Big Kahuna

It seemed as if the birds had stopped singing a mini-second before the thunder struck. We had just ordered our appetizers, and our tiny dining guest - only days shy of 11 months old - appeared momentarily startled. But then the nearby waterfall was transformed into dancing waters under a flickering burst of color, and all was, once again, well with the world. That is life at Kahunaville, home of adventure dining, animatronics, arcade games, and - surprising to me - some very good, reasonably priced food.

In The Big Kahuna, theater guy John Swanbeck, in his first film directing foray, gets the intense, closed-up feel of a stage production down. Adapted from Roger Rueff's Hospitality Suite, this Mamet-y, three-person job (Kevin Spacey, Danny DeVito and Peter Facinelli) is set almost entirely within the confines of a generic big-city hotel room. It's a convention of manufacturers, and the trio of colleagues - the tired, recently divorced veteran Phil (DeVito), the affably cynical Larry (Spacey)

Big Kahuna, the proverbial fat cat at more than 40 pounds, gets a lift from Eleanor Miller at a book signing at the Barnes & Noble book store in Oxford Valley. He is featured in "Cool Cat," one of several books for children featuring animals.

"Hot dogs are like marks of each city," says Keith Garabedian, chef and co-owner of Hot Diggity, and that idea was his starting point in dreaming up the regional menu for his weeks-old hot dog shop on South Street. His favorite is the Big Kahuna: a juicy, slow-cooked, all-beef Sabrette frank topped with pineapple salsa, guava mustard, and habanero aioli. Don't knock the Seattle Grunge, which is slathered in garlic cream cheese, until you've tried it. Traditionalists can order the Bronx Bomber, sauced with spicy brown mustard, kraut, and red onion.

David Mamet Lite, The Big Kahuna is a stagy drama set in a killingly anonymous Midwestern conventioneers hotel where three fellow industrial-lubricant salesmen angst about their lots in life - and about hooking up with a very important client (the kahuna of the title). Kevin Spacey stars as Larry, the cynic of the bunch; Danny DeVito plays Phil, the divorced veteran who faces his future with weary resignation; and Peter Facinelli is Bob, the young go-getter who thinks he has all the answers - and who has a zealot's faith in Christ.

    Home energy prices are down from their record highs, but they're still way up over last year. People who heat with oil are expected to pay 25 percent more to stay warm this winter - a $738 increase for the average house in the mid-Atlantic. Philadelphians who heat with natural gas can expect an increase of about $300 over last year's average bill, assuming a normal winter instead of the mild one we had last time. Starting today, the Daily News is delivering help.

FORMER MAYOR ED RENDELL had the idea of pitching Philadelphia for a national convention after seeing what the 1996 Democratic convention did for Chicago. Now Mayor Street has had an inspiration after hosting the GOP convention in Philadelphia. "The moment it's over," Street said last night, "we're going to start gearing up to go for the Democratic convention four years from now. "I think this has been a great experience for this city. I believe this city has been shown in a very positive way, both nationally and internationally . . . this will reap serious benefits to the city for a long time to come.

When he left the Boston Red Sox, Terry Francona said the players needed to hear from a new voice. ESPN thinks Francona's voice will be an excellent fit for its baseball coverage. The network hired Francona to replace analyst Bobby Valentine , who is Boston's new manager. Francona described the switch as a win-win situation for the team and the network. He also said he'll probably sleep better than Valentine.   Cubs and Pujols Cubs president Theo Epstein and Dan Lozano , Albert Pujols ' agent, met Monday at the winter meetings in Dallas.

Penn doesn't have a forward with a Fu Manchu mustache, a center with legs the length of California, or a coach with an expensive Italian suit and shiny leather shoes. Penn doesn't drop off a press release at game time, either, telling you how many athletes made the honor roll this semester. The University of Massachusetts, ranked No. 1 in the country, slaughtered No. 21 Penn, 93-60, last night. Lou Roe, the forward with the Fu Manchu, scored 23 points, and he scored them in a rainbow variety of colorful shots - layups, slams, tip-ins, curl-ins and drop-ins - and he scored most of them in the first half when the game still sort of mattered.

David Tuttleman says he's always had that vision thing. In 1993 he leased a rickety warehouse on the shores of Wilmington's sleepy Christina River and reconverted it into the Big Kahuna nightclub. Three years later the Bala Cynwyd native expanded the site into a sprawling tropical nightclub/restaurant/arcade with an outdoor deck. Today, Kahunaville has become a shining star for the city's riverfront development. Tuttleman's Adventure Dining Inc. has since developed the concept into a seven-unit theme restaurant chain, including one in Langhorne, which anchors the Oxford Valley Mall.

When he left the Boston Red Sox, Terry Francona said the players needed to hear from a new voice. ESPN thinks Francona's voice will be an excellent fit for its baseball coverage. The network hired Francona to replace analyst Bobby Valentine , who is Boston's new manager. Francona described the switch as a win-win situation for the team and the network. He also said he'll probably sleep better than Valentine.   Cubs and Pujols Cubs president Theo Epstein and Dan Lozano , Albert Pujols ' agent, met Monday at the winter meetings in Dallas.

"Hot dogs are like marks of each city," says Keith Garabedian, chef and co-owner of Hot Diggity, and that idea was his starting point in dreaming up the regional menu for his weeks-old hot dog shop on South Street. His favorite is the Big Kahuna: a juicy, slow-cooked, all-beef Sabrette frank topped with pineapple salsa, guava mustard, and habanero aioli. Don't knock the Seattle Grunge, which is slathered in garlic cream cheese, until you've tried it. Traditionalists can order the Bronx Bomber, sauced with spicy brown mustard, kraut, and red onion.

PRESIDENT Obama, can you please stop apologizing for me? The mea culpas - actually "nostra" culpas - are getting a bit stale. I know that some revel in this national self-abasement, but many of us are getting tired of being dragged into this vast diplomatic therapy session. You're now officially Apologizer in Chief, making sure the rest of the world has yet a few more reasons to feel smugly superior to the country you've been elected to lead. It started from day one, when you signed an order authorizing the closure of Guantanamo, with the clear implication we'd done something horribly wrong there.

    Home energy prices are down from their record highs, but they're still way up over last year. People who heat with oil are expected to pay 25 percent more to stay warm this winter - a $738 increase for the average house in the mid-Atlantic. Philadelphians who heat with natural gas can expect an increase of about $300 over last year's average bill, assuming a normal winter instead of the mild one we had last time. Starting today, the Daily News is delivering help.

From iPods to illegal downloading, CD burning to MTV, the album is under siege. People don't play discs from start to finish the way they used to - they use computers to grab the songs they want, and reorder them however they like. And yet, when the Grammy Awards are held in Los Angeles next Sunday, the highest honor and the last of the 107 trophies given out will be album of the year. That prize remains the equivalent of winning an Oscar for best picture. This year, two of the albums up for the most prestigious prize are starkly contrasting success stories.

David Tuttleman says he's always had that vision thing. In 1993 he leased a rickety warehouse on the shores of Wilmington's sleepy Christina River and reconverted it into the Big Kahuna nightclub. Three years later the Bala Cynwyd native expanded the site into a sprawling tropical nightclub/restaurant/arcade with an outdoor deck. Today, Kahunaville has become a shining star for the city's riverfront development. Tuttleman's Adventure Dining Inc. has since developed the concept into a seven-unit theme restaurant chain, including one in Langhorne, which anchors the Oxford Valley Mall.

FORMER MAYOR ED RENDELL had the idea of pitching Philadelphia for a national convention after seeing what the 1996 Democratic convention did for Chicago. Now Mayor Street has had an inspiration after hosting the GOP convention in Philadelphia. "The moment it's over," Street said last night, "we're going to start gearing up to go for the Democratic convention four years from now. "I think this has been a great experience for this city. I believe this city has been shown in a very positive way, both nationally and internationally . . . this will reap serious benefits to the city for a long time to come.

In The Big Kahuna, theater guy John Swanbeck, in his first film directing foray, gets the intense, closed-up feel of a stage production down. Adapted from Roger Rueff's Hospitality Suite, this Mamet-y, three-person job (Kevin Spacey, Danny DeVito and Peter Facinelli) is set almost entirely within the confines of a generic big-city hotel room. It's a convention of manufacturers, and the trio of colleagues - the tired, recently divorced veteran Phil (DeVito), the affably cynical Larry (Spacey)

David Mamet Lite, The Big Kahuna is a stagy drama set in a killingly anonymous Midwestern conventioneers hotel where three fellow industrial-lubricant salesmen angst about their lots in life - and about hooking up with a very important client (the kahuna of the title). Kevin Spacey stars as Larry, the cynic of the bunch; Danny DeVito plays Phil, the divorced veteran who faces his future with weary resignation; and Peter Facinelli is Bob, the young go-getter who thinks he has all the answers - and who has a zealot's faith in Christ.

It seemed as if the birds had stopped singing a mini-second before the thunder struck. We had just ordered our appetizers, and our tiny dining guest - only days shy of 11 months old - appeared momentarily startled. But then the nearby waterfall was transformed into dancing waters under a flickering burst of color, and all was, once again, well with the world. That is life at Kahunaville, home of adventure dining, animatronics, arcade games, and - surprising to me - some very good, reasonably priced food.