West Oahu, Medici's, Vintage Cave Cafe, Kakaako

 Followed the rail past Pearl City yesterday.
It was a nice day for a drive and after RM took me to a  store I wanted to see in Harbor Center in Pearl Ridge, we drove further north into Waipahu and beyond.

The West Loch Station under construction. 

Stopped at Shakey's for lunch.
RM remembered that growing up in Tokyo, he always looked forward to going to the Shakey's in Tokyo.

His favorite was and is the fried potatoes.
I enjoyed the deep crust cheese slice from the buffet.

It was empty.  This is the only Shakey's left in Oahu, I think.

Onward, after lunch towards the hills of Makakilo.

Turned off into Kapolei.  I was surprised at all the development that has happened the past few years.

Kapolei High is the newest (opened 2000), and the largest high school in Hawaii with 2000 students.

Thursday evening, R and I went to Medici's to hear Randy Smith sing Frank Sinatra.

Manoa SC in the evening.

Medici's is an art school (piano, voice, tango, cooking) as well as a place to go to eat a killer salad bar and listen and dance to live music.

Up to the second floor...

...and you're in a space full of tables and a buffet.

One of the owners is the cook - and he always makes a wonderful salad bar - hot and cold- full of variety and tastes.
Twenty dollars for the buffet  and twenty or twenty five for the entertainment.

Randy Smith, who also served in Afghanistan,  entertained us with his wonderful personality and singing.

After the show, the mall was dark and lonely.

 
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Today we stopped at Vintage Cave Cafe in the Ala Moana Mall for a pasta lunch.

Again, we were amused by the decorations.
Our server told us the chandeliers are from France, the statues from Italy and the wall murals were painted by a local artist.

Nice Focaccia bread.

My cheese and tomato pasta with salsas verde was delicious.

But mainly, I came for the Affogato.   Not like the one in Harbor Restaurant, which  I also love, but delicious too.
Vanilla gelato with light crispy nuts, over which hot espresso is poured.   Heavenly!!

Driving in Kakaako, we are always surprised at how quickly the buildings rise.  The new Whole Foods Market will be done soon, and the Aieo Condominium behind it is swiftly rising also.