When I first started blogging a little more than 6 years ago, my main goal was to eat my way around town in hopes of showing people what Hawaii had to offer. After the first year or so, real life took a turn for the worse and my free time pretty much vanished. I was still eating, but doing very little writing.
There were numerous attempts to get this blog going again, but with each attempt, there was a set back. I hit a low point when I received a comment from a reader that really struck a chord in me. You can read about it here. I started to question myself and what I was doing. Did I even want to keep this blog going and did I really want to start writing again?
In the meantime, I had the opportunity to sample some of the best food that the world has to offer at places like Manresa in Los Gatos, Ubuntu in Napa, Tetsuya’s in Sydney, Pierre Gagnaire in Paris, Alinea in Chicago, St John in London and The Fat Duck in Bray. Dining in these restaurants really gave me a fresh perspective on food and dining out; on eating in and cooking at home; and shopping at the local grocery store and at my local farmer’s market.
Late last year, I became active on Twitter and started connecting with all types of people. It was fascinating to finally have real dialogue with others that enjoyed food just as much as I did, in a truly meaningful and dynamic way. I met local chefs and farmers, food writers and food bloggers. The conversations opened my eyes to what was here all along, and what is essentially at the heart of this blog. My love of food.
When I started blogging back in 2004, there were just a handful of food bloggers out there, with just a small handful of us here in Hawaii. I had often thought of organizing a get together, but it never happened for one reason or another. Until now.
Kathy, from A Passion for Food, was going to be returning home to Hawaii for a visit with family and joining her was going to be Robyn from The Girl Who Ate Everything. I had long been a fan of both blogs, so it was essentially a once in a lifetime opportunity to meet them both here at the same time. Rounding out our group would be Alan from ma`ona and Pomai from The Tasty Island. Due to a mix up with the dates, Pomai was unable to join us.
TBC…
A
B
C
D
Sous vide watermelon & umeshu, lime granite; Azuki panna cotta, matcha sorbet, tapioca pearls, kuri tuile
Creme de mascarpone, honey caviar, almond EVOO crumble, passion coulis, shiso syrup; Pistachio ice cream, coconut foam, carmelized goma
Gianduja cremoso, peanut praline powder, frozen raspberry bits, cacao nibs; Espresso snow, sweet milk, cardamom ice cream, financier crisps
Thank you to Robyn for the photos from Town. I am hoping to finish this post soon.
{ 9 comments… read them below or add one }
Oh my goodness Reid, this looks fantastic! Can’t wait to see more!
[Pam, Thank you! The desserts were amazing! Can't wait to visit LA again...]
everything looks and sounds so delicious!
[Kat, Everything was delicious! After eating all of those desserts, I was truly stuffed.]
Wow, now that is impressive! Last night Mike cooked dinner… we had bowfin (fresh caught by the youngest) rice, and string beans. Mike forgot to wash the beans so they had some extra “texture”. Think you could come cook for us? ;o)
[Jo, WOW! Thanks for writing. The desserts were truly magnificent. I'd love to come and cook WITH you all out there. Hopefully, I can make it out your way sometime. Travel to the east is so expensive. Even much more so than travel to Asia!]
Those photos are fantastic, and a clear indicator to me that I need to tighten my belt and buy a better camera. None of my own turned out so well, even after heavy photoshop post-processing.
Thanks again for pulling together a great dinner.
[Alan, I am so happy that you could make it. I had a great time. I still need to post process the photos from Town so I can put them up here. Hope you can make the next one.]
This has always been one of my favorite blogs, no matter where you ended up eating…
[Jenn,Thanks so much for commenting and please accept my apologies for the delaying in responding. Your support means a lot. My hope is to continue blogging and I am hoping that my readers will still appreciate what I have to say.]
Reid,
I just found your blog and I’ve been reading it for the last hour. I really enjoy it and will be checking back lots!
I was in Maui once and absolutely LOVED it.
[Judi, Thank you so much for writing. I'm glad you enjoyed reading the blog and I hope you will visit again once I start to post content again regularly.]
Glad to see that you’re posting again. I have enjoyed your blog since 2005. When I lived in Honolulu, it was my go-to place for restaurant suggestions. Thanks to your blog, I visited some of my favorite restaurants–imanas tei, bacnam, and hakkei. Now that I live in California, I visit your blog for suggestions every time I visit San Francisco. Thanks again for your great reviews!
[Jessica, Thank you so much for writing and thank you for your kind words of support. Hopefully, I can start posting more regularly. I'll be in the Bay Area in a couple of weeks, so keep your eyes open for some posts about my travels.]
Aloha Reid, So nice to *see* you again! I’ve missed your blog and so glad that I’ve stumbled across it again. I really appreciate your crisp presentation and gorgeous photos. Happy eating =)
[Lajja, Thank you for stopping by and thanks so much for the kind words. I do need to try to get back into the swing of things and hopefully, you'll stop by again sometime. Happy eating to you too!]
Hi Reid,
I’ve read your blog for several years and have always loved everything you’ve written. My boyfriend and I have visited many places based on your blog recommendations. We just wanted to tell you we hope you continue to share your food experiences with everyone!
I noticed your recent posts don’t really have any comments on the food – have you stopped doing that? Besides your beautiful pictures of yummy food, I love that part the most. It’s really inspirational for people looking to try new foods.
Hope all is well and I look forward to reading more of your posts!
[Yumi, Thank you so much for writing and I appreciate your feedback and your comments. Yes, I am going to start writing again and the photos on this blog were just a place holder until I could get some stuff going. Hope you try to stop by sometime as I will be working on adding more content. Thank you for continuing to visit my site.]