Aloha!!
I got a call last weekend from my older brother Pete who lives on the Big Island of Hawaii asking when I was going to write some more on my blog. I just happened to be at a friend's crawfish boil with Kelly and some folks from work, when I told him I was looking for inspiration to write. He said why don't you write about that. It sounded like a great idea, but I realized that I should first write about Hawaii, seeing that Kelly and I were just there visiting with him.
It's been well over a month since we returned from our bi-annual pilgrimage to Hawaii and I'm still brimming over with the "Aloha Spirit". We did basically the same things as we did the last time. We stayed at the same place, went to many of the same restaurants, but as with each time we go, it feels like a brand new place.
I DVR'd the 'No Reservations' Hawaii episode where Tony checks out all that Oahu has to offer. I've kept a running list of places to eat on my phone's 'Notes' app. The Travel Channel and Food Network offered a number of suggestions as well as many friends and others randomly giving their two-cents. I felt like we had a solid gameplan when we hit the island. As my wife can tell you, I hate to be indecisive when it comes to where to eat.
Kelly is a pro at finding great flights that drop us off in places just at the right time. We left Charleston at 7:00am and landed in Honolulu at 2:00pm. You can't do it much better than that. We got all checked in and boogied down to the new bar that was under construction during our last visit. "Laughing Larry" took our drink order, a Mai Tai of course, and proceeded to tell us about the Happy Hour specials. Along with many island inspired apps, there was the standard Tuna Poke(pronounced po-kay), marinated diced raw tuna, that is a must when you go to Hawaii. It wouldn't suprise me if there was some guy at the airport whose job was to punch people in the face as they leave the island if they didn't eat the poke. Besides not wanting to get bitch-slapped at the airport, poke is something I truly love on this earth, and for $5 during happy hour we ordered two. Jaws hit the bar as Larry brought out basically 2-2 1/2 pounds of fish! Over a pound of tuna each for $5! Have we reached Nirvana? Damn straight! Go to your local grocery store and price out Tuna, it ain't cheap. Hell, I live at the beach and our fish markets can't get close to that price. We were dumbfounded. Sheer bliss! We changed all of our plans in order to be near the bar between 3 and 5 everyday. Do the Hokey Poke and turn yourself around, that's what it's all about!!
While we could have eaten raw fish all day, everyday, we did want to hit a few more stops on the list. Tony Bourdain suggested we hit a place called The Side Street Inn which wasn't too far from our hotel. We cabbed it because we were averaging close to 10 miles a day walking through town and we were beat. A few of the locals that we met early in the trip confirmed that this was a good place that was in no way "touristy". The decor was sparse and looked as though it was pieced together with tables, chairs, and boothes obtained from a restaurant auction from places that didn't make it. We sat at the bar and ordered a beer. Fried Pork Chops were on the bill of fare and was one of the recommedations. Digging the pig the way I do, this was a no brainer. The pork came out in a plastic basket that is usually reserved for french fries, onion rings, and the like. Along side was a ramekin of a red sauce. The meat was still on the bone and cut into long strips. No points for presentation. We each grabbed a strip and gobbled away. Freaking fantastic!!! I dipped the next bite in the "sauce" and was blown away. I got the bartender's attention and asked, "Is this sauce plain old ketchup?" He replied with "Of course, nuthin' fancy here". I'm not a big ketchup fan at all and the idea of putting it on something besides fries is totally out of the question, but for some magical reason this worked. Now, now all my foodie friends, I haven't gone soft on you. The daily saltwater dips have not yet rotted my brain and dulled the taste buds, this was really good. The bartender told us that they just put salt and pepper on the pork and fry it just the same way anyone would fry a pork chop. The difference was that the pork came from a local farm not too far away. "Yeah brah, we get local-kine meat jus' up tha hill." Indeed, locals do rule! It all comes back to eating local. Tony Bourdain was also blown away by the pork and ketchup, so I'm not totally crazy.
Since we've back on the Mainland, I can't begin to tell you how many Mai Tais we've downed, reruns of Hawaii 5-0 we've watched, and how many times we try to figure a way to go to Hawaii every year instead of every other. There are still a ton of shrimp trucks on the North Shore that we haven't hit as well as local joints in Makaha worth trying. It's not exactly a quick trip from Pawleys Island, SC to Hawaii, but where there's a will, there's a way.
Aloha and ciao down,
Penn
It's been well over a month since we returned from our bi-annual pilgrimage to Hawaii and I'm still brimming over with the "Aloha Spirit". We did basically the same things as we did the last time. We stayed at the same place, went to many of the same restaurants, but as with each time we go, it feels like a brand new place.
I DVR'd the 'No Reservations' Hawaii episode where Tony checks out all that Oahu has to offer. I've kept a running list of places to eat on my phone's 'Notes' app. The Travel Channel and Food Network offered a number of suggestions as well as many friends and others randomly giving their two-cents. I felt like we had a solid gameplan when we hit the island. As my wife can tell you, I hate to be indecisive when it comes to where to eat.
Kelly is a pro at finding great flights that drop us off in places just at the right time. We left Charleston at 7:00am and landed in Honolulu at 2:00pm. You can't do it much better than that. We got all checked in and boogied down to the new bar that was under construction during our last visit. "Laughing Larry" took our drink order, a Mai Tai of course, and proceeded to tell us about the Happy Hour specials. Along with many island inspired apps, there was the standard Tuna Poke(pronounced po-kay), marinated diced raw tuna, that is a must when you go to Hawaii. It wouldn't suprise me if there was some guy at the airport whose job was to punch people in the face as they leave the island if they didn't eat the poke. Besides not wanting to get bitch-slapped at the airport, poke is something I truly love on this earth, and for $5 during happy hour we ordered two. Jaws hit the bar as Larry brought out basically 2-2 1/2 pounds of fish! Over a pound of tuna each for $5! Have we reached Nirvana? Damn straight! Go to your local grocery store and price out Tuna, it ain't cheap. Hell, I live at the beach and our fish markets can't get close to that price. We were dumbfounded. Sheer bliss! We changed all of our plans in order to be near the bar between 3 and 5 everyday. Do the Hokey Poke and turn yourself around, that's what it's all about!!
While we could have eaten raw fish all day, everyday, we did want to hit a few more stops on the list. Tony Bourdain suggested we hit a place called The Side Street Inn which wasn't too far from our hotel. We cabbed it because we were averaging close to 10 miles a day walking through town and we were beat. A few of the locals that we met early in the trip confirmed that this was a good place that was in no way "touristy". The decor was sparse and looked as though it was pieced together with tables, chairs, and boothes obtained from a restaurant auction from places that didn't make it. We sat at the bar and ordered a beer. Fried Pork Chops were on the bill of fare and was one of the recommedations. Digging the pig the way I do, this was a no brainer. The pork came out in a plastic basket that is usually reserved for french fries, onion rings, and the like. Along side was a ramekin of a red sauce. The meat was still on the bone and cut into long strips. No points for presentation. We each grabbed a strip and gobbled away. Freaking fantastic!!! I dipped the next bite in the "sauce" and was blown away. I got the bartender's attention and asked, "Is this sauce plain old ketchup?" He replied with "Of course, nuthin' fancy here". I'm not a big ketchup fan at all and the idea of putting it on something besides fries is totally out of the question, but for some magical reason this worked. Now, now all my foodie friends, I haven't gone soft on you. The daily saltwater dips have not yet rotted my brain and dulled the taste buds, this was really good. The bartender told us that they just put salt and pepper on the pork and fry it just the same way anyone would fry a pork chop. The difference was that the pork came from a local farm not too far away. "Yeah brah, we get local-kine meat jus' up tha hill." Indeed, locals do rule! It all comes back to eating local. Tony Bourdain was also blown away by the pork and ketchup, so I'm not totally crazy.
Since we've back on the Mainland, I can't begin to tell you how many Mai Tais we've downed, reruns of Hawaii 5-0 we've watched, and how many times we try to figure a way to go to Hawaii every year instead of every other. There are still a ton of shrimp trucks on the North Shore that we haven't hit as well as local joints in Makaha worth trying. It's not exactly a quick trip from Pawleys Island, SC to Hawaii, but where there's a will, there's a way.
Aloha and ciao down,
Penn
Ooooh likey poke and mai tais very much! So jealous of your trip. Sounds amazing.
ReplyDeleteWhen are you kids coming to CA for some fish tacos and wine?