Ryan's Table

Ryan Tatsumoto Hawai‘i Herald Columnist Sausage. It’s the meat of summer picnics and the national symbol of a great baseball game. The savory, encased meat was also a favorite food of the late celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain, host of the television food series “Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown,” who died a year ago. Vienna sausage was....

Ryan Tatsumoto Hawai‘i Herald Columnist It’s not really a secret club. It’s just dinners arranged by Grant Shindo –– also known as “Chuggy Bear” –– who started the venture with his business partner, Thomas Obungen. They had planned on opening a restaurant consulting business called Slug Media. As more and more friends asked to join,....

RYAN'S TABLE By Ryan Tatsumoto Unless you live under a rock, you’ve probably seen, or are at least aware of the proliferation of condominiums in the new “live, work and play Kaka‘ako” — ideal living conditions for local families right in the heart of Honolulu, with shops, restaurants and supermarkets all within walking distance.Who am....

RYAN'S TABLE By Ryan Tatsumoto Hawai‘i Herald Columnist I’m not sure when this transformation began, probably sometime around when we entered our fourth decade of life. It started with simple expressions like, “These kids nowadays . . .” or “When I was your age . . .” That’s when you begin to realize that you’ve....

Ryan Tatsumoto Hawai‘i Herald Columnist After experimenting with a number of smokers I’ve picked up over the years, I realized that each has its own upsides and downsides. For instance, only one of the three smokers can cook a full cut of beef brisket, and only one does not need a fan to circulate the....

Ryan Tatsumoto Hawai‘i Herald Columnist The Japanese celebrated the “Year of the Boar” earlier this week. In a little over a month, however, the rest of Asia will celebrate the “Year of the Pig.” So, to be all-inclusive, let’s just say that 2019 is the “Year of the Porcine.” No matter that they are the....

RYAN'S TABLE BY Ryan Tatsumoto The Mrs. and I have been on a sushi binge for the past couple of months. About three or four times a year, we head over to Mitch’s Fish Market and Sushi Bar in the airport industrial area for a couple of reasons: their super-fresh seafood and their BYOB policy,....

RYAN'S TABLE BY Ryan Tatsumoto The local food movement known as Hawaii Regional Cuisine started almost 30 years ago. Some of its principals are just as well-known today as they were back in the day. For example, if you told a colleague that you planned on sampling the cuisine of a chef named Roy, nearly....

RYAN'S TABLE BY Ryan Tatsumoto “Time to light a fire . . .” That’s what celebrity chef Roger Mooking proclaims on every episode of “Man, Fire, Food” as he is about to light the coals. Although nature’s thermostat has moved several degrees higher these past few months, that is the only proclamation I need to....

RYAN'S TABLE By Ryan Tatsumoto As Andy Warhol said in 1968, “In the future, everyone will be world famous for 15 minutes.” Well, my time in the spotlight lasted a little more than 15 minutes. Actually, it lasted for two 30-minute sessions at the eighth annual Northern California Soy and Tofu Festival. If you didn’t....