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An Ocean Tavern er Tapas Bar

Okay, before I tell the story about the "Tavern", I am going to use a few minutes of your precious time to bitch about my neck and my headache. Holy shit does it hurt! Like since about noon yesterday I've had stabbing pain behind my left eye. No amount of migraine medicine, muscle relaxers, Advil or heat packs have been able to fully kill this sumbitch off. I absolutely hate my headneckshoulders right now. HATE IT! I'm dying here, people. Seriously. Ouch.

Alright, enough bitching. Here's the tavern story. First off, the word tavern seems to mean the same thing to the majority of people - guestbook posters, Ryan and I included. Dictionary.com agrees defining a tavern as: An establishment licensed to sell alcoholic beverages to be consumed on the premises. The word stems from Middle English, thus explaining why many of us associate the word tavern with Brits or the English or Europe in general. It's further meaning extends to include an Inn or other means of lodging and occasionally the inclusion of food service. So we are all on the same page here. In Hawaii, however, they are on a different page. In fact, maybe even reading from a different book. Here's why I think this:

Ryan and I were fed up with eating sandwiches to conserve money on our honeymoon in Hawaii. We were also sick of reading Maine Lobster and New York strip on every menu we encountered. Also, there is an abundance of teriyaki chicken entrees in Hawaii. Anyhow, we set out to the little strip of restaurants and shops nearby our hotel in Maui in an attempt to find something to eat at a reasonable price. At the beginning of this strip, before all of the chain stores and restaurants kicked in, there were two little eateries. One was called Aloha Mixed Plate and featured various forms of teriyaki and the like. The other was called Mala, an Ocean Tavern. We'd already had our fill of teriyakied meat on the trip, so we decided that the "Tavern" sounded good. When we arrived, we were surprised to find a crisp white room with crisp white table linens and servers dressed in crisp white attire. We were expecting to find a dark mahogany bar propped up by a couple of blue-collar types enjoying a pint on their way home from a hard day's labor in the hot sun.

A little in shock from this visual departure, we asked the hostess (seriously - what tavern has a hostess) for a menu. It would seem this tavern serves tapas and other Spanish cuisine. Interesting. We like tapas and the prices weren't awful and the sun was about to set, so we went ahead and got a table. This could easily be the end of the story - a misguided restaurateur names their new tapas restaurant after an Olde English tavern... but it isn't.

At the table next to us sat a woman in her mid 50s and a woman in her late 70s. They struggled with the menu and heard them asking each other and the server what a lot of things were. We figured they had the same mis-perception of the style of restaurant as well. A few minutes later, they were joined by a man near the same age as the younger woman. We assumed a couple and one of their mother's. They ordered a few things and we ordered a few things. Half way through the meal, the man asked about a particular dish we'd ordered and the conversation started. Turns out that they were locals and that they had been a big fan of the couple who owned that restaurant and a couple other fine establishments on the island. Then came the really awkward moment. The man asked how we found out about this place, and we told him our tale of first looking at the other place and then deciding to come back here presuming we'd have a meal of bar food.

Man: Why would you think they would serve bar food here?

Me: Well, I can't remember the first word, but the name of the place is something, An Ocean Tavern.

Man: What do you mean "Tavern"? This place is named Mala.

Ryan: It is Mala, but the full name includes "An Ocean Tavern." We assumed that it being a tavern it would have a different type of menu than tapas.

Younger Woman: But it is a tapas restaurant. I don't understand what you mean by "Tavern".

Me: We've always associated the word "Tavern" with more of a bar and grill type place. Small, dark, cold beer and cheese fries?

Older Woman: I think they have cheese fries on the menu.

Man: I don't understand. Why would you think that Mala would serve bar food?

Ryan: Because the name says "An Ocean Tavern". The tavern part made us think bar and grill.

Man: But it is a tapas restaurant. Have you never eaten at a tapas restaurant?

Me: Oh we have eaten at a couple different tapas restaurants. When we saw that this was a tapas restaurant, it certainly sounded good. Just not what we had expected based on the name.

The conversation went in circles like that for a couple of minutes longer. They had no association whatsoever for the word tavern. It was like they'd never heard the word before. Really odd, but in the end a great meal.

As promised, here are some pictures. I was going to share some pics from the restaurant, however, I forgot my USB cord, so instead, here are a bunch of pictures that Ebean took of our wedding. Enjoy!

Exchanging our vows


Pre-ceremony shot in Loose Park.


Pre-ceremony shot in Loose Park.


My niece, the flower girl.


A favorite shot, right before the ceremony. My back was killing me!


My bouquet.


Top of our cake.


Bridesmaid bouquet.


Bridesmaid bouquets in vases at reception.


Bowl centerpiece.


Glasses centerpiece. We did these in both red and orange. The picture doesn't do them justice. They were really cool!


Another shot of the glasses centerpiece.

1:34 p.m. - December 02, 2004

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