Aku Eats Oahu : a closer look : Ono Seafood and Ft. Ruger Market Poke Stops, a closer look

Ono Seafood and Ft. Ruger Market Poke Stops, a closer look

Aloha Everyone!

10/21/08 - In my opinion, the two best poke stops on the island are both within a two-minute drive of eachother, and both are somewhat hide-away kinds of places. Ono Seafood is a tiny, little-known shop that has been quietly putting out impeccable-quality poke for many years now, while Ft. Ruger Market is a larger operation that has grown to become quite the neighborhood institution for local-style grinds of all types.

First off, let's take a closer look at Ft. Ruger Market, a full-fledged mini-mart packed with groceries, household goods, and especially, fresh and ready-made foods, of which their excellent poke is just one of many different items available. They are located on Alohea Ave., just a few short cross-streets down from the intersect with Makapuu Ave., where Diamond Head Theatre meets the parking lot of Kapiolani Community College. I'm not sure how it met City Zoning Requirements, as it sits right in the middle of a purely residential area - probably snuck in under the radar so long ago that it now stands out as much as a fire hydrant, voltage box, or dog marking out his territory on three legs. It'd be a much different story these days. Try upsetting the balance with something new now, and you'll likely meet the wrath of at least three or four neighborhood board members, for sure!

Most times you'll find at least one slot available in the few parking spaces fronting the store, as this is a pure take-out spot that gets 'em in and out pretty quick. I mean, you're not gonna come here for your weekly shopping excursions! You may pick up a few grocery items here and there, just as a side-note, but most come for the great local-style grinds made here in this relatively spacious kitchen area.

This menu board, which is not, by the way, the only one, shows how stocked they are with Hawaiian plates, sandwiches, fresh fish by the pound, and Hawaiian-style deli items. I must say, I had to add Hawaiian-style to the deli section written here, as this was the first time I've ever heard the term deli used for things like pipikaula, fish jerky, opihi, and smoked tako (octopus). But that's ok, as I've been coming here for years and have not seen a single tourist here - I'm not so sure they would appreciate this particular kind of deli, is all! Most of these tasty items are found displayed in the glass cases below the menu, which you can see from the kitchen-view pic earlier.

However, one thing that is very much conspicuously absent from those glass cases, which usually takes up all the prime space in any showcase in any fish store or poke outlet, is, interestingly enough - the poke itself! And why is that...?

Well... That's because they hold the good stuff in the back as-is, not left to sit for however long in the sauces or flavorings. Yes, it does make for a colorful, pretty, and very dramatic presentation to see row upon row of bright red, cubed ahi pieces, all dressed up in green onions, white onions, brown-purple limu or ogo, and sauces of dark shoyu, spicy-red chili, or light-brown sesame oil, but this beautiful stroke of marketing genius does have its drawbacks. First and foremost, the dark sauces can mask the real quality of the fish, making it harder to tell if it is fresh or not. Secondly, an over-saturated fish can lose much of its natural fish taste, and the salty sauces give retailers an extra cushion to keep fish even longer, since they also act as preservatives.

At both Ruger Market and Ono's, the fish is of sashimi-quality, so it often has a completely different look and feel than most run-of-the-mill poke varieties. The color is much richer, the natural taste much clearer, and the texture often so soft, just like a good sashimi, that it sometimes almost tastes like a completely different dish! And then there are the small crackles of Hawaiian salt - they haven't yet fully melted because they were tossed so recently. This may not seem like a good thing, but the longer the fish stays sitting in either salt, shoyu, or other sauces, the firmer the flesh becomes, to a degree, which is one of the big reasons for such a contrast between freshly-tossed poke and poke pre-sauced. furthermore, I just like having those little flavor-bursts of natural rock salt in there. Don't worry, they melt down pretty quick, so they are never as big as you get straight from the bag, a situation which would then be a bit overwhelming on both taste and tooth.

And just a note on the whole carbon monoxide-treatment-thing... don't worry about any of that going on here! You know, the colorless, odorless, completely harmless (according to the FDA, that is!) gas that gives fish a bright red coloration, no matter how old? Believe me, it goes on more than we think, mostly at supermarkets and cheaper poke outlets, but never at Ft. Ruger or Ono's, that's for sure.

Here is a salt-sesame poke from Ruger Market, which we took home that night and ate promptly, along with a cold Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, courtesy of our beer machine - something that should be mandatory in every household. Just kidding...

The friendly folk down at Ruger custom-make your poke with whatever ingredients you request, but will give you a few suggestions if you're not quite sure. One general rule they usually stick to is to go with either Hawaiian salt-sesame as a flavoring, or shoyu. They don't mix the two, contending that mixing Hawaiian salt with shoyu makes it a bit too salty. I think it's fine, however, as I always mix them when making poke at home. Just put less, is all!

We also picked up a half-pound of shoyu poke, which came packing much more flavor than the other version. And speaking of flavoring, perhaps the one small caveat I have with both these spots, if you can even call it that, is that because they are both freshly-tossed without measuring, there can sometimes be inconsistencies in flavor levels. Now, this may seem a bit un-professional, but hey, just like home, right? It's part of the nostalgia and quaint feel of these genuinely local hangouts!

And speaking of nostalgia and a quaint feel, what can freshen our memories to yester-year than these two blasts from the past? Truly, truly, Ruger Market is about as old-school as it gets.

But would a half-pound of shoyu poke and a half-pound of salt-sesame poke be enough for five hungry mouths for the evening? Me thinks not. And so it was, that we were off to Ono Seafood just a short jaunt away, on Kapahulu Avenue. What a maze of streets they have in that neighborhood! I always end up taking one too many left's and right's cutting through the residential area between Diamond Head/Kaimuki and Kapahulu, although I know someone living there could probably get me to point B in a straight-shot-hurry. It's aaaahhlll good! So, instead of two minutes, it was five - who cares, right?

Ono Seafood is located almost directly across the street from another much more popular and similiarly-named spot - Ono Hawaiian Food Restaurant. Not sure if the two collaborated or not... It is a tiny, bright-blue shop sandwiched between Shell Gas Station, a small apartment complex, and American Savings Bank. They only have two parking stalls directly fronting the store, so about parking at the gas station or bank? You didn't hear it from me...

The inside area is very small, with a few glass cases housing, uh, Hawaiian-style deli items? Hey, I guess there is a certain appeal to the term, after all. No?

Anyhow, there are much the same style of items as Ruger, albeit much less of them, things like taegu, takuan, fish jerky, fish by the pound, pickled onion, and unbelievably-good boiled peanuts, which you'll see here in just a bit.

Our kind hostess can be seen in the back, hard at work putting our order together.

We took home a total of five different items from this shop, all of them excellent. First off, as promised, let's get right into the absolute-best-ever boiled peanuts I've ever had in my life! Who'da thought a little twist on that cane-holding, black top-hat-wearing Mr. Peanut would make such a big difference? Big, bold, and beautiful, they were! If you're anything like me, never making them at home before and having been familiarized only with the supermarket variety found in the refrigerated case next to the tofu, mandoo wraps, and kim-chee, let me tell you - you're in for a big surprise here! They are much bigger, much firmer, much crisper, much more natural-tasting, and just, over-all, an infinitely superior product. That's all I can say. Enough, right?

Next up was one of wifey's favorites, a wasabi tako (octopus). These tiny, raw bits of octopus come as firm, almost crunchy morsels that carry the unmistakeable, tangy, hot mustard-like zing of Japanese wasabi root. Though it costs the same per pound as all other poke varieties, at $12, you don't need to get nearly as much, as the flavors are strong and flesh more densely-packed. This cup of wasabi tako was placed in one of those small shoyu/mustard containers found at Costco, which are much, much smaller than the containers used for poke.

The next dish was another tako order, this time coming as much larger pieces, sliced into clean cuts. Like the fish, tako here is always fresher, and thus more tender, than most shops around. Flavorings used are basically the same as ahi or other fish poke. Excellent.

Personally, as a whole, I think this little store puts out the best-quality poke anywhere. Always butter-soft, it is hand-tossed to order, like at Ruger's, and when the fish is particularly soft (it always is, but sometimes more so than other times), you will be truly amazed at the difference freshness can make. Come here often enough, and you will become so spoiled you'll never eat supermarket-variety stuff again!

This next pic is of a Hawaiian-Style ahi poke, which is basically closer to the Hawaiian salt-sesame version at Ruger, except there are more onions, ogo, and other fillers, along with a touch of hot chili peppers.

Their shoyu poke is also excellent, and also comes with liberal amounts of red chili peppers. Like Ruger, you can always request extra this or extra that, or have them build a custom-made order with any ingredients they have on hand. Either way, you can't go wrong here at Ono's.

shoyu mix poke

Wifey and I also love olives, mostly for its health benefits. It contains a good deal of monounsaturated oleic acid, which is an omega-9 fatty acid that is one of the good fats, a family that actually helps you lose weight, not gain. Interestingly, peanuts are another good source of omega-9 oils, while all that fish we've been eating contains lots of omega-3's, which is one type of oil that our body probably needs even more. We still need omega-6's, but because they are so common in many of the oils and products used today, many Americans, instead of having the recommended same amounts of omega-3's to 6's in our diets, actually have ratios that are closer to 20-50:1! Not good.

Unlike 3 and 6, omega-9 oils are not termed essential fatty acids because the body can also naturally produce them. However, they are still very important, and other elements within the olive are still proven, as well, to reduce blood pressure, lower bad cholesterol, increase good cholesterol, maintain heart-health, and prevent cancers, especially colon cancer. I get in as much extra virgin olive oil or non-canned olives as I can. This particular bowl is a garlic/olive mix, and comes from none other than the good 'ol supermarket down the street - Safeway. Their deli section (not Hawaiian-style, that is!) is pretty killer, with some really good sandwiches, cheeses, gourmet items, and other similiar foods.

We all had a great meal that night. And no carbs! Well, outside the beer...

In parting, I'll leave you with one final word of advice for good poke - another little store that's also on, you guessed it, Kapahulu Avenue. The reason I mention it is because this is one of the few places I know of where you can get good poke all the way up until just before midnight! As you may know, most poke stops, being virtual fishmongers, push their product during daylight hours and usually start to close up during early-evening hours - anywhere from 4-6pm at the earliest and 8-9pm at the latest. Yes, you can usually find pre-wrapped trays at grocery stores even after the fish section closes, but they are not always of the best quality. At Stop & Shop in Kapahulu, surprisingly, there is a freshly-made, never-frozen poke that is not bad at all. The shoyu ahi is a bit on the sweet side, but quality-wise, this place doesn't fall short. Recently, they've put up a cheaper section of previously-frozen poke, just to give you an option.

This place was the former Canal Market Liquor store, where we used to come in as high-schoolers, and they'd sell to us under-18's all the time! No more of that now, though, as the new owners there are kind and very friendly, but not friendly enough to risk losing their liquor license! They are located near the bottom of Kapahulu Ave., right above, or mauka, of the old Sam Choy's Diamond Head and right below, or makai, of Rainbow's Drive-Inn. Just a good option any time of the day, but especially late-night, when everyone else closes up.

Y'all take care 'till next time, and thanks again for checking us out!

Aku

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