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1/23/2015 2 Comments #DessertFirst : Off The Wall Craft Manhattan-spiked honey, bacon and pecan sticky buns! There's a new restaurant about to open in Honolulu and the dining concept is a little 'off the wall'. Located at 1272 S. King Street, Off The Wall Craft is expected to open next month and will serve up delicious treats both sweet and savory, but the kicker is... it's ok to eat dessert first. Culinary genius and pastry chef extraordinaire Ed Morita is about to launch a new take on cocktails, brews, happy hour and more but you can choose to have your dessert first and the savory dishes thereafter. Its brilliant and some of the sweets also incorporate the use of savory flavors like bacon, cheese and more! With that some of the savory dishes feature items like mochi, house made ketchup and an amalgamation of flavors wrapped into one. I had the chance to visit this preview of drinks and dishes, here's the highlights and I can't wait for the grand opening.  Molokai mule iced tea - refreshing and honey is smoked.  Curried roasted pepper hummus with house made flat bread.  Ahi Poke cupcake with sesame ginger "frosting" bubu arare and yuzu tobiko.  My friend and culinary gem - Ed Morita with a combo of sweet or savory wraps - vegetarian sandwich roll or banana nutella provolone rolls. OMG the sweet one was so good!  Ozoni pizza with bacon, miso, mizuna, daikon, carrots, crispy lotus root and mochi.  Sweet and Savory puffs - beeramisu cream puff vs. goat cheese cream puff - these guys were a tie in my book.
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1/14/2015 2 Comments Go Holoholo Happy Hour
Holo Holo Juice - Holoholo Bar & Grill
Just the other day my friend asked me 'Have you heard of Holoholo Bar & Grill?' I replied 'Yes, of course!' - for some this may be a new discovery, but the bar & grill located in Moiliili just before the JCC on 2494 South Beretania Street is a casual-style restaurant serving up delicious and innovative cocktails alongside some local-style dishes with heavy asian influences. Know for their smoked meat and kale salad, along with their kim chee dip and chips the place is comfy, has lots of parking and offers some really interesting flavor combinations. In celebration of the new year they decided to offer up some new Happy Hour drink and pupu menu options. I got a chance to sample some of the fruity drinks and new features on the menu. I must say the nice thing about this place is the bar, it's got a huge flat screen tv and several others alongside. The seats are bar stools but they have nice padding and are comfortable, the staff are all very friendly and eager to answer your questions and the food is good. In the mood for happy hour? It's served up daily 3-5pm cheers! http://holoholobarandgrill.com Oh and I feel obligated to tell you that they serve weekend brunch and it's amazing. I actually think the monte cristo served during brunch is the best I've ever had. 
"Lychee Lemonade" was my favorite - made with Three Olives Citrus Vodka, Bols lychee liquor, finest call lemo sour and soda water. This is refreshing, not too sweet and goes down nice!
The second place winner for my favorite drink is "Da Mango and Da Mint" a delightful drink of fresh mint, Bacardi pineapple fusion, Three Olives vanilla, lime sour, pineapple juice and soda water. The balance between the mango and the mint is great. Nice and tasty!
Tempura Ahi Roll - nice and warm, crisp and an interesting take on a typical sushi roll, served with wasabi aioli which is not too spicy. $6 (Note these images are tasting size, not full servings, they were made special in order to taste more of the dishes)
Fried Calamari - nicely done, not all gummy or chewy. I don't like it when I have to chew the calamari like gum -- this is perfectly cooked and nicely seasoned. $6
Fish lettuce wraps with lomi tomato relish. As you can see the fresh fish is cajun fried then served with lettuce and you wrap it up like a --- lettuce wrap LOL This dish was ok. Some of the pieces of fish were a tiny bit dry, but that is also because they were small cubes. Its a nice semi-healthy option to bar eating.
Now on to not so healthy bar food - this was my hands down favorite dish: bacon cheddar cheese fries. I could not stop eating it. Something about the cheese was so good. It had a very special texture and flavor. It didn't taste like the stadium cheese or gas station yellow cheese or even melted cheddar cheese. It was soft, subtle, almost creamy yet grainy, like a cheese gravy. These are addicting and the crisp bacon ads great texture. LOOKOUT so ono!
1/2/2015 2 Comments Put an egg on it!I have come to believe that adding an egg to just about everything will make it better. It's soft, creamy, ooey and gooey... and adds a warm buttery flavor and texture that you can't really find with anything else. As a kid I grew up only eating scrambled eggs, and I was a bit of a purist, no salt or pepper or flavor enhancers. Flash forward a few years and now I have come to love my eggs over easy or soft boiled so I can enjoy that lovely, sexy, sumptuous yolk. Reminiscing about food and some of my favorite things this past year, I started to notice that adding an egg to the dish would elevate the status of the meal. Here's my favorite things with an egg added to it -- hopefully you will understand what I mean and try something new and different, just put an egg on it! 
You've probably figured out that pizza is my favorite food...well if you've never had the Kona Street Pizza at Prima you are missing out. Not only is it topped with an awesome egg, but it also features prosciutto, onions, a fresh thin crust right out of the brick oven, but it also has truffle oil too! It's worth the drive to Kailua - guaranteed!
Spaghetti ala Carbonara is served at Arancino Kahala and includes pancetta, truffle butter and topped with a poached egg. The simple, yet decadent flavors that come through in this dish make it one of the best pasta dishes I have ever had.
The loco moco from Kakaako Kitchen is solid! Smothered in caramelized onion gravy and 2 eggs any style, this is always a winner. I love to get everything all in one bite. The gravy and the eggs keep everything silky and moist.
I don't often eat cheeseburgers, but when I do I love to add avocado and a fried egg. The texture from the eggs gives it a brunch feel and the avocado has good fat in addition to all that bad fat, so it's ok, right? Cheeseburger in Paradise has a solid burger featuring a fried egg called The Good Egg.
I love a good club or clubhouse sandwich, because it's got everything on it. You've got all your proteins, cheese, tomato, lettuce and bacon -- add to that an amazing egg and its stellar. This is from The Kahala Resort's Plumeria Beach House.
The crab and asparagus salad at Mariposa is delicate, full of bold flavors and fresh ingredients. The egg brings it all together and adds a subtle touch of decadence to something that may be considered light and more like a side dish. The combo is also sitting a top a nice soft piece of bread making it a delight to eat together and soak up with dressing and the egg yolk.
Any ramen bowl at Agu is amazing, but add the soft boiled egg and it's making my mouth water. I don't know what they do to the egg but the flavor is incredible. They must poach it in a special broth cause it has a nice off white color that seems to absorb the sweet and savory sauce it was once in. Get the egg in the shoyu ramen or jidori ramen and you won't be disappointed.
And last, but certainly not least -- the Pork & Tots at Underdog's Sports Bar & Grill in Kalihi are the perfect combination of crisp, crunchy, sweet, savory, tangy and creamy. The local-style smoked meat paired with crunchy tator tots is brilliant, they add caramelized onions and an egg atop and it's fantastic -- there's really no need for ketchup of anything. A must try!
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