Finally, to round out the Memorial Day weekend food fest, we had lunch at the Whole Ox Deli in Kakaako. It was a milestone event for us as we usually end up patronizing "new" establishments only after they're about a year old (think Heeia Kea Pier Deli or Prima which we haven't even visited yet). So dining after 59 days of the grand opening is something to behold!
Anyway after reading reviews on Yelp and the like, I knew there were several dishes I wanted to try like the porchetta sandwich, the pulled pork sandwich, the 28 day dry aged burger, the fried potatoes... Since I wanted to uncork an Italian Bordeaux blend, I decided on the 28 day dry aged burger. This gotta taste like a steak burger versus a plain old hamburger if they dry age it for 4 weeks (the better steak houses age for 4 to 6 weeks)!
Now to uncork the 1993 Gaja Darmagi. Once again, if Cheval Blanc is good enough for Myles' burger, an Italian Bordeaux blend should be good enough for my 28 day dry aged burger!
The Burger
With the Fried Potatoes
The Mrs' special, 48 Hour Roasted Porchetta Sandwich with Slaw
Side Mac Salad
Homemade Pickles
The burger was as advertised and more. It had a good steak-like flavor and it wasn't compacted like a hockey puck with a nice pink-red interior. In fact, the Mrs proclaimed it to be the best burger on the island (she overtly placed a knife next to my plate stating that it was to "cut your burger" for her sample. The fried potatoes were also the BOMB! Crisp and salty (they use coarse Kosher salt) on the outside and creamy, almost mash potato-like on the inside. The only thing that would have made it better is a side of tartar sauce for dippin'.
The Mrs' porchetta sandwich also was no slouch with lechon-like tender strings of shredded pork and a nice balancing creamy slaw on a toasted roll.
And now the negatives. There are only about 3 or 4 picnic tables on the inside with another 4 or 5 on the outside. We were lucky to get an outside table under the shade of a ficus tree (luckily no birds were above us). However there was an occasional sulfur fume coming from somewhere in the neighborhood - I was just hoping my dining companions didn't think it was coming from me. And luckily for us, their electricity kicked off a couple minutes AFTER we all received our food so subsequent patrons were left high and dry. I guess both misfortunes (fumes and no electricity) weren't the fault of the Whole Ox Deli so we'll be back for more...
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