#CatTravels: Hello, New York!

By • April 18, 2013 • #CatTravels

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The last time I was in New York City was 12 years ago.

I was a graduate student at Northwestern University in Chicago and my friend and I decided to take a quick weekend jaunt to NYC to visit her sister.

Here’s what we did: we hung out in Harlem, we ate at Burger King (it was an unforgettable experience thanks to a ranting homeless guy), we made the pilgrimage to St. Patrick’s Church in uptown, we attended Mass in Spanish Harlem, I met some friends in the Village (yes, I caught the subway by myself — and at night!), we shopped at Sephora in Times Square, and we danced all night at Webster Hall.

That’s all I can remember.

I didn’t bring a camera, I didn’t take notes, I just hopped on a plane and went.

While I had a blast — it was a nice break from a brutal semester — I didn’t get to really experience the city the way I probably should have. I didn’t go to any art museums, I didn’t walk through Central Park, I didn’t even go to the top of the Empire State Building.

So this time around, I decided to add some touristy sights to my four-night stay in the city. I’m really here for no other reason than hang out and eat. (I know, good trip.)

Here’s what my first day in the city looked like:

Airplane must-haves

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Every time I travel, my mom makes me a couple of Spam musubis. It's really the best thing — with chips and a Diet Coke — to eat on a long flight.

Follow Cat’s adventures in New York City on Twitter @thedailydish and on Instagram @catherinetoth.

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#CatChat: Your favorite happy hour

By • April 17, 2013 • Food, Videos

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Who doesn’t like to save money?

Well, that was the motivation behind Happy Hour Hawaii, an app and website that lists the happy hours of more than 200 different restaurants and eateries around the state. It’s got a detailed search function that’s helpful in finding exactly what you want, where you want it — and even how much it’s going to cost.

This month, founders (and married couple) Carey and Brandon Bennett have taken the successful app to another level: they’ve rebranded it and gone national.

Happy Hour Pal Food Menu Screen copyIt’s now called Happy Hour Pal and it’s entering new markets like Portland, Long Island and Milwaukee. It’s essentially the same — only better.

With this mobile app and website, you can:

• Search for happy hour specials by food, drink, time or location
• Access happy hour menus and daily specials for each business
• Share information easily with friends via text or email and invite them for meet-ups
• Earn rewards by checking into a location

But that’s not what my video (below) is all about.

I met up with Carey and my travel pal Melissa Chang (@melissa808) to talk about their favorite happy hours. But if you want to learn more about Happy Hour Pal, watch Melissa’s video at Nonstop Honolulu.

In the meantime, here’s our chat about Oahu’s happy hours. If you’ve got a favorite, post ’em here!

Special thanks to Russ Sumida (@parkrat) for, uh, something. I know he did something…

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Calling all mayo haters

By • April 16, 2013 • Food, Musings

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I didn’t realize a simple sandwich could be so controversial.

The other day I posted a photo on Instagram (above) of a sandwich I had made with a piece of teriyaki chicken and a scoop of macaroni salad.

I thought it was a clever idea to use macaroni salad in place of mayonnaise — since it IS mostly mayo anyway — and wanted to share it with folks on social media.

I didn’t anticipate such a backlash, actually. I thought everyone in Hawaii loved mayonnaise.

Turns out, I was wrong. There are A LOT of mayo haters in Hawaii. A lot. And they’re all on social media!

I was pretty sure most folks loved mayonnaise. And not just any mayo, either. Best Foods is king here. I don’t even know anyone who’s eaten Miracle Whip. (I’m considering doing a new blog post on that, actually.)

But surprisingly, a large number of people on Facebook and Instagram decided to unleash their distaste for the sandwich spread.

Like many local folks, I grew up eating mayonnaise — and on everything. I blame my mom for that. She raised us to believe that the more mayo (and this applies to butter, too), the better. She eats just about everything with mayo, including battered and fried eggplant, asparagus and green beans straight from the can.

I love mayo, too. There’s nothing that goes better in a teri burger, in a roast beef sandwich, with tuna, with chicken than mayo. So it was a no brainer, I thought, to put a dollop of macaroni salad, traditionally made with tons of mayonnaise, would be near genius.

Oh, not to mayo haters.

So I’m throwing it out there: you love mayo and all its gloriousness — or are you a hater of the mayonater?

Let’s take this to the blog!

Just wanted to send a shout-out to Ed Sugimoto, who was watching me blog while shooting a TV commercial for Oceanic Time Warner Cable Internet in Mililani. He couldn’t believe I was actually blogging while shooting. Hey, I’m a woman! I multitask!

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#CatChat: Get your ONO boxes

By • April 15, 2013 • Videos

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In my line of work, I often come across businesses doing some pretty cool things.

But Hello Makana is doing something that made me actually say, “Oh, man, what a great idea!”

Here’s the deal: this company, run by Wei Fang and Kina Mahi, puts together boxes full of unique, created-in-Hawaii products on a subscription basis.

Similar to CSA (community-supported agriculture) boxes that farms send out, these boxes have a variety of goods, from locally made popcorn to graphic prints designed by local artists. Monthly subscriptions start at $27 — and you never know what you’re going to get each month. I love that!

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But even cooler than that, Hello Makana launched ONO boxes (left). These are care packages you can send to anyone on the Mainland or Neighbor Island filled with local goodies such as Banana Foster Jam by Monkeypod Jams from Maui, Passion Fruit Butter by Rainbow Falls Connection in Hilo, or 100 percent organic Kona coffee by Cloud Forest Coffee from the Big Island.

Boxes are $35, $55 and $90; that includes tax and domestic shipping.

What a great gift idea for college students and homesick friends. (Think Mother’s Day, too!) And the best part? The company supports local businesses.

Watch my #CatChat and learn more!

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Weekend Dish: Bacon candy

By • April 14, 2013 • Food, Weekend Dish

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Lately, I’ve been on a mission to find new potluck dishes.

I tend to make the same things — bruschetta, lumpia, any number of desserts, and this Mexican vegetarian dish with eggplant, corn and tomatoes that I’ve been obsessed with — and was desperate to come up with something different to take to parties.

So when I got invited to a potluck birthday get-together this weekend, I decided it was time to debut something new.

And that something new was bacon candy.

I knew it was going to be a controversial dish. I was going to a dinner party of folks who shop almost exclusively at farmer’s markets and at Whole Foods. They compost, recycle and ride their bikes to work. I wasn’t sure how they would feel about a platter — yes, a platter! — full of candied bacon.

Oh, it was a hit.

The platter was nearly licked clean by the time I left.

I found the recipe was browsing the December 2012 issue of Food & Wine. All the credit goes to Bronson van Wyck (@bronsonvanwyck), who came up with the recipe below.

It’s easy, it’s tasty, it’s a showstopper — and you can even make it ahead of time and store it at room temperature for later.

Meaning, it’s really the perfect potluck dish.

So bake away. You can thank me later.

Starts with bacon

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I followed the recipe and bought center cut bacon. But I did use about half a pack of regular bacon and it turned out fine. So use whatever you've got.

Bacon candy
Contributed by Bronson van Wyck in Food & Wine, December 2012

Ingredients:

1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons chile powder
20 slices of thick-cut bacon (1 1/2 pounds)

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Line two rimmed baking sheets with foil.

In a small bowl, mix the brown sugar with the chile powder.

Arrange the bacon strips on the foil and coat the tops with the chile sugar. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until caramelized and almost crisp. Transfer the bacon to a rack set over a sheet of foil to cool completely. Great on salads, too.

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