Second Dinner at Whole Ox Deli

Even before we finished our first dinner at Whole Ox Deli, we started making plans for our second! We were full of good food and wine, but we needed to eat the Pork Shank for 4! We weren't sure what to expect, but pork and shank said "beer" to me. Mike & Laurie said to leave the beer to them, and we picked a date for two weeks in the future.Well, none of us could stop thinking about it, and every time we bumped into each other - Honolulu is such a small town - we were just reminded of our dinner date.

When I emailed Mike to remind him of the date and time, he replied asking if he could bring his friend, Vinh. I asked, Vinh ____ ? Then I said, "NO!"

I was just kidding - I'd worked with Vinh about 3 years ago, but we hadn't been in touch for maybe 2 years. So with the DH, that made 5 eaters for this dinner!

When we got to the Whole Ox, we found we weren't the first of the group to get there. Vinh had staked out an inside table, but we convinced him to sit outside. We quickly caught up on our families, and Mike arrived from parking his car. Laurie joined us, and this is the beer they brought.

It went very well with the vegetable pakoras of lightly battered and fried kale and alii mushrooms served with a harissa sauce. We also had another appetizer because we spoke to Chef Bob so longingly about it. That is all.

There are no photos of those items because we ate it all. All. Gone.

By this time, we were ready to take a deep breath before the main event. And here it is in all its glory. Deep-fried. Pork. Shank. With Ma'O greens and fried potatoes. For just a moment, all of us just stared. Then we tried to figure out how to dissect it.

Well, all we needed to do was pull out the bone, and it literally fell apart. And we fell in. So delicious. Indescribable. Add the sides of pickles, mustard and lime-chili vinaigrette - heaven. And the beer - perfect!

Our only reference point of comparison would be the German pork shank, schweinhaxe. But that is roasted and served with sauerkraut. This is gloriously better. Don't let us get started on the skin!

Did we have room for dessert? Of course! Especially when they're from the inventive mind of Aker, Alejandro Briceno. These are not in order, but, here's the Smoked Brownie with Lay's BBQ potato chips, and the Jasmine Rice Panna Cotta. Both ono! So much that Mike got a panna cotta for himself! And just about licked it clean.

I've included our desserts from the previous dinner. The beef and pork fat cookies with chocolate ganache and cacao nibs and dulce de leche with shaved coconut, respectively. And the caramelized white chocolate cake that looks like bacon.

 

 

The Whole Ox Deli Dinner Fan Club needs to return. We have to eat the tasso, the New Orleans-style ham. We don't know how many of the group will assemble, or when. And there's always lunch!

See you there Thursday, after 8 pm. I'll need a burger by then. Our group agreed that Chef Bob's burger has spoiled us for any other!

Please note: all the lovely food porn photos are from Laurie, @konaish

 

Dinner at Whole Ox Deli, 327 Keawe St. in Kaka'ako around the corner from Auahi St. - across from the former COMPUSA - is served Tuesday through Saturday, 5:30 pm to 10 pm. Last order in by 9:30, please. BYOB

Adobo Eggplant

Or how to use it up. This is a made-up recipe; this isn't fancy, it is home cooking. I did look up the ingredients for the seasonings in order to get the proportions right.

Trim and cut 4 to five small to medium long eggplants in diagonal pieces. Lightly saute these in canola oil just until slightly soft. You will probably need to do this in 3 batches; set them aside on a plate as they finish cooking. I had a small piece of pork - about 1/3 lb. - that I sliced into 1/2 x 2-in. strips. I cooked the pork along with half a medium size onion, sliced;

Combine 1/4 cup shoyu, 1/4 cup + 1 T. rice vinegar, about 1-1/2 tsp. sugar (I'm sure I used less; I don't care for sweet food) and a grinding of fresh black pepper. Put this sauce mixture in the pan and heat until slightly bubbling. Add the eggplant back to the pan, along with 1/2 cup hot water. Heat all of the ingredients through, then turn off the heat.

Take a package of Sun Noodles Yakisoba, gently break up the noodles into a microwave-safe bowl, add a couple of tablespoons of water, and nuke this for a minute or two.

Note: this yakisoba does not come with sauce. Costco carries a multi-pack - more economical plus you can freeze it.

Drain the water, plate the noodles and top with eggplant mixture and, of course, some sauce. If you have cilantro and sliced green onions, garnish heavily with those, but I had neither on hand.

The DH took the leftovers to school for lunch, the pinay office staff all tasted and declared they loved it, "cause it's not strong like adobo usually is". Must be the Japanese rice vinegar and light hand with the pepper.

I've written about making adobo-style eggplant before here, but the seasoning and the noodles made this a winner.

There is another eggplant recipe with goat cheese and balsamic vinegar I make over and over because it's delicious. I thought I'd written about the banchan-style vegetable recipe I made up because I don't want to eat Korean takeout just to eat that. But I haven't done so yet, so that will be posted here soon.

But I think you might want to know about the second meeting of the Whole Ox Deli Dinner Fan Club before that? Coming sooner!

Late Summer Dinner

The temptation to eat out is huge after a day of work, when my brain is fried. It helps me to do two things before I even leave work. First, I make a short list of the produce available at home. Then, I try to think of ways to combine those vegetables so they resemble something approximating dinner, and write them down.

Last night, I sauteed the few remaining asparagus spears and Hamakua alii mushrooms with sweet onions in a little bit of olive oil, then dumped in leftover whole wheat spaghetti. Please try the Garofalo brand whole wheat variety from Costco - it actually tastes good! I added four good glugs - you know what I mean! - of leftover dry white wine and a healthy grinding of black pepper. To all of this, I added about 3 tablespoons of the compound butter I made with stinky Red, White & Bleu cheese from Naked Cow Dairy. Yes, I figured out another use for the butter, other than bruschetta, or on some lean steak! Finally, I added about a cup of purslane sprigs and some fresh thyme.

I served the above topped with a few Gida Snyder oil-packed Roma tomatoes grown by Ho Farms and local over-easy eggs. And accompanied the pasta with thinly sliced, toasted Christopher Sy bread topped with Naked Cow Dairy cow's milk chevre. You must taste this chevre - to die for! We tried this at the Wednesday Blaisdell Honolulu Farmers Market, and HAD to buy some to take home - so, so good!

The DH asked if I'd dreamed up the above pasta. Yes! Who else would?

Please check with the above vendors to see if these tomatoes and cheeses are still available. If not, find the very best substitutes you can afford, as using fine ingredients truly makes a difference. Enjoy the bounty of summer; the produce is at its best.

More nights of summer dinners to come, including adobo eggplant and red pepper tortas. The eating is constant, especially the consumption of fresh vegetables; the writing is unfortunately more sporadic.

Monday Night Dinner Party

We were invited to dinner at a cigar friend's home. It's ALWAYS last minute, and when there is nothing fantastic in the cupboards or refrigerator, I just grab or buy a couple bottles of wine.

This time, there were some goodies! He grilled ribeye steaks and sauteed onions to go with them. Other people brought noodles, giant wontons and roast pork. I took Christopher Sy artisan bread, sliced it thinly, had the DH toast it, and spread it thinly with compound butter made with Naked Cow Dairy stinky Red, White & Bleu cheese, topped with cucumber and Ho Farm mixed grape tomatoes. If only I hadn't forgotten the watermelon radishes!

After dinner, I put out a plate of Naked Cow Dairy Waianae Sunset cheese with a sliced French bread epi, Naked Cow Dairy cultured butter and sweet black seedless grapes. Spread bread with butter, top with cheese, eat with grapes - heaven!


I'd seen these Ines Rosales tortas in R. Field, but the price was prohibitive. When I found them on the bargain shelf at Foodland Beretania, they were marked down 70%! I bought half of them, and I should have bought them all, because there were none when I returned. I bough 3 flavors: plain, rosemary & thyme and orange. They're made in Seville, Spain and they're delicious! At the dinner party, I broke the orange flavor tortas - which are sprinkled with sugar with orange zest, and slightly caramelized - into wedges, and spread them with the last of the kaya. I topped this with slices of sweet white nectarine. When the nectarine ran out, that was it!

I later found out this went over very well with the cigar guys. They asked for more, the DH said, "No more!" They now call this the "Not Enough" dessert. Who knew? Guess they don't lose their sense of taste!

Are there photos of any of this? No, the food was in our tummies, and it was good!

Dinner at Whole Ox Deli

Bob McGee served his first dinners on Tuesday, August 14th. Two nights later, this bunch of hungry eaters assembled, and two bottles of wine were shared. This is the current menu:

Whole Ox menu photo via @docrock

And there are specials. For the four of us, we ordered the lardo, the poutine, the kielbasa and the sirloin. How do we describe the poutine? Laurie (@konaish) tweeted it was better than any poutine she'd ever eaten. I forgot what Michael said about it. I'd never had poutine, and I can't imagine curds larger than cottage cheese that squeak being a good thing. Ever.

Whole Ox Poutine with foie via @konaish

Upon seeing Laurie's Instagram, @NonStopMari said: "Omg i wish i cd crawl thru my phone and eat that food!!" Here's the poutine, with that jaunty piece of foie gras on top, and stinky, delicious taleggio. I'm pretty sure Mari meant that about the lardo, too. 

Bob explained that the lardo could only be made from piggies from Malama Farm on Maui. These Berkshires - or kurobuta - may have a better lifestyle than mine! They sure have a better view! Their diet and life make a difference in the way they taste. And the fact that it takes Bob weeks to cure the lardo, and weeks more to age it, means that it took almost 5 months to get to perfect. And a few minutes for us to eat it! Sooo delicious. The kielbasa with Ma'o kale, pierogi and kim chi cream was as good as it looks and sounds. The sirloin was lean and tasty, and all of us ate the baby carrots like they were candy. 

Did we have dessert? Of course! We won't tell you what they were, except that they were made by @KIAWE_FIRE , Alejandro Briceno. It'll be a sweet surprise! 

Whole Ox Lardo with Asian pear via @konaish

Kielbasa with pierogi, kim chi cream via @konaish             

Whole Ox Sirloin with baby carrots, potatoes via @konaish

When Whole Ox Deli & Butcher first opened, I wrote about the dream of having my own butcher, as my mother used to. Well, that dream is now possible. From time to time, Bob now offers lovely cuts of pork and beef - chops and steaks. Follow him on Twitter, @WholeOxDeli.

Too Many Cucumbers?

I'd make this salad I had Saturday night at the Pacific Gateway Center, an organization that helps immigrants become self-sufficient. No recipe, I'd finely shred the cucumbers after deseeding and removing some of the peel. Dress with mild vinegar like rice or apple cider, a pinch of salt and 1/2 teaspoon or less of sugar. Let dressing sit with a sliced clove of garlic and one teaspoon sliced deseeded jalapeno pepper for at least an hour. Remove the garlic and pepper before dressing the salad, and garnish with mint. 

The other things on the plate are vegetable curry and chicken biriyani, and they were all delicious! This dinner was $20 for 5 courses, $4 for beverages. The next Burnese dinner will be Saturday, August 25th at 6 pm. Call 851-7070 for reservations. Seating is limited.

The best thing about the dinner - besides the food - I got to meet three Burmese people! Delightful!

Two Farmers' Markets in Two Nights

Wednesday night, after a day of THREE appointments in a row, we headed for the bustling Blaisdell Farmers' Market. We ate, as usual, at The Pig & The Lady, Vietnamese street food. No photos of what we ate - it's all in our tums - but it was all good! From the kim chee bruschetta - so messy it squirted out on my shopping bag and slacks - to the bun cha (yes, I know bun is noodles, but only pork patties, pickles and other goodness on crusty French bread) to the oxtail pho - so, so yum!

Then there was Mr. Le's series of "special" drinks - from the iced coffee to the delicious tea made even more so with some ginger syrup, meant for the tofu dessert. All the Le family members have fantastic, inventive palates! After the sun goes down, the Blaisdell Honolulu Farmers' market turns into a cool oasis of relief.

Cheese plate: Naked Cheese Bastille Day dinner

We came home with Ho Farms Indigo Rose tomatoes, a large watermelon radish, enough TP&TL leftovers for lunch, and Naked Cow Dairy Waianae Sunset tomme cheese and cultured butter. I spoke to her for only a few minutes, but congratulations to cheesemaker Gida Snyder on her recent, well-deserved award from Les Dames d'Escoffier International!

___


The next night after work, we headed for the Thursday night market at St. Clement's, in Makiki. If you get there just around 5:30, there's ample parking on Wilder next to Makiki Park. We headed straight to our favorite food vendor and got 2 plates of the shrimp stir-fry: well seasoned with a pile of fresh vegetables. We both had enough leftovers for another meal. I was happy to see a new produce vendor, and picked up an avocado and a bunch of watercress.

Before I left, I stopped at the Sweet Revenge tent to congratulate Kathy Masunaga, the second Hawaii recipient of the Les Dames d'Escoffier International award.

Two farmers' markets, two award winners. No coincidence here; this is where you'll find the best food. And the best people in Hawaii.