Burgers On The Edge's Burger Genius Contest (Honolulu)

I haven't been back home in Honolulu in almost a decade, it's very sad but it's also very true. Normally when I do go home, I limit my burger intake to W&M in Kaimuki, Zippy's, or a hamburger steak plate lunch @ Tsukenjo. But I was made aware of a restaurant called Burgers On The Edge and the menu looks very good.

They recently held a "Burger Genius" contest where people could enter and create their own burger dishes. According to the website, the idea was to see "who in Hawaii can create the most original and delicious burger using the 8 cheeses, 12 sauces, and 18 toppings from the current menu or think outside the burger wrapper by submitting a recipe for their masterpiece."

What was of interest to me was something called the "Bento Burger" made by Doris Gilbert. What consists of a Bento Burger? Here are the ingredaments (HA!):

Burger Name: Bento Burger
Beef: Ground Chuck
Cheese: Swiss
Sauce: Teriyaki
Toppings: Fried egg, Spam, Manoa lettuce

Mmm, mmm, mmm. The seven other finalists made burgers that, at least in text form, sound amazing.

The Burger Genius presentation will be shown on KHON in Honolulu on Wednesday, June 24 at 9:00pm, and the winners will be announced on July 4th, marking the 1st anniversary of Burgers On The Edge. If they post a video of the show or if it is posted elsewhere, I will have it here on Book's Foodie

While in Hawai'i Nei, President Obama Likes To Eat Here

The folks at MSNBC decided to write an article on some of the eatieries Barack Obama enjoyed while living in Honolulu and still likes to go to as an adult. In fact before he became president, he talked about going to Rainbow Drive-In and Zippy's, which for any local are mandatory stops for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and breakfast, along with something to get after a good day at the beach.

The main article is here, while A Guide To Obama's Favorite Eateries is behind the link. For us transplanted Hawaiians who are homesick not only for the good food, but for the people who like to "talk story" as we eat, these places will be very familiar.

To Mr. Obama: hui, we go eat.

In honor of President Barack Obama: how to make Spam Musubi (YouTube)

This is not of me, but of someone making something that has become a Hawaiian snack food staple in the last 20 years, which has also become a favorite of Barack Obama's: Spam Musubi.

It's fairly simple:
one nori (seaweed) sheet
Spam
rice

The concept is basically this: a musubi is a Japanese rice ball and is usually contained in a bento that you eat alongside your main dish (i.e. fish, chicken, or whatever). Sometimes there's ume inside. Hawaiian-style bentos can have Spam, so someone years ago decided to combine it by playing a slice of Spam inside and boom: instant nirvana.

There are enough recipes and variations on how to make a Spam musubi, some make sushi rice to give it a certain flavor, but you can just make plain sticky rice and put it in there, maybe sprinkle some furikake, or have one of those small shoyu things that come out of the plastic fish, whatever.

If the concept of eating Spam and rice seems gross, let me ask this: do you cook/grill the Spam? That's the way we Hawaiians eat Spam, and it's good. Do you need a Spam musubi maker? When the craze for them began, most people simply used the Spam can because the size is perfect. So if you want to start out lo-fi, check the above video. If you like what you make, then you can go to your closest Asian store (usually a quality one) or search online for a musubi maker.

If you are serious about making them and need to find a few quality variations, click to this page at LunchInABox.net. This lady lived in Japan for ten years and the ways of Japanese cuisine grew on her. Check it.