The ‘Buzz’ about a Pearl City favorite
Friday - March 14, 2008
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Have you ever wondered about the odd shape of those glass windows at Buzz’s Pearl City? The slanted glass that gives the restaurant its distinct “stadium” look was designed with the customers in mind.
“My dad (founder Buzz Schneider) designed the windows to avoid glare so that guests could enjoy the views, especially of the city and harbor lights at night,” says Kaleo Schneider, general manager of Buzz’s Restaurants. The simple design feature works so well that window tables at the restaurant are always full of customers who enjoy the unique view across historic Pearl Harbor.
But it’s not just the view that’s kept regular diners coming back to the steak-and-seafood restaurant for decades; it’s a combination of good value, great food, a welcoming staff and the best salad bar in town.
There are more than 20 items on the all-you-can-eat salad buffet, all included in the price of dinner. Kiawe-grilled steaks and fresh island fish (the restaurant features up to five different presentations of fresh fish each night) come with salad, starch and Buzz’s famous garlic bread and butter.
“We have this great sourdough bread with garlic butter that we grill,” says Buzz’s Pearl City general manager Lynn Villafana, “and you can smell it all through the restaurant all night. First thing people say when they walk through the door is, ‘What’s that great smell?’”
Buzz’s opened in 1962, and the original restaurant in Lanikai is as popular today as it was 46 years ago. “When my dad began the restaurants, he quickly earned a reputation for giving people great value food,” says Kaleo. That value is still around today - with prices that look as though they haven’t changed in years.
Buzz’s menu includes the kind of quality dishes you’d expect to find at a steakhouse - steaks,
rack of lamb, chicken, king crab legs. Top Sirloin ($19.95) is a generous 10-ounce portion, and the 13-ounce New York Strip is $21.95. Appetizers include market price sashimi, sautéed mushrooms ($4.95) and a creamy artichoke dip ($6.95).
If you’re a wine lover, then try Buzz’s on a Wednesday night, when a half-price special on all wines offers incredible value.
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“As long as you’re not trying to combine any other special, there’s 50 percent off the entire wine list on Wednesdays,” says Lynn.
The Wednesday night prices are such a great deal that you might easily mistake the bottle price for that of a glass. Edmeades Zinfandel, for example, is $17 a bottle, Duck Pond Pinot Noir just $18 and MacMurray Pinot Noir is $16.
“We don’t mark the wines up very high to begin with,” says Lynn, “so the prices are a good deal on Wednesdays.”
With La Crema Chardonnay at $16 a bottle, Kim Crawford Sauvignon Blanc for $16.25 and Erbacher Riesling (a crisp German wine perfect with fish) at just $13 a bottle, it’s hard to imagine that there’s room in the restaurant on Wednesdays.
The dining room, with its slightly retro look, bamboo booths and floral prints, is separated from the salad bar and kitchen by tasteful etched-glass dividers that serve to eliminate the “buffet look” that most allyou-can-eat restaurants have. And at night the view of Pearl Harbor makes for a stunning feature.
“We’re the only restaurant of its kind on this side of the island,” says Kaleo, “and it’s always been important to us to offer our customers good value and a great dining experience.”
Buzz’s Pearl City
98-751 Kuahao Place
487-6465
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