WARRIORS SOUGHT FOR EATING CONTEST
Wolfgang’s Steakhouse is in search of 25 stalwart eaters to compete in a July Fourth burger-eating challenge to benefit the Wounded Warrior ‘Ohana.
The competition runs from 2 to 4:30 p.m. on the holiday at the main stage of the Royal Hawaiian Center.
Participants will have 10 minutes to consume five half-pound hamburgers, with prizes to the three who finish fastest. Top prize is $250 cash plus a $250 Wolfgang’s gift certificate.
There is no entry fee, but contestants are asked to collect donations from their supporters for the ohana, a local nonprofit that serves those injured in military service. An additional prize of a $100 gift certificate and a Spirit Trophy will go to the contestant who collects the most.
Donations also will be accepted from the audience at the competition.
For an entry form, email wolfgangsburgerchallenge@gmail.com, or enter at the restaurant, 922-3600.
NEW BURGERS BRING THE BLING
Hard Rock Cafe restaurants are giving their newest burgers the royal treatment, to the point of gilding one in gold, for charity.
Order the 24-Karat Gold Leaf Steak Burger and a portion of the proceeds will go to Action Against Hunger, an international nonprofit that fights malnutrition in nearly 50 countries.
The burger is a half-pound of beef topped with 24-karat edible gold leaf, then stacked with cheddar cheese, lettuce, tomato and red onion.
It is one of five steak burgers recently introduced at Hard Rock’s locations worldwide.
Hard Rock’s Oahu location is at 280 Beach Walk in Waikiki. Call 955-7383.
A CHANCE TO LEARN ABOUT CHILIES
Learn to grow chili peppers and use them in myriad ways in a class Sunday led by chili authority Ned Bletter.
Bletter, the owner of Madre Chocolate, has a doctorate in ethnobotany and grows 30 types of chilies in his garden.
His class will cover recipes such as ajvar, a Macedonian roasted red pepper spread; fermented hot sauces; and mole poblano sauces.
The class runs from 2 to 5 p.m. at a private location, to be provided upon registration. Cost is $42, $36 for Slow Foods Hawai’i members. Go to eventbrite.com (search for “Chilis 101”).
HIROSHIMA CONNECTIONS
MW Restaurant is showcasing imports from Hiroshima, Japan, in six a la carte dishes available Friday through July 3.
The promotion commemorates the 60th anniversary of the sister-city relationship between Honolulu and Hiroshima.
Hiroshima items may be front and center on the plate, as with fried oysters made into okonomiyaki, a traditional “pancake” of noodles and vegetables. Others take a supporting role, such as the Hiroshima konyaku used in a seafood salad that stars ahi, scallops and abalone.
The menu also includes a tomato salad with fried tofu, grilled ahi steak and chirimen (dried whitefish) over pasta, and rib-eye steak with mountain yam and miso sauce.
The dessert offering is a dish of shave ice, tapioca and sorbet made with strawberries and amazake, a sweet nonalcoholic sake.
Prices run from $10 for the tomato salad to $55 for the rib-eye
The dishes will be served on osuna ware — plates made from the sand of Miyajima island in Hiroshima Bay.
MW is at 1538 Kapiolani Blvd. Call 955-6505 or go to mwrestaurant.com.
Quickbites is a weekly listing of dining events. Email items to crave@staradvertiser.com.