Aku Eats Oahu : a closer look : Gulick Deli, a closer look

Gulick Deli, a closer look

Howzit!

7/30/08 - Who can resist the charm and nostalgia of a genuine okazuya? No map-carrying, sunburned, aloha-shirt wearing visitors here, just a whole lotta local bruddah's and sistah's. A favorite for cheap, island-style take-out, with die-hard, loyal hordes that cross the divide of every political, economic, or social stereotype from Hilo to Hanalei, from dirty-jean'd construction workers to petite office clerks to beach bums to big-shot local executives - you know, with the slacks and tucked-in Aloha shirts from Reyn's, Tommy Bahama, or Tori Richards.

Though Japanese in name, with okazu a term for anything on a plate outside the rice, and ya for store, you won't find quite the same thing in the mother country. Yes, absolutely, the creation of okazuya's rest squarely on the shoulders of Japanese transplants since way back when to Plantation Camp days, but over the years, it has evolved into a separate, uniquely distinct local product.

Remnants of her original lineage are still highly evident, however - kinpira gobo, konbu maki, namasu, nishime, and the more familiar tempura, chicken katsu, and musubi, to name a few. It's just that now, there so many other influences alongside, courtesy of the rich and overflowing amalgamation of different cultures found in the state. Filipino pork adobo and pancit, Chinese beef broccoli and chow fun/mein, American hamburger and hotdog, and a myriad of other local specialties can all be found at any given store. We are spoiled here on the island, food-wise, gathering the best of so many different worlds and adopting them as our own! No can beat, brah!

Okazuya, along with bento and plate lunch, are three separate but very much related items close to the heart of island-style grinds. In fact, we'll take a look-see into a single representative of each of these food types in a consecutive, three-part mini-series beginning today. Which came first commercially is anyone's guess, but I would venture to say that they all derived from bento, which simply means an individually-packed take-out box, a portable lunch mom would make for dad for his long work day. Yes, there was once a time when the norm was mom at home doing all the cooking and cleaning, with dad working a laborious nine-to-fiver! Imagine that? But more on bento later.

I picked one of the old-time okazuya houses well-renowned on the island - Gulick Delicatessen. Delicatessen? You bet! Don't ask me why, but the term was used since the beginning and still sticks today. I guess that's why we love these places. Sometimes things should never change. Lose the old-style essence, and lose a big chunk of nostalgia forever. When I walk into an okazuya, I want to taste food just like grandma made - greasy hamburger steaks, large tofu patties stocked with gobo and shiitake, poofy tempura pieces with overly-thick batters, musubi with a single ume in the center, and oooh, the memories of all the auntie's preparing rolls of colorful maki sushi and stuffing aburage shells for inari. Of the three - okazuya, bento, and plate lunch - nothing comes closer than an okazuya for olden-day's, home-style local grinds!

Gulick Deli actually sits in the middle of a residential area in the heart of Kalihi. From the Kam Shopping Center, traveling Ewa on N. School St., pass Likelike Highway and continue a few cross-streets down to Gulick, then take a left. The store is close by on the right - blink and you'll miss it. Be aware that there is no parking lot, so customers need to find a spot somewhere on the street. Boy, I'd hate to be a neighbor! At least they only operate day-time, unlike the drug houses that are open 24 hours..... I just love Kalihi! Easy, brah...

Though Gulick has been around for many, many years, it has renovated quite a bit, with a bright, clean store, at least inside, and one of the largest menu selections anywhere. Customers are ushered through as quickly as possible, but with hordes of hungry crowds often gathering in such a small space, it can get a bit chaotic at times.

Luckily, the crowds dispersed for just a few precious moments, leaving only a little cutie struggling to get a look at the huge and delicious spread. Help, mommy!

Despite the rush going on everywhere, the owners were kind enough to let me back-stage for a few snaps. Take a look at this display of ono-kine grinds - coming here on an empty stomach is a dangerous proposition, lemme tell you!

I think people forget that the now-everywhere item called garlic chicken, at least in today's form, was not really commonplace in times past. The practice of frying the chicken first and then tossing it in a sweet garlic/shoyu base, as today's versions almost always are, is a more recent phenomena. I'm not saying it wasn't known at all, but the norm was mostly the old-fashioned style of chicken visiting the deep-fryer in a marinated batter, with no post-cooking dip. Mitsuken, another very popular okazuya, has been famous for the traditional style of garlic chicken for a long time now. At Gulick, the new-style is implemented. Which one is better depends on the mood and the person.

Just behind the beautiful display and lovely servers sits multi-tiered shelves of mostly deep-fried items - shrimp, potato, mixed vegetables, chicken, and more. Next is an example of shrimp tempura done in the old-school, local way - very different from the flaky, super-light, traditional style from Japan. Yeah, we're a bit heavier here in the islands...

Being a strictly take-out operation, as most okazuya's are, we had to find a spot somewhere to eat. One of the big "issues" about izakaya's is the kind of housing the transportable meals come in. Hey, I'm always telling you about how drinking beer from a bottle can't compare with draft, and how cans are an absolute bottom-of-the-barrel option, so why not food?

Besides garlic chicken, another new-style approach Gulick employs are styrofoam plates, a trick from the hat of most plate lunch houses these days. In the old days, there was only wax or butcher paper wrap and paper plates, which are then slid into either a brown-bag-like sheath or a single serving box. Many wax nostalgic on these presentations, and yes, I guess I do, too. However, far and few in-between are those that still use them. Most likely, you'll see one of these:

Luckily, neither mom nor myself were in a terribly hungry state, so we took a little drive, en-route to wherever the road took us. Today's road led us all the way out to the southern tip of the island, Barber's Point. Both wifey and I love coming out here for a stress-free surf session. Sure, the waves aren't hollow and fast like Bowls or the North Shore, but it can get pretty decent, and at least they are void of aggro'd-out guys calling you off waves and acting like they own the beach.

I picked a spot past the surf breaks, where large structures with park benches and shade are open to the public.

Unfortunately, the fly's were even hungrier than we were! Giant buggahs, too! You know, the horse-fly-looking ones? First one, then two, then..... Forget this place!

I took a few snaps and left before the entire clan arrived!

That was mom's plate, with an ume musubi, a slice of rolled egg, and some nishime, which came with large chunks of oden-like daikon, shiitake mushroom, konbu, carrot, and fishcake.

My order was a mix of furikake-dusted spam musubi, fried chicken, a teriyaki tofu patty, konbu-maki, and the rolled egg. It seems they really like doing things large at Gulick Deli. Mom's daikon pieces were memorably huge, and my fried chicken thighs as large as I've ever bit into. And that konbu maki? The biggest one I've ever seen (and one of the best, I might add)! The seaweed-wrapped delicacy is made from wrapping pork, chicken or other meats in with gobo, carrot, bamboo shoots, and whatever else anyone wants to throw in. Delicious!

Here's a closer shot of the konbu-maki innards. I definitely need to get me a macro lens!

We also split a single piece of shoyu butterfish, which was a winner. This piece was thick and beautiful, a steak cut from the meaty center of a large fish, not cheaper, tail-end cuts or sections of smaller fish. The meat was moist, flaky, and tender, with a white, natural color and taste that wasn't overpowered in the least by the shoyu sauce it sat in. Perfectly done.

All in all, Gulick Delicatessen is a great little okazuya to try. Though it does still carry the old-fashioned taste in most of its dishes, they are savvy enough to not be too bull-headed and continue every single thing in the same manner - some of these places, boy, are so old and doggedly unchanging that it scares people away! I always say that the most stubborn thing in the world is not a mule, but an older Japanese man! Being pure Japanese myself, I can say that. The samurai tradition does carry down through the ages, you know, and though I tease, I wouldn't have it any other way.

The ones that don't change are treasures that keep traditions alive, becoming subjects of fascination and envy, just like in episodes of Soko Ga Shiritai! They should be given credit for proudly holding on to traditions and cultural ways, but those that change with the times are simply adapting to serve its customers better. This world is large and interesting enough to accomodate every angle, and hopefully, we'll continue to have both for as long as I can hold a fork to my mouth!

We're half-way through the week, so let's finish off strong!

Take care and Aloha till next time!

Aku

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