A Big Island of Flavor

While MM and I enjoy traveling, we usually don't do a big blowout vacation.  Since we're both workaholics, taking a full week off from work is a pretty foreign concept.  But, we hit a milestone wedding anniversary this past year, and decided it was time to do a nice vacation.  MM had won a week at a timeshare anywhere in the U.S. in a charity auction, so we decided to use it for our big vacation, and suddenly, Hawaii came up.  Not being big beach/sand/pool people, we never had really considered it.  Next thing I know, I'm booking a 12 hour flight to paradise.

We spent a week on the big island of Hawaii.  It truly is paradise, as well as a throwback in time.  During our time there, we had a little bit of everything - fine dining, simple eats, and old school hawaiian.  Here's our recommendations:

Sam Choy's Kai Lanai


Just south of Kona, Sam Choy's serves up a modern spin on Hawaiian fare. Sam Choy is a native Hawaiian who owns restaurants on Oahu, Maui and the Big Island.  The restaurant sits up the hillside, with sweeping panoramic views of the Pacific.  They serve breakfast, lunch and dinner.  We went for breakfast our first day here, and started off our trip right.  MM ordered the loco moco, a traditional hawaiian dish, but with a Sam Choy spin with pork and served over fried rice (or as our waitress said when the options of rice, fried rice yum...)

I went with the pineapple, papaya, and macadamia nut upside down pancakes.  Check out those mac nuts!!  Loaded!!

We noticed this juice on several of the tables, and asked our waitress, and it is the native POG juice - papaya, orange and guava juice.  This meal was a great start to our culinary adventures for the week.

We stopped in for pupus (appetizers) and mai tais later in the week (when in Rome...), and we had the brie fried wontons.  Beautiful presentation and even beltter flavor.

Kona Brewing Company
Located in downtown Kona, Kona Brewing's home base is a small beer operation, as they only brew beer for kegs that are distributed throughout the Hawaiian Islands. (Anything you get in a bottle or draft  on the mainland is made in Oregon, in case you were wondering...).

They do have a beautiful restaurant on premises with pupus, pizzas and pub fare. I went Hawaiian with the Kalua Pork Tacos.  MM had a BBQ chicken sandwich, where the BBQ sauce was made with the brewery's Black Sand Porter and served with housemade black pepper chips.

Black Sand Porter BBQ Chicken Sandwich w/Housemade Black Pepper Chips

Kalua Pork Tacos

The entire menu is not really Hawaiian, but the beer makes up for it.  The Pacifier IPA was my favorite, and MM enjoyed the Vanilla Thrilla Porter.  They do offer brewery tours twice daily, but get there early enough to sign up - max is 15 people per tour.

Da Poke Shack
Usually we like to mix it up and only go to a restaurant once on a trip.  We went here 4 times.  A small storefront along Alii Drive, Da Poke Shack makes fresh daily poke bowls, as well as Huli Huli Chicken, which is a half rotisserie chicken Hawaii style. This place was always busy with people coming in and out, and we quickly learned why we would be back again.  And again.  And again.  We actually bought some poke for the trip home, and when we ate the last of what we bought when we returned to North Carolina, we were immediately homesick for Hawaii.

Shack Special Poke with Crab Salad

Huli Huli Chicken with Crab Salad

Dynamite Poke with Avocado Aioli with Kim Chee Mussels

Octopus and Kim Chee Cucumbers

 They have a couple picnic tables out front, but a quick walk to the beach.  They do serve beer, but frown upon open container.  Dynamite Poke, Kirin Light + Big Island = One Happy Foodie

We met the owner Albert on one of our stops in, who showed us the cooler with 2 - 40lb. yellowfins he had caught that morning, and which we ate the next day.

Teshima's
An old school Japanese bento-style restaurant.  The formica on the walls matched the countertops from my grandparents' house.  The food is legit.  Teshima, who is now 105 years old, still works and cooks in the restaurant.  We were disappointed we didn't see her when we stopped in....the quality and the QUANTITY of the bento boxes were insane.  I could barely finish mine...and MM had ordered extra ahi.

Beef Teriyaki and Shrimp Tempura w Rice, Miso Soup, Tsukemono, and Sumomono 

Sidecar of  Sashimi Ahi 

Deep sea trio combo - Shrimp Tempura, Sauteed Ahi and Sashimi 

Manago Hotel

This is a locals place, but people on the hunt for top notch food will find there way here. It is an old-style hotel about 10 miles south of Kona near Captain Cook.  Rooms are still available for nearly $40 a night.

The restaurant is a complete throwback to your banquet rooms.  The only menu is one peg board in the middle of the room (which I did get some flack from locals when I walked over to check it out).

Prior to our meal, the sides are brought out for us to share - sesame broccoli, mixed vegetables, macaroni potato salad, and rice.  I loved the rice, which was like a sushi rice, but not sticky.  By far the best white rice I ever had. MM had the pork chop, which is what the Manago is known for, which was smotherered with onions.  I had the butterfish, which was a little bony, but so rich and delicious.

Famous Pork Chop

Butterfish

The Coffee Shack
On the way from Kona to the volcano in Captain Cook, sits the Coffee Shack, surrounded by coffee plants that run right up to HI-11.  Inside this small restaurant with two rooms of 10 tables each (if that...), serve breakfast, lunch and are known for their macadamia nut pies.  I had the papaya special - a 1/2 papaya filled with yogurt and topped with coconut, served with scrambled eggs and a pastry, which was a papaya banana muffin.  The papaya muffin was my favorite, as it was so moist, and the yogurt with coconut was great before a hike in the volcano.  MM got a special - the ahi tuna eggs benedict.

Ahi Eggs Benedict with Hollandaise, Grilled Onions, Capers and Potatoes

Papaya Special - Yogurt with pineapple and coconut in a papaya, scrambled eggs and a papaya banana muffin.

Big Island Brewhaus and Tako Taco Taqueria
Their claim is to fame is being Hawaii's highest brewery, as they are in the town of Waimea, which stands at 2,764 feet above sea level.  The restaurant is tiny and funky, but the lack of space doesn't limit the number of beers they have available - they had at least 12 different drafts available in both pint and half pints (which allowed us to sample most of the menu). My favorite was the mandarin gold, a seasonal beer made with mandarin oranges!

One would not think that mexican food in Hawaii would be good, but the food is just as good as the beer.  MM had the Sloppy Jose - beef and local cabbage in a house made tortilla and house made chips.  I had a chile relleno and enchilada combination.  Seriously - best chile relleno I ever had.  Looking at you, Bobby Flay.  This was worth hour drive from Kona, and got to see some of the lush countryside of the northern side of the island.

Sloppy Jose

Enchilada and chile relleno combination

Brown's Beach House

Since we were celebrating an anniversary, we had to find a special place to celebrate this special occasion.  About 40 minutes north of Kona on the Kohala Coast, is the Fairmont Orchid Hotel, a 4 star resort.  Their signature restaurant is Brown's Beach House, which sits just along the water.  We arrive for our dinner about 45 minutes prior to sundown, so we can watch the sunset from our table.  We had the corner table - best table in the house.  This was our view from our table:

The food was just as wonderful as the view.  We started the meal with a small canape of cucumber, heirloom tomato, and goat cheese, which was presented with the breadbasket - sourdough honey wheat bread with raisins & pistachios, served with butter and a sundried tomato spread.  I normally don't focus on what is in the bread basket, let alone indulge, but both the bread and the sundried tomato spread were amazing.

I started with the apple, banana and kabocha squash bisque, which was served with a banana creme and toasted mac nuts.  Kabocha squash is most like a pumpkin, so the squash with the sweetness of the banana was very comforting.  Would love this on a cold day, but just as good as a summer soup.

MM had the Kona coffee braised short ribs, served with grilled portabello over risotto and a Tia Maria sauce.  The short rib was so tender and flavorful, and again - coffee - when in Rome.

For entrees, MM likes his steak....so he went with the filet mignon, but it was not your typical filet, as it was served with a truffle foie gras demi, alongside a Kabocha mash and organic arugula.  Being huge macaroni and cheese fans, we couldn't say no to truffle, bacon, potato mac and cheese.  Yes, that all was in one dish, and was delicious.

I had the osso buco served along Kabocha mash, carrots and bok choy.  I am still talking about the marrow from the osso buco to this day.  Best meal I had not only in Hawaii, but definitely in the top 5 in my life.

Amazingly, we still had room for dessert, and we ordered a macadamia nut snickers bar.  By the sound of it, it would be extremely decadent, but it was very light and airy.  This dessert was just an experiment by the head chef and drew such rave reviews when served as a special, that it was added to the menu.

The big island has so much to offer, and from what the locals told us, less of the "hustle and bustle" of the other islands.  While the views, flora and scenery are memorable, the food is as well, and look forward to my return for a seat by the pool with a mai tai and a poke bowl.

Beasley's Chicken + Honey

Fried chicken never really was my thing. However, being entrenched in the southern lifestyle, I've discovered that fried chicken, when done right, can be amazing.  Beasley's Chicken + Honey gets it done, and then some.

Beasley's is part of three establishments opened in 2011 in one corner spot in downtown Raleigh. The trio is owned by local chef Ashley Christensen, who also owns the very popular and previously blogged Poole's Diner.  Beasley's focuses on fried chicken - serving a quarter chicken standalone, a chicken biscuit, or the combo chicken & waffles.  The chicken biscuit is an entire fried chicken breast served on a huge buttermilk biscuit served with a fried green tomato, dijon mustard and honey.  The chicken and waffles is by far my favorite - the waffle is so soft and flavorful, and the combination with the moist fried chicken (with your option of light or dark meat) make it extremely craveable.  This picture below was taken on a Friday night (alongside a moonshine margarita...), and I went back a week later and couldn't order anything else....and was just as delicious as I remember.

In case you want to branch out from fried chicken, the pork shoulder meatloaf, served with charred onion gravy a top a bed of whipped yukon potatoes.  The flavorful gravy truly brings this dish up a notch.  The man sitting next to us, who is a regular who always gets the fried chicken, said he was not disappointed on his opportunity to branch out.

Now what would a southern food restaurant be without its sides?  Sides are served a la carte, but you can buy a trio of sides as an entree.  The sides seasonally rotate, such as sauteed summer squash, watermelon with sea salt & olive oil, and stewed field tomatoes & vidalia onions, but the staple is the Ashe County cheddar pimiento mac and cheese custard.  It arrives at your table in a block of glory, and the pimiento gives it that added kick.  I'm not ashamed to say when I offered to split a side of it with a friend, we ordered a second helping because it was that good (and I think I got one forkful of the first serving...)

They go old fashioned by serving Nehi, RC Cola, and North Carolina favorite Cheerwine all in glass bottles, and also make fine cocktails as well like the moonshine margarita pictured above.  They are open for lunch every day and serve an additional brunch menu on Saturdays and Sundays until 4pm.

When I went to Beasley's, my expectations were not as high as when I went to the sister restaurant Poole's, since I left disappointed.  However, Beasley's simply blows all expectations out of the water, and think Beasley's far exceeds Poole's. I will put the chicken and waffles up against any I've had - even at the famous Roscoe's in Los Angeles and Hash House in Las Vegas.  And the mac & cheese here is better than the mac & cheese at Poole's, which is what they are known for.  If Ms. Christensen can keep up this high quality southern food, I will be channeling my inner southern girl more often, and I'll be saying "y'all" before you know it.

Beasley's Chicken + Honey

237 S Wilmington Street

Raleigh NC 27601

http://www.ac-restaurants.com/beasleys/

Foodie Road Trip to Durham

Memorial Day weekend is typically for taking a road trip to the beach to relax for the three day weekend.  Since I had a management development program to attend the week before the long weekend, we opted to stay local for this rare weekend of no plans and perhaps do things that we normally don't do, given our hectic schedules.  Immediately I gravitate to food, and say to MM "let's go to those places we typically don't get a chance to go to....let's go eat in Durham."  Durham?  Really?

For those that don't know the lay of the land in the Triangle, Durham and Raleigh are only 25 minutes apart.  Chapel Hill is another 10 minutes past Durham.  It's not far, yet seems a world away at times. MM and I both work and live in Raleigh, so it's easy to just stay in Raleigh for dinner. We will go to Durham for baseball games and events at the Durham Performing Arts Center, but never can seem to fit time in for dinner and an event, even though it's a short drive away.

Durham is known for Duke University and the site of the movie "Bull Durham."  It does get a rap for being a little rough, but it has a unique character with many tobacco factory buildings revamped into strips of shops, offices and restaurants.  They also do have a great food scene.

We make reservations Saturday evening at Vin Rouge, a French bistro on 9th Street, which is the heart of the Duke University area. There is a large patio in the front that is reminiscent of a true French bistro.  Once inside the restaurant, the exposed kitchen is immediately ahead of you, while there is a small waiting area surrounded by several tables on the way to the bar. We are seated in an adjacent room next to a window that overlooks a second patio, lined with potted herbs and assorted flowers.  This patio was not being used that evening, but easily could be, as the restaurant was packed.  The tables are quite close together, so it is a little tight.

We start with the oysters gratinee, which are served on an oyster platter, but are not served in the shell - they are shucked, covered in bacon, leeks and gruyere cheese.  I did pick up some pernod (licorice) flavor as well, and they did not skimp - one order had approximately 15 oysters, and they were delicious.

For our entrees, I get the Poulet Rôti Grand-Mére, also known as rotisserie chicken.  Two small chicken breast and thighs are served a top a broth with braised carrots, pearl onions, mushrooms, potatoes with thyme.  The chicken, while small, is incredibly moist, and there is great depth of flavor in the braised vegetables.  The thyme is really what accents this dish.  It's tough to have chicken after having Thomas Keller's chicken at Bouchon, but still pretty darn good.

MM gets the steak au poivre, which was being served as a ribeye this night instead of the usual sirloin.  It is served with a huge serving of pomme frites and a side of bearnaise sauce.  The steak was rather rare for a medium rare steak, and was a little overseasoned on the pepper, but the frites and bearnaise were delicious. I took half my chicken home and continued to eat MM's frites (isn't that what women are supposed to do?)

The highlight of the night may have been dessert, surprisingly.  We order the apple bread pudding, which our waiter tells us is his favorite.  A piece approximately 3 inches high makes its way to the table, with a dollop of house made whipped cream and in a bed of apple caramel sauce.  The perfect dessert, as it wasn't too heavy but full of flavor.

Vin Rouge has received many accolades, and is referred to as one of the best restaurants in the area.  Maybe not the best restaurant, but would definitely put it in my top 5. 

The next morning, we meet some friends that live in Durham for brunch, who recommend a couple restaurants, and based on the menus, we choose Watts Grocery, which is adjacent to the Duke campus.  In an old small brick store front, the interior is very modern with exposed beams and bricks and colorful decor.

We start with southwestern churros, smothered in cinnamon and served with a chocolate dipping sauce.  They had enough crunch on the outside, but soft and chewy on the inside.  Choosing an entree was no easy feat, as one entree sounded better than the next.  I opted for the omelet, which had chicken confit, arugula and pimiento cheese.  I chose grits over hash browns as my side, and a biscuit.

The chicken was very moist, the arugula was still raw which gave it some texture, and pimiento cheese melted? Need I say more?  The omelet, however, was overshadowed by the grits.  I usually don't order plain grits, as they tend to be very bland.  However, these were buttery and perfectly prepared.  The best standalone grits I've ever had (and I know...I'm a northerner, so nowhere near an expert...so we could say they are Yankee-approved).  The other surprise on the plate was the homemade raspberry jam.  I could have licked the inside of the cup, but that may have been frowned upon.  Nothing is better than homemade jam, and this was no exception.

MM got the house made chorizo and scrambled egg tacos, that were served with avocado and crumbled queso fresco.  Jalapenos were optional, which were even making Mr. Spicy sweat.  The chorizo was full of flavor and spice.

We hit two jewels in less than a 24 hour span, and will make me make the drive to see what else the Bull City has to offer my taste buds.  

Vin Rouge

2010 Hillsborough Road

Durham NC 27705

www.vinrougerestaurant.com

Watts Grocery

1116 Broad Street

Durham NC 27705

www.wattsgrocery.com