Posted | Comments Off

Quickbites: Kahuku Farms, Kaka’ako Kitchen, more

KAHUKU GRINDS: If you get hungry while driving along the coastline up to the North Shore (and you don’t want shrimp), check out the Kahuku Farms Country Cafe.

The cafe offers a simple menu of items fresh from the farm, whether it be lilikoi, vanilla beans, papaya or eggplants.

Some choices include a grilled veggie panini sandwich ($9.50) filled with eggplant, bell pepper, zucchini and mozzarella; a farm pizza and side salad ($8.75); and more.

The “Lilikoi Joy” ($4.75), a smoothie made from lilikoi and banana, is a refreshing treat with a local twist. Other choices include Haupia Pineapple, Banana Bang (with spirulina) and Papaya Power.

For a sweet treat, try Kahuku Farm vanilla, apple banana or lilikoi ice cream ($3.75) or grilled banana bread a la mode ($7).

The cafe, 56-800 Kamehameha Highway (across from Roy’s shrimp stand), is open from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday. Call 293-8159 to place takeout orders.

SOUTHERN STYLE: Kaka’ako Kitchen’s Picnic on the Lanai on Aug. 26 is themed “Southern Comfort.”

The menu includes peel-and-eat shrimp with remoulade sauce, coleslaw, country-style mashed potatoes, candied yams, collard greens, black-eyed peas, chicken-fried steak, cornmeal-crusted catfish, Southern fried chicken and barbecue brisket.

Dessert is a “sloppy bread pudding” with raisins in wild turkey bourbon sauce.

Dishes at the event are served family style.

Customers are encouraged to dress Southern style this month — the best-dressed “Southern Gentleman” and “Southern Belle” will each get dinner on the house.

The BYOB dinner (no corkage fee) is served at 6:30 p.m. at Kaka’ako Kitchen, Ward Centre. Price is $35 a person, $17.50 for keiki ages 6 to 12 and free for keiki 5 and under. Reservations recommended: 381-4114 or marcy395@gmail.com.

CRAB REVIVAL: JJ Luangkhot of JJ’s Bistro and French Pastry is reinventing the wheel yet again, this time with Crab City, an all-seafood restaurant that opened in July in the former Le Cacao Bistro location in Kaimuki. It’s the third permutation for this spot under Luangkhot’s stewardship; before Le Cacao he briefly operated J2 Asian Fusion.

Seafood lovers will rejoice in the menu, which includes a large “catch” — with lobster, Dungeness crab, king crab, snow crab, blue crab, crawfish, shrimp, clams and mussels served fresh at prices ranging from $10 a pound (shrimp) to market price (lobster).

Seafood combos combine favorites and cost $38 to $48.

The concept is simple: Choose your seafood and how you want to flavor it, with lemon butter, Cajun spices, Thai curry or garlic butter. Want it mild, spicy or volcanic?

There’s an oyster bar starting at $10 for a half-dozen, with fried seafood selections from $10.

A la carte options include fried catfish, sweet corn, edamame and french fries.

Crab City is at 3441 Waialae Ave. It’s open from 11 a.m. to midnight daily. Call 780-3115.

WONDER WOMEN: Watch out, guys. Four of the culinary world’s most talented female chefs are bringing their best to a special Sunday brunch from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sept. 9 at the Hyatt Regency Waikiki.

“Girls Got Game!” — which is part of the Hawai’i Food and Wine Festival — will feature Christina Tosi from Momofuku Milk Bar (a top-notch bakery) in New York, Jacqueline Lau, corporate executive chef of Roy’s Restaurants in Hawaii, “Top Chef Master” Susan Feniger of Susan Feniger’s STREET and the Border Grill restaurants in Los Angeles, and Joanne Chang of Boston’s Flour Bakery + Cafe and Myers + Chang.

The “Girls Got Game!” brunch features the products of local female farmers — ranging from Ho Farms to Naked Cow Dairy and Hamakua mushrooms.

Morning cocktails and wines will also be available.

Tickets are $85 before Wednesday and $100 after. Get them at hawaiifoodandwinefestival.com or 237-6145.

–Compiled by Nina Wu. Email “quickbites” news to nwu@staradvertiser.com.