PICK A PITA, ANY PITA
Grilled meats and veggies find a comfy home inside pita pockets at Pita Pit, a fast-food franchise that opened last weekend in Kapahulu.
Pita Pit’s menu centers on lean, low-carbohydrate pita wraps and salads. For example: a Greek-style gyro pita, or a Philly pita that emulates a cheesesteak, or the Aloha Pita, with chicken, ham and pineapple. They sell for $9 to $11.
The restaurant’s first Hawaii location is in the Safeway complex at 870 Kapahulu Ave.
Pita Pit, founded in Canada in 1995, reached the United States in 1999, and now has 580 locations in 12 countries.
During the grand opening Friday and Saturday, the local outlet set aside10 percent of its profits to donate to Special Olympics Hawaii.
FOOD TRUCK FANDANGO AT KAHALA MALL
Kahala Mall is turning one of its parking lots over to an Eat the Street Food Truck Festival on Saturday. Other parts of the mall will host a beer garden, pop-up shops and kids’ activities.
Twenty food trucks will be in residence from 3 to 8 p.m. in the lot outside Macy’s Men’s, along Waialae and Kilauea avenues. Also featured will be pop-ups for Kahala Mall eateries — The Counter Custom Burgers, Goma Tei Ramen and Whole Foods Market, serving street tacos. Whole Foods is also setting up a beer garden on the patio in front of the store.
Eating spots will be set up inside the mall for enjoying all that food-truck bounty. Also going on inside: entertainment on two stages; retail pop-ups for art, accessories and jewelry; and free make-and-take keiki projects with Art Explorium and Rainbow Art Studio.
— Star-Advertiser staff and news reports
HOT DOGS AU NATURALE
Both kids and health-savvy adults will appreciate the uncured turkey franks from Diestel Family Ranch.
These flavorful turkey hot dogs are made with whole-muscle butcher cuts of turkey thigh meat that’s smoked on hardwood.
The franks are minimally processed and flavored with a handful of spices. Low in fat, with only 75 calories per frank, they also are free of antibiotics, nitrates, nitrites, gluten and carrageenan.
Diestel Family Ranch, based in Tuolumne County in central California, has been family-owned since 1949. The company is committed to regenerative agriculture — holistic farming practices that reverse the negative effects of farming by helping to rebuild the soil and restore biodiversity.
Diestel’s Uncured Turkey Franks are sold at Whole Foods Markets; a 12-ounce package is $6.99. Visit diestelturkey.com.
FIND THE JOY IN SAKE
Sake is a summer tradition in these parts, as the Joy of Sake Honolulu brings one of the world’s largest collections of the Japanese spirit to town every August.
This year’s event is Aug. 9 at the Hawai‘i Convention Center, with a record 512 premium sakes to be poured.
And since drinking is better with eating, 21 restaurants will serve sake-inspired appetizers to match the daiginjo, ginjo and junmai sakes from 204 breweries across Japan.
For the serious sake lover, the event offers a chance to try rare pours, as 60% of the selections are unavailable in the U.S. The selections include 151 judged as exceptional in a three-day blind tasting at the U.S. National Sake Appraisal in Honolulu.
Participating restaurants including newcomers Lineage, Dean & DeLuca, Feast by Jon Matsubara, Karai Crab, Azure, Kikue (a soba house opening soon) and Il Ghiottone, from Japan.
Also part of the occasion: Miss Sake 2019, Sae Haruta, will pour sake and pose for photos.
The event runs from 6:30 to 9 p.m. Tickets are $105, $155 for early admission, Tickets and a menu of the sakes and foods to be served may be found at joyofsake.com.
NEW AT THE STREET
Prawn Star has opened at The Street Food Hall in the International Market Place, offering North Shore-style garlic shrimp in upscale plate lunches with rice, potato salad, coleslaw and kim chee.
Also on the menu: chicken katsu and kalbi-style ribs.
The Street has new extended hours, 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily.
Quickbites is a weekly listing of dining events. Email items to crave@staradvertiser.com.
