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Sweet Home Waimanalo, a closer look
 Sweet Home Waimanalo Official Home Page! |
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 Sweet Home Waimanalo on Yelp! |
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Aloha!
12/14/10 - Thanks to photographer and friend Jeff Benik for his sweeping views of Waimanalo from atop the Kuliouou mountain trail, a great semi-easy hike I must have done at least 20 times throughout my life. It's shorter than a half-day'er yet long enough to make it a decent work-out; there's a relatively easy, very steady grade until you near the summit, where you'll find a good cardio kick at the end.
Near the left edge of the largest cluster of homes, right next to McDonald's and Mel's Market (where they have the best uncooked, marinated kalbi!), sits the object of our affections for today, Sweet Home Waimanalo.
Like Uncle Bobo's just a few days ago, Sweet Home Waimanalo is a genuine Windward-side smokehouse with plenty of other surprises to offer. First off, before even delving into any food, who can forget the vintage surf car and patriotic horse marking the spot everytime you drive by - me, any signs of old glory and I get the warm-tinglies deep in my gut. Actually, the vintage vehicle is gone these days, perhaps out on a surf trip, and the horse has only recently been painted in stars 'n stripes (along with some Hawaiian-style prints):
Apparently, Sweet Home Waimanalo shares their building with an art gallery owned by local boy Patrick Ching, who employs his love of Hawaii, the outdoors, and also his background as an actual rodeo clown for inspiration. He is a well-known artist and art teacher who has completed giant murals on public libraries, Hawaii's first wildlife conservation stamp, and even the cover of Hawaii's 1986 phone book, to name a few accolades. You can check out his online gallery and blog at www.naturallyhawaiian.wordpress.com. Otherwise, just stop by and you can see his work along with other local artists:
Just visible on the bottom right corner is a refrigerated case where the food story begins. On display are mostly fresh-made salads and great-looking desserts like cookies, scones, lemon tarts, and brownies, all made in-house:
One thing you'll definitely notice here is an almost North Shore-like ambience and personality - artsy, new age-ish, organic, farm fresh - the whole modern hippy thing, only without quite as much of a surf presence - Waimanalo mostly get boogie-board-kine waves, dass' why! The hui of owners actually own a nearby farm and also utilize other farms from the many located deeper inside Waimanalo, towards the mountains, and are striving to create what they call a modern version of the ancient ahupua'a, which were separate divisions of land from mountain to ocean, each one meant to sustain its inhabitants with everything they needed to survive and prosper. Eventually, Sweet Home Waimanalo would like to offer 100 percent local products, create zero waste, and even be completely self-sufficient - a tall order, I must say, but an admirable one, no doubt!
As expected, outside of smoked meats, you'll also find smoothies and acai bowls as well as wraps and healthy sandwiches, featuring such items as salmon, ahi, tofu, beans, jicama squash, fancy greens, corn, pineapple, mango, and a bevy of other fresh fruits and vegetables. Then there's the small but popular list of modern local beverages, such as a plantation iced tea, ginger honey lemonade, and an organic iced coffee.
Though ordering is done inside, hot meals are picked-up outside, through a window peering-out from a vintage trailer - don't ask me why. From there, park-style benches are offered, and flies, while there, weren't as big of a problem as they can be elsewhere.
One of the most popular items found is a fish taco ($8.50). Two double-shelled, lightly-grilled corn tortillas house a generous amount of fresh ahi, bok choy, red cabbage, and a refreshing salsa of pineapple, red bell peppers, and red onion, along with a creamy lime sauce:
That's about as trendy and uber-organic/contemporary as it gets, no? And talk about farm-fresh! One of the biggest things I've noticed when eating only fresh products, such as when I was in Kenya and Uganda for almost 3 months, is that most foods here in the modern West are so much softer in texture and much easier to digest, probably due to the high levels of processing and also because, well, we're just so much softer here in general! Folks in either developing or local farm-sensitive countries, because of their propensity for freshly-grown items, consume hardier fare with so much more body, so much more fiber (seemingly!), so much more, I dunno - ooomph! Some of our hostesses in various homes in Kenya boiled our greens for 15, 20 minutes. Try doing that here, and you'll have mushy green soup in no time, with leaves literally dissolving before your very eyes! Some items, like packaged spinach, wilt like the fur on a wet pomeranian the instant it hits a boiling pot of water or steam! It was a really wierd sensation, but upon arriving back home after so long a time abroad, no matter what I ate, it all seemed almost like baby food! Burgers, fries, pizza, plate lunch, whatever - everything was so soft, it felt like I didn't even have to chew!
Here at Sweet Home Waimanalo, this plate of fish tacos kinda reminded me of the firm, vibrant fruits and vegetables I had while in Africa (a good thing, is what I'm sayin...!). But while there were plenty of sweet potato, banana, collared greens, tilapia, and Nile perch to go around, they sure didn't have any fresh ahi like we carry here! The grilled pieces on our fish tacos were fresh and cooked to perfection, as you can see:
On the side of our fish taco plate was one of their sides, a slaw of bok choy cabbage that was light on mayo and, once again, reminiscent of the firm, crispy, very healthy fare I found while overseas:
A slice of fresh-baked cornbread is included on every meat plate, and this version is, like so many things here, a bit different. It was much moister than any other cornbread I'd ever had, so much so that it almost seemed like a pudding was added. The texture was more like a cake, and the taste was also a bit sweeter and mellower than normal.
All meat plates also come with a choice of two sides, and I highly recommend the Okinawa sweet potato:
Not only are the luscious chunks of purple potato super-healthy and cooked to a tender, moist perfection, but there's a mango chutney sauce that adds a beautiful and interesting dimension to it all. Yeah, the sauce is very light and is, to me, more of a visual treat than a flavor enhancer, but is nevertheless well-done, with a natural spice and fruit-infused touch both subtle and pleasing for those who can appreciate this kind of healthy fare. I didn't take an individual shot of my other choice, a Waimanalo sweet corn, but it is just that - grown in Waimanalo, very sweet, and briefly cooked in a manner that leaves its kernels plump, crisp, and bursting with juices.
As far as their signature meats go, they range from a honey citrus half-chicken and kalua pig to smoked specialties like pork steaks, pulled pork, ribs, and brisket, all from $8.25 to $9.50 in price. Combination plates are $11.50, and allow for 2 different choices on a single plate. Here's my two choices:
Two bbq sauces are provided, one a house bbq and the other a guava chipotle bbq. The latter sounded really good but, to me, wasn't quite as well-matched as the house bbq, as it carried a little too much sweetness and fruity flavors, including chunks of actual fruit within the sauce itself! Here's our plate, this time drizzled in red:
Nice looking plate, ey? Sides already spoken of, here's a better look at the brisket:
Hmmm... As far as smoked meats go, this one was disappointing. The super-thin cuts carried very little smokiness at all, and if blindfolded, I'd probably have a tough time differentiating between this and a normal, oven-cooked roast beef! Though they were relatively moist and tender, I found myself reaching (in my mind!) for salt, spices, hot sauce - anything for a bit more taste! On the other hand, I have no doubt that, loaded with sauce and infused with a little extra flavor, these tender cuts would be great in a mayo-slathered sandwich, with breads toasted and perhaps their bok choy slaw added!
Moving right along, I found the ribs much better than the brisket:
Not too soft, not too tough, but juuust right! The meat was moist and tender, but I'd have to say the smokiness was once again on the light side, although this time, at least you could tell it was smoked! The difference here was that they don't use a typical American bbq seasoning, but a kind of local mix that happens to be a family secret, so I can't say for sure what it is. Out of pure speculation, I'd say that, along with familiar American-style spices and seasonings, they also use sugar or other sweetener and some type or combination of Asian sauces, whether that be shoyu, oyster sauce, hoisin, or even char siu - but who knows? All I can say was that there was a lot more flavor in these ribs, and that definitely appeals to the local bruddah in me.
In closing, there's one final dish we ordered on this particularly lovely day in Waimanalo:
I luuuv beets, and I have no doubt there are farm-fresh beets in this bowl, puree'd to a smooth, creamy consistency. From a health aspect, I was indeed happy. However, even Kumi, who dies for these kinds of healthy root-vegetable soups, couldn't finish it, as it somehow tasted more like a mellowed ketchup than anything else! I know beets are very strong, and you have to add other ingredients to make it palatable, but it was perhaps a bit over-done in this regard.
I do give this place credit as a whole, though, mostly for using fresh products and aspiring to be completely harmonious with the natural balance of things. Yeah, there may be a few rough edges here and there, but the folks are very friendly and the eclectic, artsy, forward-looking nature of places like this ensures that the consciense and heart of the food industry will remain alive and well in this forest fire-like, consumption-oriented society. Locally-grown, locally-bought, and locally-eaten stuff always tastes and feels better in the end! Good luck Sweet Home Waimanalo, and all of you out there go check it out!
Hey, hope your week is going fine! Went to the new Korean/Japanese restaurant Richo's the other night, and found the menu interesting and delightfully different. I'll tell you about it real soon!
Congrat's to all the 2010 Hawaii Marathon finishers - what a great accomplishment! Me, I'm happy enough with 8 miles and the Great Aloha Run!
Take care, and Aloha till next time!
