Skinny Girls Roadshow LIVE from Hawaii — Town and Country

12 Aug 2016 6 Comments

by scolgin in Eating Out, Markets & Stores, On the Road Tags: , , , , , , ,

Fifteen years ago I made a good decision, and married my favorite person. Three kids, two houses, a successful business and a couple dozen chickens later, we realized we would fortuitously be in Oahu for our anniversary — a perfecter place to celebrate we couldn’t have planned!

Waimanalo People's Open Market

Waimanalo People’s Open Market

Through more of my pre-vacation research, I zeroed in on a restaurant called “Town” that I thought would make the appropriate anniversary dinner destination. A chef named Ed Kenney was creating interesting, Italian-influenced Hawaiian cuisine with an emphasis on traditional island ingredients and strong relationships with local farms.

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Skinny Girls Roadshow LIVE from Hawaii — Local Grinds

10 Aug 2016 3 Comments

by scolgin in Eating Out, On the Road Tags: , , , , , , , ,

It is a sad thing, really, when upon returning from an epic summer vacation traveling across Italy, Switzerland and France, you are somewhat blasé about your upcoming 8-day trip to Hawaii.

Willa on Waimanalo Beach

Willa on Waimanalo Beach

I grew up spending a good part of the year in Hawaii, and have always cherished my visits to the breathtaking island of Maui. And it had been six or seven years since the last time we had been, for the wedding of my pal Gary on the equally ravishing isle of Kauai. This time, however, we would be going for the marriage of one of my wife’s nephews, and would be staying in a communal family house in crowded Honolulu on the island of Oahu. So my excitement was a bit more tempered.

That is, until I began researching the food. More

Pokē, Mon!

27 May 2016 4 Comments

by scolgin in Food, Recipes Tags: , , , , , ,

When life gives you lemons, make lemonade. When a friend gives you a block of yellowfin tuna, make Hawaiian pokē!

And so my friend Erin passed along another chunk of yellowfin tuna. And after making ceviche and pokē (in that order) the previous time she gifted me tuna, I decided this time to make pokē and ceviche (in that order).

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It was an ordinary Monday, which I decided to transform into an extraordinary Hawaiian Monday. In addition to the pokē (served on crispy won ton skins), I grilled some Korean-style beef short ribs, made some mac salad and some plain white rice. Nothing gourmet, just good, working-class Hawaiian — served with something close to a mai tai. (Rum, OJ, pineapple juice and grenadine). More

Mama Annie

10 May 2013 14 Comments

by scolgin in Food, Humor, Observations Tags: , , , , , , , ,

Some things change a lot over the years. Other things don’t change that much.

I remember coming out of my bedroom in the morning as a kid, and there was my mom — wild haired, rumpled bathrobe, cup of coffee — already cooking. Now, when we go to visit her in Sonoma, my children wake up early and find her, grandma now whom they call “Mama Annie” — wild haired, rumpled bathrobe, cup of coffee — already cooking.

Me and Mama Annie, back in the day

Me and Mama Annie, back in the day

My parents were adventurous eaters, especially for the time. As I child, I ate escargot in French restaurants and learned to say Pouilly-Fuisse, sampled sashimi and sushi at the Joy of Tempura — the only Japanese restaurant in town — and was complemented on my chopsticks skills by old Chinese women at the Twin Dragon. More