Oahu, Hawaii (various eateries)

This was my second trip to the island of Oahu. It was a great time to go since it's freezing in the Bay Area, and it was a very nice 74-80 degrees in Hawaii. As I type this with cold fingers, I miss Hawaii very much. Of course, one of my favorite aspects of traveling is experiencing the gastronomic adventure my palate yearns for whenever I visit a new place. Here are some of the wonderful things I ate.

BREAKFAST

Yogur Story, 815 Keeaumoku St., Honolulu

Ate some of the best waffles I've ever had here. Below is a piece of my Red Carpet Waffle with taro cream cheese and red velvet croutons. I washed it all down with a glass of passion fruit lemonade. If you have a sweet tooth, this is the breakfast for you.

Cafe Kaila, 2919 Kapiolani Blvd., Honolulu

A really small and very casual place, but with down home, hearty breakfast dishes. Below on the left is their Portugese Sausage Frittata and to the right is their Combo Breakfast: French Toast, Bacon and Eggs. Both were very satisfying and delicious.

Cream Pot Cafe, 444 Niu St., Honolulu (in the Hawaiian Monarch Hotel)
This place must be a grandma's haven given the way it was decorated. Full of little knickknacks, old photos and large puff cushions on their seats, looking at everything was visual entertainment along with eating a very comforting meal. Below is my Bacon Baked Eggs and Mint Lemonade (very refreshing). The baked eggs had soft yolks, which I like, and as I ate, I unearthed potatoes, spices and bacon smothered in a savory cream sauce. So good.

LUNCH

Duke's, 2335 Kalakaua Ave., Honolulu (on the beach at the Outrigger Waikiki Hotel)

It's not a real Hawaiian vacation without a Mai Tai. Below was one of, eh hem, several Mai Tai's on this trip. For lunch only, Duke's serves Baja Fish Tacos. The fish was fresh and grilled to the point of just cooked, so it was very moist. Fresh and tasty ingredients.



Giovanni's and Honos food trucks, 66-472 Kamehameha Hwy, Haleiwa

Of course, I had to experience Giovanni's famous shrimp truck in the North Shore. I was not disappointed. For $12, I got one dozen shrimp covered in a wonderfully aromatic garlic butter sauce and two scoops of rice. Also, lucky for me, right next to Giovanni's was Honos, a Korean food truck that had Kalbi (bbq short ribs) that was finger-licking good.



Highway Inn, 94-226 Leoku St., Waipahu

In a somewhat sketchy looking strip mall is this gem of a find. One side is a Poke Bar with 9 different types of poke and various toppings where you can order a Poke Bowl. Below left is their Spicy Ahi Poke with brown rice and picked daikon. The poke was fresh and the daikon was very well picked; a little sweet, a little spicy and very crunchy. The other side of the place is a restaurant that serves authentic Hawaiian cuisine. Below right is their Dried Pipikaula (beef). Delicious.

Town, 3435 Waialae Ave., Honolulu

This restaurant focuses on using local, seasonal ingredients. And I must say, they use them very well. Below is their Kuahiwi Ranch Grass-fed Hamburger with added swiss cheese and bacon on a potato roll. The fries were fried with fresh herbs like rosemary and sage (a wonderful touch) and their side salad was lightly dressed and very fresh. A very delicious burger. Their Lilikoi soda only had a handful of ingredients that I could actually pronounce and was thirst quenching.

Soul, 3040 Waialae Ave., Honolulu

With an award-winning chef from the South, it's no surprise that this was probably the best fried chicken I've had. Super crispy skin that wasn't too oily or heavy and very moist meat. The cornbread wasn't dry and their chili was a nice side without over-powering spices. The Ginger-lime Cooler was also quite refreshing and not too sweet.

SNACK

How can I visit Hawaii without eating some spam musubi? Found warm at almost every ABC store, this is a fun little snack while walking and shopping the main boulevards. Whereas I would normally scoff at processed meat, I do enjoy this treat when I visit the island.

DINNER

Siam Square, 408 Lewers St., Honolulu

I thought this Thai restaurant would be touristy and not so great since it was across the street from my hotel. I was mistaken. All the ingredients were fresh and every dish was very flavorful and was on par with what I know as good Thai food.

Below from left to right: Summer Rolls with Peanut Sauce, Pork Satay with Peanut Sauce (so tender and moist), Drunkard's Noodles with beef (my favorite of all the dishes; spicy and satisfying), Steamed Fish with Lime Juice (very refreshing, tangy and garlicky).

Apartment 3, 1750 Kalakaua Ave., Honolulu (on the 3rd Fl. of a commercial bld.)
One of my dining companions commented that he felt like he was in Las Vegas rather than Hawaii. A dimly lit lounge/restaurant, this place boasts deep colors for their decor, large booths with leather-covered cushioned seats and a very swanky ambiance. Their food and drink matched very well with the feel of the place.

Below from left to right: Sicilian-style thin crust pizza (super thin and crispy crust brushed with some olive oil) with wilted spinach, garlic cream, feta, pine nuts and red onion (The Green Greek, excellent flavor combo). My drink, the Grape Escape, with green grapes, lemon, Cirot, and moscato wine (very nice), another pizza with Maui onions, prosciutto, mozzarella, and arugula tossed with a white balsamic vinegar (The Parma, also excellent), and their KFC, twice fried chicken drummettes tossed in a sweet and spicy Korean chili sauce (loved this!).

Gyu-Kaku, 307 Lewers St., Honolulu

No sushi here, but excellent everything else. With over 600 locations world-wide, including one in Cupertino, one would think the quality would be a bit lacking. Not so. The Poke was super fresh with a light, spicy sauce. The Goma Negi Ramen had a delightful shio broth that was not too salty with perfectly al dente noodles and that wonderful egg in the middle.

With a grill built into your table, you can cook your meat to your liking. Pictured below on the grill is their Harami Miso Skirt Steak that had an exceptionally tasty marinade. Next to that, the highlight of the meal, their Miso Butterfish. Butterfish is typically, well, buttery, and this one proved no different, except it had such an amazing chili sauce, I almost ordered one more. Lucky for me, there's a location in the Bay Area. I will be back.

  

12th Ave Grill, 1145C 12th Ave., Honolulu

For my last meal on my last day in Oahu, I had a phenomenally prepared lamb shank. This was their evening special and, sadly, I will probably never taste this again. I cannot even fathom what was in the sauce the lamb was braised in, but it was good...so good. Served with it was a cranberry chutney along with some barley. Next to that is a nice, juicy piece of pork chop served with a potato pancake and apple chutney. Also very delicious.

All in all, my epicurean Hawaiian experience was amazing. I've eaten my way through the island and have savored every bite.

Beer Bread (Recipe)

Beer lovers unite! This is not a new concept. Beer bread has been around for a long time and I actually used to make it quite regularly and then forgot about it for a while. I remembered it again this past week and decided to make it with one of my favorite beers...Sierra Nevada (Torpedo Extra IPA Ale). Of course, the great thing about this recipe is you can use any beer you like.

My preference is for darker beers. I find they tend to have more body and deeper flavor than lighter beers, which taste a bit watery to me. Although I've had a few imported lighter beers (from Belgium and Germany) that were very tasty and refreshing. But I digress. On to the bread.

I first preheated the oven to 350 degrees, buttered a loaf pan and set it aside. Then, in a large mixing bowl I added 2 cups of white flour, 1 cup of whole wheat flour, 1/2 cup of dark brown sugar (packed), 1 tsp. baking powder, 1 tsp. baking soda, and 1 tsp. salt. After mixing this well, I then added one egg and 1 bottle of beer (12 oz.) and mixed well.

I then poured the batter into the buttered loaf pan (the batter will be very sticky and lumpy) and smoothed out the top a bit with the back of a spoon. Then I melted in the microwave the leftover butter I used to butter the loaf pan and poured it over the top of the batter and baked it until a toothpick inserted in the middle of the bread came out clean (about 40 minutes).

This bread also makes the whole house smell hoppy and bready. So nice. Great for sandwiches or just by itself!

Taqueria Guadalajara--San Leandro (Mexican cuisine)

On a whim, my friend took me to this very smoky Mexican joint. I'm sure I ended up smelling like it for the rest of the day since the air inside was infused with oil vapors. Even though the place looked like a cafeteria, the food was superb. Located in a shopping strip at 14327 E. 14th Street, Ste. A, in San Leandro, don't worry about dressing up at this very casual dinning establishment.

You order at the counter, get your number, and the food is brought to your table. I ordered a lengua (cow tongue) super burrito and my friend ordered three different tacos: lengua, carnitas (braised pork) and more pork.

The super burrito was super delicious. I'm not sure what made it more delicious than other lengua super burritos I've had before, but I was impressed. The lengua was very tender and moist, the spanish rice was flavorful and the beans went down very easy.

The tacos were also a hit. The carnitas were very well seasoned and each taco was topped with a spicy salsa that made my eyes water a little but was very pleasing to my palate. I will brave the oily/smoky air and come back again.

Also on the plus side, there's a bakery a few doors down with a wall full of colorful and sweet looking pastries, cookies and Mexican breads. A nice way to end a meal.

Potato & Cheese Souffle (Recipe)

I was watching Jacques Pepin on PBS the other day and got the idea for this recipe. I love cheese and I love anything that can make something simple look like something complicated. Just the word "souffle" invokes images of hours of hard labor in the kitchen. Not so with this recipe. I decided to make this to place on top of a simple salad to zazz it up a bit. Here's what I did.

First I took 4, 4 oz. ramekins, buttered them and coated them with bread crumbs and set them aside. Then I peeled, diced and boiled a medium potato until fork tender and rinsed it with cold water and patted it dry with a paper towel.

In a blender, I added an 8 oz. block of cream cheese (softened), the potato, a hefty pat of softened butter (about 3 tbsp.), 1/2 cup of ricotta cheese, 1/4 cup of plain yogurt (you can also use sour cream), about 2 tbsp. chopped fresh parsley, 2 eggs and a hefty pinch of salt and pepper. Then I blended all this until well mixed and poured them into the ramekins until a little more than halfway full. I then placed them on a baking sheet and popped them in the oven at 375 for about 25 minutes or until the souffles were puffed and golden brown on top.

After letting them cool and de-puff for a few minutes, I then inverted them onto a plate of spinach salad pre-tossed with a fig dressing. For the fig dressing, I whisked together 1 tsp. of fig butter (available at Trader Joe's), 1/2 tsp. of balsamic vinegar, 2 tbsp. of olive oil and a tiny pinch of salt and pepper. Simple and delicious!

Union City Eats--Union City (gourmet food truck event)

Every Thursday through October features the Union City food truck event at Union Landing, in the Walmart parking lot. Between 4:30pm and 9:00pm, nine or so food trucks dole out their specialties to the masses. I was fortunate enough to have been able to experience it this past Thursday and gorged myself on several fantastic dishes from various trucks.

Bigg Shrimp'n
I started out with a couple of shrimp tacos. Loaded with seasoned shrimp, cucumber, pickled carrots & turnips, and cilantro, this taco was a great start. The shrimp were fresh, had a nice spicy seasoning, and the veggies were crispy.

Rice Rockit
Following the tacos were a couple of beer-boiled longanisa sliders. Boiled in San Miguel beer, these sliders had delectable sausage, grilled red onion, garlic aioli and were topped with a fried egg. As someone who loves fried egg atop of anything, these were very tasty.

Mogo BBQ
Lucky for me, one of my favorite trucks was at this event. This time I enjoyed a dirty dog, which had bacon, jack and cheddar cheeses, lettuce/cabbage slaw and topped with a chipotle sauce. This probably wasn't my favorite dish from Mogo, as I like my dogs a bit denser, but it was a good size and had good flavor.

Gourmet Rockstars
This truck was new to me, and it was the highlight of the whole evening. Serving phenomenal burgers and probably awesome grilled cheese, this truck was also painted like "the grid" from "Tron". Being a "Tron" fan, I had to try a burger. The Electro had a thick patty of fresh ground beef that was juicy and well seasoned, melted cheddar cheese, super crispy fried onion rings with a creamy horseradish sauce. All this was piled high between a buttery, dense but soft, toasted bun. This was one of the best burgers I've ever tasted. Every single component of this burger was high quality, high caliber and highly delicious. An absolute winner, which I hope to experience again next week.

Patxi's Chicago Pizza--Palo Alto

I've found a new place for great deep-dish pizza. Located at 441 Emerson Street in Palo Alto, Patxi's has several locations around the bay area, including three locations just in S.F. alone. 

It was fairly busy when I got there at about 6:30pm on a Saturday night. But one convenient aspect of Patxi's is that you can put in your order while you're waiting for a table. Then, hopefully, by the time you get a table, your pizza will be ready as well. While waiting for a table, I enjoyed a pint of Hoegaarden Wit bier, a very pale Belgian white ale.

While I was expecting to enjoy a good brew, I was not expecting my brew to look like lemonade. But the taste, as light as it was, still had body and flavor. I must hand it to the Belgians. They do make a good brew.

We enjoyed two different pizzas. One was their signature stuffed deep dish. Pictured below and savored was the Classic Meat combo with pepperoni, Italian sausage and Canadian bacon. Not only were all the toppings and sauce fresh, the dough was probably one of the best that I've tasted on a deep dish pizza. I'm not sure how they cook it or what they put in it, but it wasn't overly cooked on the outside or doughy on the inside. It was also buttery and had a sweetness to it. Everything was in perfect harmony, like a well-conducted symphony of flavors and textures.

We also tried a "thin crust" pizza. This one was their Prosciutto combo with aged prosciutto and mozzarella. Also a winning crust that was crispy on the outside and chewy on the inside. The next time I visit Patxi's, I will be sure to try their "extra thin crust" pizza.

 It's also a good feeling to patronize an establishment that believes in sustainability and eco-efficiency. Patxi's composts all food waste and all their take out materials are recyclable or compostable. Their produce vendors also purchase from local and organic farmers as much as possible. Excellent food, excellent drink, and environmentally responsible. What more could you ask for?

Falafel Etc.--Fremont (Middle Eastern cuisine)

I never knew what a falafel was supposed to taste like until I visited Falafel Etc. at 39200 Fremont Blvd. in Fremont. The place is reminiscent of my high school cafeteria, but it fries up fresh falafels that are crispy on the outside, and when bitten into, exposes their green, spiced up softness on the inside. I am somewhat of a regular here, and each time I visit, Ramzi, part one of the two part husband and wife owners, is there to greet me warmly.

To remain true to their Middle Eastern roots, some of their spices are imported directly from Israel, where Ramzi and his wife, Zuhad are from. Knowing that something I may be eating has been shipped from afar, makes me appreciate it that much more. During this visit, I started out with the hummus. Who ever thought the humble garbanzo bean had the potential to be so creamy and delicious.

They have plates or sandwiches available for their falafel or shawarma. I usually go for the sandwich since it has those tasty falafels, pickles, tomatoes, cucumber, tahineh and cabbage salad all tucked into a warm, soft, and fresh pita (probably the best pita I've tasted). They also have a condiment bar where you can add more tzatziki sauce, pickles, tahineh or spicy chili sauce to your liking.

Their shawarma plates are very good as well. Below is a lamb shawarma, which came with your choice of salad (tabbouleh, greek, spinach and cabbage) and also your choice of either hummus or baba ghannouj. They also serve this with a side of fresh pita bread.

Overall, Falafel Etc. is a great place for a casual lunch or dinner. The service is usually pretty fast. You order at the counter and they bring it to you; and they bus your table when you leave. They also cater and you can reserve the outdoor seating area for parties. Reasonable prices for a great meal.

Fonda Solana--Albany (Latin cuisine)

Right next door to Berkeley is the little city of Albany. And in Albany is Solano Avenue; a very hip strip of popular restaurants and little boutiques. One of these popular restaurants is Fonda Solana, which serves high-end Mexican small plates perfect for sharing and sampling. Located at 1501 Solano Avenue, this restaurant is open late 7 days a week and features a full bar with a wide selection of spirits to choose from.

But not only do they have great drinks, they also have great food. Not surprisingly, it was fairly busy for a Thursday night, but I still got a table very quickly. I started out with a Mojito. This was a well-balanced, very refreshing drink. Not too sweet and not too tangy, with just the right amount of alcohol. A perfect start to whet my appetite.

I was with three other people, so many plates could be shared. Our appetizers were the guacamole with chips and salsa and tuna tartare. Even though I am not a big fan of avocado, I try to eat it due to its health benefits and am fine with it in the form of guacamole. This guacamole was fresh and not overly played up, letting the natural flavors come through. The tuna tartare was very tangy with fresh lime juice and lightly seasoned. Two good starters.

For our seafood entree, we had the sauteed prawns and also ordered two sides of Fonda's homemade corn tortillas for this dish. The tortillas come rolled up in dark burgundy cloth napkins and are steaming hot when unrolled. The perfect accompaniment to any of Fonda's dishes. The prawns were served in a bath of salsa negra, garlic and lime sauce. I could've slurped up this sauce right from the bowl, but instead, opted to use pieces of tortilla to lap it up and linger in its magnificent flavor.

One of my favorite dishes at Fonda's is their skirt steak. Grilled as you like it, they serve it sliced thin with a side of fried Manchego onion rings on a plate drizzled with a mojo colorado sauce. We ended up ordering two of these.

The grand finale was dessert. Fonda's makes a fabulous warm chocolate cake that oozes out the chocolately goodness when you stick a fork in it. It's also served with a homemade whipped cream that is dense, not too sweet and a perfect side to a decadent cake. I could've had an order of just the cream.

I would highly recommend Fonda Solana if you are in the Berkeley/Albany area. Great for happy hour, dinner or a late night meal.