By Jason Genegabus

Mountain Apple Company photo

Looking for a nice way to spend your Saturday morning? Check out the Plantation Café inside the Ala Moana Hotel for KUMU’s “Breakfast Club.”

From 10:00 to 11:30 a.m. tomorrow, the Plantation Café will offer a breakfast buffet with items such as tropical fruit, made-to-order omelets and waffles and an array of savory breakfast specialties. While you dine, enjoy the smooth sounds of The Saloon Pilots, John Valentine and Na Hoku Hanohano Award-winning artist Sean Naauao (pictured).

Tickets for KUMU’s “Breakfast Club” are $21 for adults, $11.50 for keiki under 13 years old. Call 955-4811, Ext. 4070 for info and reservations.

By Jason Genegabus

By now, I’m pretty sure you’ve heard of the micro-blogging site Twitter, and how great it is for spreading news and information in real-time.

But did you know the site can also save you money on drinks?

Chinatown watering hole Bar 35 is on Twitter, and they posted a tweet earlier today offering happy hour prices on bottled beers all night. All you’ve got to do is show the bartender that tweet on your phone, and you’re set!

Hooray Internet! Hooray Twitter! Hooray beer!

By Jason Genegabus

Courtesy photo

Yesterday’s Honolulu Liquor Commission meeting brought some bad news for local nightclub Xyloh.

According to weekly minutes published by the HLC:

The Commission entered a default judgment against Club Xyloh, suspended the license for 30 days, and then limited the license to 21-and-over following the completion of the suspension. In addition, the licensee was ordered to present business and security plans to the Commission two weeks prior to the end of the license suspension. The matters being adjudicated included two violations of Section 281-78(b)(5), HRS (licensee knowingly permitted a person who was disorderly, or under the influence of liquor, to be or remain in or on the licensed premises), violation of Rule 3-82-38.5(a)(non-registered employee), and three violations of Section 281-78(b)(1)(A), HRS (selling, serving or furnishing liquor to a minor).

Translation: It appears nobody from the club tried to contest six violations of Honolulu’s liquor laws. And when a club gets cited twice for not properly dealing with intoxicated customers and three times for giving drinks to kids under the age of 21, it makes sense that the HLC reacted the way it did.

Formerly known as Zen, and Reign before that, the space that now houses Xyloh has long been a favorite among the 18-and-over crowd. Since it’s not in Waikiki and somewhat hidden away on Kona Street, Xyloh opened without without much buzz in 2006 as a private club, finally opening its doors to the general public in 2007.

Since then, the club has built up a following among the local import scene, catering to some of the same clientele that frequent nearby Bar Seven (formerly Venus Nightclub) and The O Lounge. But I’d also heard that it was extremely easy to buy a wristband here, and it wasn’t uncommon to find drunk and disorderly teens in the club on weekends.

So I can’t say that I’m surprised to hear of Xyloh’s license suspension, which went into effect yesterday and will last until the second week of March. I’m also not surprised to see the HLC demand the club switch to a 21-and-over venue when it reopens.

Phone calls to the club this afternoon went unanswered, so I don’t know what Xyloh plans to do in the interim. It appears Aji House, the Japanese restaurant that shares the room here, will remain open for business but won’t serve alcohol.

***

Update (2/15/08): Now this is pretty interesting. A source tells me “Xyloh is now closed” and “The Library is now open.”

The Library is now open? And they were pouring alcohol on Saturday night? Nice!

Apparently, an ownership change is underway at the bar, and whoever is in charge intends to dispute the Honolulu Liquor Commission’s ruling on Thursday.

I guess I just figured out one of the stories I’ll be working on this week!

By Jason Genegabus

Don’t mind the Joey Fatone bobble-head doll. It’s all about the beer! (Jason Genegabus photo)

One of the best perks of my job covering the bar scene means coming to work and having big bottles of beer waiting for me.

Sorry. Make that Bombucha-sized bottles, thanks to the folks at Primo.

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By Jason Genegabus

Tuesdays are normally the busiest day of the week for me, since it’s when the majority of content for our weekly HiLife section is due here at the newspaper.

Still, I couldn’t stop myself from doing a double-take when the first post showed up on Twitter around lunchtime.

Brew Moon had closed?

For good?

For real?

I passed along the message, then went back to working on this week’s column and the January edition of Barfly that got pushed back a week. But rumors kept spreading and the tweets kept coming.

By mid-afternoon, fellow Star-Bulletin columnist Erika Engle had picked up on the story. She spent a few hours sifting through the noise to get multiple confirmations that the restaurant and microbrewery had, in fact, shut its doors.

About an hour ago, she got the story posted online at Starbulletin.com.

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By Jason Genegabus

I’m kidding.

But the King seems to be in a kolohe mood these days, introducing a pair of web-based promotions that will make you shake your head and laugh… unless you’re the sensitive type.

I heard about the Angry Whopper earlier this week, when a Hawaii-based reviewer for The Impulsive Buy picked one up to sample. While “crispy Angry onions” and “spicy Angry sauce” are reason enough to giggle out loud, Burger King also launched www.angry-gram.com.

According to the website, an Angry Gram is “the perfect way to let someone know they annoy the hell outta you.”

In other words, it’s a great way to stir up inter-office drama. You can insult someone without having to actually, you know, SAY IT TO THEIR FACE.

And the fun doesn’t stop there; Burger King also developed a Facebook application that gives you the chance to download a coupon for a free Whopper sandwich.

The catch? You first have to unfriend 10 people in your network, and the application posts something on their wall so they know exactly what you did.

Funny, yeah?

Think I’m going to log in now and choose a few unsuspecting victims who can take a joke.

(Hat Tip: @genepark)

By Jason Genegabus

The Vertical Junkies’ Blaine Tomita, center, partying with some of his crew’s regular customers (courtesy photo).

After years of throwing parties at different venues around town, the Vertical Junkies are making the leap from party promotion to venue management.

I started to get the e-mails and text messages last week - Venus Lounge was open for business once again, but this time it was Russ Inouye and his boys running things on Kona Street.

Instead of heading to Brew Moon, the Hard Rock Waikiki, Senor Frog’s or, most recently, the O Lounge and The Shack Waikiki, their core following of surf-and-skate scenesters will head for Ala Moana and the bar now known as the V Lounge.

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By Jason Genegabus

Hula Grill photo

As we get further into the holiday season, many people find themselves in and around Waikiki for one reason or another.

For some folks, it’s the company Christmas party or holiday dinner with friends and family. Others play tour guide for out-of-town visitors or go shopping at nearby Ala Moana Center.

If you time it right, Waikiki can be a great place to spend some time recovering from an epic shopping session or getting a jump on festivities for the night.

Hula Grill at the Outrigger Waikiki on the Beach is one spot that’s worth a visit, with four hours of valet parking for $5 and discounted drinks and pupu during “Aloha Hour” inside the restaurant’s Plantation Bar.

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By Jason Genegabus

Star-Bulletin file

Of all the watering holes in the University/Puck’s Alley neighborhood, Eastside Grill was known as the spot for University of Hawaii sports fans of all ages.

As of this week, Warrior/Wahine/Rainbow fans will have to look elsewhere to watch their teams play on pay-per-view. And any post-game celebrations will have to move to The Varsity or Red Lion University.

Following months of declining sales, Eastside Grill shut its doors this week and posted signs that announced it was “closed indefinitely.” The move coincided with a posting on Craigslist that advertises the bar for sale.

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By Jason Genegabus

Sandy “Mom” Kodama, right, with her son, D.K. Kodama, at Sansei in 2001. Star-Bulletin file photo.

I’m not a member of the Kodama family or the extended Sansei/DK Steak House clan, but my heart dropped along with so many others after reading Mom Kodama’s obituary in yesterday’s Star-Bulletin.

When we moved our newsroom to Restaurant Row in 2001, there were few midday dining options in the immediate area. Sansei was just around the corner back then, quickly becoming a favorite after introducing gourmet plate lunches at affordable prices.

While other employees took orders and cooked the food, it was Mom who spent time out front with customers. She greeted everyone with a big smile and would talk story with anyone who stopped to chat.

About six years ago, I was going through a difficult time. Even though I didn’t ask her to, Mom sensed something was wrong and sat me down outside the restaurant to offer words of encouragement and reassurance.

First it was Sergio, now Mom Kodama. I think I need to call my own mother this week and tell her how much I love her.