You Gonna Blog About That? LOST at The Counter
March 29th, 2009 by MelissaCan you give me a big, "Hail, yeah!"? This one is so blog-worthy I don't even know where to begin!
I went to the grand opening party of The Counter last night, thanks to the good graces of MMI Realty--especially Kelly Kauinana and Jennifer Lieu. The Counter, as you may know, is part-owned by LOST star Daniel Dae Kim, so it was definitely a star-studded event.
(Left) It was nice to see rocker Steve Hott and his lovely (and fashionable) wife, Hudson Hott of Star101.9. (Right) Stylist Blaine Ashley, blog diva Christa Wittmier, and Kahala Mall Marketing's Jennifer Lieu.
From left, Kelly Kauinana of Kahala Mall, Nicole from Apple, Jeanne Marie from Apple, and me.
They served us burgers & sandwiches slider style, which was perfect. And yummy!
Nicole with the sweet potato fries; Jennifer with the furikake mahi.
I really want to show you Janine Wedemeyer, whom I met in 2003 when we both worked for Cendant companies. She worked for Cheap Tickets, and I worked for Coldwell Banker. Now she is the manager of The Counter. So happy to see where she landed!
OK so cut to the juicy part. The celebrities! We got to see Tia Carrere, also known to my niece as The Relic Hunter. She doesn't remember, but we had brunch at the Royal Hawaiian Hotel back in 1991 when we were discussing her integral part of a new Ala Moana advertising campaign.
Here we are with Jorge Garcia, who plays Hurley from LOST.
Of course, with Daniel Dae Kim--who plays Jin on LOST...he was so gracious. That's Nadine Kam on the right.
And finally, with Michael Emerson, who plays Ben on LOST. I had read about how nice he is in person, but I really didn't expect him to be so incredibly nice! I thought we would just take a picture and move on, but he actually engaged in an actual conversation with me afterward, which totally threw me off. If he's reading this blog, he's probably thinking, "Is that who that schmoe was?"--but now I'm a bigger fan, seeing what a super cool guy he is.
By the way, Josh Holloway showed up AFTER I left the party. He probably knew that there were fans like me in the crowd who would have mowed down other people just to get a photo with him. Here's Jeanne Marie with him. Lucky dog!
Overall assessment? I've been to The Counter a few times now, and I have enjoyed everything each time. My favorites are probably the Burger in a Bowl and the onion strings. So if you go for the food, go for that.
If you're going for the celebrity sightings, don't fret! They don't just show up for the big parties. A few weeks ago, my friend Shawn Nakamoto ate lunch in the same area as Daniel Dae Kim and Josh Holloway! If I had been there, I would have plowed my way over to get a photo. But as you can see from Shawn's blog, she's got much more self control!
The Counter
Kahala Mall (near Whole Foods)
4211 Waialae Ave.
808-739-5100
Hours: 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Monday-Thursday; 11 a.m.-11 p.m. Friday-Saturday; 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Sunday
Tags: Blaine Ashley, Christa Wittmier, Daniel Dae Kim, food, Janine Wedemeyer, JeanneMariePics, Jennifer Lieu, Jorge Garcia, Josh Holloway, Kelly Kauinana, LOST, Michael Emerson, The Counter
March 29th, 2009 at 1:26 pm
Lucky, lucky you!! Sounds like an amazing night.
March 29th, 2009 at 1:35 pm
Fah out!
March 29th, 2009 at 4:10 pm
No fair! I'm so jealous that you got to attend the grand opening of my favorite burger place. I should have been on the guest list since Daniel and Josh are pretty much my neighbors. Anyway, great post! Now I'm craving a burger and I want to try the furikake mahi. Guess I'll be heading to the Counter this week!
March 29th, 2009 at 4:17 pm
you go melissa! haha i was breathing the biggest sigh seeing you and your iphone and camera there. i knew we would all have the most stellar recap!
lovely amazing night for sure.
March 29th, 2009 at 4:20 pm
Great coverage! Yes, the LOST crew are amazing.
March 29th, 2009 at 4:25 pm
yumMY! sliders and red wine--i wd have been in heaven! biggest news to me (have never seen LOST) was that the counter does serve fish!!
March 29th, 2009 at 9:38 pm
You are one lucky girl!! Celebrities AND food!
Not nearly on the same level, but I watched them filming LOST this afternoon in front of the Ward/Ala Moana Blvd Bank of Hawaii (re-named "Currency Exchange"). A mannequin kept getting hit by a car, then Sayid would run out in the street to check on her. We had fun trying to fiqure out when this all fit in his timeline (based on his outfit).
March 29th, 2009 at 9:47 pm
Ohhhhh... that's the Counter everyone is talking about. Heard the food is ONO, especially the sweet potato fries. Great to see you doing your thang!
March 29th, 2009 at 10:12 pm
Sheila-thanks for stopping by! Perhaps we'll eat here next time you're in town. Not so much for the "Hawaii" food, of course...for the star sightings!
Craig, Shawn: you see? You don't display chutzpah, you don't get the pics!
CW, Jeannemariepics: You guys take wayyyyy better photos. But I'm glad we got to do this, it was fun! Now I know what you guys are talking about.
Papaya, I dunno if you want to admit you've never seen LOST!
Lucy, check this tweet: Hawaii Blog - Scenes from a Season Finale (SPOILERS!): It's been a busy week, with huge reveals. Photos for the brave: http://tr.im/hawaii
'Sa, I actually don't care for the sweet potato fries, but I love the onion strings!
March 29th, 2009 at 11:16 pm
I'm sooooooooooooo jealous. I love the Counter, but love LOST even more. Boy would I have loved to meet Michael Emerson- he is so creepy on the show (such an amazing actor!) but I also have heard he was a nice guy. So great to hear about your experience with him.
March 30th, 2009 at 12:00 am
Oh man, I stay Oahu 3 weeks and didn't have a chance to go. I did go Rainbow Drive Inn Last week Thursday with NKHEA. Now I can say I been there.
Good for you Melissa. Any job offers?
March 30th, 2009 at 3:58 am
Sweet potato fries, fried pickles, great burgers AND the cast of Lost? Don't get no better! Did you take a shower after "Ben" touched you or is he a nice guy "for real".
March 30th, 2009 at 4:46 am
You know its great the the Lost crew who I assume live in Hawaii spend the time to get out there and meet and mingle the locals. Where I live we have celebrities (i.e. Julia Roberts for one) and although she makes donations to local charities, she never mingles with the locals except for a few of her local friends. I for one don't consider her a true member of our community. She just uses this small town for a hideaway.
March 30th, 2009 at 7:14 am
Awesome! So exciting! I'm so glad I get to live vicariously through you! The event sounded wonderful, the food sounded wonderful, the people, everything! You and Jennifer look fab as usual! I'll have to catch up on my Twitter to say the play-by-play!
March 30th, 2009 at 7:33 am
I'm a big fan of LOST...didn't see much of the earlier seasons but now following on the web. That must have been fun to see the celebs. But I don't know if it would affect my watching the show. I like the characters how they are.
March 30th, 2009 at 8:19 am
It looks like you had a blast! I was able to go to the Counter a few weeks ago and my favorite was the sweet potato fries. I love LOST. Oh, too bad you missed Josh Holloway! That's interesting about Michael Emerson - he freaks me out on the show. How was Jorge Garcia? Was he like his character IRL?
March 30th, 2009 at 8:38 am
OMG this was an awesome event. I still haven't been to the restaurant.
I'm so sad I'm out of the loop. Figured I better comment so people know I'm still alive and available for food anytime. Melissa you're getting way too famous with the Hollywood Clan!! LOL
March 30th, 2009 at 9:13 am
You rock the house. YOU'RE my favorite celeb - Miss Urban Mix Plate!!
I loved the (to-die-for) milkshakes, and my personal fave - the ono veggie burgers. Great party and you looked smashing!
March 30th, 2009 at 9:15 am
Melissa thanks for the great photos and memories. It wasa blast and the food was amazing. I was so stuffed and I love the fact that I had a full milkshake. It was the best night of my life meeting DDK. He is a dream
Super nice guy and I am SO jealous of Jeanne getting to meet Josh Holloway! 
March 30th, 2009 at 10:02 am
Kristen, Kal, Needahobby: it was funny because once he started talking to me, I thought, "Oh, crap! What am I going to say now?! Without sounding like a blathering idiot?" As for Jorge Garcia...he was very nice and accomodating. That photo was one of several in succession, and he was so patient with us. Especially since we had just ripped him away from conversation with his friends!
Ynaku, next time, we'll find more fun stuff to do IRL! As for jobs, though....
http://www.tinyurl.com/imfreelancing
Jimmy, McLovin: too bad about Julia Roberts. We've had quite a few celebs + the cast of "The Lion King" come thru here who really make it a point to be a part of the community, and it is so wonderful. I think it makes their fans so much more loyal, too.
Cindy, Val: See what happens when you get a blog going? Gotta give props to this social media movement.
Kelly & Jlieu, thank you again for the invitation. I had a blast. I'm available for the next one!
March 30th, 2009 at 10:06 am
whoa!! heh
nice pix of you and all the celebs. was Yun Jin Kim there? rrwowrr.....
you know it's happening when supercw is in da house!
March 30th, 2009 at 10:53 am
Sorry I forgot you were "FREELANCING" Now can you explain what that is again? Nah joke
March 30th, 2009 at 11:07 am
You outed Nadine Kam
March 30th, 2009 at 11:59 am
BTW, I'm a fan of Locke! John Locke that is.
March 30th, 2009 at 12:00 pm
Shoot, I haven't even been to The Counter yet. *sigh* Actually, I hardly ate out during spring break. What a shame! I'm gonna start fixing that.
March 30th, 2009 at 12:47 pm
Knowing there would be so many celebrity hunters at The Counter the next day, we didn't want to disapoint. So we took Kid1 & Kid2 and did our part to keep the celebrity Twitter stream flowing! In case some day I'm a celebrity people can say "Yeah, I saw Lavagal and her family at The Counter. They're so real and down to earth. Not what you'd expect from Twitterverse celebrities!"
Sigh. LOL!
March 30th, 2009 at 3:30 pm
opso, no...the actress wasn't there. At least, not while I was there! Also, I always try to make it to events that supercw is at. She's pretty patient--receiving my angst-ridden text messages on what I should wear! ha.
Ynaku--ha ha! Everyone rags on me about that. Kelly Kauinana (above) always says, "I'm freelancing, #$@&%!!!" when she sees me because she knows it grills my cheese! but if you know of anyone who needs a freelancer....
Ukuhead, Nadine has actually featured me in her blog a couple of times! So I am returning the favor.
Jimmy, I have never seen John Locke at these events, ever. I wonder...?
Kelli, time for a tweet up at The Counter!
Paula, LOL! I wonder what kind of heat Jeannemariepics is taking today.
March 31st, 2009 at 11:09 pm
Looks like a place with awesome grinds. I've been meaning to try it but can't get a table because the line is too long. Hopefully some day.
April 6th, 2009 at 7:48 am
you are so lucky , did you try the burgers? were they better than big city ?
April 8th, 2009 at 7:47 pm
Look at this.. such a big event huh!
By the way, I didn't know we got Whole Foods in Honolulu now. That is awesome.