Loco Moco (Waipahu, HI)

So while we were down in Hawaii, we were told we had to try Loco Moco.  I didn't know what that was.  So we looked it up and found several Loco Moco restaurants around the island.  Only later did I realize that this recommendation was for the dish, not the restaurant.  Oh well, I had some Loco Moco at Loco Moco.

 This is quite a dish.  It consists of two scoops of rice, then layered with a hamburger patty on each, a fried egg on each, and then drowned in gravy.  And then there's the macaroni salad on the side.  Which also has gravy on it.

To me, this is the ultimate next morning after a night of heavy-duty drinking meal.  Why?  Well....

-Beef ...check
-Eggs ...check
-Gravy ...check

I mean, what's not to like? 

Ihilani JW Marriott Resort (Ko Olina, HI)

Since Daniel and Kristen looked like they had so much fun in Hawaii, we decided to make the journey out there as well.  For one beautiful week, we traveled around the island of Oahu, spending our evenings at the Ihilani JW Marriott Resort in Ko Olina.  The Ihilani had several good looking restaurants so naturally, we had to try them all.

Our first stop was the Naupaka Terrace at the Ihilani Resort.  Out of the three main restaurants at Ihilani, this is their most casual dining spot.  We started off with their Poke salad, in which cubed ahi sashimi was the main protein component.  Out of all the ahi we ate on the island, this was my least favorite.  However, it is no slam on the quality of fish served here, it was still delicious.  It is more of a testament to the quality of seafood served at the places we ate.

For the main course, we dove into their luau special, which consisted of Kalua pork, fried fish, beef wrapped in greens, salmon salad, roasted purple potatoes, poi, and steamed rice.  All of the food was quite delicious, though as you can see from the picture, it was a lot to eat.  My favorite had to be the fish, as it was moist and tender, with a delicious coconut/nut sauce draped over the top.

The final piece of the luau special was the pineapple torte with lemon sorbet.  The sorbet was a nice complement to the warm, moist pineapple torte.

Because it was a short walk from our hotel room, we also had another quick dinner here.  But out of all the meals, our favorite was the weekend brunch.  All of the usual brunch items were included, but some of the highlights were the oysters, more of the ahi poke, shrimp cocktail, prime rib & pork loin carving stations, smoked salmon, and the wide variety of desserts.  What was even more interesting (and delicious) was the self serve juice bar.  I can say that you really haven't had pineapple juice until you've freshly squeezed your own Hawaiian pineapple while in Hawaii!

The fine dining option at the Ihilani resort is their Azul Restaurant.  I decided to go with their prix fixe option with the wine pairing (more on that later) while Carli decided to go a la carte.

Delicious Crusty Bread...mmmmmmm

For starters, I had Azul's version of a bouillabaisse soup, while Carli decided on the lobster bisque.  The bouillabaisse was absolutely outstanding.  There were multiple varieties of fresh seafood and shellfish in the dish, with my favorite being the chewy yet snappy consistency of the calamari.  Even better was the value, since bouillabaisse was priced at $26 a la carte, whereas the entire tasting menu was $49.  The lobster bisque was a standard preparation of the dish, but rich and luscious nonetheless.

Although the service wasn't exactly stellar thus far, it really took a downturn at this point in the meal.  Even though I had ordered the wine pairing, I hadn't received my second glass of wine until the end of the second course, at which point I politely turned it down and just paid for the one glass.  Additionally, it took almost an hour before our second course was served.  Fortunately, the second course was (almost) worth the wait.  I decided on the dry rubbed NY strip steak, while Carli enjoyed her second lobster dish of the evening, lobster ravioli.

Finally, for dessert we had the chocolate torte cake and the chocolate lava cake.  Both were delicious representations of chocolate desserts, but the winner here was the lava cake.

We also tried Ihilani's Japanese restaurant, Ushio-Tei (translation: the subtle tides of Hawaii).  Although we didn't take any pictures, it was a fairly standard meal you would get at a semi-upscale Japanese restaurant.  This was my least favorite of the three restaurants at Ihilani; however, Carli very much enjoyed Ushio-Tei and the steamed lobster she ordered (can you see a recurring pattern here?).

All in all, the offerings at Ihilani were quite good.  The hotel itself was spectacular as well, with multiple locations on property offering picturesque views of the Pacific Ocean.

One more thing.  I don't care how many pieces of cut fruit or how many umbrellas end up in the cocktail, Lava Flows are freaking awesome.

Purple Pig (Chicago, IL)

The Purple Pig opened in the last few days of 2009 and has since received numerous accolades. 2010 Top 10 Best new restaurants in America by Bon Appetit and 2011 Michelin Bib Gourmand, to name a few. The no-reservation policy, along with its location on Michigan Ave., make for heavy crowds and long waits. With my parents in town, I thought I'd remedy the situation and make our maiden visit.

We arrived right at the opening time of 11:30, but were stuck waiting outside in the cold for about 10 minutes as the gate was locked. Only then, an employee came out and advised us of the unmarked, "main entrance" through the office building next door.

The Purple Pig serves up small plates and whole animal cooking in a loosely Mediterranean style. The menu is broken up into Antipasti, Smears, Fried Items, Cured Meats, Salads, Cheeses, and A la Plancha items. Our waitress gave us the option to put in an order for a few dishes, and continue ordering until we were We tried a couple items from each, saving the (mostly housemade) cured meats and cheeses for a future visit. We ordered a quartino of a 2009 Domaine Brunet "Mediterranee" (100% Pinot Noir), which was an easy-drinking, prototypical Pinot. I appreciated the fact that many of the wines at Purple Pig were available by the glass, quartino, and half-bottle.

Our first round started with two vegetable dishes and a smear. The first to come out was Fried Brussels Sprouts with Thyme, Lemon, and Chili Flakes. The individual leaves were fried and dressed with a lemon vinaigrette. We enjoyed this immensely, possibly the favorite dish of the day for all of us. The lemon vinaigrette added a bright punch, cutting through the fried brussels sprouts leaves. I wish there were some more chili flakes in the dish, though, as I didn't really detect any heat.

The second dish, from the smear section, was Roasted Bone Marrow with Herbs. Two marrow bones were simply roasted, waiting to be spread on olive-oiled toast. A pretty standard preparation, served with an herb salad and sea salt. Although the herb salad contained capers, it still needed a bit more vinegar to cut through the rich marrow and (too) oily toast.

At this point, I'll note that the service throughout the meal thus far was great. Our waitress was friendly and provided good suggestions for both menu items and quantity. Other waitstaff make sure our water glasses rarely, if ever, dropped below half full. However, we asked for some more toast to finish the marrow, and they didn't come. We had to ask another 3 (!) times before the toast was finally fired, and by that time the marrow began to cool and congeal slightly. This was the only misstep in service.

Our final dish was the Broccoli with Roasted Garlic and Anchovy Vinaigrette. This was another contender for favorite dish. The broccoli was roasted hot enough to caramelize yet retain its firmness. The anchovy vinaigrette didn't have any fishiness to it, but like the brussels sprouts, provided the perfect acidic kick. The toasted breadcrumbs added nuttiness and texture.

Putting in a second round of orders , we received our first plancha item, Charred Green Onions with Romesco Sauce. This reminded me of a similar dish that I saw on an Anthony Bourdain "No Reservations" episode in Spain. I love green onions prepared like this, and I often char knob onions in the same way when I make grilled steak tacos at home. I prefer Romesco sauce that is more creamy and nuttier, but it still worked well with the green onions.

We ordered one salad, the Chanterelle, Apple, and Celery Root salad with Truffle Vinaigrette (we may have "tasted" this before remembering to take a picture!). The cubed apple and celery root were indistinguishable until eating, making for fun and interesting bites. The chanterelles and truffle vinaigrette played off each other with meaty, earthy notes contrasting well with the cold apple and celery root.

The final savory dish was Porcini Rubbed Bone-In Beef Tenderloin with Portabello Mushrooms and Aged Balsamic. Instead of one, thick piece of meat, it came with three thin slices of beef. While center was medium rare as requested, the cooking was a bit inconsistent from end of the slice to the other. The aged vinegar, continuing a reoccurring theme, added a bright touch to an otherwise straightforward dish.

Comfortably full, we decided to split just one dessert, the bread pudding (whipped cream on the side). I'm a sucker for bread pudding, and this was no different. A rich caramel sauce sat below the eggy bread pudding triangles.

We really enjoyed the Purple Pig.. I was really impressed by the vegetable dishes in particular, and look forward to trying some more of the plancha menu (morcilla!) and the house-cured meats.