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I was about to dive into my platter
of fried Pacific shrimp and chips when our bartender, Nat, asked
if I wanted some of his “special sauce.” It was our second visit
to Kauai Island Brewery & Grill, and Nat had steered us right
with his menu choices on the first. How could I refuse this offer?
He hurried off into the kitchen and returned carrying a tray
loaded with small unlabeled jars filled with red, yellow, and
brown sauces, along with containers of ketchup and mayonnaise.
My husband, Christian, thought he caught a whiff of Old Bay
seasoning. Nat mixed the concoction out of sight below the
bar, which only added to the mystery. And then, there it was:
a condiment that looked like ordinary ketchup in a white dipping
bowl — yet there was nothing ordinary about the taste.
A few minutes later, he returned to see how we liked it. We
didn’t just like it, I told him.We
loved
it. He smiled, but we could
tell he wasn’t surprised. It was, as they say in Hawaii, pure
‘ono
.
‘Ono, with the
okina
(which resembles a left single quotation
mark), is the Hawaiian word for delicious —not to be confused
with the non-okina ono, which is the Hawaiian name for the
wahoo fish. The literal translation means “good to eat.” My
husband and I had come to Kauai in search of great Garden
Isle food and drink, and we weren’t disappointed.
HANALEI BAY
IntervalWorld.com INTERVAL WORLD Summer 2016
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