Every kid loves a good food fight, and the adults over at The Street Honolulu, A Michael Mina Social House, have come up with a more civilized, though equally exciting, grown-up version.
Food Fight! — a monthly battle between chefs and mixologists associated with the dining hall — launches at 4 p.m. Tuesday with an hourlong friendly cooking competition between celebrity chef Mina and Michelle Karr-Ueoka of MW Restaurant and Aloha Ice.
Mina will present some of his Little Lafa Mediterranean/Middle Eastern specialties; Karr-Ueoka will show what goes into her desserts at Aloha Ice. Onlookers can cheer them on while enjoying free bites as they work.
Subsequent events will feature panels of local celebrity judges deciding the chefs’ fate. Diners will also be able to vote, by purchasing The Street Party pass for $37 and frequenting their favorite hawker stand. Schedules will be posted at thestreetsocialhouse.com.
The Street Party pass allows diners to enjoy a variety of dishes over several days. Pass holders may choose up to seven posted special menu items from among the hawker stalls. Each pass is good for 30 days.
The Street is on the ground floor of the International Market Place, 2330 Kalakaua Ave. The parking entrance is off of Kuhio Avenue.
— Nadine Kam, Star-Advertiser
Maui, Kau coffees tops in competition
Olinda Organic Farm in Makawao on Maui and Miranda’s Farm of Kau earned the top scores in the Hawaii Coffee Association’s cupping competition last week.
The competition drew 107 entries from throughout the state in two divisions — creative and commercial — and was judged by industry professionals from Hawaii and the mainland. It was held during the association’s annual conference on Maui that ended Saturday.
“Cupping” evaluates coffees on a number of characteristics, including flavor, aroma, acidity, sweetness and aftertaste.
The Olinda coffee was entered in the creative division, for producers with less than 1,000 pounds available for sale; Miranda’s topped the commercial division, for larger-scale producers.
Other awards by coffee-growing district went to Papaaloa Joe in Hamakua, Kauai Coffee Co., Hula Daddy Kona Coffee and Oahu’s Hawaii Agricultural Research Center. Second Alarm Farm in Volcano on Hawaii island was selected best among producers outside the official districts.
David Gridley, chairman of the cupping committee, said that 94 of 100 coffees drew scores of 80 and above. “It’s amazing how the coffees keep getting better and better,” Gridley said in a statement.
— Betty Shimabukuro, Star-Advertiser
Chill out for charity
Treat yourself at Dairy Queen on Thursday and tell yourself it’s for a good cause. You won’t be rationalizing.
On Dairy Queen’s Miracle Treat Day, also called Eat Dessert First Day, $1 from every Blizzard Treat sold will be donated to Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals. Participating locations include Ala Moana Center, Windward Mall, Hilton Hawaiian Village and the Navy Exchange. Funds raised will go toward pediatric treatments, the purchase of medical equipment and other forms of care.
Last year more than $4 million was raised on Miracle Treat Day in the United States and Canada for 170 hospitals.
The featured Blizzard of the day is the Oreo flavor, the most popular of the Blizzards, although the donation offer covers all Blizzard varieties.
— Star-Advertiser staff
