This Week's Ono

Here is a little about this week's ono at our house. Ono is the Hawaiian word for delicious.

Since we have instituted the new Farmer grocery habit, I wanted to make our shopping interesting. Each week I buy something new to our family.These are pluots. They are a hybrid of 3/4 plum and 1/4 apricot. Pluots are very sweet because of their high sugar content and their intense flavor. They are also very, very juicy. Pluots are also rich in Vitamin A.
This is misoyaki butterfish. It is quite popular here in Hawaii. It combines the Japanese flavors of miso and sake with a taste that is uniquely Hawaiian. It is really popular at Roy's, but costs you probably three or four times what I paid for it at Costco. The butterfish is actually a sablefish, but because the skin of the fish is oily, it melts in your mouth like butter.
We also went to our favorite pancake paradise that is right down the street from my house. This is Son1's favorite breakfast, eggs over hard, and jasmine fried rice which is onolicious. Rice is a staple that can be eaten with every meal here. This fried rice is sweet and is made with bacon. They make the best fried rice ever!
Ooooh we had never had this before. Every day the restaurant makes a special biscuit of the day for $1.99. This day was peaches and cream biscuit day. It was so huge. It took up the entire dessert plate. Mmmm it was butter topped, sweet, fluffy, with whole peach pieces and layers of whipped cream in between. We have gone there for almost a year and have never been there on a peaches and cream biscuit day.Then there was the day Hubby made cashew chicken with vegetable stir fry just to give me a break. So yummy that Son1 ate his veggies pretty easily. The boys usually don't see their dad until the early evenings since he leaves at 5:30am. When he is home, they want to be right with him.

I am Warning You, Waitresses!

Waitresses, this is fair warning before the Farmer Family sits down at your table. There is a high probability Son2 will spill some cheerios on the floor, and Son1 may spill a little of his milk. I always get down and pick up anything that has been strewn on the floor so that it doesn't have to be done by you. But we will still tip you well! We promise you no less than twenty percent for a job well done. Despite our best efforts to clean the area around children's seats, there may still be some rogue evidence. But most of it will be picked up before the bill comes to the table. Now, if you want a chance at a good tip, forget about sucking up to the adults at the table, and quit ignoring my kids. It is far more effective to suck up to my three year old than to me. I could care less how many iced tea refills you bring me, or that you smile and use your bad acting skills as an attempt to convince me you care about me and my comfort. You don't. I know that. You are working your tip. But had you done something so simple as bring out my child's food first, you could have scored more green out of Hubby's wallet. That tiny little act of kindness would make me less edgy and incline our generosity. Think through the ramifications of bringing out the adult plates with nothing for my three year old. And when a little three year old asks about his macaroni and cheese, you should at least acknowledge his question.

So you want to know what happened? Well, you got the part about the macaroni and cheese taking forever to come out. We explained to Son1 oodles of times that they were cooking it. We tried to distract him and change the conversation a few times. Just when I thought I had diverted his attention, guess what commercial comes on TV at the restaurant? Yes, a macaroni commercial. Well, my plate came out, and Hubby's plate came out, without a plate for Son1. He took one look at his dad's chicken alfredo plate with some Superman tunnel vision. That's all he wanted. Who is going to say no to a hungry child? When the macaroni finally showed up, Son1 wanted nothing to do with it. He ate about half his dad's plate. We boxed up that macaroni and that was dinner for the next night for him. The waitress....sigh. She just didn't get it. She used that fakey fakey nicey nicey voice on repeated trips to our table, offered us more drinks , asked how we were doing, did our food taste ok, and wouldn't answer Son1's questions about his macaroni and cheese, not even once. Then this little face was priceless. Forget the macaroni and cheese, I want that.

Big Island Steakhouse is a BIG MISTAKE!

Big Island Steakhouse
69-250 Waikoloa Beach Drive
Big Island of Hawaii

"The prices certainly aren't justified given the setting. Cheap furnishings, unkempt surroundings, the place seems in desperate need of an upgrade. The service is adequate and the food passable, but you're paying to get your socks knocked off and yet, they'll stay firmly attached to your feet." -Hawaii The Big Island Revealed, 4th Edition.

I should have opened the guide book before we decided on this place for lunch. We decided to take a walk from the Waikoloa down to the King's Shops for lunch. My eldest is not really an asker or a beggar, so when he does ask, we have a tendency to say yes. All he wanted was some macaroni and cheese. On a recommendation from the concierge, this was the place to go in the King's Shops.

We arrived at the restaurant and saw the menu posted without prices, outside. While not so common, we have experienced this at gourmet rooms. Many times it is called a lady's menu, where prices are reserved for the gentleman's menu picking up the tab. No published prices usually means pricey, and usually the food commands the price.

We were seated for lunch. We were handed menus that did reflect higher prices. Our eyes quickly moved to the kids' menu. Regular portion prices were not as shocking as the children's portions. A child's portion of macaroni and cheese is $10, drink not included. The kid had been asking for macaroni for three days. Did I mention he generally doesn't ask for much? We raised our eyebrows, and settled on that for him. There was a homemade Angus burger for $10, or a Hooked Up Burger dressed in cheese and mushrooms for $12. We asked the waitress when she came to take our order about this Hooked Up Burger, described as homemade. Was it handmade? She didn't know. She went up to the kitchen and asked. No, they are pattied and pre-sliced. I was hungry. I ordered it anyway, and my other half ordered the Philly Cheese steak, and the price of the Philly escapes me now. The server brought our drinks and disappeared for at least fifteen minutes. Confession...we do our fair share of eating out. It hardly happens that good servers these days fail to bring out a child's meal first to keep peace in their establishment. Nearly 20 minutes later the server appears, and announces that they have run out of macaroni and cheese. I looked at my husband, and he mirrored my eyes in disbelief. It took her twenty minutes after putting in an order of macaroni and cheese to let us know they ran out? I will spare you the whining that ensued. We scanned the menu again. My little guy finally settled on a cheeseburger. Just as the waitress was writing this down for $10, plus the added cost for cheese, my husband, with some irritation, suggests that she bring us the adult steak burger for the same price. The two plates for the adults came out a minute later. We gave the little guy some off our plates while we waited for his plate that came out well after we finished the first two plates. The waitress failed to check on a few occasions about our drink refills. We leaned out of our seats to remind her, and were met with her total embarrassment each time. Finally, the third plate arrived several minutes later, and we picked at the plate since it was on our tab, anyway.

I hope this post finds many people via Google before setting foot in this establishment. You are in luck, though. An Islands Restaurant is coming to the Queen's Shops across the way relatively soon. Eat there. Their food is de-lish, reasonable, and caters to a cross demographic with an extensive menu.