Happy Anniversary!!! It’s our two year anniversary. I met Ray back in San Francisco two years ago. My best friend in high school, Jackie, moved to Texas and there she met Ray. Years later Jackie happen to be in San Francisco. San Francisco was an hour from where I lived so I hopped in the car to go see her. She introduces me to Ray and it’s been love ever since. That was two years ago. We got engaged back in February but we like to celebrate our anniversary on the day we met, because for us, that was the first day of our lives together. Awe, how adorable. Go ahead and throw up, I’m not going anywhere.

So on our two year anniversary Ray takes me to Haleiwa Joe’s. He was really bummed out because he wanted to take me to the Haleiwa Joes in Kaneohe but the Pali was closed that night. So he calls his friend, Beau, who is in front of his computer 24/7, for detour directions. His friend gives him directions to the Haleiwa Joe’s in Haleiwa not aware that Ray wanted to take me to the other one. We got here really late and decide to stay. Ray’s still bummed because he says the other one is just that much better. I have yet to find out.

We sat outside where the moonlight and fire from the candles gave the room and very romantic glow. There’s nice seating available inside as well.

We started off with the Ahi Spring Rolls, $9.95. These were amazing. The thin layer of wonton skin gave this dish the perfect amount of crispiness that cracked in your mouth with every bite announcing to every taste bud, ” hey guys, it’s time to eat. Trust me, you want to be awake for this.” Ohhh yum.

I’m a sucker for nuts and fruit on my salad so when I saw the Haleiwa Paradise Salad, $7.95 I knew I found the one. This was perfect, especially since we just had the Ahi Spring Roll, so I was already getting pretty full. The salad was mixed in a subtle sweet orange ginger vinaigrette that really enhanced the sweet candied walnuts and the mandarin oranges. Everything tasted really fresh.

Prime Rib, market price. The market price on August 25 was a whopping $32.00. Yeah, I know this should not be allowed any where near this food blog, but it was our anniversary so you can have anything you want baby.

He ordered it medium well. He said it had a nice thickness to it that made his mouth water just at the shear sight of it. The meat was juicy and so tender that his molars felt as if they were given a vacation every time they soaked into the meat. I, on the other hand, cringe at the sight of blood. The only thing I eat raw is fish. The mash potatoes were amazing but the peas were a little undercooked.

Haleiwa Joes isn’t the cheapest place to dine but there will come a time when it’s worth it to spend a little extra cash for a nice meal.

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Haleiwa Joes Seafood Grill

66-011 Kamehameha Hwy

Haleiwa, HI 96712

Get Directions

(808) 637-8005

Our friends are Auntie Pasto’s whores. It seems like they’re there almost every other week. Last week Sara’s sister came over from the big island and where did they go for dinner? Auntie Pasto’s of course. After my first visit here I can see why. A group of us made it out here one night and we all agree, Auntie Pasto’s is the shit.

I was a little surprised at how nice the place was. The candles and dim lights gave this place a charm and glow that makes you feel very welcomed.

Now if you do plan on getting an appetizer you must get the Mozzarella Marinara, $7.00. It’s mozzarella cheese wrapped in fresh crepes and tomato sauce. Basically a little bit of cheesy heaven in your mouth. I’m not even a fan of cheese, if you ask me, when it comes to cheese, less is more, or in most cases I’d rather do without. But this Mozzarella Marinara thing, oh, it’s different, a league of her own, I kid you not. Justin and Sara were like, “try it, it’s good.” As soon as I cut into it, hot melted cheese oozes out like hot lava. I secretly wanted to take the dish all to myself and run and eat while I ran so when I was caught I would turn around with an empty plate in hand and a mouth full of cheese, but instead I decided to be mature about this and took another, rather large bite.

This is the Madeline Salad, $6.25. This salad was sensational. It has a light sweetness that does summer saults on your tongue. My complaint is that it was so small and that within minutes of us finally finding each other I felt alone, abandon and scared wondering what just happen. Are you really gone? How can you be gone already when we just met?
Really, the salad wasn’t much bigger than this, I took one large bite and then realized I had to take a picture. It’s a good salad to start with, but what about those people who don’t start with salad but have it as an entree? There’s no way this could fill anyone up. I guess it’s a good thing this wasn’t my entree.

Sara got a Hail Caesar, $5.50. Again it wasn’t that big, and we took a bite before we realized we had to take a picture.

I was so happy to see a nice array of choices to choose from on the dessert menu. I was torn, tiramisu or creme brulee? It’s been a while since I had really good creme brulee, so creme brulee it was and of course I had to have it as my appetizer, why torture myself and wait till after dinner? Sometimes patience is just stupid. It was everything I had hoped for and so much more. The creme brulee cost $5.00 and even though it was worth every penny it was so not enough. Even Ray was in love with it and he’s not a fan of custard at all. Everyone agreed, it wasn’t enough, more, we need more.

Here’s my main course Creamy Pesto, $9.75. It’s extra green because I added some spinach to it for no extra charge. The waiter waiter goes,”you could have it any way you want.” Yum. It was good, but I would have traded it for the creme brulee in a heart beat.

Shane and Justin got this plate, Gnocchi (nee-okkee) $11.00. It really looked a lot better than the picture looks. Potato dumplings served with meat, mushrooms or a creamy pesto sauce. I think this is with the meat sauce, but no guarantees. Shane had Justin order for him and I don’t live with Justin so I can’t ask him.

This was Sara’s dish and I liked this one better than mine so I kept secretly taking bites of hers. She never notice because she’s a lush and loves red wine. Fried Eggplant & Gorgonzola $9.50.

It’s hard for Ray to pass up good pizza. This is the Margarite, Neapolitan-style, 10.95. I love that they sprinkled basil all over this thing. It was good, but I don’t think it was Oh My God, good.

So time for dessert. If it were up to me I would have picked the tiramisu but it’s not always about me. This was a group decision and we decided upon the Cannoli, $4.00. Here I am modeling the cannoli. I know this picture makes it look like a pile of white shit, but I swear it didn’t look like that in person. Along with the cannoli we orderd another creme brulee.

I gotta say, with all the places I still have yet to visit, I will definitely make it back here. Our friends had friend who worked here so when we got our tab, all five crafts of wine, all the dessert and a few other dishes were left off so it made our dining experience even more satisfying. I don’t know how anyone can’t love this place.

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Auntie Pasto’s Restaurant
1099 S. Beretania St.
Honolulu, HI 96814

The Greek Corner is a cute little cafe close to the University. From my experience, the closer to the college means the cheaper the food. This place had good service, nice atmosphere and fair prices with hefty portions. Gyro sandwiches were $5.96, the most expensive salad was $6.95, appetizers were affordable and didn’t go over $6.00. I ordered hommos, for $4.95 and that’s the way it was spelled on the menu. I’ve always seen it spelled hummus but hommos is a little more entertaining to say. It was a little oily but still delicious and came with a pita bread cut into four pieces. The pita bread was good but was hot like it was microwaved rather than hot like it was fresh. There wasn’t enough bread and we had to order more for .75 cents. I didn’t mind because they really gave generous portions of hommos. Yes, hommos is definitely more amusing to say, even if it is pronounce hummus. I prefer homos. The hommos was fantastic but a bit greasy. There’s just so much hommos, don’t you think? Alright, let us move on.

I also ordered a Mixed Plate. It was a nice variety of gyros beef and lamb topped with Tzatzif, (I don’t know what that is either), along with marinated boneless chicken baked in slow fire, and topped with a garlic mayo sauce, served with a Greek salad and pita bread. All for the special price of $10.95. Ray and I shared it and it was more than plenty. Everything was scrumptious. I definitely will be back.

Directions to The Greek Corner