This year for my birthday, I went to Roy’s Hawaiian Fusion in Baltimore. I thought a Hawaiian restaurant was going to be something different. By the time I walked out, I wouldn’t have wanted to go anywhere else.

The first thing I saw when I walked in was the open kitchen, which was right behind the hostess stand and trailed along the left side of the restaurant. The benefit of an open kitchen is that you can actually see what the chefs are making. You know the food is fresh and the kitchen is clean because it’s on display.

My younger sister ordered from the kids menu. The order included an appetizer, an entree, and a dessert: the perfect package. It consisted of simple cheese quesadillas served with carrot sticks, celery sticks, and ranch. Although the quesadillas were simple, they were tasty and a nice start to our dinner.

After we finished our quesadillas, the waiter brought out our calamari. This version of a typical dish was different from other restaurants. Roy’s fried calamari was battered a bit sweeter and a with a bit more pepper, with a glaze to dip on the side. It tasted like a sweeter, Hawaiian version of a Chinese dish.

I ordered short ribs, that were served over a pile of mashed potatoes, and underneath them was wine reduction sauce. I loved how the sauce from the braised short ribs contrasted with the dry potatoes. The meal had nice preparation and quality, overall.

Halfway through I ended up switching platters with my dad, who got a simple steak that was cooked nicely. I was becoming full, and it was obvious that my ribs were much heavier than I expected they would be.

After the dinner was finished  things got really fun. It was time for dessert. They brought out this amazing, rich chocolate lava cake served with vanilla ice cream beside it, and overtop, written in chocolate sauce was “Happy Birthday!” in Hawaiian.

The chocolate lava cake really made my birthday a “sweet” 16. Later my mom told me that it was so thick and tasty because my parents had to tell them to make it 20 minutes before – it wasn’t your typical pre-made five minute microwaved dish.

Before we dug in, the waiter came in with a camera and took a group shot of our family with the dessert. After he made sure we liked it, he printed it out and placed it in the frame that was sitting on our table the whole time.

It is no question to me as to why people go to Roy’s on special occasions, like birthdays. The picture in the frame still sits in my room, and when I look at it, I remember all the fun memories from that night, and the many more I’ll make in the future.
Pia Scotto is a Community Editor for The Patriot and jcpatriot.com.