Spamalot and Eggs and Rolling along in Hawaii

We like to eat breakfast - not sure how this happened because growing up, I hated breakfast, but I used to eat my meat well done too at one time - we live we learn. So when in a new place we love to try out a breakfast place or two and see if we like any of it.

Today, we experienced Eggs N Things, a local chain which is known for having some great breakfast items and of course because we are in Hawaii - spam.

I started off with a sort of usual for me, an omelet. I love three eggs, cooked to perfection, loaded with meat and cheese. The version here was a Portuguese sausage and cheddar. I know you are thinking like I am - what is Portuguese sausage doing in Hawaii and what's it like. Well it's kind of like smoked sausage just with a little less smokiness and a lot more paprika taste to it (funny the brand I was eating was not very smoky at all, despite the paprika which usually adds its own smoky flavor to the dish). The sausage is a little ham-ish actually, almost spiced ham, but not quite spam. Not a bad start, though the omelet was slightly runny, not a killer thing for me, but something I am not terribly fond of.

Pam went with the special, it was french toast - kind of ordinary, right? Except when you add fresh bananas locally sourced, chocolate, a gallon of fresh whip cream (not the aerosol kind) and, oh yeah, macadamia nuts. The french toast was light and fluffy and well grilled and all the added items did nothing to disappoint.

I am in Hawaii and you know, sometimes you have to just say, what the..... I got a side of spam - it was of course grilled - it was of course spam - it wasn't half bad. Will I get it in the future when I am looking for a breakfast protein - no probably not, but will I have tried the State Protein (is it really meat) of Hawaii - yes, now all I need is some fresh pineapple.

All in all, Egg's N Things didn't disappoint, it's the perfect breakfast spot for the locals and tourists alike. Service was good, diner-ish but good nonetheless. Cleanliness was great and speed and quality of food was for the most part very good.

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Well, you can't come this far and not try Sushi from probably the next best place to being in Japan, so that's what we did for Dinner. The Sushi was the best I have ever had, now those of you who know me, know that I didn't start eating this stuff until I said WTH a few years ago and dug in at Megumi back in Covington. After listening to a transplant who is living here with her fiancé who is a Marine stationed here, we went to the local favorite, Sakura Japanese Restaurant. It was pretty busy and has 4 hibachi stations which were packed, but we were on a mission for rolls, so we passed up the hibachis and went into the normal seating area.

Tonight we got four rolls. Pam got the Ninja Roll, aptly named because it really isn't a roll, it's a hollowed out cucumber, and also the Royal Samurai. The Ninja besides being encased in a hollowed out cucumber had fresh salmon, tuna, yellowtail, and Kani which is imitation crab (actually a lot better than what we get in New Orleans). It was served with a ponzu sauce that was pretty spicy. The Samurai came with spicy tempura shrimp and spicy Kani and was topped with eel and avocado.

I got the Power Roll and the Angry Dragon. The Power Roll was very spicy - it contained spicy tempura shrimp, Kani, and avocado rolled in rice and topped with filet and a spicy sauce. It was the perfect roll for a guy who doesn't like the raw stuff. The Angry Dragon wasn't what I expected, because I expected it to be a little angrier after trying the Power Roll. It was tempura, avocado, and spicy tuna, topped with eel sauce, spicy mayo, and spicy crab stick. It actually wasn't that spicy.

All in all, service was great, but what impressed me the most was the consistency of the rolls. They were very well prepared. Usually, the rolls I get back home are great, but tend to fall apart as you pick them up with your chopsticks. At this restaurant, they were compact and when you picked them up they stayed whole, even through dipping in the sauces we had at the table.