ON THE ROAD
Highway Inn in Waipahu closed the doors on its Leoku Street location Monday for the last time. After 35 years in that spot, the restaurant is moving to Moloalo Street, not too far away.
Owner Monica Toguchi Ryan held a wooden “Please Come Again” sign in the kitchen of the old location, as the packing continued.
“It’s exciting to have this bigger, beautiful new space, but it’s sad, too — it’s like leaving the house you grew up in,” Ryan said.
Opening day at the new site is Monday.
Coming next week: More on Highway Inn’s transition to its new digs.
DEAN & DELUCA MAKES SUSHI CONNECTION
One of the hottest dining tickets in town is a reservation at the 10-seat counter at Sushi Sho in Waikiki. Chef Keiji Nakazawa’s exclusive sushi sets are now a bit easier to obtain, at Dean & Deluca.
Available for those dining in the second-floor Artisan Loft is Nakazawa’s bara chirashi (at right, $35), with 20 types of seafood and nine types of produce, over a bed of sushi rice. Only 10 will be available per day, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
For takeout, try sukeroku, a bento-style box ($30 or $16 for a mini). The box comprises futomaki (rolled sushi) with locally sourced ingredients that will change daily and a macadamia-nut inari (cone sushi). Find it at the ground-floor deli counter from 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
Dean & Deluca and Sushi Sho are both in the Ritz-Carlton Residence, 383 Kalaimoku St. Call 729-9720.
WHAT TO EXPECT IN 2020
Each year, Whole Foods Market polls 50 staffers who specialize in finding buzzy new products, deriving predictions for what’s coming to grocery shelves. Here’s a list of some items on tap in the year ahead:
>> Nontraditional flours made from ingredients such as cauliflower, tigernut and teff, as well as snacks, desserts and breads that use those flours.
>> West African grains such as sorghum, millet and fonio, popping up in more products.
>> Soy-free condiments and meat alternatives, taking the place of tofu- based meat substitutes and protein powders.
>> Innovative spreads made with macadamia nuts, pumpkin seeds, chickpeas and a superfood called pili.
>> Single-serve snacks, like small packages of pickles, soups, hard-boiled eggs and sliced meat.
>> Adult flavors in kid-friendly foods, such as salmon puree in a pouch, seaweed snacks or single-serve olive containers that fit in a lunch box.
>> Nontraditional sweeteners made from ingredients such as monk fruit, sweet potato nectar, pomegranate syrup or coconut.
>> Blended meats, the meat industry’s response to the plant-based meat craze, combining ground meats with plant-based ingredients to improve the nutrition profile.
>> More alternatives for nondrinkers, from hops-infused tea and sparkling water to Heineken’s new 0.0 beer.
>> Products derived from regenerative agriculture, a method of farming that observes practices that improve soil health and sequester carbon.
