GREAT EATS HAWAII

Sunday, December 4, 2011

HAWAII VS BYU - ALOHA STADIUM DEC 3, 2011

HAWAII 20 - BYU 41

ALOHA STADIUM - DEC 3, 2011

Another loss that ended our season and Bowl hopes.

Still love the Bows win or lose!

HAWAII VS BYU - ALOHA STADIUM

HAWAII VS BYU

ALOHA STADIUM

HONOLULU, HAWAII

My Bows lost 41-20. Made a game of it during the first half but as usual faltered in the second half. I think Coach McMackin will be released so we can begin a new era in Manoa. While we were no match for BYU on the field, we can hold a candle to most teams when it comes to stadium food and beer stands. Aloha Stadium must have the most beer stands of any college football team. They are every ten feet around the stadium. The food selections are pretty good too. We finally found the Famous Pastrami Sandwich ($8) that many people have blogged about. My wife waited in line for a while to get her hands on one. Turns out this little stadium sandwich is really good. They really put a lot of butter on the bread and toast it nicely. Then add pastrami, cheese and a sort of Thousand Island Dressing. I loved it! We normally stick with the regular stadium hot dogs but this time tried the Woody's Hot Dog Stand. Glad we did. The Woody's dog ($7.50) is on a really good bun and served up with Chicago Style Green Relish, Mustard, Onions and Sport Peppers. Just cannot get over the expensive price for a hot dog. Great bun, great hot dog flavor and great condiments. My girls devoured slices of Papa Johns Pizza that are sold all around the stadium. We wore green and white headbands that were given out to the first few thousand fans. Ran into the Mayor of Honolulu and his wife at the beer stand and enjoyed some lively conversation. He was actually pretty nice this time. My friend Aldrino walked around the stadium prior to kickoff and we just thanked the Lord for letting us live in Hawaii. Really a very special place with great people, food and weather. Beers are $7.50 each which is a bit high.

PRE-GAME VISIT DOWN TO THE BYU SIDELINES

BYU PLAYERS WERE BIG

THE GIRLS ENJOYING SOME PAPA JOHNS PIZZA

WOODY'S HOT DOG WAS GREAT!

THE PASTRAMI SANDWICH IS THE BEST!

ALDRINO WAS READY TO PARTY

HANGIN WITH PETER CARLISLE
MAYOR OF HONOLULU

GOT TO LOVE HAWAII IN DECEMBER
80 DEGREES, SHORTS AND TANK TOPS

A FEW SPRINKLES IN SECOND HALF

MY GIRLS HAVING SOME FUN

NEW HAIR DO FOR DAD AND KELI

Saturday, December 3, 2011

UNIVERSITY OF HAWAII WAHINE VS COLORADO STATE

UNIVERSITY OF HAWAII WAHINE VS COLORADO STATE.

NCAA WOMAN'S VOLLEYBALL FIRST ROUND

STAN SHERIFF CENTER, UNIVERSITY OF HAWAII

HAWAII WINS 3-1

HAWAII WOMANS VOLLEYBALL - NCAA REGIONALS

NCAA WOMANS VOLLEYBALL
STAN SHERIFF CENTER,
UNIVERSITY OF HAWAII

Hawaii received an early Christmas gift by being able to host the first round of NCAA Woman's Volleyball at the Stan Sheriff Center located on the campus of the University of Hawaii. We played Northern Colorado and swept them quickly to move onto the second round vs Colorado State. I love the fact that Hawaii made it to the NCAA Tournament. Problem is that the NCAA bans beer sales at all events. This means my little beer stand located just a few steps from our season ticket seats was closed. Volleyball without a cold one? How cruel. Loved the game and our Wahine Volleyball Team.

HAWAII WAHINE BEAT NORTHERN COLORADO 3-0

MY BEER STAND WAS CLOSED

BEER GARDEN EMPTY

NACHOS ARE A BEST SELLER AT THE STAN SHERIFF CENTER

BEAUTIFUL FANS RIGHT NEXT TO ME

VARSITY GRILL AND BAR - HONOLULU, HAWAII

VARSITY GRILL AND BAR
HONOLULU, HI

I am going to take my time on this one because I think it is important. We drive by the Varsity after most Volleyball and Basketball games at the Stan Sheriff Center on the campus of the University of Hawaii. What a great location to have a sports bar you would think. Just a short walk to the campus and sporting events. In any other city this would be a landmark destination for sports fan and University supporters. I have been on University of Hawaii Football road trips to Alabama, Florida, Nevada, Boise, Washington, Fresno, Oregon, USC and Las Vegas. All of these cities had one or two great sports bars where fans congregated before and after games. Hawaii has nothing like these other cities when it comes to college bars. The Varsity is the perfect place for such a venue but it is, quite frankly a dump. Dirty tables, filthy menus, lousy service, loads of junk in every corner and no sense of school spirit or identity. This is probably why the place is empty on a Friday afternoon right before a volleyball game that has 10,000 fans in attendance. We went in because it is the closest place to grab a beer near the University and the NCAA bans beer sales at NCAA Regional events. We sat at a table near the bar. The waitress and some other guy see us but don't offer service. After a few minutes, we approached the bar. The waitress looks right at us but does not ask to take our order or say anything. We take a menu from the side of the cash register and open it up. The thing is greasy, sticky and disgusting. This menu had not been washed in weeks. It was gross. The table was also dirty and sticky plus it was wobbling like a rocking horse. The floor was uneven and dirty too. We decided to order a pizza. The menu also features burgers, sandwiches and salads but when you have such a disgusting menu filled with dirt and grease it is difficult to think about ordering the food. Just think what the kitchen looks like I thought. We approached Ms. Personality at the bar and again got little response. I just blurted out that we wanted a pitcher of Coors. Got her attention. When she came to the bar, we said we wanted a Pepperoni, Onion and Jalapeno Pizza and some Chicken Wings. Total for food and beer was around $40. Not bad for Hawaii prices. We abandoned the wobbly table and ventured outside to tables that front the sidewalk on University. Great place to people watch. The first table we sat at was dirty and greasy. My friend said lets move. We went down one table and settled into a not so dirty table next to a row of dirty tables with very ugly and dirty looking chairs. We had our pitcher of beer so I just poured and enjoyed the refreshing moment. The Pizza and Wings came and I was surprised. The pizza was huge and actually looked good. The pizza slices were cut super big so that one slice is a meal. We both only ate two slices and there was still half a pizza left. We gave it to the people that look like they just came from an Occupy Wall Street event. We went back to the bar to order another pitcher of beer. Two guys were at the cash register. Both looked up and continued talking to each other. My friend waited for several minutes standing right in front of these two morons. He never was asked to be helped and we left without the second pitcher. I loved the pizza. Great crust that is not too thick. A nice crunchy and lightly charred crust, just enough cheese and good toppings. Probably one of the best pizzas in town. Cold beer and good pizza within walking distance of the University of Hawaii. This place should rock. Problem is it does not. The Varsity Grill needs a Gordon Ramsey makeover. It needs to be cleaned up, remodeled and set up to be "THE" place to be for all things U.H. Hawaii needs a clean, safe and fun place for students and fans. The Varsity has the location that could rock.
UPDATE 8/12 - TOOK A LOOK INSIDE AND LOOKS LIKE THE PLACE HAS BEEN TOTALLY REMODELED WITH NEW TABLES AND CHAIRS.

REALLY GOOD PIZZA WITH GREAT NOT TO THICK CRUST

INDOOR/OUTDOOR SEATING FRONTING
UNIVERSITY AVENUE. GREAT LOCATION!

DOZENS OF BEER ON TAP AND LOTS OF WIDE SCREEN T.V'S

PLACE IS IN TERRIBLE CONDITION

PITCHERS OF COLD BEER

HOT WINGS

Wednesday, November 30, 2011

ANNA MILLERS

ANNA MILLERS

AIEA, HAWAII

Anna Millers is an iconic landmark in Aiea. The 24 hour restaurant is reminiscent of a mainland chain yet it maintains a very local feel. We stopped in for a quick lunch and I was impressed with the friendly service. Ordered the Dinner Salad ($2.99) and a Bowl of Chili ($4.29). The Chili was topped with a ton of cheddar cheese which took over the entire dish with cheese flavor. The salad was fresh. My friend ordered the Grilled Chicken Breast Sandwich ($8.99). Pretty basic.

ANNA MILLERS

SEATING AT COUNTER, BOOTHS AND TABLES

SIDE SALAD

CHILI OVERLOADED WITH CHEESE

GRILLED CHICKEN SANDWICH

PAY AT THE COUNTER FILLED WITH PIES

Monday, November 28, 2011

MAMA PHO AUTHENTIC VIETNAMESE CUISINE - AINA HAINA

MAMA PHO

AUTHENTIC VIETNAMESE CUISINE

I am a confessed Pho-Aholic and probably eat the Vietnamese Soup far too often. While shopping at Foodland Farms in Aina Haina my daughter was checking out our choices for lunch. McDonalds, Subway, Genki Sushi and Chinese were in the shopping center. We saw the sign for Mama Pho and decided to try it out. Looked like the place had been open for a very short time. We were greeted and sat ourselves at a table along the window. The young staff quickly brought us menus and ice water. The menu is very limited and features Pho and some basic Noodle Dishes. We ordered Pho ($8.50). I had the Rare Steak, Brisket and Flank Steak served with noodles, bean sprouts, onion and basil. I was amazed how much meat was in the bowl. Probably double what you get at other Pho restaurants. The meats were excellent but the Pho broth was very bland. My daughter enjoyed the Pho with Beef Ball, Rare Steak and Brisket. She agreed with me and said the Pho was just "so so". The Spring Rolls ($4.50) were also lacking flavor. Nice presentation, but just had no seasoning to make you crave another one. The service was excellent. The cashier made it a point to ask if we enjoyed everything.

MAMA PHO AUTHENTIC VIETNAMESE CUISINE

LOCATED NEAR FOODLAND FARMS
IN AINA HAINA SHOPPING CENTER

INSIDE IS BRIGHT AND CLEAN

ORDER OF (2) SPRING ROLLS

PHO WITH RARE STEAK, BRISKET AND FLANK STEAK.
MORE MEAT THAN I HAVE EVER HAD IN PHO

KELI LOVES THE BEEF BALL

PHO WITH BEEF BALL, BRISKET AND RARE STEAK

Sunday, November 27, 2011

MICHAEL MINA - SAN FRANCISCO, CA

MICHAEL MINA

SAN FRANCISCO, CA

Oops I did it again. How many times have we tried what are supposed to be the best restaurants in a city and found them not to live up to the hype and expectations. Michael Mina goes to the top of the list for total let downs. While the service was excellent, the food failed to impress. Best part of the evening was the company. My girls and best friends Tom and Arlene. We had a great table set away from the main dining room. I convinced our guests to go with the Chef's Tasting Menu that is $125 per person. $185 with the wine pairing. Tom brought a bottle of wine from a local vintner near his home in Pleasanton. Corkage fee was $35. This was one of the most unimpressive and tasteless meals of my life. The only dish with some taste was the grilled cheese sandwich served as a pre-appetizer. The fish had no taste, the steak had no taste, the scallop had no taste. I don't know how you can serve up so many dishes and not have any flavor. I was shocked at the lack of flavor of each dish. This was just not right for the price. I expected to be blown away by this chef. I was embarrassed for having brought my friends here. I wanted to take them down the street for some good pasta after this meal. Just don't get this place. The ambiance and service was excellent. The food came out of the kitchen at all the right times. Everything was perfect except the food. Would not recommend this restaurant or go back.