Maybe this is a bit morbid for a morning blog — but you can’t deny how provocative it is, even for a Tuesday.
A while back, the Nonstop Honolulu team had a discussion about the last meal you want before you die. And since then, I’ve been really thinking about it.
You’re supposed to envision what you’d request if you were on Death Row, say, so you could actually plan out your final feast.
But what always bothered me about the concept was that all of us, at some point, were going to eat our last meal — but we might not realize it at the time. (This is when I get depressed and gorge on Ben & Jerry’s.)
What I’ve decided, after all this, is we should try to eat something we love — and do something we love — every day. We shouldn’t hold back on that one bit of fried ice cream because we’re worried about fitting those skinny jeans. (Buy fat jeans!) And we should try to find something to enjoy every day. As morbid as this sounds, it might be our last.
So back to the original question: what would your last meal be?
Mari Taketa (@nonstopmari) of Nonstop posted the last meal requests of familiar bloggers and foodies including KITV’s Yasmin Dar (@yasmindar), Eat The Street organizer Poni Askew (@streetgrindz), foodie Jennifer Ozawa (@mrshawaii) and comedian Fernando Pacheco.
Here are my picks:
• Cheeseburger and fries — nothing from the Secret Menu — from In-N-Out Burger
• A teri beef plate lunch from the old Kewalo Basin lunchwagon run by the Kanda sisters
• A bowl of tomato basil soup and about a dozen crostinis from Nordstrom Cafe
• My mom’s chocolate cream pie with her homemade shortbread crust
I could die happy after that.
How about you?
23 Comments
Appetizer: Spanish blue-fin toro
Main: Bone in rib-eye steak
Side: Crinkle french fries
Dessert: Ani’s sweet potato pie
Crinkle french fries — is that the kind sold at Chick-fil-A?
I’m sorry, I’ve never eaten at Chick-fil-A, so I don’t know. Crinkle fries are the school lunch kine fries.
Hey Cat: I always “overthink” these types of questions … so for the last meal question, I don’t wonder about what I would like to eat … instead I wonder what my state of mind would be … would I even be hungry knowing that death was imminent? … would I even enjoy the flavors? …
… sorry, I didn’t answer your question again …
LOL! I know what you mean, though. It’s a tough one. But actually, after you eat it, you probably won’t remember it. 🙂
… ok Cat … I’ll try to answer … these are some of the things I’d like if it were my last meal … and what I’d really like is simple flavors that remind me of the what I loved about eating … haha, I couldn’t name the dishes anyway … so I’ll just describe it …
1. Any of my favorites that my mom cooked … too many to list …
2. something with garlic and butter … sourdough bread or maybe sauteed mushrooms …
3. a simple seasoned steak … baby back ribs … huli huli chicken …
4. steamed opakaopaka … any grilled or baked fish …
5. teriyaki anything …
6. chocolate ice cream for dessert …
7. chocolate anything …
… oh, and pizza …
Whoa, that’s a lot of food! You’ll need a week to eat all this!
Appetizer: A pupu platter at Haleiwa Joe’s in Kaneohe, Hawaii
Salad: make my own at Whole Foods in Miami Florida
Main dish: steak and lobster from this restaurant on Martha’s Vineyard with the piano player, forgot the name. To that add the little neck clams from this place in Provincetown out on the Cape.
Sides: Plate of Singapore Noodle from this little dive near Stanley Market Hong Kong,
Seafood cup: Cartegena, Colombia, and my granny’s baked beans.
Desert: Malassadas from Agnes Kailua, Hawaii, fresh Pineapple at Dole on way to North Shore, and last but certainly not least a shave ice with ice cream in the bottom from Aokis.
That might be enough to kill me all by itself.
“That might be enough to kill me all by itself.”
LOL!
my “favorite” food varies depending on my mood, the season, what I ate last…whatever. if I had to choose one experience, though, I would go with my cousin’s friend’s bar in Omoide Yokocho in Shinbuku. I don’t know what it’s called, can’t speak the language, don’t even know all of what I ate the last couple of times there, but it was all spectacular.
first, picture a kitchen table (with leaf in place) and you have an idea of the space inside the bar. around that, are the seats…maybe enough for ten veeery close friends maybe seven westerners seated at comfortable but close quarters). then, because Yuko is a friend of the owner, the sake and beer started up as soon as we sat down and kept on coming as long as we were there. then the food. chicken wings, yakitori, grilled veggies, other assorted salted animal parts all cooked to crispy perfection on the little charcoal grill inside the bar (the alley is all open air bars, so it wasn’t smokey). then sashimi, and some tempura that, I think) was from the owner’s personal food stash (over there, there’s no “japanese” restaurant where you can get tempura, tonkatsu, sashimi/sushi, yakitori, etc…it’s all specialized, so if you want sushi, you go to a sushi place, etc) since it was grilled food place. talk about food delirium.
Food delirium — I like that! And that’s definitely what it is!
Cat, you really do eat as if every day may be your last. I have followed the blog for a few years now, and your final meal menu is like your average lunch.
Since a bowl of cereal or plastic jar of fruit is a pretty average meal for me, I’m gonna have to go with the house pizza from my favorite restaurant with two glasses of Monsanto Chianti Classico as my last meal. If today is my last and all I had to eat was a couple of bowls of cereal, that’s OK. I have my favorite meal once or twice a month, and had it this past Friday.
I think it’s a good philosophy, to eat like every day will be your last. That’s why I run all the time. 🙂
Side note: Every time I hear the word, “chianti,” I think of fava beans.
I have been to this particular winery, and it is a spectacular place run by the Bianchi family. So, it isn’t “Silence of the Lambs” that gets me. It’s the sequel. I have been to Florence many times, and I have to admit that ever since I saw “Hannibal,” I have been a bit jittery walking the streets there.
Last meal would be Thrasher’s French fries, Chesapeake Blue Crabs steamed, Lots of Chincoteague oysters raw, rockefeller remick etc. corn bread or hushpuppies.
I forgot fresh delmarva sweet corn. lots of butter
Never had that. I’ll add it to my food bucket list! 🙂
deep fried golden brown fish and chips(mahi and ahi) cole slaw,mac salad,kosher pickle chips,slice of deep dish thin crust pizza hut pizza, lobster tempura sushi roll,shrimp cocktail for appetizer of course, and pecan pie with vanilla ice cream. Opus One for adult beverage.
Yup, miss the old Kewalo lunch wagon mix plate with extra mac salad & extra hot dog! Back then there was talk the Kanda sisters might open another lunch wagon…oh well, those were the days!
Warm up with a basket of of chips and salsa from the old Compadres (RIP)
1) Some spicy Popeye’s chicken
2) Some Kalbi ribs from Kiawe Grill
3) Some Shabu Shabu and spicy ahi and spicy Hamachi rolls from Imana Tei
4) A super tall frosted glass of ice to go with a pitcher of iced tea from Hard Rock Cafe
Dessert: A tub of Strawberry and Pineapple Guri Guri from Tasaka Guri Guri Shop in Maui
And I want Sade to feed it all to me while singing Kiss of Life and Cherish the Day
rainbow drive in mix plate extra mac salad with chilli all over
Last meal? All you can eat buffet and a bottomless cup of coffee. Can’t flip the switch if I’m still eating…
All I can eat sashimi or poke…