Unless you’re living under a rock, I’m sure you’ve seen
or at least are aware of that mass proliferation of condominiums in the new
Kaka’ako. Ideal living conditions for local families right in the heart of
Honolulu within walking distance of shops, restaurants and supermarkets. Who am
I kidding? The prices for those condominiums only seem within the budget of
rich tourists tired of their usual monthly vacations at The Kahala and the
Halekulani during the winter. Especially since daily supermarket trips to Whole
Foods – and I love occasional trips to Whole Foods in Kailua – usually isn’t in
the regular budget of most working class folks. But we can eat like the folks
who purchase those condominiums. At Salt at Our Kaka’ako.
Highway Inn
Along with the usual traditional Hawaiian dishes such as kalua pig, lau, lomi salmon, chicken
long rice and squid luau, Highway Inn
also serves other local favorites like tripe stew, smoked meat, poke bowls, salt meat watercress, pulehu ribs and kalua pig and cabbage. However, my favorite time to dine is on
those rare Mondays that are either holidays or on vacations as Highway Inn
serves unique loco moco specials just on Mondays. However, if you can’t make it
on Monday morning, they also offer a Smoked Moco every day with smoked meat
sautéed with peppers and onions slathered with smoked aioli and topped with two
Petersons’ Upland Farm eggs and I usually splurge having it with fried rice for
an extra $3.95. Along with a side of Danny Bishop’s Ho’I’o (fiddle head fern shoots) Salad and some Potato-Mac Salad,
it makes for the perfect brunch.
Hank’s Haute Dogs
Sitting just about a block behind Highway Inn lies the
new Hank’s Haute Dogs – new because it moved about 25 feet closer to the ocean with
the re-development of Kaka’ako. And they now serve their Lobster Dog (featured
on Diners, Drive-Inns & Dives) and their Lobster Fat Boy (the lobster dog
wrapped in bacon and deep fried) on Fridays through Sundays instead of just one
day a week. You can also enjoy their classic Chicago Dog, Chili Dog and
Bratwurst plus 4 other dogs every day along with the Hankburger though I’m
still waiting to sample the Greek with a grilled lamb sausage served only on
Fridays. Hank’s also now serves beer and wine that you can enjoy both inside
and his outside private dining area.
Butcher & Bird
No matter where I dine at Salt at Our Kaka’ako, I always
make a requisite stop at Butcher & Bird located on the 2nd level
for locally raised beef and pork along with fresh and cured sausages aged right
in their on-site curing room. They also sell various spice rubs and house made
pickles and by the time this goes to press, their dessert chef should be back
at work so you can also pick up cookies and various sweets. They also serve
lunch and dinner but I’ll admit that I simply pack a cooler with chill packs to
take-out from their deli counter.
FISH Honolulu
Adjacent to Butcher & Bird is FISH Honolulu and I’ll
admit that during our first several trips to Salt, always by-passed FISH
Honolulu simply because it’s an open air restaurant. One of my dining
requirements is air conditioning since the 50th usually only
experiences two seasons – an extremely hot summer lasting from October through
May and an unbearable summer from June through September. However, since we’ve
actually had a cool and windy Winter this year, we stopped by for lunch at FISH
Honolulu and though my lobster roll was very good, the highlight of the meal
were the oysters on the half shell from the Puget Sound and the fries served
with the lobster roll. They were thinly sliced wedges of potatoes shaped like
mini surfboards and very crisp and tender. My next meal at FISH Honolulu will
simply be a dozen (or two) oysters on the half shell along with a basket full
of those fries… and perhaps a cocktail (or two)…
Vein at Kaka’ako
Though I desired more oysters on a subsequent visit to
Salt, we decided to have lunch at Vein at Kaka’ako and while my Prawn and
Spinach “Omurice” was very good, the Mrs.’s Porcini Carbonara was the hit of
the meal. Normally carbonara can be a little too rich since there’s often milk
or cream, butter and rendered pancetta drippings, but this version was lighter
but still very delicious with the earthy porcini mushrooms, a little salt from
the pancetta and the perfect egg yolk to mix in with the pasta. It was so good
that the Mrs. wants to re-order (my mantra is to always try something
different) it when we return… and I’ll probably order it too!
Lonohana Hawaiian
Estate Chocolate
Along with that requisite stop at Butcher & Bird, we
also always stop by Lonohana before leaving Salt for several bars of Hawaii created
chocolate. While they do create a couple of bars from South American grown
cacao, most of their bars are created from locally grown cacao from a 14 acre
farm on the North Shore. And while they do create several flavored milk
chocolate bars, for me it’s not chocolate unless it’s dark and bittersweet with
at least 60% to 70% cocoa solids. And my favorite is the Orange and Vanilla
dark chocolate with 70% cocoa solids. Though most gourmands may feel that
raspberries are the perfect fruit pairing with chocolate, I beg to differ and
feel that orange perfectly complements a dark chocolate. In fact the Mrs.
enjoys their chocolate so much that she’s considering one of Lonohana’s
memberships where you receive several bars of pre-selected chocolate every 8
weeks!
Bevy
On the mountainside ewa
corner of Salt at Our Kaka’ako is another of my favorite establishments to
enjoy happy hour. The brainchild of mixologist Christian Self, Bevy features an
eclectic tasting food menu along with some of the most creative libations
created by the mixologist himself including barrel aged whiskies and cocktails.
But our time here is between 4pm and 7pm on Saturdays (happy hour is also 4pm
to 7pm on weekdays) when they feature some of the freshest oysters on the half
shell for $1.50 apiece. That’s just $18 for a whole dozen. $18 will simply get
you about 4 oysters in Waikiki. And all small plates of food and canned beer are
reduced by $2 or if you desire a fancier libation, their cocktail of the day
and Champagne just sets you back $6. And on two occasions, because mixologist
Self created a huge cocktail bowl simply to photograph and post on social
media, he shared that bowl with patrons on-the-house. And when the hipsters
start appearing at 8pm to 9pm, we’re already back at home with sated stomachs.
Salt at Our
Kaka’ako
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