Pours medium amber with medium head. Carbonation is not very strong. A medium mouthfeel, accentuated by the weak carbonation. The roasting has made for an interesting beer. It doesn’t have an immediately identifyable roasted taste, it almost tastes of spice. I’m rather enjoying this, it almost reminds me of a Scotch with its aromas. I’m enjoying it even though it has now gone almost completely flat. I like this variety pack, we like fall. Included in the pack that I’ve already had is the Sam Adams Boston Lager, Oktoberfest, Black Lager, and Irish Red. I will review later the last flavor of this collection. The Rauchbier gets a solid 3 out of four hearty monkeys, and might even score a 4 if on my second bottle I still feel the same!
Archive for the 'Food' Category
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Beck’s entry into the Oktoberfest fray. A medium amber, pours with a strong head that does not persist too long. There’s a fair amount of bitter, hint of roasty, but barely. Mouthfeel is medium thick. Oddly I quite liked it when I first bought it, but my smell for some reason has cleared a little the past day and I’m not enjoying it as much tonight. Perhaps the hops is coming on stronger now, although I don’t really detect floweryness. Funny because I’m down to my last one! I’ll have to go middle of the road and give it a 2 out 4 oompa monkeys, although when I started I would have given it more. Weird.
Sam Adam’s entry into the seasonal. Pours a medium dark red brown with moderate head that quickly dissapears. Carbonation is not that strong. Bit of roastyness, nicely moderated bitter. Pretty clean with just a bit of heavier mouth. I’m not sure which Oktoberfest I prefer, the Sam Adams does lose its carbonation rather fast. 3 out of 4 Otkobering monkeys.
Widber Brothers’ seasonal appropriately enough is the Okto this October 1st. Pours medium dark red brown with moderately strong head that quickly dissapates. Carbonation is not too strong. My nose is once again really plugged up so I can’t get the aromas too well, a bit of smoky and nuttyness. Medium smooth mouthfeel, a nice moderated bitter. Nicely drinkable. I’m glad autumn is here. 3 out of four Oktoberfestive monkeys.
Wait, summer ale? Yes, I haven’t gotten around to reviewing this until now. You can tell how enthusiastic I am about it. Pours a medium light yellow, fair head, thins out but carbonation stays for a bit. Strong floral bitters, a fairly syrupy mouth feel. Bitter persists in the back of mouth. Can’t say I enjoy this, but it’s not so bad that I don’t finish it. I’m glad summer’s over. 1 out of 4 hopped out monkeys.
We first discovered this at Chimpei ramen, now available at Marukai. Suntory Premium malts in glass bottle. Same crisp bit with a nice touch of flavor and bitter character. Is it better? I’m of the school that prefers bottles over cans, I think it is a more pleasant experience. Does it taste different? I’m not sure, but I think so. And for all those people who worry about it, no Booby Promoting Additive in the plastic liner. Is it worth the $1 more? You’ll have to decide. 3 out of 4 non estrogened monkeys.
Since the place that Root works at did a contract over at the Pastele Shop on School and Gulick, he scored a freebie plate a few months back that I got to sample. The Pastele was really good, and the gandule rice it came with was good too. The tossed greens that came with the plate were fresh and a voluminous, and the dressing was good too. Ckucke was in the area, so he picked us up lunch from there. I gave the Pastele Moco a try. I saw it on the menu and it sounded like an awesome idea. Combine Loco Moco and Pasteles? How could you go wrong? Fabio made it by earlier in the month and had given it his seal of approval. For those who don’t know what a pastele (“pah-tay-lay” – the “s” is silent) is, it the Caribbean/Central American equivalent of the Mexican tamale. This steamed dish arrived in Hawai’i with Puerto Rican immigrants during the sugar plantation days. It uses ground plantain or green bananas in place of the cornmeal since this dish hails from more tropical regions where corn does not grow well. Continue reading ‘The Pastele Shop Pastele Moco’
Open for a bit over half a year, I’ve been there three times now and figured should do a review. It is located on King Street slotted between TCBY and Sushi King and the Post Office. Same location that has seen other small Japanese restaurants. It is an authentically Japanese style izakaya, they have a few other locations in Japan, so the staff is most comfortable with Japanese, although there is at least one who speaks perfect English. And as such, you’ll notice a large percentage of Japanese expats in the customer base. And it’s izakaya style is casual and intimate, many of the regulars and natives will call out orders direct to the counter. I would say the food is contemporary Japanese with a strong Okinawan bent. You’ll find a good amount of Okinawa standards like goya, rafute, soki soba, taco rice and an array of awamori drinks.
In case you don’t know, taco rice is not a misspelling of tako, it’s an Okinawa thing. Imagine a taco, like a Taco Bell taco, that had it’s tortilla disintegrated and instead ended up on a bed of white rice. Naru’s take on it is served ishiyaki style, a heated stone bowl that makes that wonderful burnt koge layer of rice. And the rice is a bit more like mexican rice style, with the spices and flavorings in the rice, as opposed to the bits on plain white rice that some might call more “traditional”, if one could call the mishmash of pop cuisine that is attributed to GI influence such a thing. I found this rendition to be quite tasty. There are still bits of lettuce in it that become all wilty, but I enjoyed it. Continue reading ‘Izakaya Naru’
I was out in Waipahu at lunchtime the other day, so I stopped by Jollibee to give them a try. Although this is the first USA franchise of a restaurant chain from the Philippines, you won’t find Filipino ethnic fare here: This is a Western-style fast-food place. The three major menu items they have are fried chicken, burgers, and spaghetti. This time around, I opted for the fried chicken, referred to here as “Chicken Joy”. The base plate is two pieces of chicken and one side, and from there you can upgrade to two sides, then three pieces of chicken. I got the two-piece with two sides, (#2) with mashed potatoes and buttered corn. The other options were white rice and something else I can’t remember right now. I neglected to indicate the spicy chicken option when I ordered, so I received the standard fried chicken. The service was very fast and the food was plated neatly. In addition to the gravy on the mashed potatoes, there was a little container of extra gravy for the chicken. Including the fountain drink, my meal came to $7.33 USD with sales tax. Continue reading ‘Jollibee Chicken Joy’
