You would think the market would be saturated with pizza by now, but our craving must be unabated because pizza joints popped up all around town in 2014, and we enter the new year with more to try.
Just within five blocks in downtown Honolulu bounded by Maunakea, Hotel, Bethel and Beretania streets, you can find an audience for pizza at Rosarina Pizza, Bar 35, J.J. Dolan’s and Fresh Cafe. They now have a new neighbor in Proof Public House, set in the former Mercury Bar. Proof Public offers whiskey, beer, pool and pizza topped with the current claim-to-fame ingredient, Fong’s char siu pork.
Waikiki, already home to Kuhio Avenue outdoor hot spot Agostino’s Pizza and delicious offerings at Lovin’ Oven in the Aqua Bamboo Hotel, saw the arrival of Hapas Pizza at the Sheraton Waikiki, with a mix of handmade traditional, gourmet and dessert pizzas.
Over at Samsung Plaza on Keeaumoku Street, Doughlicious is another newbie. It’s operated by former Halekulani employees, with specialties including Sriracha chicken, Mexican, luau and pastrami pizzas. — Nadine Kam
‘FIVE-0′ CELEBRATES
It was a milestone year for the CBS TV series "Hawaii Five-0," which produced its 100th episode.
Few TV shows can make that claim, and it served as validation for the decision to reboot the iconic franchise four years ago.
"Five-0" celebrated the achievement during a break in the shooting schedule, serving up sparkling cider, cake and kudos at its Diamond Head soundstage in September. CBS and "Five-0" continued the celebration the following day during the show’s annual Sunset on the Beach season premiere in Waikiki, which drew thousands of fans. — Mike Gordon
MARS MAKES GOOD
Hawaii-born Bruno Mars played three sold-out shows on his Moonshine Jungle World Tour April 18, 19 and 21 at Blaisdell Arena. Other artists have sold out the arena — Elvis Presley, in 1973, to name one — but Mars did it in record time. Tickets for the two originally announced concerts were gone within a half-hour after they went on sale at 9 a.m. Feb. 2. The third show, for April 19, was announced at 10 a.m. and sold out within an hour.
The record-setting triple sellout was a hometown highlight for Mars in another big year that saw his album "Unorthodox Jukebox" win the Grammy for best pop vocal album in January and him headlining the halftime show at Super Bowl XLVIII in February. — John Berger
LOCAL STARS SHINE
From fashion to dancing to adventurism, Hawaii-born stars proved their mettle and kept their cool in front of the glaring eye of reality TV.
Kapolei-based designer Kini Zamora was praised by fashion moguls for his sewing technique, attention to detail and overall fashion sense in finishing third on "Project Runway" on Lifetime. Actress-musician Janel Parrish partnered with professional partner Valentin Chmerkovskiy to reach the finals of ABC’s "Dancing With the Stars," finishing third after receiving more 10’s than any other team during the season.
And surfer Bethany Hamilton and husband Adam Dirks raced around the world to reach the finals of CBS’ "The Amazing Race," finishing third. The Kauai-based duo led at many stages of the travel-adventure show, showing respect and teamwork that contrasted with many of their rivals as they completed various tasks, including sheepherding, jumping out of a building, and surfing on a machine-generated swell. — Steven Mark
ALOHA, DEAR FRIENDS
Dennis Kamakahi, 61, a major presence in modern Hawaiian music for more than four decades, died April 28, six weeks after he was diagnosed with lung cancer.
Kamakahi’s earliest contributions to Hawaiian music brought him to the attention of Eddie Kamae, who invited him to join the Sons of Hawaii in 1973. In the years that followed, Kamakahi distinguished himself as a vocalist, slack-key guitarist, prolific composer, recording artist, record producer, teacher and mentor to younger musicians. The Hawaiian music community paid homage to Kamakahi with a free public concert June 28 at Bishop Museum.
Hawaii also mourned guitarist-recording artist David "Chino" Montero, 52, who died May 2; actor-singer- dancer James K. Seibel, 58, June 2; "Caterer to the Stars" Steve Ozark, 63, July 24; pioneering Asian-American actor James Shigeta, 85, July 28; kumu hula Aloha Dalire, 64, Aug. 6; recording artist-showroom entertainer Teddy Tanaka (who was born Theodore Takashi Chinen), 73, Nov. 28; imaginative radio station disc jockey and recording studio engineer Ron Klohs, known as "The Real Ron O’Neil," 63, Nov. 29. — John Berger
