Sandwich Island Fever (Part 5)

Greetings, Readers!

This week's blog will have both a very sad, and very happy tone.

Very happy because this may be one of the top stops I made on my recent trip to Hawai'i.

Very sad because it was one of the last stops I made in Hawai'i.

But what better place to visit to wrap up our trip there than to stop at Kona Brewing Company on The Big Island. Visiting the brewery and pub was one of my top destinations while we were visiting the state. I'm a huge fan of their beer and wanted to be able to taste some more limited options that are only available on tap at the brewery itself.

The beer, as usual was delicious, and made me wish that the brewery bottled some of these other limited options sometime soon. Duke's Blonde Ale was a fantastically refreshing. I was happy to see that six-packs of their delicious Castaway IPA are now in bottles for the season. Definitely pick that up if you see it and enjoy refreshing IPAs.

But enough of their fantastic beer, let's discuss the sandwich.

The menu has so many delicious sounding options that it did take quite a bit for me to settle on one. Most of them also use their beers as an ingredient. Wanting to stick with the success of the seafood based sandwich from my post two weeks ago, I ordered the Big Wave Shrimp Melt.

A significant amount of tender shrimp are braised in Big Wave Golden Ale (a fantastic beer) and garlic with house made avocado aioli, parmesan and provolone cheeses, roasted garlic, fresh spinach and locally grown tomato thrown on top. Stack this deliciousness between tow halves a hearty roll and you have a great sandwich.

The shrimp were tender but still had a bit of pop to them when you took a bite with plenty of delicious flavor. The parmesan and provolone cheese combined for an incredibly savory, powerful flavor that was very present, but not overpowering of the more mild shrimp flavor.

The fresh spinach and tomato added a contrast of fresh crunch and flavor. The tomato was not mealy in the least and was an excellent contrast to the savory sandwich. The roasted garlic added a great flavor that complemented the cheeses and mild seafood.

Plus, anything with roasted garlic gets a big thumbs up from me.

Stack all of this between the sides of a hearty roll that held it all together until the end of the sandwich, and you have an excellent example and one of the best sandwiches I had during out stay in the 50th state.

If you happen to be in Kona and stop by KBC, definitely take the tour as well. I find it's always great to see the inner workings of a place like this before or after you enjoy their delicious beer. You get to see the process at work and may even get a better understand and appreciation of the craft of beer.

An excellent way to wrap up our stay in the islands for a week and definitely left me wanting to return very soon. Hawai'i is not only a fantastic place to visit, but it's obvious that it is a place where the people understand what makes a good sandwich.

Until next week, Readers...


Big Wave Shrimp Melt
**** 1/2 Stars
Kona Brewing Company
75-5629 Kuakini Highway
Kailua Kona, HI 96740
www.konabrewingco.com

Sandwich Island Fever (Part 1)

Greetings, Readers!

How have you been? Have you been sandwiching in my absence? Last week, I spent my honeymoon in Hawaii, but have no fear, I still had plenty of time to be sandwiching on the islands of our 50th state.

There were plenty of options for burgers and other sandwiches that I've had on the mainland, but while I was in a new state for myself, why not try something inspired by the tastes of the islands.

Did you know that at one point, the Hawaiian Islands were called The Sandwich Islands, named after John Montagu, the legendary creator of the sandwich? How fitting then that I would have so many to review after my trip.

I've got five sandwiches to review for the blog here over the next few weeks, so let's get started with the sandwich I had only a few short hours after landing in Honolulu.

After we checked into the Outrigger Reef in Waikiki Beach, we headed down to the Shore Bird, a restaurant/bar on the main floor of the hotel overlooking the beach.

Wanting to just unwind, we ordered some beer form Kona Brewing, a delicious pale ale called Fire Rock. To accompany this slightly bitter beer, we added some of the pork sliders with mango salsa. The pork itself had been slow cooked and yet was still moist and delicious. Each bite melted in your mouth.

The slightly savory flavor of the pork was paired with the slightly sweet flavor of the mango salsa, which wasn't overpowering but still shined through the delicious pork. The small, sweet buns that encased this delicious pork (one of many times i'd eat slow roasted pork this past week in the 5-0) were delicious and easily held everything in until the end.

This wasn't the best sandwich of the week (so many other fantastic ones), but it definitely was a great late night eat, paired with a delicious beer, for the first night in Hawaii. The beach location didn't hurt either.

Until next week, Readers...


Mango Pork Sliders
**** Stars
Shore Bird Restaurant (inside of the Outrigger Reef)
2169 Kalia Road
Waikiki, Oahu
Hawaii 96815