The Whole Ox Deli

Recently opened about 2 weeks ago, The Whole Ox is located on Keawe right across the street from the old Comp USA. I absolutely love the color scheme and the laid-back "country" feel (even though it's located close to downtown/the Financial District), especially with their cute wooden benches outside coupled with the breezy Hawaiian air. Lovely!

The food, however, needs a bit of work. Again, like I've said before, this place can be great, but they need time to get their routine down. Some have said on Yelp, and I agree, that the workers need to be trained better. When asked what was in the Head Cheese, the guy taking my order (he was really nice though! I give him that) had to ask another worker, who had to ask one of the Chefs/Owners that popped his head out, who discussed with another Chef/Owner just exactly what ingredients he used. Whoa!! They need to be more trained on the menu for one thing! And secondly, they were out of Pastrami, which meant they couldn't make 2 out of their 8 lunch items! Apparently, as stated on Yelp, the Reuben and the K&Z are two of their most popular lunch items. But, it was only 11am! And that's when lunch starts. Boooo.

While I really enjoyed the atmosphere, the food lacked taste. Everything was either really salty or bland in flavor. They had some cool concepts- homemade Head Cheese (though you can't beat Salt), Fried Potatoes, Watermelon and Tomato Salad, and what sounded amazing, their Foie Gras Eggs Benedict, but left me totally disappointed.

Hours: Breakfast served from 7am-11, Lunch 11-3pm. Beware, the lunch hour gets crazy! Best time to go- 1030am....so you can try their breakfast, but be there just when lunch starts.....like we did!

I love the chalkboard menu!!

Spinach-Egg Tarte

Yelpers said these weren't crunchy, so I didn't give these a go.

Plantation Iced Tea @ $2.25 was probably the BEST thing there. But sorry, no refills!

Foie Gras Eggs Benedict. Definitely not worth $19. The Foie Gras was easily overcooked. Also, I didn't care much for the pastry...it didn't go well with the overall taste of the dish. Maybe an English Muffin or something softer would do. And the egg! The egg was SUPER runny and barely seemed cooked plus drowned in Hollandaise. Just a messy dish, overall.

Definitely not as good as I made it look...

Porchetta'boutit, Doug- Pronounced Porketta. Apparently my friend Brian said the fennel was the best part of this sand.

Fried Bologna- the Lunch Special of the Day. Ryan said it was like a heart attack in a sand. Very light, but very filling....if there even is such a thing. We ended up making fun calling it "tempura bologna."

Fried Potatoes- bland, but crispy and crunchy. No taste to me, though.

Finally! My dish! The Dry-Aged Burger with Caper Aioli. Didn't realize it, but after tasting my friends' food, this was SUPER salty. The comparison with their food was unbelievable. Don't know if the meat was over-seasoned or the caper aioli took over. Either way, it was REALLY salty, and to me, not cooked enough.

And what is this?! Did I ask for a side of oil?!

Head Cheese tasted like star anise-flavored gelatin. A bit strange. The Chef said it was Pho-flavored.

As we left, lunch was busy!

Thailand Jewelry

Mom and Dad just came back from Thailand, and brought me back some loot!! Apparently, circles and anything round in structure is very symbolic to Thai people. This auspicious emblem represents the Dharma Wheel or the Wheel of Transformation, and serves as a metaphor for the rapid, spiritual change generated by the teachings of Buddha.

Thanks for bringing some Thai culture back home to me, M&D!

Bamboo Sky button-down, Forever 21 faux leather shorts, Boutique 9 caged heels, necklace c/o M&D via Thailand!

Hy's Steak House

When I crave steak, I only think of two places. One is Ruth's Chris and the other, a classic, Hy's Steak House. Now, I know there are many other Steak Houses popping up on Oahu, but come on, you can't beat these two! Trust me, the Filet Mignon at Hy's is ultra-tender and will be enough to fill you up. Plus, if you're still hungry, there's dessert. And for me, though I'm not big on desserts, I can never pass up their Cherries Jubilee. Ever since I can remember, I grew up on this stuff! When I was a little girl, Mom and Dad would bring me here, and I always looked forward to the Cherries Jubilee the most! How can you not love seeing fire spiraling down an orange peel?

Now that I'm all grown-up, well, now, I remember the steak too ;)

Bamboo Sky jacket (For Love and Lemons), Bamboo Sky top and Chevron shorts, Promiscuous heels

Hey, starting off with delicious cheese bread ain't too bad! First basket is free, second one is $2 for 4 slices or $4 for 8. Trust me, you will want a second (or third) basket. This stuff is REALLY good.

Malbec and Riesling

Yup, French Onion Soup!!!!!

7oz Filet Mignon with Baked Potato!

Garlic Steak

.....AND Garlic Mash

The show begins!!

A MUST- CHERRIES JUBILEE!

So happy!!! Best way to end a great steak dinner.

La Tour French Onion Soup

La Tour's Macarons- perfect mix of chewy and creamy. The inside is unlike any other- almost like an ice cream filling. It melts if you leave it out.

One night, Brian and I couldn't figure out a place to have dinner. His workplace is only a minute away from La Tour, though he's never been there, so it's been on my list of places to take him. This was the perfect night!

We settled on a Chicken Pesto Panini and their La Tour Burger, plus a cup of French Onion Soup and some macarons! Brian has never had a macaron either, so I picked out 4-5 for him to try. A small appetizer before our meals came out!

Brian's French Onion came first, I tried a spoonful, then decided to get my own! It was delicious! A little on the salty side, but I loved that they put the cheese in the soup. When you scoop up the soup with onions, you also get a little cheese with it too. Perfection! First time I've seen the cheese actually mixed in with the soup.

Verdict? Brian loved La Tour's food, macarons and the price. Much, much less expensive than his other favorite, Nico's. He loved it so much, he stopped by a couple days later, had their Vietnamese Banh Mi and brought me some Macarons too! I trained him well ;)

Young's Fish Market

For great Lau Lau and Hawaiian food, our family always relies on Young's, located in Kalihi. Their Lau Lau is always fresh, hot and has a lot of Lau Lau leaves....my fave! They also have various kinds of stuffings- Pork, Chicken, Beef or Fish, though their Fish Lau Lau is what I go there for. Only offered on Fridays and sells out by noon or earlier. It is the ultimate foodie's Lau Lau!

Young's offers a variety of combo plates (Lau Lau Plate, Kalua Pig Plate, Beef Stew Plate and Mini Plates), stews (Beef Stew, Tripe Stew, Chicken Long Rice, Squid Lu'au), Desserts (Haupia or Kulolo), and fresh seafood (Ahi Shoyu Poke, Ahi Limu, Sea Asparagus Salad, Taegy, Lomi Salmon, Raw Crab or Tako Shoyu). Boiled Peanuts, Portuguese Sausage, Poi, Sweet Potato, Roast Pork and Chili Pepper water are some other specialties.

The first Friday I took my good family friend, Kory, to Young's around noon, they had run out of Butterfish Lau Lau. We were prepared and anxious to chow down, but were so disappointed when they told us there was only Pork left. No Chicken either?! Nope. That's how popular Young's Lau Lau is!

Then, finally, the next early Friday morning, I stopped in to pick one up for my dinner. After ordering one, I decided to pick one up for Kory as well, since we missed out that last week. Met him for lunch at Mililani GC for some Oxtail and surprised him with a Fish Lau Lau!

I found out from the lady helping me at Young's, that they best time to come for their Butterfish Lau Lau on Friday is 10am. They open at 8am, but come at 10am to guarantee you walk out with it!

Kory's plate- 1/4 lb of Turkey Tail, Poi, Lomi, Pork Lau Lau and Poke

Had to get some CRISPY Roast Pork! That's the Chinese in me!

Pork Lau lau

Inside shot of the Butterfish Lau Lau!!!

Just how I like it...extra hot with rice!!

Mililani Golf Course Oxtail Ramen

My good family friend, Kory, took me to lunch at Mililani Golf Course since he knows I'm always down for some good Oxtail! He raved about the Oxtail Ramen there (more than the Oxtail Soup that I would prefer), so I had to give it a try. He stated that he liked the ramen much more simply because they mix the ramen dashi with the soup of the oxtail. The mixture had more depth.

When it finally arrived (call ahead to preorder if you're in a rush, because they take a long time!), I noticed the Oxtail was just as tender as my favorite Ton Ton Ramen in Waipahu, and the pieces of Oxtail were huge. Kory liked that you could actually "gnaw" on the pieces after, whereas at Ton Ton, he said they cut the pieces to a smaller size.

All in all, I liked their Oxtail very much, but I would order the Oxtail Soup next time. Ramen was good, but there was just so much of it and very little Oxtail. I'd want twice as much Oxtail, no ramen, and LOTS of rice, please!!! Plus, I didn't care much for the mixture of dashi and oxtail soup. Tasted too much like saimin soup. I realize now that if I go to a restaurant that offers Oxtail Soup and Oxtail Ramen, I'm going for the Oxtail Soup. I end up leaving all the noodles and crave more oxtail if I order the ramen!

As for the BEST Oxtail, here's the breakdown:
1. Ton Ton Ramen Or Aiea Bowl
2. Sunrise Restaurant
3. Mililani GC
4. Ramen Nakamura
5. Asahi Grill