9 p.m. Saturday.
Participating will be off-duty officers from the Department of Homeland Security, Honolulu Police Department, U.S. Probations Office and the Air Force, Army and Marine Corps.
Over the years, Tip a Cop has raised $291,856 for Special Olympics programs serving athletes with disabilities.
