GROUND HOG DAY: This week, you’ve got a pass to pig out

Chee hoo–Ground Hog Days are here again, bu! Gotta love one holiday wea–according to ancient supahstitions–if you eat plene kine ono pork grinds on Feb. 2, da winter surf going las’ six weeks longah. Plus, your team going win da Super Bowl. Guarans ball bearin’s, brah!

So in honor of dese events (but really, jus’ one excuse fo’ ham it up), dis little piggy’s penned-up some tasty info jus’ fo you. Enjoy!

Translation: Friends, rejoice! With this weekend sandwiched between Groundhog Day and the Super Bowl, I’d say The Man’s giving us license to party n’ pig out. (No worries, the six percent of Americans who call in sick on Super Bowl Monday have got our backs.) But let’s have a little foodie fun with the folklore (I’m sure Pennsylvania’s Germans won’t mind), seeing as the closest thing Hawaii’s got to marmots are mongoose–and if winter lasts longer, mo’ bettah. Hey, we’ll make any excuse to exalt good grinds…

TEN HEAVENLY PLACES TO PORK IN PARADISE

“NUMBER ONE”
ICHIBAN RESTAURANT AND SUSHI BAR (47 W. Kaahumanu Ave., Kahului; 871-6977). Tonkatsu with rice and miso soup ($Market)

“OUT OF THIS WORLD”
STAR NOODLE (286 Kupuohi St., Lahaina; 667-5400; starnoodle.com). Steamed pressed pork buns with hoisin, shiitake and cucumber ($10)

“OH-SO ONO”
SOUTH SHORE TIKI LOUNGE (1913 S. Kihei Rd.; 874-6444; southshoretikilounge.com). BBQ kalua sandwich with fries, side salad, coleslaw or rice ($10)

“NOW WOULDN’T YOU, BORICUA”
DA PUERTO RICAN FOOD TRUCK MAUI (“bright white truck with the silver back driving around the island”; dapuertoricanfoodtruck.com / @daPRFT on Twitter). Pulled “boricua” pork marinated in traditional herbs and spices with rice and beans or arroz con gandules ($8.95)

“HAWAIIAN STYLE HAM”
OLD LAHAINA LUAU (1251 Front. St., 1-800-248-5828; oldlahainaluau.com). Kalua pua’a is the centerpiece of their huge buffet menu, alongside all the essential local fixins like lomi lomi salmon, pahole (fern) salad, ahi poke, poi and haupia ($98 general / $68 kama’aina)

“TREAT YOURSELF”
MONKEYPOD KITCHEN (Wailea Gateway, 10 Gateway Pl.; 891-2322; monkeypodkitchen.com). Bulgogi pork tacos with pickled carrots, handcrafted kim chee, jalapeno and Asian pear aioli ($14.95)

“AIN’T NOTHING LIKE THE REAL THING”
MAIN STREET BISTRO (2051 Main St., Wailuku; 244-6816; msbmaui.com). Lightly smoked roasted pork loin with pork gravy risotto ($15)

“BOAR SNACKS”
KAHULUI ALE HOUSE (355 E. Kamehameha Ave.; 877-9011; alehouse.net). Three kalua pork sliders on toasted buns with tropical slaw and BBQ sauce ($7.95)

“SO SMOKIN’ IT SHOULD BE ILLEGAL”
FAT DADDY’S (1913 S. Kihei Rd.; 879-8711; fatdaddysmaui.com). Smoked pork spareribs ($25 full rack / $14 half rack)

“BROKE DA MOUTH”
DA KITCHEN (Triangle Square, 425 Koloa St., Kahului; 871-7782; da-kitchen.com). Kalua pork plate lunch with side salad and scoop rice ($12.49)

PIGSKIN PAGEANTRY

THERE’S SOMETHING ABOUT FOOTBALL THAT MAKES U.S. HUNGRY
Move over baby Jesus and the American Revolution–Thanksgiving’s the only food consumption event that tops Super Bowl Sunday. Last year the big game had more than 111 million viewers (an all-time record, reported by The Nielsen Company), which means about 43 percent of our countrymen tuned in–and chowed down.

AS FOR THE OTHER WHITE MEAT
We live on a planet where the National Chicken Council’s 2012 Wing Report is a real thing–and it projects that Americans will eat 1.25 billion wings (totaling 100 million pounds of wings) on Super Bowl Sunday, saying, “If the wings were laid end-to-end they would circle the circumference of the Earth more than twice–a distance that would reach approximately a quarter of the way to the moon.”

ANOTHER KIND OF CONSUMPTION
The National Retail Federation (NRF) recently released results from its 2012 Super Bowl Consumer Intentions and Actions Survey (conducted by BIGinsight, Jan. 4-11 with “a margin of error plus or minus 1.0 percent”), which projects that Americans will spend $11 billion on Super Bowl-related stuff. The NRF’s senior vice president, Mike Gatti (in an audio interview with MarketWatch.com) says this $11 billion figure includes TVs, home furnishings, team apparel and trinkets “like football shaped ashtrays.”

PS (PORKSCRIPT)

PORK THIS IN YOUR PIPE AND SMOKE IT
Got the munchies? Bacon flavored rolling papers ($2) are available at Maui’s only record store, Requests (10 N. Market St., Wailuku; 244-9315; requestshawaii.com) ■

article by Publisher // elie@foodbeast.com // Twitter: @eliepoo 

Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield, co-founders of Ben & Jerry’s Homemade Inc., will soon be further explaining how they share many of the values supported by the “Occupy Wall Street” movement. The company has already made a section of their site dedicated to their stand on particular issues, and have generally voiced support for all those who have “initiated the non-violent Occupy Wall Street Movement and to those around the country who have joined in solidarity.”

Here are some key points Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream finds of importance:

The inequity that exists between classes in our country is simply immoral.

We are in an unemployment crisis. Almost 14 million people are unemployed. Nearly 20% of African American men are unemployed. Over 25% of our nation’s youth are unemployed.

Many workers who have jobs have to work 2 or 3 of them just to scrape by.

Higher education is almost impossible to obtain without going deeply in debt.

Corporations are permitted to spend unlimited resources to influence elections while stockpiling a trillion dollars rather than hiring people.

Read the rest at FoodBeast:

via Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream Sides With the 99% | Foodbeast.

Maui has a Ben & Jerry’s ice cream shop at Kaahumanu Center in Kahului.

Dine Out for Hospice Maui

Like it or not, once Halloween is over, it’s time to start planning Thanksgiving. This annual event turns everyone into a foodie for at least a weekend of feasting. So why not feast all month while restaurants are generously donating to charity? Here are three foodie events to put on your calendar:

RESTAURANT WEEK (Nov. 14-20)

Restaurant Week, now in its second year on Maui, has long been huge on Oahu. You’ll be eating out at Cane & Taro, Genki Sushi, Betty’s Beach Cafe, Black Rock Streak & Seafood, Five Palms Kihei, Five Palms Lahaina, Leis Family Class Act Restaurant, Pineapple Grill at Kapalua Resort, Ruth’s Chris Steak House and the Flatbread Company. These restaurants will offer different pre fixe multi-course meals and special promotions and will donate a portion of proceeds to the Culinary Institute of the Pacific at Diamond Head. The full list of detailed menu items is available at http://www.restaurantweekhawaii.com/.

DINE OUT FOR HOSPICE MAUI (Nov. 15)

Support Hospice Maui’s one-night-only, dine-out blitz and you’ll help them continue to meet the increasing hospice needs for all of Maui residents, regardless of their ability to pay. Visit http://hospicemaui.org/dineout.html for a complete list of participating restaurants.

CENTRAL MAUI: Bistro Casanova – Dinner Da Kitchen – Dinner Ruby’s Diner – All meal periods
McDonald’s Dairy Road – Dinner McDonald’s Puunene Ave. – Dinner
WEST MAUI: Honu Seafood & Pizza, Lahaina – Lunch & Dinner Mala Ocean Tavern, Lahaina – Lunch & Dinner
Lahaina Pizza Co. – Dinner Merriman’s Kapalua – Dinner
UP & OUT COUNTRY: Market Fresh Bistro – Breakfast & Lunch Tribe, Haiku – Lunch only Polli’s Mexican
Restaurant – Lunch & Dinner Casanova Italian Restaurant – Dinner Kula Lodge & Restaurant – Dinner
SOUTH MAUI: Sarento’s on the Beach – Breakfast Mala Wailea – Lunch & Dinner Mulligans on the Blue –
Dinner Stella Blues Café – Dinner

More restaurants are being added daily so check back to the website often. Remember anything you eat that day during the times indicated above will contribute, so plan the whole day of eating out, or just a meal. http://hospicemaui.org/dineout.html

Chef Ricky DeBoer, Fairmont Kea Lani, "Chocolate Heaven" First Place 2010, Life is Sweet Dessert Showcase

LIFE IS SWEET SHOWCASE (Nov. 19)

The sweet is on at the Shops at Wailea. Maureen McCormick (Marcia Brady from the Brady Bunch) will emcee and judge a host of Maui’s celeb chefs as they go head-to-head in the dessert category to raise money for Best Buddies Hawaii. For ticket info go to bestbuddieshawaii.org or call 242-6982.

Stacy and Brad Sundin, Kahului Ale House

You know how it is. You hear a lot of chatter about restaurants – these guys changed their menu; those guys just renovated; this place was just sold. It’s been that way lately with the Kahului Ale House. I keep hearing about new food items, different owners, renovations and big changes. But I’m never satisfied with hearsay, so I went down there to see for myself what, if anything, was new.

Kahului doesn’t have as many destination eateries as our more picturesque, tourist-heavy towns. Here it seems to be all business, where the restaurants serve the locals. Kahului Ale House has long reigned as Central Maui’s Sports Bar Supreme, but with new owners Brad and Stacy Sundin breathing new attitude into their restaurant, the atmosphere has grown thick and diverse. Clearly, they want to be more than a sports bar.

Stacy Sundin’s bubbly personality gushed as she gave me the grand tour of the restaurant. The sushi bar is getting built here; the baseball wall there was built with the help of a generous customer. They also updated all the flat screens and now all the games are everywhere.

The Sundins are passionate about creating a family-oriented restaurant for Kahului diners. See, they have kids, too. In fact, the younger Sundins have helped craft the very reasonable kids’ menu. For $6, kids can build their own meal concept by picking their own entree, side and dessert. It’s also one of the first places where I’ve seen Spam Musubi on the keiki menu, a favorite item of our island’s small fries.

The dining room is large, with the bar right in the center. One side of the dining room is wooden booths well lit by large windows, with the other side darker and perfect for TV watching (if that is your thing).

I delve into their expansive menu by ordering the lettuce wraps and edamame. A vast mountain of edamame arrives in a basket with its green skins well salted. The lettuce wraps don’t look like much at first, just crisp iceberg lettuce separated into large leaves with a big glop of heavily hoisinned minced filing on the side of the platter. But after I rolled the filing in the wrapper and bit, I was in heaven. The sweet meaty filling performed amazingly well with iceberg – any other lettuce might not have had such a strong crisp shoulder to bear the weight of the pork.

Stacy then recommended the pastrami Reuben on rye with sauerkraut. It comes all hot and melty with plenty of juicy pink pastrami that’s drenched with glorious liquified Swiss. The rye is grilled with butter and crisp, and the Amber Ale sauerkraut gives the sandwich some tang. Sweet potato fries completed my calorie crime; they’re shoestring style here and come in a big stack in a basket. Sandwiches can also come with potato wedges, Parmesan fries, salads or soup. BLT, turkey club, falafel pita, Ahi tuna and grilled vegetable are just some of the names appearing on the sandwich menu.

My dining date ordered the ale-battered fish and chips. The big, crispy battered slabs of flaky Mahi Mahi served with potato wedges and tropical slaw were exceptional.

Indeed, their whole menu is daunting. Dining runs the gamut here from casual sandwiches and finger food to veggie lasagna, BBQ Ribs, Seared Mahi, and hamburger steak.There are soups and salads, pizza, nine wraps and sandwiches, nine burgers, 17 appetizers and a page of entrees, plate lunches and side items, plus a wiki wiki lunch special menu that will get you in and out fast. They have a big selection of American and local favorites, with a sushi bar section on the way.

“We like mixing things up,” said Stacy. “Our dream is to make this into a wonderful family-oriented restaurant by day and a fun place for adults in the evening.”

The Ale House was a hub of activity for the lunch hour I was there. They also offer customers wi-fi, which makes satellite office time easy.

On Tuesdays tacos are on special: just $2 for beef, chicken or pork. They also have daily specials on pupus during their happy hour, which runs Monday to Friday from 3 to 7pm. On Football Sundays, breakfast starts at 8am.

The Sundins credit their restaurant experience to their home state in Arizona, and know how difficult the restaurant business can be from their parent’s Buffalo Bar and Grill. But with a year of Maui under their belts, they are quickly assimilating into the island lifestyle.

Crater Dogs is giving away FREE crater dogs to the first 500 MauiTime Readers Today at 11 am! Whats so special about these dogs? Well besides the fact that it its FREE, these gourmet dogs are popped into locally baked fresh bread rolls. The process is unique – the have a special toaster that inserts into the roll and toasts the inside– they call it center toasted “puka” soft roll. For veg heads they have a veggie dog. The toppings sound amazing, Maui Onion Mustard, Maui Onion Jalepeno, Mango Butter, Lilikoi Butter, Garlic Pepper Corn Ketchup, Guava BBQ Sauce.

Icing on the cake: there is a bouncy castle for the kids too! I am heading down to get my free dogs, I can’t resist. Crater Dogs is newly opened on Dairy Road next to MauiBuilt. The address is 261 Dairy Road, Kahului, phone is 808-205-3683.

Kahului Ale House

Kahului Ale House Early Happy Hour – Mon-Fri. Kahului’s hot spot for sports and entertainment has a Happy Hour featuring 50 cents off all beers plus $3.50 well drinks. Taco Tuesdays 3pm-close: $2 Tacos and $3.50 Mexican beers and Margaritas. Thirsty Thursdays 6pm-close: $1 domestic drafts, $2 pints, $2 well drinks. Two $5 pupu dishes offered each day as part of specials posted daily on Facebook. 3-7pm and 10pm-close (no late night Happy Hour on Fri.). 355 E. Kamehameha Ave., Kahului; 808-877-9001;