Before you ask why this column is about some secretive
club only open to those who know the secret handshake, it’s not really a club
nor is it a secret. It’s simply dinners arranged by Grant Shindo also known as
Chuggy Bear who started it with business partner Thomas Obungen as their
consulting business, Slug Media which initially focused on the restaurant
industry. As friends asked to be included in these dinners, it eventually
became such a large informal group that they decided to formalize these dinners
in the form of Chuggy’s Super Secret Super Club. It’s not exclusive as all you
have to do is add yourself to the Slug Media e-mail list to be notified of
future events.
Because one of their consulting goals is to improve the
bottom line of restaurants, most of the dinners are held on Mondays, Tuesdays
or Wednesdays when most restaurants have trouble filling their tables. Since
the Mrs. and I work in Wahiawa, it’s nearly impossible to leave work on time
and make it to a dinner in downtown Honolulu or worse, Waikiki by 6:00pm. So
we’ve never attended any of these dinners… until recently when the Supper Club
temporarily turned into the Brunch Club on a Sunday. All because the operators
of Ethel’s Grill always wanted to do a brunch and since they normally are closed
on Sundays, decided to do a special brunch on Sunday.
Ethel’s Grill
Originally purchased by Ryoko and Yoichi Ishii in 1978 several
years after arriving from Okinawa and Tokyo respectively and currently run by
daughter Minaka Ishii Urquidi and her husband Robert Urquidi, Ethel’s Grill has
been a mainstay for locals and tourists alike for local cuisine for the past 40
years. They were even featured in Parts Unknown with Tony Bourdain in 2015 when
he discussed local culture with Chefs Andrew Le of The Pig and the Lady and
Mark “Gooch” Noguchi of the Pili Group while consuming Ethel’s classic dishes
like pig feet soup, tripe stew, mochiko
chicken, taco rice, bittermelon with spam and Japanese hamburger steak.
And though Ethel’s Grill has been a Honolulu mainstay for
decades, we’ve never been there as it’s located in the industrial district of
Kalihi, makai of Nimitz Highway and
only open on Tuesday through Saturday from 8:00am until 2:30pm so parking is
virtually non-existent and Ethel’s only seats 23 people maximum and they don’t
take reservations (and it’s cash only) so even if you do find a parking (that’s
not blocking one of the many business entrances), you may not get table or have
to wait with the many other patrons also waiting to get a table. But the Brunch
Club is on a Sunday when we’re both off and parking is a reasonable couple of blocks
away and because the seating is pre-paid, we do have a reserved table.
The Sunday Brunch
For $41 which included tax and tip, the meal started with
house made pickles including:
Spicy baby turnips, shichimi
spiced bittermelon and warabi with
onions.
Then progressed to a green salad with Ethel’s famous
parsley salad dressing.
Then miso soup
Followed by a small portion of their famous ahi tataki
on sprouts with that garlic, ponzu
and sesame sauce (which they should bottle and sell)
Diners then had their choice of entrees which included
the:
Crab and Boursin (soft, creamy French cheese) Omelet with
Ikura
Mochiko Chicken
and French Toast
Country Fried Steak with Sausage Gravy
Mortadella (upscale Italian bologna) Katsu Sando Super Deluxe
Misoyaki Salmon
with Lomi Tomatoes
Chorizo Soft Scramble on Breadshop Toast with Roasted
Kale and Fingerling Potatoes
I initially intended on selecting the misoyaki salmon as I love any form of
salmon, raw, cold smoked, hot smoked, grilled, simmered, fried… and the idea of
two sunny side eggs on misoyaki
salmon had me salivating like Pavlov’s dogs… then that imaginary guardian chef
angel sitting on my shoulder told me, “you can make misoyaki salmon at home and cook your own sunny side eggs”. True.
“but it’s mendokusai taking out that
cast iron skillet, tenderizing a slab of breakfast steak then pan frying it”.
Also true. So I selected the Country Fried Steak. Which was very tender with a
light, flaky crust and rich brown gravy. I almost couldn’t finish it until I
summoned the guardian angel in my stomach to stretch it out just a wee bit
more.
The Mrs. had an easier time selecting her entrée as she
usually avoids all fried foods except French fries so she immediately ruled out
the mochiko chicken (even if it’s
another of Ethel’s specialties) and the Mortadella katsu which was humungous! And her Crab and Boursin Omelet was as
good as omelets get. She initially worried that the cheese might overshadow the
fine flavor of crab but it actually perked up the crab flavor and gave the omelet
a fluffier quality with the ikura
adding an element of salt to cut through the rich flavors. She finished her
entrée with no problem unlike her table mate.
The meal concluded with a Haupia Pudding with Chocolate Chip Matcha Granola and Pineapple Compote. When I first read the
description of dessert, it didn’t sound very appetizing but I should have known
better. You see, Minaka Ishii Urquidi met Robert Urquidi when they both worked
at Sam Choy’s Restaurant where she specifically created the desserts. Then when
I took that first bite, that underlying piquant bitterness from matcha and chocolate balanced the rich
flavor of coconut in the haupia
pudding and the granola gave an opposing textural sensation while the
caramelized sweet and sour flavors of the pineapple perfectly balanced the haupia the way pineapple and coconut
blend in a perfect pina colada. And the Mrs. boldly stepped up to the plate to
finish my leftover dessert!
As you read this, the May Super Secret Supper Club dinner
at MW Restaurant will be in the books (held May 1st), but the June
Supper is already planned for June 11th at Fete in Chinatown. To be
notified of future events, simply add your e-mail to the Slug Media list and if
a Super Secret Supper Club meal on June 11th sounds enticing, simply
go to Grant Shindo’s (Chuggy Bear) Facebook pages for all of the details.
Chuggy’s Super Secret Supper Club
Ethel’s Grill
232 Kalihi St
Honolulu, HI 96819
(808) 847-6467
Tuesday to Saturday 8:00am to 2:30pm
No reservations, cash only
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