Chef Robert Irvine of the TV Show Restaurant Impossible at Tiki’s Grill & Bar.

"You never know who is going to walk in........"


It was just Jesse and I working and business had already started to pick up. Three gentlemen came up the stairs from the street. I looked over and thought, “That guy sure looks like somebody I know.”  The men came up to the restaurant front, signed in, took their temperature checks, and we got them seated. They were nice and kind, wore their masks, and Jesse then greeted them and took their order while I worked on a few other things. I delivered their food to the table and they asked for a side of blue cheese. It then dawned on me - wait a minute, I think I know him, wait a minute, oh yeah, he might be…” 


I thought, oh well, I’ll drop off the blue cheese and let them enjoy their meal. And then as I was pre-bussing the table, he said those volcano wings are really good, “please put another order in” that sound like something someone in our industry would say...


I asked the guest that I thought I recognized, “Are you ever mistaken for somebody famous?” The two other gentlemen at the table then chuckled. He answers and says, “All the time.” And one of the other guests says, “Yep, that's him.” And all three of them and myself had a good laugh, because our guest was indeed, Chef Robert Irwin from the popular show, Restaurant Impossible.


I said, “You know I didn't want to bother you, but I wasn't sure if it was you because in my interactions with you, you’ve been so calm, quiet and polite, and in the show you’re a little bit more animated and louder when you want something.”  He and the other guest started laughing as well, and he said, “Yeah, well I'm not here to fix anything in your restaurant.” We all laughed.

After refreshing the table, I brought back a big, organic Kaneohe lemon for him. I handed it to him and said it was for him to enjoy when he was ready for it, either to put in a drink or squeeze on some food. It was great to see his joy and excitement for something so simple. He smelled it, squeezed it in his hands and then passed it around the table for the other gentleman to appreciate. And he said, “This thing smells great, I can't wait to try it.” I let Jesse wrap up the table and moved on to deliver more food. On his way out he hunted me down and thanked me for the experience that he had and said “we will definitely be back.”

I asked if it would be appropriate and if he had time to get a picture. He said, “I was hoping you'd ask.”  So we took a picture out in front of the Tikis and at first it was gonna be with the masks on and then he suggested that we just stand 6 feet apart and take the masks off so I could get a good picture. One of the guys took the picture. So that's my fun, memorable Robert Irvine from Restaurant Impossible story - a nice, genuine guy and it made my week.

Robert Paul Irvine (born 24 September 1965) is an English celebrity chef and talk show host who has appeared on and hosted a variety of Food Network programmes including Dinner: Impossible, Worst Cooks in America, Restaurant: Impossible, A Hero's Welcome, Operation Restaurant, All-Star Academy, Guy's Grocery Games, Chopped: Impossible and Restaurant Express.[1] Irvine currently operates two restaurants, Robert Irvine's Public House at the Tropicana resort in Las Vegas, Nevada, and a Fresh Kitchen by Robert Irvine located within The Pentagon. Irvine launched The Robert Irvine Show, a daytime talk show which aired weekdays on The CW between 12 September 2016 and 25 May 2018.

Restaurant: Impossible is an American reality television series, featuring chef and restaurateur Robert Irvine, that originally aired on Food Network from 2011 to 2016. After a three-year hiatus, the show returned on April 20, 2019.[1] The premise of the series is that within two days and on a budget of $10,000, Irvine renovates a failing American restaurant with the goal of helping to restore it to profitability and prominence. Irvine is assisted by an HGTV designer (usually Taniya Nayak, Cheryl Torrenueva, or Lynn Kegan, but sometimes Vanessa De Leon, Krista Watterworth, Yvette Irene, or Nicole Faccuito), along with general contractor Tom Bury, who sometimes does double duty as both general contractor and designer. After assessing the problems with the restaurant, Irvine typically creates a plan for the new decor, oversees the refurbishment of the restaurant, reduces the size of the menu and improves the quality of the entrees, develops a promotional activity, educates or resolves conflicts for the restaurant's owners, or trains the staff, as needed for each restaurant.[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Restaurant:_Impossible


First time on the Australia, New Zealand and Africa DX Net (ANZA DX NET)

It was my first time to join the Australia, New Zealand and Africa DX Net  (ANZA DX NET)  https://anzadxnet.webs.com
Logged 8 contacts but hear many more!
20m Net:  14.183 MHz, 0515 UTC, daily and 15m Net:  21.205 MHz, 0415 UTC, Saturday

In the spirit of amateur radio since 1970 ~~~ 50 years of operations
1
2020-11-08 06:04 VK4CQ 20m 14.183 SSB QG63nf Australia Ross Milne

2 2020-11-08 05:56 VK4GRZ 20m 14.183 SSB QG56go Australia Graham Ryan


3 2020-11-08 05:54 VK2RI 20m 14.183 SSB QF55bk Australia Tony

4 2020-11-08 05:54 VK7XX 20m 14.183 SSB QE38nq Australia John in Tassie

5 2020-11-08 05:42 VK1TX 20m 14.183 SSB QF44mo Australia TEX IHASZ


6 2020-11-08 05:23 VK4TM 20m 14.183 SSB QG64jr Australia Terry j Murphy


7 2020-11-08 05:21 VK3RH 20m 14.183 SSB
Australia .Rodney .Rhone


8 2020-11-08 05:12 VK4JT 20m 14.183 SSB QG56gp Australia Michael MIKE J. Buchanan MIKE NET CONTROL
List operation, say your call sign, stand by for calls
Net runs for about 1 hour, all operators welcome,
DXpedition, special-event, portable, mobile, QRP
QSO is brief exchange of call sign and signal report
Please do not spot the Net on clusters or skimmers
ANZA DX Net has been operating for 50 years.


Alaska-Pacific Emergency Preparedness Net

The Alaska-Pacific Emergency Preparedness Net is one of the oldest emergency traffic handling nets on amateur radio.
The net meets on 14.292 MHz in the 20 meter Ham band, Monday-Friday at 0830 Alaska Time. If you need a time calculator here is a link.
Net control monitors 14.282 beginning at 15 minutes after hour for early check in. 

This is a roll call net. If you cannot hear net control, it will be appreciated if you wait until sweeps are made and do not call in the blind. Only break in if you have a contact or an emergency  We will pick up late, missed and visitor check-ins after roll call is complete. Please keep this frequency clear until the net on 14.290 has closed; this includes tuning up and looking for early check ins. NCS monitors 14.282 beginning at 15 minutes after hour for early check ins,and will switch to 14.292 at half past hour of the roll call.

https://ian.macky.net/pat/map/us/ak/ak_blu.gif

Fortunately, there have been no major disasters in Alaska in recent years, but when the need arises again, the Alaska-Pacific Emergency Preparedness Net will be there.

The "A-P Net" originated as a result of the Good Friday Earthquake that struck Alaska in 1964.  During that disaster government and private communication systems failed, and Ham radio operators provided vital links to the rest of the world.  After the earthquake, the 14.292 frequency became known as “the place” for Alaska and Lower 49 hams to meet and pass traffic.

Windward side foodbank distribution

Mahalo to Mikey R from Tiki's Grill & Bar and chef Jeffrey Vigilla and all the other Volunteers and food bank staff and leaders that showed up.  For this massive Hawaii Foodbank distribution. I mainly worked on passing 1500 local cabbage heads. When the produce boxes and bags were all built. I got moved to the frozen hamburger and Kalua pig distribution tables. I’m sore and thankful. Great people to volunteer with, shade and joy all day long.  If you want to volunteer or donate or know someone that needs help go to https://hawaiifoodbank.org/.

Java Plum Shrub - Old Pali Road Whiskey -Micro batch cocktail

Micro batch cocktail: Old Pali Road Whiskey with a Java Plum Shrub. 

The Java plum grows wild on the Windward side and this cocktail was inspired by my mom and her cousins, who as kids, went hiking and walking and through the “Gushy-Gosh” and coming home with plum stains. These tiny wild plums are from my backyard. Old Pali Road Whiskey Distillery is about a mile as straight as the ʻAlalā (Hawaiian crow) flies. Only 10 orders available. TikisGrill.com

2020 - 50 contacts -CQ World Wide DX Contest ssb Rank* 3 Hawaii 79 Oceania 1592 World

The CQ WW is the largest Amateur Radio competition in the world. Over 35,000 participants take to the airwaves on the last weekend of October (SSB) with the goal of making as many contacts with as many different DXCC entities and CQ Zones as possible.
This was my second year and I have improved my score.
I used an ICOM IC-7300 Radio with 100 watts max power into the G5RVjr antenna.

CQ WW Contest: 2020 SSB

Score: 3,298 points

Category: Single Operator - Low Power - All Bands





Rank* 3 Hawaii 79 Oceania 1592 World
No contact with Europe and Africa this year.

 Band     QSOs     Pts  ZN   Cty  Pt/Q
     7      12      30    4    4   2.5
    14      20      60    7    5   3.0
    18       1       1    1    1   1.0
    21       1       3    1    1   3.0
    21      16      46    7    5   2.9
 Total      50     140   20   16   2.8
Score: 5,040
1 Mult = 1.4 Q's
BY     China                                                                                                             JA     Japan                                                                                                             KH2    Guam                                                                                                           KH6    Hawaii                                                                                                         KL7    Alaska
PY     Brazil                                                                                                             UA0    Russia  AS                                                                                                   VE     Canada                                                                                                         VK     Australia                                                                                                       W      USA                                                                                                              XE     Mexico





3 PLACE IN HAWAII WH6FXL (KH6ML) Contest: 2019 SSB CQ World Wide DX Contest

The CQ WW is the largest Amateur Radio competition in the world. Over 35,000 participants take to the airwaves on the last weekend of October (SSB) and November (CW) with the goal of making as many contacts with as many different DXCC entities and CQ Zones as possible.

CQ Logo
Contest: 2019 SSB CQ World Wide DX Contest
Score: 495 points
Category: Single Operator - Low Power - ALL BANDS

  Hawaii Oceania World
Rank 3 69 1623

Local Feature: Starfruit Sangria

Keaalau Starfruit, Kailua Lemons, Kaneohe Lime, Nu'uanu Calamansi,  Cointreau Orange-flavored Liqueur Produced In Saint-barthélemy-d'anjou, France, Fruit Infused Vodka, White Wine, Fruit Juices And Apricot Brandy, Kauai Honey, Topped With Soda. Limited Run Cocktail.