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Chow, bella! |
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I’m going to confess there are some foods, and food venues, that I have steered away from with a vengeance. Past experiences left me swearing I would NEVER, EVER, chow down these regrettable decisions again. What are these epicurean experiences that I shunned, you ask? Pizza. And Food Trucks.
*GASP* How could I not like pizza? That is practically un-American! Well, the town I grew up in, Schenectady, NY,
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 *UGH* Bad Pizza! |
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| had to have the worst pizza on the planet. Half cooked bread dough by the slice, smothered in a can of tomato sauce, dusted with cheap plastic cheese and embellished with pools of oily matter reflecting off its nebulous surface. I honestly thought you had to blot the grease off of pizza with a paper napkin before you eat it. Like you have to take lobster out of its shell: you have to blot your pizza. If it happened to be upscale pizza you would get a few coins of hard red stuff described to me as “pepperoni”, dried out to the point that I’m convinced a dental office owned all the pizza joints in town because a cracked tooth was often inevitable. But they did float on the grease, like meaty little life rafts, so they were easy to pick off. | |
 Zpizza Ward
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So when Zpizza opened up at Ward Center I was skeptical at best. Drove by it every day for months on my way to work. Meh. Pizza. Well, along came a Tweetup and I was told they had salads, so I didn’t have to eat pizza. The resulting experience has changed my mind about pizza; at least Zpizza Pizza. Owner Karen brought out generous samples of fresh made, organic ingredient infused, little bits of Pizzaliciousness. |
| Zpizza is a franchise from California and Karen and Caesar took the plunge to open their first shop at Ward. Recently they opened a second one in Kailua, which makes it even easier for me to say “I’m too tired to cook dinner” (wink, wink, nudge, nudge) several times a week.
I have to admit I am hooked on the Pear Gorgonzola Rustica Pizza. To the point where I walk in the door, the staff knows what I want without me telling them. Should my first tattoo be a slice of the PGR? Perhaps… Follow @zpizzahawaii, they will follow you back and interact with your tweets. And check out some Pizza Pics here! |
 A slice of Heaven: homemade Garlic Sauce, fresh Basil & Tomato |
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Food Trucks. Roach Coaches. Yuck. Never having experienced anything from a truck growing up on the mainland other than the Good Humor Man and the Library Bookmobile, I was intrigued by all the Plate Lunch Wagons around town when I moved to Hawaii. And I swore all the trucks had to be owned by the same guy (not a Dentist) because the food was exactly the same no matter which truck I tried. Two scoops of dried out white rice with some sort of super salty, rawhide textured, sugar drenched Teriyaki sauce mystery meat or chicken and a scoop of mayonnaise flooded elbow noodles married to chopped up potato chunks known as Macaroni Salad. Or the omnipresent white rice, steam table hamburger patty and fried egg drenched in brown gravy known as “Loco Moco” , which I was convinced was ancient Hawaiian for “Hockey Puck with Macaroni Salad”. Since then I have discovered really yummy Loco Moco, but that is another tale.
 The Ono to Go Mobile, THE BEST FOOD TRUCK!!!
When all around entrepreneur Wedge Lee announced on Twitter he was starting a food truck I was thinking “Sheesh, I gotta try it to be polite because Wedge is a Twitter pal and I need to support his new business…”
Lo and behold, Ono To Go has proved to serve up superb restaurant quality food on wheels, using the finest and freshest ingredients. The menu varies every day and they are open from 11 am to 2:30 pm. But get there long before 2:30, because their food is so Onolicious, when they run out, they run out!  Lemon Herb Shrimp Plate Lemon Herb Shrimp, Pork Chops, Steak, Fish of the Day. All grilled up on premises and served with white or brown rice and THE WORLD’S BEST MAC SALAD!!! What did I say before about Mac Salad? This is in it’s own cosmic culinary league. Do not get between this girl and Ono to Go Mac Salad or you will experience the wrath of Bizzilla. And did I mention the fresh Poke? I’ve had some okay Poke. And some really not so okay Poke. You gotta try this okay dokey Poke! Not your average hokey Poke… Fresh Limu, Ahi, Kauai Sea Salt and Wedge’s secret magic spices make this another fave of mine. Take a peek at some grinds here!
Beyond the good food, Wedge makes sure you know the menu and where they are located via @onotogo on Twitter. Other food trucks try and get the word out, but they are inconsistent at best, often saying they will be at some location and never showing up or moving someplace else and not letting any one know. Way to lose a client, you other food truck fools, you! So that’s it. Turns out I do like Pizza if it’s Zpizza, and I will eat at a food truck if it’s Ono to Go. And you know what? I have yet to see a Good Humor truck or a Bookmobile since I’ve been in Hawaii. Hmm…Books and Ice Cream? Could be a new Food Truck Concept! “Read it and Eat”? Happy Eating,
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Archive for ◊ December, 2010 ◊
Caffinate Me! |
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I crave a good coffee. I have to bring my own to work because the Office Coffee Maker Fairy makes a cup so vile to my stomach that I cannot drink it, no matter how much I need the Jangle Juice. Some folks like it just fine, but my tummy screams “Acid Attack” every time I try it. So in defense of a good cuppa I’ve had to wander further from work to satisfy my cravings and find a nice place or two to relax.
We have a $tarbuck$ across the street that I frequent because it is close, and their Egg Salad Sandwiches are like Crack to me. But I must reveal two of my favorite places to grab coffee and a bit to eat that have two distinct personalities: Petals & Beans and ING Direct Café Waikiki. |
 Iced Mocha Yumnaz! Hey, it's 87 degrees out, CHILL! |
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 C'mon in! |
I love the ambiance of Petals & Beans! Owners Wanda and Dennis have created a luscious little oasis filled with gorgeous flowers and a myriad of tempting little gifts. Because this is not only a fabulous coffee bar but a Flower Shop as well. Perfect for meeting a few friends to relax and enjoy beautiful pastries with your caffination! Not really a full on lunch menu, more of a selection of tasty sweets to while away the afternoon with.
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 Stop and smell the flowers The gift selection changes seasonally and the large cooler is always full of beautiful blossoms on display. And they do wires as well: I just recently sent my Mom in Hilton Head a Christmas arrangement to brighten up her home. Park in the Hokua building and get your ticket as well as your existence validated! Check out some pics here. |
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 Coffee, please!
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For a different experience I head over to ING Café in Waikiki. They have a large facility for bigger gatherings of Coffee Hounds, as well as a conference room you can reserve through the Café. Located at the entrance to Waikiki, there is plenty of free parking for you and your friends, so the excuse of not visiting a Waikiki establishment because of no parking doesn’t work here, kids! |
| The cool thing about ING is that it’s a bank. Yep. An online bank providing checking, savings, loans and investing. All of the staff is on hand to help you open an account or manage your transactions, as well as making a mean cup of Java. |
 Relax on the Lanai |
The food at ING is more along the lines of hearty Breakfast and Lunch fare, all reasonably priced. My fave is “The Baconator”. I christened it that when I first experienced it’s puffy pastry goodness. I’ve been known to shed a few tears when they are out of this tasty bit of Baconlicoiusness. You can see more ING pics on my photoset.
 THE Baconator! Hands off, I'm not gonna share!
In addition to being a cool place to hang out, they have a very nice selection of must-haves; from coffee cups to bicycles and all sorts of items in between. I bought a backpack for a quick day trip to Hilo last year and it held everything I needed as a carry-on. Which reminds me: A vulture was boarding a plane with two dead raccoons. When he tried to put them in the overhead bin, the Flight Attendant said, “I’m sorry sir, only one carrion per passenger.” Ok. There is a reason why I’m a Realtor and not a Comedian… So go out there and try my nifty hangouts. You’d be surprised how good they are. I might even see you there! A hui ho,
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Remember |
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December 7th, 1941. You are dozing in your barracks, trying to recover from a Saturday night out on the big town of Honolulu. You still have your dress pants on as you snore away the previous night’s dancing. Christmas is coming and there are a lot of parties to attend.
Fifty-one airplanes were on the ground at Hickam, the headquarters of the Hawaii Air Force. A flight of twelve B-17 Flying Fortresses en-route from California to the Philippines was expected that morning. Due to weight considerations, none of the B-17s were armed and were low on fuel after the long haul across the water. |
 Dawn is breaking |
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 Ready to roll |
At 8:40am the Japanese struck Hickam, and by 9:45 the attack was over. Many of the B-17s were on the ground at the airfield; some were forced to attempt to land elsewhere. One enterprising pilot, forced away from Bellows, landed on the fairway of the Kahuku Golf Course. In all ten of the B-17s survived the attack, a bit worse for wear, and went on to play a vital role in the war in the Pacific.
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 The enlisted men's barracks today In the course of an hour, Hickam’s casualties totaled 121 men killed, 274 wounded and 37 missing. As many buildings on base were destroyed, the Honolulu Fire Department’s Kalihi and Palalma stations responded to battle the blaze in the hangars. The enlisted men’s barracks had been repeatedly strafed and bombed, the devastation can still be seen today in the walls. Where bullets went through the walls the holes are now framed in what is currently office space. |
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 Honor Guard
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Today, sixty-nine years later, many people do not know that Hickam also fell on that day. So much press has been given to Pearl Harbor, and rightly so as they had huge loss of life, while little has been said about the other attacks. The Japanese forces took out Kaneohe, Bellows, Hickam and other airfields around Oahu first as insurance that no aircraft would give chase during the second wave of attacks on Pearl Harbor Shipyard. |
| Attending the ceremony was extremely moving for me personally. My father Lynn was a Navy pilot in WW II, his brother Newt was an Army Air Forces pilot who was shot down and held prisoner of war by the Japanese. My mother’s brother, 1st Lt. James E. Roach was killed while faithfully serving his country in the U.S. Air Force.
 Taps
The best way I can describe this is in pictures as I’m at a loss for words today. I have a photoset up here .
Thank you to our Military for all your service in keeping my country safe. God bless you and our beautiful America. Aloha,
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