Island Olive Oil is now open in Kailua, offering exclusive-to-Kailua products including passion fruit, key lime and cucumber-melon balsamic vinegars and a sun-dried tomato-flavored olive oil.
In addition to their value in enhancing food or making dressings, the three balsamics can be used in beverages, such as the popular shrub-style cocktails for grown-ups.
The cucumber melon flavor can be splashed into a tall glass of iced, sparkling water or tonic water “to transport you straight to your spa zone,” co-owner Angel Vardas said.
The shop makes recommendations on how to use the various oils and vinegars, and its website offers recipes.
The new shop, in the Kailua Town Center, 609 Kailua Road, is similar to Island Olive Oil’s flagship location in Ward Centre. Customers can sample from the many extra-virgin olive oils and balsamic vinegars, flavored and unflavored, before committing to a purchase.
Owners Brian Foster and Vardas also offer Hawaii products such as Paradise Sea Salts, a new line of Hawaiian salt from Hawaii island, and import gourmet food items from Italy and elsewhere. They are looking toward Kapolei for the store’s next location.
Kailua hours are 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays and 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sundays. Call 388-8912.
— Erika Engle, Star-Advertiser
BIRTHDAY PARTY BENEFIT
Eating House 1849 in the International Market Place celebrates its first anniversary Sept. 27 with a dinner benefiting the Boys & Girls Club of Hawaii and featuring chefs from Roy Yamaguchi’s many Hawaii restaurants.
Each chef has created a dish to mark the occasion. For example: a sushi roll called Sea of Flames by Jason Ichiki of Roy’s Waikiki and Chicken Empanada with a Filipino XO by Randy Bangloy of Eating House 1849 in Kapolei.
Tickets are $125. Go to bgch.com.
TRAVELING PLATE STOPS ON OAHU
The final stop in the Traveling Plate HI 2017 culinary tour, a benefit for Easter Seals Hawaii, takes place Sunday at one of Oahu’s newest restaurants, Pai Honolulu.
Chef and Owner Kevin Lee will host private seatings at 5 and 7:30 p.m. with mixologist Dave Power. Tickets are $150 to $200.
Traveling Plate events have taken place at restaurants on the neighbor islands since late July.
Reservations: eventbrite.com.
BOURBON IN THE RAW
It will be a full-strength experience in bourbon Sept. 28 when 12th Ave Grill stages a dinner featuring Knob’s Creek’s 25th-anniversary bourbon.
This limited-edition distillate is an unfiltered single-barrel bourbon bottled at cask strength. This means undiluted by anything as meager as water.
This and other Knob Creek bottlings will be served in cocktails and paired with dinner courses as Knob Creek representative Brian Concagh discusses the finer points.
The dinner features king crab, rabbit liver and pork belly, peaking with a rack of venison served with the 25th-anniversary bourbon. Dessert is tiramisu soaked in Knob Creek Smoked Maple.
Cost for the 6:30 p.m. dinner is $195. Call 732-9469.
AN INDONESIAN HOW-TO
September’s cooking demonstration at Adventist Health Castle’s Wellness Center in Kailua turns to Indonesian cuisine.
The program, at 6 p.m. Sept. 28, will cover uses of tempeh, a traditional Indonesian fermented soybean product, and other foods of the region.
Cost is $12 and includes food sampling and recipes. Payment and reservations are required two days in advance. Call 263-5050.
RED BARN’S RED-LETTER DAY
Red Barn Farmstand in Haleiwa celebrates its first anniversary with events Friday and Saturday:
>> Farmers & Friends Friday: Chocolate birthday cake will be served with a “stew bowl” of Portuguese bean soup or vegetarian lemongrass curry, from 11 a.m. The $12.50 cost is half the usual price.
>> Sunset Saturday: $10 stew, chili or curry and rice bowls featured along with the regular menu. Uncle Wayne and the Howling Dog Band perform, 5 to 7 p.m.
The farmstand is at 66-320 Kamehameha Highway. Call 753-4350.
EPICUREAN FEASTS
The Royal Hawaiian’s quarterly Epicurean Journey series continues next week with two days of events:
>> A six-course wine dinner at 6 p.m. Sept. 29 at Azure, showcasing produce from Mari’s Garden in Mililani. It builds to an entree course of Niihau eland with saffron pappardelle.
>> An interactive cooking lesson at 10 a.m. Sept. 30 in the Regency Room that will cover making fresh pasta, specifically agnolotti (a stuffed pasta). Lunch will follow, again featuring produce from Mari’s.
Cost is $250 for both days’ events, $150 for Friday’s dinner only, $100 for Saturday’s class and lunch. Wine pairings are $30 more. Call 921-4600 or email TDRC.Hawaii@Starwood Hotels.com.
Quickbites is a weekly listing of dining events. Email items to crave@staradvertiser.com.
