Talkin' Shop

This past June, I made my way out to the Dog Patch neighborhood (yes, it’s far!) to try out Hawaiian eatery, aina. I’ve always heard great things about aina’s brunch and more recently their dinner tasting menu. We did not end up trying either brunch nor the tasting menu this time around, but instead we tasted a little bit of everything for our first dinner there.

The restaurant itself is very simple and tasteful. While there isn’t much to the interiors, the space definitely has a “homey” quality to it. It’s on the smaller side compared to many restaurants I frequent, clad with sleek wooden tables and chairs. There is a counter at the back, which you may assume to be the bar at first glance, but is actually the “Chef’s Counter.” This counter is where the Chef(s) provide an experience for guests who reserve the tasting menu. I recommend reserving with a good amount of notice beforehand.

We started our dinner with a glass of cabernet sauvignon, which ended up pairing well with the dishes to follow. Looking at the menu, there were only two vegetarian dishes: the broccoli and the street corn. Good thing we were in the mood for meat, meat, and more meat. Seafood too!

Our meal began with the Poke made with limu, Hawaiian heart of palm, inamona and bubu arare. Maybe it was just me, but I was rather confused when I saw the names of what was to accompany the poke. All I know, is that it tasted amazing. Light, fluffy, fresh and balanced. Definitely get it. Next up was the Charred Octopus Luau – my favorite dish of the night and I’m not even someone who typically opts for octopus dishes. It came with kalo cream, roasted almonds, heirloom potatoes and coconut gel. I loved the coconut touch. After that was the Kiawe Smoked Char Siu Ribs with fermented red cabbage, puffed rice and cilantro. This had to have been my second favorite of the evening. The smokiness of the ribs was to die for! And yes, they did fall of the bone. Scrumptious. The Saimin (squid ink noodles) followed the ribs and I must admit, this was the only dish that I didn’t like. It came with lap cheong shrimp, baby bok choy, shaved bottarga, ikura and a shoyu tea egg. The only thing I did enjoy about the dish was the creamy egg. I’d say skip it unless you’re someone who really loves squid ink. To me, it’s just a bit too “fishy”. Our last savory dish was the Portuguese Butter Bean Cassoulet with a Portuguese sausage, iacopi butter beans, edamame cream and pistachio brown butter panko. This was another incredible item. Loved the combination of rich sausage with light butter beans and creamy topping. Now, time for dessert. You must, must, must, save room for dessert. Their pastry chef is an angel on earth! She creates two desserts with each menu change, both absolutely lovely. We got the tart topped with coconut custard and summer berries. Very strong coconut flavors, which I love, plus a lot of awesome textures mixing together. I don’t know what it was about this dessert, but it truly tasted like heaven.

Overall, the experience was great. I’m sure I’ll be back to sample my way through aina’s brunch and/or tasting menu at some point in the future. I recommend it for anyone who is looking for creative Hawaiian dishes with a twist – just remember not to bring your vegetarian friends to dinner as they may not leave satisfied!

It has been nearly 12 years since I had last been to Istanbul. My recent visit this July was vastly different and I have to credit the great experiences I had to the extensive use of social media to help identify new points of interest and plan accordingly. In 2006 there was no Airbnb or Instagram which were both heavily utilized this time around as resources to find myself in an Istanbul that had me feeling like this might be my favorite city in the world. The juxtaposition of east and west, modern and historic, Islamic and capitalist creates a city full of surprise, delight and comfort – all with an incredible sense of hospitality in the relaxed, laid-back culture.

I had many opportunities to visit hip coffee shops that could have been just as home in California replete with macrame hanging plants and art galleries similar to the ones I lived amongst in Greenpoint Brooklyn. The design and cuisine of the city have evolved along with the proliferation of social media to offer modern dishes like avocado toast and matcha lattes served inside 500 year old buildings in the Beyoğlu (Pera) district. I enjoyed finding balance between the old and the gentrified and decided that instead of trying one of the newest restaurants or one with Michelin stars, I’d go for the stand out that aims to blend ancient techniques with today’s talent and ingredients, Mikla.

Located on the top floor of the The Marmara Pera hotel, Mikla is urban, sleek and stylish. The dining room features glass walls for magical nearly 360 degree views over the city to Hagia Sophia and Topkapi Palace in Old Istanbul. On one side of the dining room the glass walls give way to an expansive outdoor dining area and bar. Up one set of stairs, visitors are greeted with a roof top offering another nearly 360 degree view lounge seating, bar and pool positioned at one corner with glass walls overlooking city.

Opened in 2005, Mikla is one of the World’s Best 50 Restaurants. Mikla employs full-time anthropologist, Tangör Tan, to work alongside chef and restaurateur Mehmet Gürs to rediscover a culinary heritage that’s in danger of disappearing, and revive it in a 21st century context. They founded the New Anatolian Kitchen project which works to discover traditional habits of people cooking, identifies cultural relevance of ingredients, regions, foods, producers and embraces cultural differences that characterize the cooking from specific regions.

The restaurant offers a three course prix fixe a la carte menu or a seven course tasting menu and naturally, we choose the latter. The experience from start to finish was quite flawless in terms of timing, service, ambiance and each dish was equally as impeccable. All dishes were incredible but I’ll share my top three and you’ll have to visit yourself to experience the rest! The braised artichoke was compressed and was one of my favorite dishes due to the nature of this technique to concentrate the mild vegetable flavor. The Balık Ekmek sardine chip was another standout and similar variations can be experienced at a number of other restaurants including San Francisco’s Rich Table. The manti, or dumpling, was not something incredibly unique but the satisfaction this delicious comfort staple offers can not be understated. I found myself devouring other versions of this dish a couple times!

There is undoubtedly a high concentration of restaurants to visit in this incredibly diverse city and Mikla is one that is likely to remain. I highly recommend you add Istanbul to the top of your bucket list with a few days on the Turquoise Coast to be sure to soak up some of the country’s best natural scenery as well. I did find a number of places in my pre-trip research that I wanted to try but found had closed so definitely be sure to verify places are open if you are going out of your way to visit. Luckily in this highly walkable city there is a rotating choice of offerings with some of the greatest concentrations in my favorite areas to explore like Galata, Karakoy, Cihangir and Cukurcuma.

Zeytinyağlı

Olive Oil Braised Artichoke

Balık Ekmek

Sardines, Bread, Lemon

Traditional Manti

Turkish Dumpling with garlicky yoghurt sauce and paprika sauce

Lamb Heart

Morel Mushroom, Cress, Pomegranate Vinegar, Sumac, Burned Butter, Malkara Green Len

Monkfish

Broad Bean, Fresh Almond, Halhali Olives, Capers, Apple Vinegar

Braised Lamb

Wild Cabbage, Giresun Walnut, Salted Yoghurt, Potato, Bergama Tulum Cheese, Cumin, Plum Pestil

Buffalo Yoghurt

Grape Molasses, Basil, Walnut Crumbs, Strawberry Sorbet

Cheese & Honey

Anatolian Raw Milk Cheeses, Flower Honey, Walnut, Hardaliye & Prune, Multi Seed Crisp

By: Michael Gorecki

Human’s are visual beings. We rely on our sense of sight much more than any other of the senses. What we see has a huge reaction on how we act and what we do. That is why it is Instagram, an imaged based app, is one of the best marketing tools out there. Instagram appeals directly to our strongest decision-making sense, our eyes. With over 800 million active users, having a visually stunning Instagram is extremely important in attracting new business. Case in point, my trip to Indonesia, Australia, and New Zealand.

When I made my itinerary to these countries Instagram was my best friend. Instead of having to navigate through language barriers, poor website designs, and tons of reviews – I would simple judge a place, activity, location by how it looked on Instagram.If a restaurant or hotel did not look visually appealing I would move on to the next spot until I saw somewhere that caught my eye. From a user standpoint Instagram made making travel decisions quick and easy, I loved it. From a business standpoint Instagram could be their saving grace in breaking through the noise of these heavily competitive and saturated tourist destinations.

Through Instagram, companies are able to achieve a powerful social presence and increases their reach through content that they make themselves. The ROI on Instagram can be extremely high if companies can create a captivating account.

Below are the hotels & restaurants that were able to capture my attention and earn my dollars.

INDONESIA

• Chapung Se Bali @chapungsebali – just look at those amazing infinity and plunge pools
• Mozaic @mozaicrestaurantubud- along with being one best in Asia, Mozaic has an Instagram account that highlights not only the food but the dining experience as well.
• Sunday’s Beach Club @sundaysbeachclub – has a compelling mix of both awesome beach shots as well as lifestyle-centric photography

AUSTRALIA

• Matcha Mylkbar @matcha_mylkbar – this place was an Instagrammers paradise with rainbow-colored smoothies in skull glasses to charcoal lattes.
• Arbory @arboryeatery – delicious food shots with happy people… who could say no to that?

NEW ZEALAND

• Baduzzi @baduzzi – a foodies heaven, and Restaurant of the Year 2014