This small excellent Middle Eastern restaurant specializes in "pitzas," exceptional pizzalike dishes made with pita dough.

Duck confit is rich and deeply flavored, framed by earthy black lentils, while three fat sea scallops arrive on an iridescent pool of parsley vinaigrette, an odd looking but exceptional dish.

Smoked halibut on leavened bread made of rye meal with caraway seeds is an exceptional dish.

Thinking about my Christmas menu this year, I decided to incorporate some of the exceptional dishes sampled during those delectable peregrinations.

Firstly, they must hold their nerve in the dreaded Invention Test where, with only one hour and 15 minutes, the hopefuls must impress the judges with an exceptional dish.

Another exceptional dish is the stewed curried duck with noodles, which you season at the table with a peppery lemon sauce ($4.25).

One exceptional dish is a salmon fillet poached in white wine and encrusted with thin nickel-sized slices of fried zucchini.

LANAI: Lodge at Koele, Lanai City, (808) 565-7300, has a formal, octagonal dining room that offers exceptional dishes.

Close by - but not too close - is the Aquarium Beach Club and Restaurant (www.aquarium-grenada.com), which serves exceptional local dishes.

The low-price end of the menu and its salad section produced some of the restaurant's most exceptional dishes.