Guess who's comin' for dinner?

For Ed, Sara and all the pioneers at WDI bringing a taste of Sicily to Hawaii...This blog is for you with aloha...

I firmly believe that the more you celebrate coincidences the faster and more frequent such synchronicity happens.

I've often said that Taormina is truly the Waikiki of Sicily. And guess what? A Sicilian concept restaurant called "Taormina" will open its doors in Waikiki soon!

How did I find this out? What are the chances...that on an island with 1 million people that my former boss... hired a PR person who is in the midst of launching the opening of a Sicilian restaurant ... to fill a position once held by her former staffer (me) who moved to Sicily...

Now is that the laws of attraction bringing people together or what!

When Hawaii's first Sicilian restaurant opens its doors, the kitchen god won't be Sicilian. The dynamic duo will be Japanese chef Akira Yamamoto who trained with a Bolognese chef and came to Taormina and was enamored of Sicilian seafood and Master Sommelier Roberto Viernes (featuring 100+ vino varieties).



The Sicilian chefs above who prepared today's Sunday feast haven't Chef Akira's prestigious Tokyo culinary schooling...nor have they apprenticed under a celebrity Bolognese chef either...Nor do they have sommalier credentials...

But man, can they cook! And these are exactly the kind of mom and pops chefs that inspired Hawaii to celebrate Sicily.

We can't wait to get home to Hawaii and see what happens when Chef Akira tosses out the soy and ginger for olive oil and parsley! As long as Nero d' Avola is on the menu and Sicilian olive oil in the kitchen, you can't go too wrong.

There is no such thing as chain restaurants in Sicily. So the experts at WDI, who manage more than 200 restaurants worldwide, have the power and potential to put Sicily's cuisine on the map! When I shared this news with some of our Sicilian friends, the proudest grin spread across their sun-kissed faces.



Take a peek at what at this tiny little restaurant in seaside Acireale with a kitchen featuring a 4-burner stove top no bigger than an American closet (no such thing as closets in Sicily) can produce for 10 tables. We only ordered two courses - the 20-dish anti-pasti and 3-dish pasta for $40 per person (inclusive of all the local wine and grappa you can drink).

Savor some of the highlights....

Steamed mussels with oranges!





Now does this guy look like a local boy or what? He and his wife joined the gang for lunch and turns out this braddah' is a Kaimuki High grad living la vita dolce in Sicily.