SUPER BOWL STAR: The game wasn’t super but Bruno Mars‘ performance certainly was Sunday at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J.
The local boy from Roosevelt High made Hawaii proud by putting on a power-packed, high-energy show, first with his drum solo and then cutting loose, burning up the stage singing and dancing along with band members and backup singers to "Locked Out of Heaven," "Treasure" and "Runaway Baby." The Red Hot Chili Peppers rocked with "Give It Away," adding more fire. Mars had film of deployed military members sending loving words to families and loved ones shown and went into "Just the Way You Are." Spectacular lighting added to the show …
EXTRA POINTS: It was well known that Mars is an outstanding Grammy award-winning singer, but he showed Sunday that he is a terrific dancer, displaying fancy footwork and even doing the splits on one number … Mars’ brother, Eric Hernandez, plays drums in the star’s band … Queen Latifah, joined by the New Jersey Youth Choir, sang "America the Beautiful" … Opera singer Renee Fleming‘s rendition of "The Star-Spangled Banner" was one of the best in Super Bowl history … Hall of Fame quarterback Joe Namath was called upon to flip the coin to see which team would kick or receive the ball to open the game. He was wearing a bulky, hip-length fur coat that made him look like a bear — not a Chicago Bear, a real one. Namath tossed the coin before a team captain called heads or tails and a referee grabbed it before it hit the ground. The second toss by flamboyant Broadway Joe was OK …
DENVER QB Peyton Manning was rightly the media darling leading up to the game for his brilliant season and career. He is tough to beat when he is "on." But the outstanding Seattle defense would not let him even get started and the Seahawks ripped the Broncos apart, 43-8 … Jerry Seinfeld as Jerry, Jason Alexander as George and Wayne Knight as Newman appeared in a funny "Seinfeld" bit … As for commercials, I liked the one with the bull licking his chops as he is about to be released into a herd of cows. By the way, the bull was towed to the field by a Chevy Silverado …
ONWARD: Park, the new restaurant in the Lotus Honolulu hotel across from Kapiolani Park, is picking up speed since welcoming executive chef Yoichi Saito during the holidays.Park opened last August with a Mediterranean menu but decided to go in a different direction once Saito came on board with his varied "New American" cuisine.
Saito was introduced to Park Managing Director John Henry Felix by chef Roy Yamaguchi. Saito worked at Roy’s in Pebble Beach. Park’s manager is Adriana Nickerson, wife of Wolfgang’s Steakhouse GM Bill Nickerson. Felix is at Park regularly, along with other local partners Karen Mukai and Ben Rafter. Lotus GM Joshua Gray, who came from Wynn in Las Vegas,also frequents Park. And it’s not surprising that Andy Friedlander, the Friedlander in Monroe and Friedlander, a commercial real estate powerhouse, also spends time in Park as Andis wines are sold there. Andy and wife Janis Akuna are owners of the Andis winery, in Amador County, Calif. …
CHEERS to John E. Simonds for winning Hawaii Pacific University’s James M. Vaughan Award for Poetry. His poem is titled "Happy Hours." John is a retired Star-Bulletin executive editor. I remember John most for giving me a column in 1980, which I have been writing ever since. …
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Ben Wood, who sold newspapers on Honolulu streets in World War II, writes of people, places and things. Email him at bwood@staradvertiser.com.
