I’ve only got one stomach and one weekend! What’s a girl to do?

There are many places that have come and gone in the time since I moved from Maui to Oahu, 13 years ago. One newish restaurant I was curious to visit was Monkeypod Kitchen by Peter Merriman, one of the founding chefs of the Hawaii Regional Cuisine movement. We loved Merriman’s in Waimea, so when a friend suggested Monkeypod Kitchen for happy hour, it was quite an easy choice.

The atmosphere at Monkeypod Kitchen was quite lively. We did find ourselves shouting a bit, with tables close enough for eavesdropping and live music played throughout the restaurant and bar. But overall, I think it just contributes to the energy of the place, which I really enjoyed.

Happy hour pricing brings the excellent hand-crafted cocktails down to $8 – I had to order the “Makawao Avenue” given that we lived there for many years – bourbon, lemon, honey, angostura bitters, and ginger beer. We also tried the mai tai, which features the traditional recipe, with the addition of a honey-lilikoi foam which was quite tasty, but since I wasn’t feeling like rum, I went back to the Makawao Ave. They also have a great selection of beers on tap, including local breweries.

Our favorite appetizer was the pumpkin ravioli, lightly dressed with a brown butter-sage sauce and tossed with spinach and goat cheese. Non-seafood appetizers are half off during happy hour and at $6.50 for six pieces we came quite close to ordering a second of this dish.

Wood fired pizzas, like this Hamakua wild mushroom with truffle oil, are only $9 at happy hour. Personally I felt the cheese was a little too heavy – making it quite oily. But we’d also ordered a beet salad and a side of Parmesan-topped Brussels sprouts to balance everything out.

Given the heavy emphasis on locally sourced dishes at the Waimea restaurant, I was a tad disappointed that a lot of the menu isn’t as “local” as I would have expected – although I bet if we’d gone with fish it would have felt more “Merriman’s” to me. But everything was tasty, the service (especially at a casual/bar seating) was outstanding, and most importantly, I had great company. Thanks Bri!

Monkeypod Kitchen by Merriman’s
10 Wailea Gateway Place, B201
Kihei, HI 96753
(808) 891-2322

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We took the scenic route for sure, but we were on a bit of a mission: to check out the new Upcountry Farmers Market.

It seems like lately it’s become trendy/hipster to shop at farmers markets and some debate the authenticity of all the “local” produce – especially when you see booths offering garlic or mainland cauliflower, things that just don’t grow we’ll in Hawaii – people start to wonder just how much is truly local. Some will also turn up their noses at the handcrafted items or the booths selling cooked to order meals and wonder where are all the farmers?

But I think there’s room for all of these things. If I can get local produce, and also the garlic I won’t have to go to the grocery store for at the same time as I pick up a beautiful ham and egg basket for breakfast and a snack for later – why not?

I grew up at my moms table at the swap meet. She was a crafter and made all kinds of things – I remember Christmas ornaments, Hawaiian print bags, cute little rubber stamps. I saw her having that rapport with her regular customers, I’ve heard people haggle. So I have an utmost respect for anyone making their living at these markets.

Sure, shopping at a farmers market can be more expensive at times (although many times its cheaper and also fresher so there’s less spoilage) but I will happily pay a couple of extra dollars for something that someone puts their heart and soul into. That’s what I’m supporting.

The Saturday Upcountry farmers market was a great example of this.

As we walked down the aisle of booths, it made my heart happy to see the camaraderie – people catching up with neighbors and friends, and passionate vendors selling their goods. A little girl squeals with delight as a baby chick is placed into get hands. A musician sets up a blues piano while another plays “When You Wish Upon A Star” on a violin.

I lingered over a beautiful lineup of pastries and the women running the booth chimed in that the lemons for their lemon tart were all from their backyard, as were the edible flowers. Isn’t it lovely?

Kula strawberries were only $3 a box, though I was tempted to go for the 2 for $5. That’s cheaper than in-store!

Farm fresh eggs…

…and Easter bunnies!

Fresh ravioli with homemade ricotta, pastas, and sauces starting at $5

My favorite new snack: fresh seaweed strips that are hand painted with a flavored macadamia nut paste (this one is shiso/ume) and then dried. Vegan, gluten-free, and delicious!

There were fresh wheatgrass shots, massage tables, feather earrings, fresh juices, and beautiful flower arrangements too. All in all, a lovely way to spend a Saturday morning.

Upcountry Farmers Market
Kulamalu Town Center (behind Longs)
Saturdays 7am – noon

>> For a list of the latest posts related to FOOD, click here.
>> For more on MAUI, click here.

The kaiseki style of cuisine is truly a culinary art form. The set kaiseki menu is the only option at Nanzan Giro Giro, and the entire menu changes each month. You basically put your total trust in the restaurant, sit back, and let the show begin. For $50, seven courses are meticulously presented and prepared for you with beautiful ceramic serving dishes – created by the artist Nanzan. None of the dishes are large (maybe 3-4 bites for most) but I left feeling full, probably because you eat with your eyes first and the presentation is such a beautiful feast for your senses.

The March 2013 menu was titled the “Month of Growth” which feels appropriate, given that the word I picked for 2013 is GROW! A good friend decided to have her birthday dinner here so I was anxious to see how it compared to the menu I’d tried in November. My server mentioned that this month’s menu was more French-inspired than November, which to me was very heavy on traditional Japanese flavors. (The photo at the top was one of the courses last November.)

Course 1: Zensai

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shiitake dashi-maki vinegared dish; wakame, fried tofu, cucumber maguro, shungiku miso with karashi and vinegar

Tips for your visit

• Street parking on Pensacola or surrounding streets. I’ve gotten lucky both times but you may want to allow a few extra minutes to be sure you get parking.
• There is a wine pairing option with dinner, which includes 4 wines (2oz each) to pair with your courses for $25. I usually opt to do wine by the glass or bottle instead and there are also sakes and beer available.
• Dessert is an extra $8, and also rotates monthly, but always includes a tiny flavored macaron, a nod to their sister restaurant in Paris.

Nanzan Giro Giro
560 Pensacola Street
Honolulu, HI 96814
(808) 524-0141

I, on the other hand, do not.

(But you can’t say I don’t try.)

One of the items in my 30 before 30 list was “Find a plant I can’t kill,” and I successfully grew a succulent for months until I forgot it out on the lanai for awhile and it shriveled up, all brown and sad. I had a potted cherry tomato plant that yielded maybe 10 juicy little fruit before succumbing to some sort of rot. And this year, I picked “Grow” as my word for 2013. I got a hanging plant with cheerful blue flowers to put outside my door, in December. You guessed it, dead by February.

So while I don’t always trust myself to keep a plant alive, I really really admire those who can! Enter my new obsession: Paiko.

The girls at Paiko have hand-picked a selection of flowers, succulents, air plants, and terrariums and will happily advise you on what grows best where, what’s easiest to care for, and tips to keep your plants happy and… alive. Their concept is about creating art from nature, which shows when you walk through their beautiful little space – you’ll even see vases for cut flowers and living staghorn ferns mounted on the wall. I love stopping in to pick up gifts for friends (like the cute little agave plant shown above) but haven’t yet taken the plunge into getting one for myself after the hanging plant disaster.

Bonus: they’re just a couple doors down from Taste, with a rotating lineup of vendors (like Cocina Hawaii) and around the corner from The Whole Ox. Two birds, one stone… Yet another reason to venture into Kakaako.

Paiko Hawaii
675 Auahi Street
Honolulu, HI 96813
(808) 988-2165

Except this time, it is.

(Says a friend if mine, who recently dined with me at Taste.)

I won’t claim to be an expert on Mexican street food. I finally went to Mexico last month for the first time and I don’t know that anything I had (amidst all the touristy resorts in Cabo San Lucas) was ever really close to street food.

I do know that I love what I know of more authentic Mexican cooking – the slow cooked meats, the nice squeeze of a fresh lime, the pickled veggies, nothing covered in that gooey cheddar cheese blend common on more Americanized dishes. And if that all sounds appealing, let me tell ya – the dishes we tried today from Cocina Hawaii really hit the spot.

Here’s what we ordered:

Fried Avocado – creamy slaw, valentina, radish ($7)

Gringa – beef cheeks, salsa borracho, grilled Maui onion, queso fresco, house made flour tortilla ($10)

Duck Confit Mollete – Surinam cherry, poblano-cucumber pico, queso blanco ($10)

Headcheese Carnitas Tacos – charred orange salsa, pickled jalapeños, cotija ($10) shown topped with crispy pig ears ($2)

There really wasn’t anything I didn’t like although if I had to pick favorites, I’d definitely go for the headcheese carnitas tacos and the fried avocado. And wash it all down with the agua fresca ($3) which tasted like pure sunshine-y tangerine juice. Delish!

You can find Chef Quinten Frye at Salt on Waialae, but also here at Taste with Cocina Hawaii doing Friday lunch and dinner service as part of this quarter’s rotating line up. He’s currently a 2013 James Beard Award semi-finalist for rising star chef.

Tips: Go early and take friends so you can sample everything. There’s limited seating on the sidewalk and in the front of Taste, or you can head behind to “Harry’s Alley”. Take out is a popular way to go as well – Ala Moana or Kakaako parks are nearby if you want a picnic with a view. Taste is also BYOB.

Cocina Hawaii at Taste Table
667 Auahi Street
Honolulu, HI 96813
Twitter: @cocinahawaii

It seems like just yesterday, I happened upon an Indiegogo campaign by local chef Bob McGee, hoping to crowdsource the funding for a deli meat smoker so that he could open the Whole Ox Deli in Kakaako, bringing locally made deli meats to Honolulu. But look at them now, coming up on their first anniversary, March 28.

Needless to say, Bob’s fans and the social media community rallied around the Whole Ox concept and funded that smoker and then some, building both momentum for the menu and a real sense of community in Kakaako. People come here for more than just the food – Pow Wow Hawaii has left some amazing murals all over Kakaako, and the monthly Eat the Street and Night Market block parties energize the area with huge crowds. Exciting times…

In the year they’ve been open, I’m ashamed to say I’ve never been to the Whole Ox for lunch (just takeout) and I totally missed the breakfasts, which I’m super sad about! I finally made it in for dinner to celebrate a friend’s birthday. Arriving early, we were able to score a spot under the tree on the lanai and to chat with Bob about the year that’s past and the years ahead.

Here’s what we ordered:

Porchetta di Testa – fried pa’i'ai, pickled peppers, umeboshi ($12)

Foie Gras Poutine – fried red potatoes, foie gras gravy, foie gras torchon, crispy pork bits, tallegio cheese ($13)

NY Steak Special (off menu) – I forgot to look at the price! Oops.

The past few months have brought big changes to the concept of the restaurant (discontinuing breakfast but opening for dinner, and filling up the deli case with local butcher cuts) and also to the menu. Behind the scenes there have been changes as well, and this week they’ve brought on board a new Chef de Cuisine, so expect updates to the menu and refinement overall… It will be interesting to see where the new menu takes them, and they’ve definitely got a fan in me. I’ll be back!

See, I made my mark! Bob says if he moves to a new location, this beam – signed by friends of the Whole Ox ohana – is coming with them, even if the building falls down!

Tips for your visit: Seating is first come, first served, and the lanai is considered prime seating (when it’s not raining) so get there early to snag a table. BYOB, so feel free to bring along some booze to compliment your meal. Street parking is available in the surrounding blocks.

The Whole Ox Deli
327 Keawe Street
Honolulu, HI 96813
(808) 699-6328

I’m excited for this for two reasons:

1) Kapahulu is a great eating destination! There are many high-caliber hidden gems tucked into the strip malls and storefronts that line Kapahulu’s main corridor. I can think of a variety of eats – Japanese, Thai, Hawaiian, Korean, and even food trucks all on the same stretch. Not to mention a certain sugary Portuguese treat…

2) Kapahulu is my ‘hood! I can pretty much just roll myself home after the event is done, and hopefully tuck into bed before the food coma sets in.

For those who aren’t yet acquainted with the concept of Dishcrawl, it’s a mystery progressive dinner where all you’ll know in advance is the neighborhood and that you’ll be sampling a dish or two at FOUR different restaurants, all within walking distance. Diners are given the name of the first restaurant just 48 hours prior to the event, and the rest you learn as you go.

Last month, I attended Dishcrawl After Dark in Kaimuki. It was my first Dishcrawl, and I wasn’t sure what to expect, but I loved that air of mystery! It was also really fun to be experiencing the dishes and restaurants with a group of adventurous foodies. It’s easy to make new friends, and I wasn’t the only one who attended solo.

A few photos from last month’s Dishcrawl After Dark:

Part of the fun is not knowing where you’re heading next, but even when the restaurants were ones I’d been to before, I got to try different dishes (I found a new favorite at Himalayan Kitchen!) and we even got to hear from the chef/owners at each stop. Definitely a unique way to experience Honolulu’s dining scene. And it’s a plus that you get to walk off a few calories in between because I was absolutely STUFFED at my last Dishcrawl. Now I’m really looking forward to a stroll through Kapahulu!

Join me Tomorrow!

>> Get your tickets for Dishcrawl KapaWHOlu here. BONUS: Enter the code “shoyusugarspecial” for $10 off the regular price of $45!

>> Follow Dischrawl Honolulu on Facebook and Twitter, and check out their website for exciting upcoming events, including Kailua, Bacon-themed, and a singles’ Dishcrawl!

Turns out, Cabo was great! I’m so glad I won that trip, otherwise I might never have gotten there.

Here are a few of my favorite things about Cabo:

Believe it or not, sitting through a timeshare presentation can have its perks. I’d never been asked to attend one before, but red flags were going off in my head as the charming salesperson offered us information on things to do, plus free ziplines, plus glass bottom boat, plus airport transfers… It seemed too good to be true. We figured there were three of us and there’s strength in numbers, right? Sure, we did have to take the strong armed shame tactics used by “the closer” but all in all we made out well! In exchange for three hours of our time we got all the freebies plus a tour of a beautiful resort, breakfast, and the best margaritas we had in Cabo. I’d say we won. If you get approached and have the time, do it and milk the freebies!

Oh. My. God. I’ve always loved ceviche but I fell all over again at a little restaurant called Gardenia’s. It was our second day and we’d just gotten out of our timeshare solicitation. We were feeling the sting from the sour note we’d left on, so we decided to console ourselves with a snack. Gardenia’s appeared like mirage and made it all better! Chunks of avocado topped a huge portion of shrimp, tako, and sweet baby scallops. After the first bite we all swooned. Seafood lovers must also try the fish and shrimp tacos. Heavenly!

Cabo’s most famous landmark is called El Arco, right at the very tip of the Baja Peninsula, also known as Land’s End. Yet another timeshare freebie was a boat ride out to Lover’s Beach. Two of us get seasick and we were feeling it even on the short boat trip, although if we had felt better it would have been great to get off and have the boat come back to pick us up, as they go every hour or so. As we were, we got out for five minutes to snap a few photos at Lover’s Beach and then to peek over at Divorce Beach on the Pacific Ocean side.

All in all, Cabo surprised me. I thought it was only for Spring Break, and I was worried that my “party party” days were behind me. If you’re looking for nightlife, Cabo definitely has plenty – booze cruises, tequila shots poured down your throat, and beautiful people lounging by the pool. But there’s also delicious fresh seafood, quaint little kitschy shops to browse, and plenty of water sports to help you soak up the sun and the sea.

I’m booked on the red eye tonight to LA, meeting up with friends there and continuing on to Cabo San Lucas. I’ve never been to Mexico, so I’m looking forward to adding a stamp to my passport and spending a few days soaking up the sun, lounging by the pool, margarita in hand. I’m hoping to even squeeze in a cooking class if there’s time…

I started the morning with a six mile jog through Waikiki and breakfast at the KCC farmers market, my absolute favorite way to start the weekend. The Pig & the Lady booth was awesome, as always. This time I’d opted to try an egg drop soup with asparagus and crab. Yum! I don’t think I’ve ever had a bad meal with the Le family.

So everything’s going as planned. Ten hours is plenty of time to do some laundry, finish packing, maybe even sneak in a nap. I always try to avoid last minute rushing around so I can start my vacation without stress.

I head to the bathroom to collect my toiletries and notice a red splotch about the size of a quarter on my chest.

Really? Hives again? Now?!?

A few weeks ago I’d had a bout of hives, and although I eat shellfish all the time, my guess is that the delicious crab in my soup is what brought on the angry red welts. Sure enough there they are, about half a dozen on my chest, back, and legs.

Sigh.

The last time it happened Benadryl didn’t do much and they took about a week to fade. They got worse before they got better. So much for lounging by the pool with a margarita. What timing!

Eventually I stopped cursing the hives. My friend Jess reminds me that stress is only going to make it worse, so I gave in and popped a Benadryl. At least I know I’ll sleep well on the flight!

Crossing my fingers these don’t hang around for a week. Don’t they know I’m on vacation?

I guess it’s a good reminder for me that life sometimes has other ideas, no matter how hard I plan. Oh well, ready or not, Mexico here I come… Passport, check! Swimsuit, check! Benadryl, check! Here we go…

In fact, entire area of Hawaii Kai – from Maunalua Bay to Koko Head – is generally linked in my mind with running, so today as I drove with blue skies overhead and slippers instead of running shoes on my feet, I could feel myself relax. Pulling up to Otsuji Farms, I truly felt like I was leaving the city and my cares behind.

Soon Farmer Ed pulls up, decked out in his trademark floppy hat. Many in the group are already fans of Otsuji produce from the farmers market stands which make up half his business. I first met Farmer Ed three years ago, back when they started selling a $10 veggie box at the Saturday Hawaii Kai Farmers Market. I’ve been a loyal customer ever since, always trusting his recommendations for things like kale, amaranth spinach, purslane – things I never would have tried on my own.

The group is treated to a 45 minute stroll around the various fields as Ed points out beets, green onion, chard, kabu, bok choy, varieties of lettuce and kale. Along the way I spy hens, caterpillars, even a butterfly or two – everything humming along in harmony as Ed reminds us that even the earthworms tunneling below and the microbes in the soil are all a part of the symphony he hears when he walks through the fields each evening. (Check out the videos at the bottom of the post for more of Farmer Ed.)

As the tour wraps up, some opt to purchase veggie boxes while the rest caravan to the demonstration kitchen in Kalihi for the second part of our class. Here we are met by Ayla Sarnoff, who walks us through the health benefits and preparation tips for the produce we’ve just gathered, including recipes.

Our sampling includes a ginger iced tea steeped with purslane, a “super greens” salad with kale, bok choy, lettuce, radish, carrots drizzled with a Thai curry dressing, and a noodle stir fry with peanut sauce featuring alii mushrooms, tomato and bean sprouts mixed in with the dark leafy greens. All the ingredients used are fresh and healthful, including substitutes for oil, salt, and sugar. For those looking to incorporate healthier choices, the tips are excellent and Sarnoff does a great job of providing the information without preaching. As Farmer Ed says, it’s the little things that add up.

The next Farm to Table tour takes place in April 28th as part of Food for Life’s 21-day Kickstart Your Health program, which includes four classes plus the farm tour, $119. You can also opt to do the tour and cooking demo separately for $49.

>> Details can be found on the Food for Life Hawaii website and Facebook page.

Farmer Ed explains his nickname for one of his favorite types of lettuce:

The story of the famous $10 box: