Island Vacation Party Food?

June 24, 2008 9:47 PM

Help me plan and buy food for "Island Vacation" party -- San Francisco.

I'm having an "Island Vacation Pride" party this Sunday in SF. I'll be serving champagne & tropical juices (think mango mimosas), fruit salad, and ... here's my question.

I'm thinking about picking up some garlic shrimp and mahi-mahi, maybe some pork-type food, from One Hawaiian BBQ on Sloat. Has anyone used that restaurant for party food? What did you think? Any other suggestions for restaurants in SF with Hawaiian or island-themed food? Or maybe super-easy recipes? Thanks in advance.

posted by ClaudiaCenter to Food & Drink (10 answers total)

Poke!

A good friend from the islands has posted her recipe on her blog: http://citymama.typepad.com/cityfood/2006/09/ahi_poke.html

People who dig sushi will dig this.
posted by padraigin at 10:04 PM on June 24, 2008

http://www.sanfrancisco.com/titas-hale-aina-b1234

Tita's Hale Aina is a Hawaiian place on 17th near Sanchez.

Honestly? Hawaiian food is macaroni salad and spam and I'm not a huge fan of poi.

Go Jamaican instead; jerk chicken is great. there's a Jamaican place on (jeez, i haven't lived in SF for years...) um. Fulton! right off Divis. can't remember the name.
posted by xz at 10:12 PM on June 24, 2008

Response by poster: Oh, dear, Padraigin, that recipe seriously over-estimates my culinary skills (Japanese sesame seed grinder?). The Hawaiian place on 17th & Sanchez closed about 5 months ago. Google says the Jamaican place on Fulton is King Jamaican. I'll check it out!
posted by ClaudiaCenter at 10:22 PM on June 24, 2008

Response by poster: PS This place -- Hukilau -- has good reviews on Yelp. And they have poke.
posted by ClaudiaCenter at 10:28 PM on June 24, 2008

If you're willing to venture down the Peninsula (or maybe they deliver?) Back a Yard makes absolutely incredible Jamaican food. Even if you don't use it for this party, you totally need to try this place someday. Warning: website plays festive tropical music.
posted by crinklebat at 10:29 PM on June 24, 2008

Response by poster: Mmmm, Back a Yard has great pictures of yummy-looking food. (Perhaps a meet up???)
posted by ClaudiaCenter at 10:31 PM on June 24, 2008

Those Hawaiians are crazy for the Spam.
posted by MaryDellamorte at 10:35 PM on June 24, 2008

Back a Yard is quite good. You can also get excellent Caribbean food at the Front Porch without having to leave the city.
posted by foodgeek at 11:14 PM on June 24, 2008

OK, I'm from Hawaii and yes I love spam, but if you want a fairly easy recipe, and you have a crock pot, you cannot beat kalua pig. It's not the most authentic since you're not wrapping it in leaves and cooking it in the ground, but it requires all of three ingredients.

Slow Cooker Kalua Pig (Amounts are estimated)
- 1 4-6lb. pork shoulder or pork butt
- 2 tablespoons of Hawaiian a'lae salt (it's red and coarse you should be able to find it at Trader Joes, but if not, just some coarse sea salt will do just fine)
- 2 teaspoons of liquid smoke.

Take your pork, rub it with the salt and liquid smoke and then put it in the slow cooker on low for about 8 hours. At that point you just fork shred it up and add a little salt/pepper if needed. Some people also cut up some cabbage and add it in about 30 minutes before you're ready to serve.
posted by harrumph at 5:19 AM on June 25, 2008

One of my favorite places is Primo Patio near the stadium. Their specialty is jerk chicken and it's without a doubt, the best in SF. Be sure to ask for a lot of the special sauce that comes with it.
posted by junesix at 9:13 AM on June 25, 2008