Working in the 50th State and doing some DDD's

I was a bit unexpectedly assigned work in Honolulu and wanted to try to get to a few Triple D places during my visit.  My friend Karin lives on Oahu and is also a fan of the show, in fact she has even been to a taping of Triple D a few years back on one of Guy's visit to Hawaii..  After my 9 hour flight from Dulles to Honolulu, Karin picked me up and we headed out to try and couple of places along with a tour of the island.

We planned to try 2 different on the north shore of Oahu and headed out of Honolulu on what would be a scenic tour of the island.  We passed through a number of small towns and arrived in Haleiwa and pulled into a roadside area of food trucks to try "Big Wave Shrimp"  This food truck puts out a huge menu of items but shrimp is the dish to try.  This is the place here the Triple D classic song "Chicken Base nd Garlic Salt" was created.

Big Wave Shrimp in Haleiwa on the North Shore of Oahu

This says it all!

Love the Artwork on the truck

The menu looked so good that Karin and I decided to each order a dish and then share.  We decided to try the Butter Garlic Shrimp and Cocoanut Shrimp. Both came with a small salad and two scoops of white rice, which is a Hawaiian staple.  While we waited we met the owners of Big Wave Shrimp and they signed my book and were very gracious.  Soon our meal came and both were some of the best shrimp I have ever tasted.  The Cocoanut Shrimp was perfectly battered and the cocoanut was very subtle, not overpowering as many paces seem to be.  The Butter Garlic Shrimp was prefect!  They were served with a garlic sauce.  The salad and rice were a nice compliment to the meal.  Kathy the owner came over as we left ad thanked us for coming.  She is so grateful to have been on the show and feels that the success of their business is due to Guy and the show and while that may be a big part of it, the great food they produce is a big reason, too!  This was a great visit for me!

Big Wave's Cocoanut Shrimp

Big Wave's Butter Garlic Shrimp

Big Wave's owner and me.  Very friendly and gracious!

Karin and I headed out to probably the most northern part of the island passing through more small towns.  We arrived at another place with multiple food trucks in the town of Kahuku.  "Mike's Huli Huli Chicken" is the largest of the trucks in the complex.  It's base is a bus with large grills behind where they cook the chicken using locally grown wood.  They have created a small covered seating area where diners can enjoy their meals.  We decided to share a plate with the signature Huli Huli Chicken and the Hawaiian classic dish Kahlua Pork, along with the typical sides of Macaroni Salad and rice.  The meal came quickly and included two pieces of chicken and a large portion of the pork.  The wood used for grilling gives a vey nice flavor as the chicken is only seasoned with ight salt and pepper.  The pork had a nice briny flavor.  This place is a favorite of visitor and locals alike.  There are pictures of many celebrities who have enjoyed dining at Mike's.

Mike's Huli Huli Chicken in Kahuku

It's a food bus

The ordering area

My Huli Huli meal

The meal was so big, we couldn't finish it so I gave the left overs to Karin.  We left and headed back to Honolulu so I could start my week of work.  The drive back we passed an area where the some of the :Jurassic Park" movies were filmed and the very popular Polynesian Cultural Center is located.

The next day I went back, with some of my co-workers to a favorite place of mine in Honolulu.  The "Rainbow Drive-In" is an iconic and classic place that features Hawaiian plate lunches.  They are known for Loco Moco meals and have the slogan "Gravy All Over".  I was disappointed that Jimmy Gusamura, the owner had already left for the day, but as usual the food did not disappoint.  I ordered the Hamburger Steak with rice and macaroni salad and it was delicious!

Honolulu's Iconic and Classic Rainbow Drive-In

My Hamburger Steak meal with rice, mac salad and "Gravy All Over"!

On my last full day in Honolulu was I was able to get to one more place.  "Fresh Catch" is a small chain of places on Oahu operated by Guy's friend Chef Reno.  I went to the location near Waikiki and it's housed in an old Pizza Hut restaurant.  Fresh Catch specializes in Hawaiian style Poke, which is mostly raw fish chunked and marinated is various types of gravy's and sauces.  They also have sandwiches and the very Hawaiian plate lunches.  Inside there is a big refrigerated case with a dozen different types of poke's.  It was a bit overwhelming so my server let me taste about 4 or 5 different types.  I decided to try the Hawaiian Roll poke along with the fresh crab sandwich.

Fresh Catch - Home to Hawaiian Poke's, Fresh Fish and Plate Lunches

Inside Fresh Catch

Some of the Fresh Catch Poke

The "Guy Ate Here" display at Fresh Catch

After a short wait I got my meal.  The Poke had a mayo based sauce and tasted a bit like a sushi roll!  The poke was really fresh and tasty.  The sandwich was served on a dense Hawaiian bun with shredded crab meat mixed with light mayonnaise and garnished with tomatoes and lettuce.  The crab was very good but was a bit overpowered by the bun.

My Fresh Crab Sandwich

The Hawaiian Roll Poke

I finished and headed back to the hotel to prepare for may last work day and the long flight home.  I know that I will revisit Fresh Catch to try some of the other pokes they serve.  After this trip my Triple D count stood at 714!