by Mark on February 26, 2009
A colleague of mine sent me this article about how much of a business kimchee is generating by combining into a Mexican taco/burrito. It sure seems to be popular!
As the sun begins to sink behind the Santa Monica Mountains and the northbound traffic thickens on the 405 freeway, the hungry refresh their browsers.
After obsessively checking the Twitter postings of the Korean taco maker to see where the truck will park next, they begin lining up — throngs of college students, club habitués, couples on dates and guys having conversations about spec scripts.
And they wait, sometimes well beyond an hour, all for the pleasure of spicy bites of pork, chicken or tofu soaked in red chili flake vinaigrette, short ribs doused in sesame-chili salsa roja or perhaps a blood sausage sautéed with kimchi, all of it wrapped in a soft taco shell.
The food at Kogi Korean BBQ-To-Go, the taco vendor that has overtaken Los Angeles, does not fit into any known culinary category. One man overheard on his cellphone as he waited in line on a recent night said it best: “It’s like this Korean Mexican fusion thing of crazy deliciousness.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/25/dining/25taco.html
I wish they had this during my school years. We all be smelling like kimchees. Aigu, aigu… LOL.
by Mark on February 25, 2009
This is an excellent clip to fire you up! Enjoy.
by Mark on February 25, 2009
Sports Authority plans to expand out to 17,000 sf from its current location on Ward Avenue. The expansion will include the current spaces occupied by Pictures Plus and Marukai 99 store.
by Mark on February 25, 2009
Still higher than the normal 2-3% rate.
The rising cost of trips to the supermarket, along with historic prices for gasoline and higher electricity costs, helped push up inflation in Honolulu last year, though at a slower pace than the two previous years.
Honolulu’s consumer price index was 4.3 percent last year, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, which twice a year reports on inflation here.
The report pointed to a slowing of inflation from 2006 when the consumer price index jumped to a 15-year high of 5.9 percent. But the full-year number did not tell the whole story, which involved price increases during the first six to nine months followed by decelerating gains.
http://www.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/20090221/BUSINESS/902210302/1071
by Mark on February 25, 2009
The new Costco will open this Friday at the Kapolei site near the southeast corner of Kalaeloa Boulevard and Kapolei Parkway.
This will be the 7th Costco in the Hawaiian islands and the new location will include a gas station, tire center, 1-hour photo, pharmacy, hearing aid center and a food court.
by Mark on February 21, 2009
Uncle Bob who has been an instrumental part of my surfing life passed away last month, and we had a small memorial for him at the Waikiki Beach this morning. It was a heartbreaking moment.
ROBERT “BAKER BOB” MAMORU HINO, 63, of Honolulu, died Jan. 15, 2009. Born in Honolulu. Baker at Napoleon’s Bakery. Survived by father, Hisashi; brothers, Albert and Herbert; sister, Charlotte Amerman.
http://www.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/20090120/OBITS/901200333/-1
My last post about him was my excitement to see him again in the waters and just last year we surfed together at Pops. Uncle Bob was a classic surfer who grew up in Hawaii and learned to swim and surf in Waikiki. Most of the old timers remember him as the cigar surfer with 2 hands on the back. He would literally puff up a cigar before getting into the water. Once in the water, he would share his funny jokes and share the waves. When I first started to learn the sport of surfing in the late nineties, I met him in the Canoes lineup where he would be the farthest out waiting for the best wave. We all know that it takes time and patience for the big one to arrive and I always wondered why he would be way out there just waiting. But once we got to know each other he was more friendly than ever. He was a very humble man who taught me the best lineup and gave me one of the incredible waves I still remember at Threes. There was even a time when both of us lost the best wave although we told each other “go, go”. When we looked each other after this miss, we smiled and laughed and that was the kind of a surfer he was. Uncle Bob had a rough life but whenever he was in the water, it was his time of peace and I will always remember him when I catch the best waves out there. I will miss you and continue your tradition as a surfer. Rest in peace Uncle Bob.
by Mark on February 15, 2009
Sorry it has been a while since my last post here at onelatte.com. Frankly, there haven’t been much positive news in the media – news about businesses closing down and mass layoffs in the mainland stream just don’t add a whole lot.
After waking up this morning and grabbing the newspaper I saw a picture of Ben Cayetano who was formerly a governor of Hawaii. He recently wrote a book titled “BEN: A MEMOIR, FROM STREET KID TO GOVERNOR”. I remember him running while attending UH Manoa. According to the political record, he ran for lieutenant governor from 1986 – 1994 and as a governor from 1994 – 2002. That is quite an accomplishment and a long time to run in the office. Ben wrote about his childhood years growing up in Kalihi with a divorced family and how he progressed in life to running for a governor.
From a hardscrabble childhood in Kalihi, Cayetano, who barely made it out of high school, bootstrapped himself through college and law school. He then returned to the Islands, where he encountered social, institutional and — he would argue — racial barriers strong enough to deter the most determined optimist. But Cayetano prevailed, winning elections he was supposed to lose and building a reputation as a blunt-spoken maverick who somehow succeeded in a political culture that values cooperation and compromise over independence.
http://www.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/20090215/NEWS01/902150393
What interested me was his childhood years growing up in Kalihi, and how he didn’t grow up from the wealth of everything. He didn’t know what poor was, but knew he had always clean clothes and shoes to wear. He barely even made out of high school. Did you know our current governor, Mufi Hannemann, also grew up in Kalihi? We talk about some funny and rough stories about Kalihi, but I am surprised we have some great people growing up from there.
If you are interested, his book will be available at the following locations and special autograph time sessions:
- Feb. 22, 1-2 p.m. (Barnes & Noble, Ala Moana)
- March 7, 11 a.m.-noon (Borders, Pearlridge)
- March 7, 2-3 p.m. (Borders, Waikele)