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Stortos, a closer look
Aloha!
9/1/09 - Doggonit, man - I can't do it! I've tried and tried, and I just can't do it! My hunger and appetite is just waaay too much faster than my pen. Actually, it's a keyboard, but how terribly un-romantic does that sound? The point is, I got like, eight or nine full sets of pictures from eight or nine different eateries, all waiting to make it on a Closer Look page, but I can't keep up fast enough! I keep telling myself to shut up and just post pics, but the play-by-play continues as surely as my Mr. Coffee brewer brews hot each morning, like some daily ritual I gotta perform so the rains arrive to water the crops, I dunno.
On the waiting block, there's a sophisticated Japanese spot hidden in plain view, one that most locals have probably never set foot in before; two new sandwich shops (one after today!), a little-known, low-key Korean restaurant with surprisingly authentic cuisine, a shrimp truck and a pho spot that were both horrah'z, along with several more! There's just not enough time in the day for doing what you love to do, yes?
Nevertheless, I'll do my best to speed things along - work's real slow right now, so perhaps I'll be able to pump out more pages. Either that, or I gotta slow down on visiting new spots, cuz' something's gotta give, one way or the other. Hmmm... now that I've put it to myself that way, I think I can find a way to speed up!!!
Conference with myself over and done with, there's a new sandwich shop in town, only, it's not so new, as they've been operating steadily in Haleiwa for a long time - since 1977, to be exact. The new spot is located next to Ninnikuya Garlic House in Kaimuki, in a self-standing building that once housed a really cool Mediterranean restaurant.
I'm glad they have parking here, which is found either up the ramp next to the building or the entrance-way next to the ramp. Technically, my choice of words is still factual and correct, hope you know.
And talk about scizophrenic, this place splits personalities between two things that don't really go well together - big surf and big hair! No, not really - big surf, yes, but the other side of this cool sandwich shop is all about old-school rock bands, mostly from the 80's, it seems.
Back then, this particular scene was all about rock on, punk out, bang your head, and heavy metal devil worship, with mostly white guys scheming to eliminate the disco and funk of a decade earlier, which, yeah, they mostly succeeded in doing. Hey, nobody still listens to Boogie-oogie-oogie, We are Family, Brick House, and Night Fever (besides me, that is!) except in cheesy jokes and sitcom re-run's, but aaaah, Aerosmith? Van Halen? Boston? Rush? Jimmy Hendrix? The Who? These guys are classic bands no one's gonna be teasing anytime soon.
The other side of the room is just as strongly opinionated, but centered upon other things, is all:
And so, as you can see - long live surf! And forever rock-on... dudes!
Me, I'm all about the grindz at this particular junction of my life right now, so I just eat as much as I can, and call it a day. And today, it was a very fine day, indeed...
The order counter and kitchen is pretty much like the shop - bright, open, and cheery:
The set-up is pretty simple, really - it's all about cold-cuts here, such as ham, turkey, pastrami, roast beef, salami, pepperoni, and bologna, which are combined with veggies, cheeses, and sauces, then housed between either white sub sandwich bread or brown whole wheat varieties. Just remember, going the healthy route with dark bread means you're going sandwich-style, in sliced squares, not the billy-club route. Everything is packaged-up nice and tight in butcher paper, even when dining-in:
All sandwiches come with a whole slew of veggies, unless an abrupt halt is requested - lettuce, tomatoes, onions, bell peppers, and sprouts, along with mayo, mustard, and dressings of either papaya seed, French, Italian, or honey mustard. Several things struck me about these sandwiches, not the least of which would be the bread. I hardly ever use white bread, but left with the choice between a regular whole wheat sandwich or a white-bread sub, and with sub's being the specialty, there really was no choice at all. Nevertheless, I had heard that the buns were nice and soft, so why not? Luckily, and, in fact, I found the rumors all true!
A huge piece of bread like this on a sandwich would be unpalatable if hard or old, but the one on this ham, turkey, and pastrami was neither, arriving pillow-soft, light as a cloud, and with a slight sweetness I found very pleasing.
Though there are surf-names for all their three-meat sandwiches, such as Laniakea, Chun's, Jocko's, Pipeline, Rocky Point, and Waimea, you can also go with just one or two meats, instead. No fancy names for you, though.
Here's a ham and turkey that wifey ordered:
Another thing that struck me about these sandwiches is the large amount of veggies inside. But you know what? It works fine that way, especially with the dressings, of which our favorite is papaya seed, all the way! The sweet, zesty tang mixed well with everything else, almost like giant, hand-held, kicked-up entree salad, perhaps with the biggest, freshest croutons you've ever seen in your life!
Mom went with a Sunset sandwich, filled with ham, turkey, and roast beef:
And, finally, the last aspect I noticed most about a Storto's sandwich? Well, it may be good thing for some, but wrong for others. Veggie-lovers, rejoice, but if you're looking for a New York-style sub with enough meat in a single 'wich to fill-up for both lunch and dinner, you'll be sorely disappointed. However, at $6.75 for three meats on an 8-inch sub, and $13.50 for three meats on a whopping 15-inch sub, that's to be expected. Subway and Blimpie's don't even compare to these beautie's, even though they are in relatively the same price ranges.
The thing is, for all the sandwiches shown above, because of the relatively small amounts of cold cuts given in relationship to everything else, they all pretty much tasted the same! I mean, yeah, I might be able to tell the difference, but I'd have to be trying. Don't get me wrong - they tasted great - the simple combination of vegetables, dressings, slathers, meats, and that fabulous bread all just go so well together. However, if you want that little extra meat punch, there are a couple of options you can opt for in order to compensate for any short-coming's. First, you can get 4, 5, or 6-meat sandwiches instead of 1, 2, or 3 - prices go up incrementally from $7.25 for a 4-meat, 8-incher to $16.50 for a 6-meat, 15-incher. Or, you can do what I did. On the menu, right at the top, there's the Alii sandwich, which is filled with heavier, saltier, more full-flavored cuts like pepperoni, salami, and pastrami, so you're better able to taste the meats as compared to mellower slices like ham, turkey, bologna, and roast beef.
It took me a return visit to learn, but for a guy like myself who loves protein, the 3-meat, 8-inch Alii is a must:
On the side, there's a few simple things like dill pickles, chips, pepperoncini, bacon, avocado, extra cheese, and a really delicious, yet-again very simple potato salad:
For a quick, inexpensive meal after the beach, or a light lunch any day of the week, I'd say Storto's is a great place to patronize. You won't be in and out as quickly as a Subway or Blimpie, but that's a good thing, really, as otherwise, well, the sandwiches would probably taste like Subway or Blimpie, yes? These are honest-to-goodness, down-home sandwiches that really do have a home-made taste and feel, and like most things truly great, come in simple combinations that, I dunno, just seem to work so effortlessly and naturally together, for whatever reason. I think it's just that the reliable, straight-forward taste of a sandwich is so familiar to us here, and one done well just satisfies us to no end, like some kind of childhood dream fulfilled, if even in a perhaps unconscious sort of way. Of course, if you're from Bangladesh or Kathmandu, scratch what I just said.
Hey, I kinda speeded-up, didn't I? Yesterday, I put-out a page; today, here's anothuh! No promises about tomorrow, though...
Hope you're making the first day of the week a fruitful and productive one! Get off the couch, you lazy buggah'z!!!
Easy...
Take care and Aloha till next time!
Aku
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