Sistah and La Birria at Beer Lab HI Kitchen Pearlridge

I have wanted to try Sistah and La Birria for some time now, but those long lines at their food trucks scared me!  Good thing I have a friend that is a genius because she suggested we meet up at Beer Lab HI Pearlridge on a Tuesday when Sistah and La Birria split the kitchen for the day. 

Seating at Beer Lab is first come first serve and you order your drinks from the bar.  They offer 10 beers on tap and can fill growlers and crowlers for beer to-go.  I had the Pineapple Cruzer from Paradise Ciders which is a cider brewed with Hawaiian Gold pineapple and my friend, Malia, had the Ice Shave, an ale with strawberry, orange, and li hing mui.  It was a nice way to end the work day.

Malia is a huge fan of Sistah's Chicken Katsu so we started with that and the Mexican Carne Asada fries.  The chicken katsu was exceptionally crispy and served with either katsu sauce or a white mushroom gravy.  We opted for the gravy and it was so delicious!  I can see why it is her all time favorite katsu!  The Sistahs style carne asada fries with streak is topped with cheddar, Mexican cheese and fresh homemade pico de gallo. The huge serving of yummy fries is perfect for sharing.

Chicken Katsu

Mexican Carne Asada Fries

As anticipated, the menu for La Birria goes online at 5pm on Tuesdays.  Food orders are placed online and picked up at the take out counter.  We started with the Birria saimin and followed that up with the Birria tacos: birria queso for Malia and Hell Fire for me.  It was my first time trying birria saimin and tacos.  The saimin comes with flavorful birria beef, cilantro, and onions. You receive the consomme in a separate container that you pour over the saimin.  It is delicious and perfect for the recent cold weather.  I was getting super full, but I just had to try the spicy Hell Fire tacos.  Malia warned me to have my drink ready, but I thought, it'll be fine, I like spicy!  After the first bite, I thought, wow, this is amazing!  Then I took a second and third bite and the heat started kicking in and I ran to the bar in desperation of water as I had finished my beer. True story. That taco was awesome.

Birria Saimin

Birria Queso Tacos

Hell Fire Tacos with homemade pickled jalepenos.

Birria Quesadilla

The concept at Beer Lab HI is to feature a rotating array of independent local chefs creating new and exciting dishes to pair with their changing beer menu. Currently in addition to Sistah and La Birria, Flyin' Ahi is also scheduled for kitchen duty.  Check out the calendar here for the rotating kitchen schedule. 

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National French Fry Day - Wednesday, July 13, 2016

Today we are celebrating one of my favorite foods of all time - FRENCH FRIES! Here is a list of 10 of my favorite places to eat french fries on Oahu:

The Dumb Coq

Stan Sheriff Center (University of Hawaii)

Zippy's

H & T Burgers

Kua Aina

MW Restaurant

The Counter

Sam Adams (Klipper Golf Course)

Honolulu Burger Co.

The Alley

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Charley's Grilled Subs

In honor of National Philly Cheesesteak month, I headed over to Charley's Grilled Subs at the Pearl Harbor Navy Exchange Food Court (which is open to the public) to try a Philly Cheesesteak sub for the very first time.

I am familiar with the concept since Philly cheesesteak subs are featured on food shows all the time, but I've never tried one. I think I've been putting them off for so long because I'm afraid of liking them so much and getting hooked on them. Eating subs like these on a regular basis would definitely sabotage my boot camp training.

So here it is - the Philly cheesesteak sub - steak, provolone cheese, grilled onions, lettuce, and tomato. As I had suspected, this sub was delicious! The sub came out hot and fresh. The meat was tender and juicy. There was a lot of cheese, but it did not overpower the taste of the steak.

Since I knew the sub was going to give me more than my daily allotment of the "bad stuff", I ordered plain french fries, instead of the fries with bacon and cheddar cheese. Maybe on my next visit to Charley's, I'll try the fries with all the fixins. The fries also came out hot and fresh, not soggy. I had to add salt, but I add salt every time I eat french fries.

For those who are a little more health-conscious, Charley's offers different kinds of chicken subs - I think I'll try one of those the next time, with my bacon and cheddar cheese fries.

Thanks to Charley's, I don't have to fly all the way to Philadelphia to try their world famous Philly Cheesesteaks!

Thank you to Charley's for providing the $5 gift certificate for this review.

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