Gastropubs are not entirely a new beast of eatery, but it definitely ticks all the boxes for being trendy. It’s usually got creative, pub-styled food, and a large selection of gourmet and/or flavoured beers to go with this interesting grub. One such place that was recommended to me by my new found friends during my stay was the Real A Gastropub in Honolulu.
Their food menu consists of nearly 30 interesting dishes – some beer inspired – ranging in price from $3-$12. Three of us girls ordered 7 dishes, but that was mostly because we had piggy eyes – there was wayy too much food to finish and we had to take some of it home.
These babies are HOT HOT HOT!!! When we first ordered them, the waitress made very sure that we didn’t mistakenly think that we were ordering fried pickles, which would have been a complete disaster. But no, I saw the words ‘ghost chilli’ and I was sold. Ghost chillies, also known as Bhut Jolokia, rate at about 1,000,000 on the Scoville scale and are fiery to say the least. Slices of cucumber are pickled with these peppers, which are sliced open to let the capsaicin mingle with the rest of the ingredients. The result is a pickle which I couldn’t eat more than a piece at a time, all the while enjoying the intense prolonging burn in my mouth. This is not for the faint hearted, and I chickened out from eating the actual ghost chillies included in the pickle, as much as I wanted to try.
Have I mentioned how cheap I think all these dishes are. At $8, we got a whopping serving of fries, meat, gravy and cheese, topped with a sunny side up egg. While I love a good poutine, this particular dish didn’t quite cut it for me, and was a touch on the dull side.
Or maybe my tastebuds were just numb from the Fire Pickles.
Bacon? Yes. Garlic? Double yes. Candied? GIVE IT TO ME NOWWWWWW. Just looking at the it I knew that the road to hell and heart disease had to be most definitely paved with candied bacon. This was sticky and salty all at once, and I especially appreciated how the waitress noticed that the bacon was darker than usual, and got the kitchen to prepare another serving for the table. This is everything that it promised to be – addictive and rich at the same time, and I had to take some home for breakfast the next morning.
FYI, it was just as delicious cold and out of the fridge as it was fresh from the kitchen.
Pipikaula is, to my understanding, a sort of moist Hawaiin beef jerky. Lightly spiced, it’s mostly served as one of the sides to a main meal. Poke is a kind salad, usually made with raw fish, and seasoned. So what happens when you put the two together? A refreshing, funky, tangy mix that is perfect for a warm balmy night in Hawaii. One of my favourites, this one is also fantastic out of the fridge the next morning.
A Southern classic, chicken and waffles usually consist of deep fried crispy chicken and warm fluffy-on-the-inside waffles, both drenched in a hearty serving of maple syrup. An epitome of the sweet salty tightrope that the South tread so well. This particular version unfortunately fell a little flat for me, especially when faced with all the other delicious food that this place had to offer.
I had no idea what to expect when I ordered this. Corn dog, one of the iconic foods of fairs and carnivals, usually consists of an ingredient, like a hot dog frankfurt, coated in a cornmeal batter and deep fried. On a stick. So I imagined that maybe they would just take a whole confit of duck leg and just coat it in batter and deep fry it.
Wrong.
The result was wayy more mind boggling than that. One bite into these delicious mounds on sticks revealed tender shreds of moist duck, and to be honest I’ve got no idea how they shaped them onto the sticks and battered them, because this literally fell apart in my mouth. And that Guinness mustard on the side? Genius. A must order dish.
Buffalo Fried Devilled Eggs, $7
These little bites were a great take on buffalo wings. Little crumbed devilled eggs were fragrant with tangy buffalo-wing aromas, and were topped with blue cheese ranch dressing and bits of celery to give you the essence of buffalo wings in a bite. Thoroughly enjoyable.
Besides all the food, there were also plenty of different beers to try and to choose from. Unfortunately, I’m not a drinking sort of girl, but I highly recommend the Real A Gastropub from a food perspective. Especially fun with friends, try to go after 11pm to take advantage of their late-night menu, which we ordered from.
We ate at:
Real A Gastropub
+1 (808) 596-2526
1020 Auahi Street, Building 1
Honolulu, HI 96814
OMG, garlic candied bacon! If you come up with a recipe, please share it!