Category Archive

Or as they say it, “Kalua Pork Goes Mexican.” How about “Luau goes Fiesta”?

However you wanna’ word it, Taco Bell Hawaii recently introduced three new promotional items on the menu: Kalua Pork Soft Taco, Kalua Pork Quesadilla and Kalua Pork Grilled Stuft Burrito. Of course “available for a limited time only”.

I’m a sucker for experimental stuff like this, where corporate food chains take popular local delicacies and come up with interesting “fusion” creations in hopes of coming out a hit. So when I seen the TV commercial recently, it immediately put me into “gotta try that” mode.

Remember McDonald’s Haupia and Taro Pie? Must have worked because both items returned to the menu.

For the most part, Taco Bell’s extensive menu is really a lesson in 1001 different ways to assemble and name something else using the same ingredients. lol

Finally now with the introduction of Kalua Pork, we have an opportunity to remove the “mystery” out of the meat that is their conventional all-purpose seasoned ground “beef” (is it really just that?) filling.

And there is some sense of reassurance with this Kalua Pork, as you may notice it states on the poster that it’s supplied by popular local meat packing company, May’s, famous for their teriyaki beef burger patties and other marinated meats. The commercially-sold Kalua Pig brand most common in the local supermarkets is Keoki’s, and I wasn’t even aware May’s had a Kalua Pork product, until now.

To get this fix, I took a stroll down Kalakaua avenue last night and visited the Taco Bell/Pizza Hut located at the basement of the Waikiki Shopping Plaza.

Your typical Taco Bell/Pizza Hut take-out counter…

Not that I can eat all of it in one sitting, still, I decided to get all three at once in order to do a side-by-side comparison.

First up we have the Kalua Pork Soft Taco…

Kalua Pork Soft Taco, $1.89

Good deal. Let’s look what’s inside…

Chunky tomato salsa, shredded lettuce and May’s Kalua Pork. Check. Let’s have a bite…

Ono! So far I’m diggin’ it. The crispy lettuce, cool, slightly acidic chunky Tomato Salsa along with the defined smoky flavor of the Kalua Pork matches quite well. The Kalua Pork was a little too lean, dry and chopped up for my liking, but for fast food, what can you expect. I think that chunky salsa is supposed to resemble Lomi Lomi Salmon, which it does in texture, but certainly not in flavor without the salted salmon. Overall as a package, this works.

Next up we have the Kalua Pork Quesadilla…

Taco Bell Hawaii Kalua Pork Quesadilla, $2.99

Again a good deal. Let’s look what we have in here…

Here the simplicity of just hot, melted cheddar and jack? cheeses melting over and through the smoky Kalua Pork really packs a flavor punch. That, along with the soft, toasted crust of the tortilla makes this one mighty tasty Quesadilla.

While Taco Bell’s OEM tangy and spicy Taco sauce helps introduce an extra dimension of moisture and kick, I really think if they offered something sweet like, say Mango Salsa, it would really compliment the pork. That, along with a generous dollop of sour cream on top would be perfect.

Same for the Taco. That chunky tomato salsa is good, but Mango Salsa, or any fruit-based salsa would be great in that. Pork and fruit go hand-in-hand.

Finally we have the largest of the three, the Kalua Pork Grilled Stuft Burrito…

Taco Bell Hawaii Kalua Pork Grilled Stuft Burrito, $3.79

This thing is huge. I’d say easily a half-pounder. Here you see the “grilled” tortilla wrapper…

Let’s have a bite…

Notice the ratio of “stuft” Spanish rice to Kalua Pig, in which the flavor of the starchy, slightly spicy rice comprises the bulk of it, while the Kalua Pork is more of a subtle add-on. I think this one needs a little recipe tweaking. Perhaps if they simply made this the wrapped up version of the Kalua Pork Soft Taco, with just a little of the rice and the addition of sour cream, that might work better.

Whew, I’m “stuft”, yet glad I got that off my chest. Next time you’re in town and run into a Taco Bell, give one of these a try. I recommend the Kalua Pork Soft Taco and Kalua Pork Quesadilla. Very good. With either one, ask them to add sour cream. It would be worth the extra 25 cents, and that would really kick ‘em up a notch. Bam! lol

All that’s missing in this equation is POI!

The reason I repeatedly insist on Mango Salsa and sour cream is because of this most excellent example of Kalua Pork Quesadillas I had recently at a local pub…

Kalua Pig Quesadillas with Sour Cream and Mango Salsa, $4

These were da’ bomb! Notice the cross-hatch grill markings, which not only look good, but offers a more balanced toasted flavor vs. the broader flat top method like its done at Taco Bell. That, along with the very moist and tender Kalua Pig, most fantastic sweet and spicy Mango salsa and creamy coolness of the sour cream is such a winner here. Taco Bell should look into implementing one of these grid/grate type of griddles.

And of course this isn’t anything new, as apparently Hawaii celebrity chef Russell Siu and Roy Yamaguchi already have fancier gourmet offerings of the dish.

Speaking of Kalua Pig, check out our neighbor’s pet pig named -yes - Kalua! I kid you not. That’s sick, yet cute at the same time. lol

Here’s Kalua at about 9 months old…

And here’s Kalua currently at about 1-1/2 years old…

Whoah! Yes, that’s the same pig. I don’t know if that dove in front really shows in scale just how HUGE he is now, but we estimate he currently weighs easily over 200 pounds. Yet he’s a gentle giant. The boy loves sweets. Especially fruits like bananas and especially chocolate. Goes nuts for chocolate, belting out loud squeals of jubilation whenever he even just smells the stuff. Like most pigs, he’s also very intelligent. His name may be Kalua, but he’s certainly not destined for the Imu!

Lastly, while we’re on Taco Bell, check out this hilarious logo spin-off I Illustrated a while ago…

Here you can order the “Tako Supreme”, which comes with extra Ogo.

www.TacoBellHawaii.com

Plato Con Taquitos

Dixie Grill had a good thing going at the highly visible and often very crowded Ward location. So when restauranteur Bill Wary, who also owns Auntie Pasto’s decided to try this new concept we have here as Tio’s Garage & Taco Station, it seemed a bit surprising. Why? To compete with Compadres and Wahoo’s just a block away? According to our server on this visit, his wife is the mastermind behind it.

Well, this ‘New Mex’ concept has some serious popularity shoes to fill here, so let’s check it out.

As you see, they’ve retained the movie theater sign from the former Dixie Grill, using catchy phrases to draw attention. Here it reads “WARNING: RITAS MAY MAKE YOU SMILE”.

There’s an outside seating area on the Halekauwela st. side of the establishment…

And here’s the bar area and doorway to the kitchen inside…

The main dining area…

Our party of five were seated in a partitioned, more private area located at the Mauka end of the place…

When we arrived at 11:30am on a Monday a few weeks ago, the place was mostly empty except us. Is this a sign? With that, service was prompt and friendly.

Like most Mexican restaurants, we were immediately served complimentary tortilla chips and salsa…

Complimentary “bottomless” tortilla chips and salsa

They were generous with this, providing two baskets and salsa dishes so each end of the table had their own, and refilling it soon after we gorged through it.

As far as taste, texture, etc., these were just OK. The chips were served at room temperature; not warm, but at least they were crisp. The salsa had a fine consistency with a pronounced Cilantro and cumin? or chili powder flavor, or some spice that slightly stood out. Otherwise a mild-flavored salsa.

So what’s on the menu? Enter ‘New Mex’. The theme here as described says: ‘New Mex’ varies from traditional Mexican, Tex-Mex and Cal-Mex cooking. However, many New Mexican dishes are similar to Mexican and Tex-Mex dishes, such as enchilatas and burritos. ‘New Mex’ emphasises the use of green chile and red chile, depending on the ripeness when the chile is picked. Compared to neighboring styles, green chile is perhaps the defining ingredient of New Mexican food. Heavier use of Cilantro and relaxed use of cumin and tomatillas is important.

OK, we’ll keep that in mind.

So let’s order. Diner “A” chose the Traditional Stacked Enchilatas…

Traditional Stack Enchiladas - Three corn tortillas layered with shredded beef (and/or cheese and/or chicken) with traditional green (or red) chile sauce, melted cheese, topped with (or without) fried egg. Served with beand & rice, $10.50

Diner “AC” went with the Burrito De Fajita…

Burrito De Fajita - A large flour tortilla filled with tender marinaded slices of top sirloin (or tender breast of chicken) with jack cheese, sauteed bell pepper & onions. Served with guacamole & sour cream, $12

Diner “C” ordered the Spinach & Artichoke Enchilada…

Spinach & Artichoke Enchilada - Two corn tortillas filled with grilled artichoke hearts, a souffle of spinach & diced onion, topped with green chile sauce and melted cheese. Served with rice and beans, $12.50

Diner “E” and yours truly ordered the Plato Con Taquitos…

Plato Con Taquitos - Four rolled corn tortillas filled with tinga beef (or chicken), deep-fried. Topped with Chipotle cream and a side of Jalapeno jelly. Served with beans and rice, $8.75.

Diner “E” also ordered a side of Grilled Corn-on-the-Cob…

Grilled Corn-on-the Cob - With cilantro butter, $3.00

And how was all that? We all were unanimously unimpressed. This so-called ‘New Mex’ concept seems lost. All our plates seemed a mixture of trying too hard at not trying hard enough.

The beans had absolutely NO flavor. Poi has more flavor than these beans. Adding salt barely helped, and although there were bits of bacon in it, for some reason you couldn’t even taste that. The rice was also nothing to write home or here about. A slight spice to it, but still lacking character.

Out of everyone on the table, diner “C” was the most satisfied with her Spinach & Artichoke Enchilada dish, which I can’t explain because I didn’t try it personally. Note her rice is green. It is greener on the “other side”. lol

Diner “AC” only could finish half of her massive Burrito De Fajita.

Diner “A”’s only complaint was that he ordered his egg “Huevos” over-easy with yolk cooked through, which you’d think with the place being slow, they’d get the order right, but they ended up serving it sunnyside up. He didn’t bother to send it back, opting to just eat around the yolk.

On my Platos Con Taquitos order, I requested 2 chicken and 2 beef. The chicken version was moist and tender, but the beef was dry. Also, the deep-fried tortilla was too crispy-hard, not really complimenting the texture, but interfering it. Kinda’ like using a kettle-cooked potato chip for dipping. Know what I mean? It’s saving grace was the Jalapeno jelly, which added a nice sweet and zesty contrast to the cruncy tortilla shell and meaty filling. This dish could be great with a little tweaking.

Diner “E” chose all beef for his four Taquitos, which as I said above was dry, so he was the most disappointed of all of us with his dish. As for the grilled corn-on-the-cob, whatever this “Cilantro butter” is all about, he didn’t notice it.

While I like to give restaurants the benefit of the doubt based on timing and logistics (who’s cooking, how busy, etc.) on first visits, first impressions still count. While the service, ambiance, prices and portions at Tio’s were satisfactory, the food itself just barely made par for the course, with the likes of ‘Tex Mex’ Compadres and even Taco Bell easily beating this ‘New Mex’ thing they’ve got going on at Tio’s. If things don’t work out, I’d recommend Bill go back and fire up the barbecue pit and re-open the place as the “New Dixie Grill”.
With that, I’ll generously give Tio’s…

The Tasty Island Rating:

(1) Average

Tio’s Garage & Taco Station
404 Ward Avenue
Honolulu, Hawaii 96814
808-596-8359
www.TiosGarage.com

Top to bottom (or back to front): Ume Musubi, Pickled Cucumber, Maui’s Uradomo Farm’s Takuan (ichiban!), Kim Chee Sausage, Pastele Sausage and Chorizo Sausage

In spirit of the popular Portuguese Sausage Shootout, here’s a further spin on ethnic variety in the form of Kim Chee, Pastele and Chorizo Sausages! Who woulda’ thought? Yes, give a butcher some casings, ground meat and a bunch of ethnic flavorings and things like this do happen as we see here!

You can’t help but think to yourself when seeing something like this on the store shelves, “I wonder how those taste? Does the flavor actually resemble what it’s labeled as?” Well, those questions certainly crossed my mind, so nothing else to do but throw them in the cart and give ‘em a spin!

These three sausages are all made by Kukui Sausage Company in Honolulu, Hawaii. Here is each one in detail…

Kim Chee Sausage
8oz.
Ingredients: Pork, Water, Salt, Vinegar, Flavorings, Paprika, Sodium Nitrite, Chili Powder, Cabbage, Garlic, Scallion, Sugar, Fish Sauce, MSG

Pastele Sausage
8oz.
Ingredients: Pork, Bananas, Salt, Black Pepper, Tomato Paste, Achote Oil, Spices, Sodium Phosphate, Sodium Nitrite

Chorizo Sausage
8oz.
Ingredients: Pork, Vinegar, Parika, Garlic, Chili Powder, Black Pepper, Spices, Sodium Phosphate, Sodium Nitrite

As you can see, these are all pork-based sausages, and from there the flavor components completely take a different course.

Hawaii’s culinary scene is no stranger to these three flavors due to the contributions of our fellow Korean (Kim Chee), Puerto Rican (Pastele) and overall Latino (Chorizo) folks.

So how do they taste? First of all, notice that I accompany these rather heavy-hearted foods with my trusty Ume Musubi, Takuan and pickled cucumber. These help buffer the palate and also bring balance to an otherwise oily affair.

Right down to it, the Kim Chee and the Pastele both taste as advertised. The Kim Chee sausage taste like Kim Chee-flavored pork and the Pastele Sausage tastes like a “porky” pastele. That really is the best and only way I can explain it.

With the Kim Chee sausage, there’s actual slices of cabbage mixed in it, so the texture further reinforces and convinces you what it’s supposed to be. I would recommend they make this one a little more spicy-hot; not too hot, but more than what it is so that you really are convinced this IS Kim Chee sausage. Still, that flavor is there and you know it upon first bite.

Here you can see a slice of Kim Chee cabbage in the sausage…

I can see cutting this into cubes and adding it to the classic Kim Chee Fried Rice.

In truth, I didn’t like the Chorizo Sausage at all. It lacked quality in flavor, tasting mostly like a spicy porky “something”. Worst of all, it falls apart as it cooks, turning into basically a sauteed ground pork with a strangely-spiced flavor profile. There’s no way this even comes close to that good stuff in the green can.

My favorite, and certainly the one shining with the most character and most true to it’s labeled name is the Pastele Sausage. While I won’t say you can taste the bananas in it, there’s something about that ingredient that gives this sausage its signature flavor. It’s really hard for me to describe this, but it’s really good and taste, well, like Pastele Sausage! Shouldn’t it?

You can sort of see the complexity involved in this cross section of the Pastele Sausage…

This is certainly one you must pick and try if you like the flavor of Peurto Rican style Pasteles.

Any of these three would be a welcome addition to an ethnically-charged fried rice.

1st place: Pastele Sausage
2nd place: Kim Chee Sausage
3rd place: Chorizo Sausage

Once again, I highly recommend the Pastele Sausage if you like pasteles. This hits home.

Kukui Sausage Company
Honolulu, Hawaii 96819
(80 841-8843

P.S. I’ve added Frank’s Foods (Hilo), Redondos (duh!) and Kukui brand Portuguese Sausage to “The Great Portuguese Sausage Shootout” entry.

Portuguese Sausage Shootout

The Best Damn Enchiladas You’ve Ever Eaten, Period!

No, I didn’t proclaim those were the best damned enchiladas you or I have ever had. That’s actually what they’re titled on the menu. In the spirit of our wonderful previous experience at Los Chapparos, the crave for Mexican cuisine continues - this time of the “Tex” variety - over at Compadres in Ward Center.

Compadres Bar & Grill has been at Ward in the same location for as far back as I can remember. This place often bustles in the evening with locals for pauhana cocktails. It has a festive, roomy, open air ambiance, including an outdoor terrace and a view overlooking Ala Moana Beach Park.

Our lunch hour visit was on a Thursday. With that, there was a special of half-prices on all Enchilada menu items, which if I remember correctly by the sign, was effective Tuesday thru Thursday from 10am to 4pm.

With that, I ordered what they tout as pictured above, “The Best Damn Enchilada You’ve Ever Eaten, Period!”. A platter of two enchiladas – grilled fajita-marinated chicken breast, sauteed mushrooms, roasted red peppers, black olives, green onions, and cojita cheese folded in fresh corn tortillas and topped with fire-roasted fresh tomato salsa and guacamole. Served with fiesta rice, our “best outside of Mexico” refried beans and Compadres slaw. $16.95 menu price, but on special it was just $8.48.

Cross-cut of the “Best Damn Enchilada”
Like most Mexican dishes (in my opinion), the various components of the entire dish often become homogenized into one, but if I had to give a flavor profile of this “Best Damn Enchilada”, I’d say it reminded me of a “Mexicanized Pastele”. Mostly likely because of the pronounced Olive flavor. The red sauce had a nice tang and spice to it and complimented the enchilada well. The slaw was pretty good. The fiesta rice and refried beans were standard fare. Not bad, not great, but it worked. At half price, I certainly agreed to the dish. Not sure I’d feel the same if I had paid the full price.

Diner “number 2″ ordered Enchilada Dela Casa…

Enchilada Dela Casa

The “dos” version includes 2 tortillas, stuffed with shredded beef and (in this case, the other one was chicken), topped with a mixture of marinated vegetables and olives, with cheese melted over and smothered in a mild red sauce. $15.50 menu, half price special $7.75. While perhaps not ready to do the salsa in celebration of how good it was, he was satisfied with the dish.

Diners “number 3 and 4″ ordered the Chimichanga…

Chimichanga

A deep fried burrito – your choice of shredded beef or fresh cooked chicken, refried beans, then topped with tomatillo guacamole and ancho chile sauces.
Served with fiesta rice and Mexican salad. $12.95 menu price (no special on this item).

Above you can see the Chimichanga’s shredded beef. Diners #3 & 4 were satisfied. Enough that they both finished their entire plate. So that says it was good. Especially being that they’re two rather petite young ladies! You go girls! They really loved that guac’ and ancho chili sauces. Sure looks great. I should’ve asked them for a bite so I could describe exactly how they tasted. Maybe next time.

Diner “number 3″, the birthday girl ordered the Vegetarian Enchilada…

Vegetarian Enchilada (sorry about the blurry picture)

A fresh spinach tortilla filled with fresh seasonal vegetables, guacamole, Monterey Jack cheese, and cilantro, covered with green sauce and topped with salsa fresca. $11.75 menu price, $5.85 half off special. Birthday girl was happy. She finished the entire dish.

The “Mexican” component of the green salad provided with each entree was this bottle of salsa-like dressing (I don’t know the actual name of it)…

There was so much sauce already provided on each dish, that nobody used the dressing on their salad.

Because he had just had Mexican the night before, Diner “number 5″ opted out of the theme and ordered the All American Burger…

All American Burger

Eight-ounces of fresh ground beef, broiled to order, and garnished with a tomato slice, Bermuda onion, and lettuce. $10.95 menu price. He said the grilled patty itself was juicy and flavorful. His only complaint was the tiny “cheap” bun they used, kinda’ like a half-ton 4×4 truck rolling on spare tires. lol. For over $10 a burger, they really need to improve on their bun selection. Those thick-cut fries were excellent. Tender inside, crispy outside. I tried a few.

As with most Mexican restaurants, complimentary bottomless salsa and tortilla chips were provided immediately upon seating…

Everyone really loved the salsa and chips here. So much that we almost ate too much before our meal. Aren’t we all guilty of doing that? Admit it! lol The salsa had nice body to it, with a good-size dice of the tomatoes and just the right viscosity; not watery, not too thick. Just enough to adhere to the tortilla. Pepper level was mild-medium hot. The fresh tortilla chips were thick and extra crispy.

That was just nipping the bud of what’s available at Compadres. Click on this link to their view the entire (PDF) menu.

Portions were perfectly suited to our lunchtime appetite. Enough that everyone was able to mostly finish their plate without feeling underfed or overstuffed. We were overall well satisfied with the food and quick, attentive service.

Free parking is conveniently located in the structure located just steps away from the front door.

Compadres Bar & Grill
WARD CENTRE, HONOLULU
1200 Ala Moana Boulevard Honolulu, HI 96814
Phone:(80 591-8307, FAX: (80 593-2901
www.compadresrestaurants.com/ward

Tasty Island Rating:

Ono

Several weeks ago we celebrated a birthday lunch, where the birthday girl suggested Mexican, so we decided to try Los Chaparros Mexican Restaurant for the first time.

Well, without further ado, let’s get to the main course!…

Chimichango Combo Plate (single choice, with chicken filling), $8.50

The combo plates include beans and spanish rice, along with a dollop of salsa over shredded lettuce. The gal who ordered this loved it, but it was just too much for her to finish, so she gave me almost half of it to take home. Muchos gracious! As you can see, the whole thing is deep fried. Yum.

Enchilada Combo Plate (1 choice, with Chicken), $8.50

The Quesadilla was birthday girl’s dish, which she devoured every single bite, so it must have been good. You go girl!

Carnitas - Tender, bite-size pieces of slow roasted pork, seasoned to perfection, $13.00

My friend let me sample some of his Carnitas. It had a slightly spicy flavor and was tender, but I would ask to pour some Mole, red or green sauce over it on the next visit. He ate them wrapped up in the tortillas like burrito. Thumbs up from him.

The Carnitas dish above includes a side plate of (3) corn tortillas, Pico Di Gallo, sour cream and Guacamole

You can eat the Carnitas right off the plate, or wrapped up in this tortilla “kit”.

Papas Con Chorizo (my order) - a traditional plate of crispy fried potatoes sauteed with Chorizo sausage, incuding 3 tortillas, sour cream and jalapenos, $11.00

My dish was the Papas Con Chorizo. Interestingly, the Chorizo Sausage looks like they take it apart and fry it with the potatoes, sort of like a “hash”. The potatoes certainly took on that distinct Chorizo flavor. This dish also included the tortilla “kit”, but I preferred eating it on the plate, as wrapped up, the chorizo got lost in the mix. As you notice, the Spanish Rice and Beans were the same ones used on every dish. The beans were standard fare, while the rice had a slightly spiced hint to them, with a medium moist, medium dry texture. They both complimented the main item nicely. Overall, thumbs up!

Super Chaparros Burrito - Flour tortilla filled with rice, beans, shredded beef (this choice), lettuce, guacamole, pico de gallo (on top), sour cream and salsa, $10.00

The Super Chaparros Burrito is basically everything shown on the plate, all wrapped up in one HUGE burrito.. I mean, that thing is as big as your forearm. My other buddy who ordered it could only finish half. He really enjoyed it though.

Those were the entrees our party of five ordered.

Here’s the appetizers we actually started with…

Jalapeno Wontons (7 pieces) - Deep-fried wonton wrappers filled with Jalapenos and Monterey Jack Cheese, $6.00

Oh my, these were AWESOME! The combination of the crispy wonton with the “gooey” jack cheese and the bite from the Jalapeno was magical. It came with Ranch dipping sauce. I’m ordering a PLATEFUL of these things to take home next time! I’m definately making these for pupus at the next potluck.

Complimentary (bottomless!) Tortilla Chips and Salsa

The salsa was the finely chopped variety, slightly “loose” (watery) with a medium heat to it. Enough where I needed a glass of water nearby, though. lol It had a good balance of onions, cilantro and tomato. The salsa chips were light and crispy, with just a hint of salt. Perfect. You can actually stuff yourself on these things, so take it easy if you want to save room for the main course.

Restaurant main dining area (notice the large waterfountain to the left)

This is the main dining area, plus there are more private booths in the front area (not shown). The decor has a rather simple and spartan Spanish theme. You also feel a sense of cleanliness here. Tropical and mexican-themed spanish background music puts on the finish touch.

Main dining area, pan right (notice the wall-mounted spanish waterfountain)

Restaurant “front end” kitchen service area

Mario, Los Chaparros owner and really great guy!

Mario, the owner, really made our visit special. He explained the whole “traditional mexican cuisine” thing, even explaing that he “loosened” his menu just a little to cater to the local crowd, yet adhering to his roots in Mexico City. He assisted our also-very-friendly waitress, making the service factor top-notch. We arrived about 11:30am, just before the lunch rush, where the restaurant was about at 30% throughout our stay. That helped to set an easier, less hurried pace for everyone.

There’s about 8 stalls (max, I’m guessing) fronting Los Chaparros Mexican Restaurant, who is the sole occupant of the building located on S. Beretania street.

We were all very satisfied with our dining experience at Los Chaparros Mexican Restaurant. The food flavors, quality, value and service all exceeded our expectations. Now to ponder whether this is “true, authentic Mexican cuisine”? Just go for yourself and have a chat with Mario. He will enlighten and entertain you. Truly an officer and a gentleman.

Los Chaparros Mexican Restaurant
2140 S. Beretania Street
Honolulu, HI 96826
(80 951+6399
www.LosChaparros.com

Tasty Island Rating:

Winnahz!