V Lounge + Town | Honolulu, Hawaii

I have wanted to try the pizza at V Lounge for months, ever since reading this  Urban Mix Plate blot entry by Melissa Chang (@Meslissa808). Last night seemed like a good a night as any so we headed down there for some of their famous kiawe wood-fired pizza.

Afterwards, we had a craving for something yummy from Little Oven (@liloven), but as it turns out, they were only serving a limited selection of KC Drive-Inn waffle dogs and shakes, so we ended up at Town in Kaimuki for dessert. Overall, the food was excellent at both places, but the ambiance was very different. V Lounge had a relaxed, laid back feel; a stark contrast to the boisterous atmosphere at Town.

Believe it or not, I actually remembered to bring my trusty SD400, but the battery was dead! ARGH! You know what that means... yup, iPhone pics once again :\

V Lounge
1344 Kona Street
Honolulu, HI 96814
(808) 953-0007
Website
Follow on Twitter

Town
3435 Waialae Avenue
Honolulu, HI 96816
(808) 735-5900
Website

Walking down Kona street at night can be rather intimidating and finding V Lounge can be a tad tricky. There's a sign above a little doorway. If you blink, you'll miss it.


There were very few people around when we first walked in. It started to fill up by the time we were finished, but never felt overly crowded.


We decided split a pizza and came up with a custom concoction of buffalo mozzarella, Hamakua oyster mushrooms, sweet onion, arugula, basil, and truffle oil, which is basically everything on the menu that isn't meat. It turned out amazing! The dough was soft and chewy, while the toppings were fresh and flavorful.


I've been to Town twice this week. We had lunch there on Thursday and decided to go for dessert last night. In the past when I've eaten there, I found the service to be extremely poor. On these two occasions, however, I was really impressed. The staff was friendly, helpful, and cordial and we didn't have to wait forever to get our food. Since we were only there for dessert, we sat at the bar. Turns out, that was probably a mistake because a bunch of weirdos camped out next to us. One guy was practically leaning on me the whole time.


Wifey got the pana cotta, which came drizzled with honey and served with pomegranate. It must have been really good because I didn't get any :(


I ordered the almond financier. The tart marmalade offered a nice contrast to the sweet cake.

Happy Hearts Mochi + Roy's Restaurant | Honolulu, Hawaii

This past Friday was wifey's birthday and I wanted to do something really nice for her. I started by ordering a sampler from Happy Hearts Mochi. Then it was off to an early dinner at Roy's in Hawaii Kai.

Happy Hearts
748 Hoawa Street
Honolulu, HI 96826
(808) 382-5714
Website

Roy's
6600 Kalanianaole Highway
Honolulu, HI 96825
(808) 396-7697
Website

I'm pretty sure this is the best mochi you will find anywhere on this island. It's made fresh and with lots of TLC. Renee (@surfchik4jesus), the owner, was nice enough to wrap it up with a "Happy Birthday" sticker and delivered the package right to my door! You just can't beat that kind of service. I ordered a Sampler with 1 peanut butter, 2 pumpkin and 1 hazelnut chocolate. The pumpkin is a seasonal flavor available around the holidays.


I made dinner reservations at Roy's based on a recommendation from Lesli Ashburn (@macrohawaii).


Even before you order, they bring you a nice little dish of edamame. It was tossed in a sauce that had just the right amount of sweet and spicy.


Wifey ordered herself a Key Lime Pie Martini to drink.


A couple of friends of mine happened to be working that evening so they hooked us up with this complimentary appetizer. There was pork in it so guess who got to eat both ;)


Lesli specifically mentioned a vegetarian sushi that the Roy's in Waikiki had prepared for her, so we had to ask about it. It was packed with bok choy, asparagus, and other veggies and topped with a garlic aioli.


We also shared the Tomato salad. Heirloom tomatoes atop a bed of watercress, onion and goat cheese.


We asked our server for vegetarian entrée options and she said they could do tofu in place of the poached fish. It was topped with a cilantro pesto and drizzled with hot oil. I took a bite and actually preferred this to the fried tofu she had at Alan Wong's.


I ordered their Surf N Turf special and it was just massive. Two "bomboucha" beef ribs, four shrimp skewers, a piece of grilled salmon (hiding in the back), rice, and kim chee. I enjoyed the different flavors of the dish and despite it's size, didn't feel overly full afterwards.


For dessert, we ordered the Caramel Crème Brûlée. The custard tasted very much like dulce de leche.


They also brought out a special birthday cake on a personalized plate, which I thought was a nice touch. This dessert is called their Chocolate Decadence Cake. It was more like a block of rich fudge than a "cake," but it did live up to its name - it was both chocolaty and decadent.

Ryan's Grill + The Pill Box | Honolulu, Hawaii

Last night, we had dinner at Ryan's Grill, a longtime favorite (when we were first married, we'd have dinner there almost every week). It's been awhile, though, since we'd been back and a gift card from @KaizenHawaii was a good excuse to return.

Ryan's Grill
1200 Ala Moana Blvd
Honolulu, HI 96814
(808) 591-9132
Website
Follow on Twitter

The Pill Box Pharmacy
1133 11th Ave
Honolulu, HI 96816
(808) 737-4966

Of all the restaurants that used to occupy the second floor of Ward Center, Ryan's is the only one to have survived. I think that speaks to the quality of food and service.


Our first appetizer was the Jamaican Jerk Fries. Wifey was disappointed that they don't make them like they used to. She remembers them being thin and crispy, with the seasoning evenly distributed throughout. Last night's fries were cut thick and all the spices were clumped in the middle.


The spicy edamame, too, was different. It was sweeter and not as spicy. It wasn't bad - just not what we were used to.


Wifey ordered the Pizza Insalata. It's a four cheese pizza, topped with bruschetta, basil, and mixed greens. She said it was absolutely delicious.


For some strange reason, I was craving fish, so I went with the Spicy Ahi special. Seared to a perfect medium-rare, it was served with an avocado-cucumber salad and furikake rice. This dish was the perfect balance of heat and coolness.


We had a tough time picking a place for dessert, since Little Oven was closed. We finally decided on ice cream from the Pill Box Pharmacy in Kaimuki. They usually have 20 or so flavors for you to choose from. I've tried almost everyone and they are all good.



Wifey and I both had Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough. A scoop this size will only set you back $1.50 (and that's including tax).

Extraordinary Desserts | San Diego, California

My brother is getting married tomorrow in Southern California, so my family is here getting ready for the ceremony. We decided to take a break yesterday and drive down to SeaWorld in San Diego. After a visit to Shamu and his friends, we went over to Extraordinary Desserts for a treat.

Karen Krasne Extraordinary Desserts
1430 Union Street
San Diego, CA 92101
(619) 294-7001
Website

Extraordinary Desserts is a place that serves extravagantly decorated cakes and tarts. There are two locations, both in San Diego.


You can see the amount of detail that goes in to decorating these desserts. Each of the items is visually stunning.


To order, you select one of the desserts from the display window.


There's something to satisfy just about any palate.



I ordered a SINGLE hazelnut latte. Yes, this massive bowl of coffee and steamed milk is a single. Wonder what the double looks like? Maybe they serve it in a gallon punchbowl or something...


And which of the many treats did I order? It's called the New York Cheesecake crème brûlée. The dessert was basically a graham cracker crust with a cream cheese custard, topped with the classic caramelized sugar topping and decorated in Extraordinary Desserts' signature style. My opinion is that this dessert was far more visually appealing than it was delectable. It was good, but not spectacular.

To Thai For + Little Oven | Honolulu, Hawaii

This past Friday, we had our first date night in almost a month, so we had to make it count. The evening consisted of dinner at a relatively new dig called "To Thai For", The Art Song Festival at Hawaii Public Radio, and dessert at Little Oven.

To Thai For
3571 Waialae Ave
Honolulu, HI 96816
(808) 734-3443

Little Oven
1467 S King St
Honolulu, HI 96814-2504
(808) 947-6836
Website

One of the great things about this small restaurant is that almost all of their dishes can be made vegetarian by substituting tofu for the meat. The staff was very friendly and went out of their way to make us feel welcomed and comfortable. We started with a green papaya salad. The dressing was amazing and the flavors were balanced perfectly - not too "peanutty" as some places tend to make it.


Wifey opted for the fried rice. The brown jasmine rice was so flavorful. She claims is was the best fried rice she's ever had. I should've asked her if it was even better than mine :\


I went for the seafood version of their house noodle soup. The broth was light and refreshing with just a small bit of heat from some chopped up chili pepper. The only thing missing were chopsticks (they said their shipment was late for the week, so we ate our entire meal with fork, knife, and spoon).


After we enjoyed the music of the Art Song Festival, we made out way over to Little Oven for some dessert. Wifey ordered the Ganache Trifle, but was a little disappointed by the lack of ganache.

This is their take on a Banana Split. A blowtorch is used to caramelize some sugar on the tops of the banana slices, which totally set this dish apart.


A nice hot mug of Irish Coffee was the perfect way to end this great evening.

Himalayan Kitchen + Little Oven | Honolulu, Hawaii

Last night's date brought us to two very different places. We got dinner at the Himalayan Kitchen in Kaimuki then moved on to Little Oven for some dessert.

Himalayan Kitchen
1137 11th Ave
Honolulu, HI 96816
(808) 735-1122

Little Oven
1467 S King St
Honolulu, HI 96814-2504
(808) 947-6836
Website

Himalayan Kitchen is a small place that specializes in Nepalese cuisine. There are lots of great vegetarian options for my wife, so it's definitely one of her favorite places to go.

We started with the garlic jalapeño naan. Somehow, the spiciness of this dish sort of crept up on us. About halfway through, out mouths were on fire, but it sure was worth it!
I ordered the mixed Biryani, which is made with bits of lamb, chicken and shrimp cooked with vegetables and basmati rice. The mild was plenty spicy for me (and I'm the kind of guy that loves to put Tobasco on everything).
Wifey got the Malai Kafta. The best description I can come up with is that these are "meatless meatballs."

After dinner, we really needed something to cool our taste buds, so it was off to Little Oven. The first time we went (a few weeks ago), it was pretty empty and last night was a little more crowded, but it still wasn't packed.

I ordered the Peach Cobbler. It was the perfect size, but could have used a scoop of vanilla.

The perfect end to Wifey's dinner was the Ice Milk/Sorbet sampler. It was meticulously put together, but she did miss the mint chip scoop they had in there the last time.