#hnlflow

WORDS: Vina Cristobal PHOTOS: Peter Cheng 

This week’s Flow Eats adventure took us to a popular Kaka’ako favorite, Hank’s Haute Dogs. Hank’s has been in the business for well over ___ years, but is immensely growing in popularity through social media. Along with its storefront on Auahi St., the hot dog stand has also opened a food truck – now located at the parking lot on 555 South Street.

Now these hot dogs aren’t your typical hot dog, in a bun, ketchup/mustard/relish deal. Hank’s encourages its customers to experience beyond the average hot dog meal. Sausages from far and wide can be found in this small hole-in-the-wall restaurant.

I ordered the Brat - a white sausage drenched in sauerkraut and brown mustard with a soft bun covering the dog. Peter [Cheng] ordered the Chili Dog – a soft bun wrapping a sausage smothered with chili beans - along with the crunchiest French fries that would make McDonald’s jealous.

The Brat was an acquired taste. Upon taking the first bite, it was a bit chewy. But the brown mustard and sauerkraut added more flavor to this otherwise pale meal. On the plus side, it allowed me to try something new. The same could easily be said for my colleague and his Chili Dog.

The French fries are an ideal addition to any meal, especially at Hank’s. It might cost another $3 or $4 to get a side order of fries, but it is definitely worth it if the hot dogs didn’t completely satisfy your appetite. The fries are the perfect mix of soft and crunchy, and not too much salt was added. Good show, Hank’s. Good show.

WORDS + PHOTOS: Raelyn Batacan

A friend of mine really loves beer, so we always use food and good company to bring our friends together just to get some drinks. This week we decided to take a visit to Honolulu Beerworks a small brewery on Cooke Street that brews their beer in-house daily.

Walking into the brewery you’ll find a set of recycled picnic tables, high chair seats, and the bar. Looking up at the bar, you’ll find the beer menu and their featured beer. Right outside, around the corner are more picnic tables that makes up the beer garden. We took a seat at the bar just we so we could have a chat with the bartender (we’re very social people). 

 While waiting for a friend, we ordered something just to get some things going. Their menus change from lunch (11 a.m. to 4 p.m.), to dinner (4:30 p.m. to closing), and we got dinner just as it started.

As you’re not encouraged to drink on an empty stomach, we started off our meal with the Miso Pork Sliders, kalua pork in their farmhouse ale and miso, topped with creamy wasabi Asian slaw on taro buns.

I’ve never had taro buns before and I don’t usually get pulled pork in my burgers. So this was definitely different - and I love different. The taro bun was the only sweet thing about it. The wasabi Asian slaw gave it the kick and the kalua gave the punch, It was a battle in my mouth.

As everyone’s all trying to get over the Oktoberfest hangover, we tried out the bratwurst that comes with the side of their coleslaw. The bratwurst lay on a bun with a blanket of grilled onions, horseradish and the comfort of their own mustard. What makes this dish has got to be their homemade mustard. Mustards seeds are something we should all try.

Now, I never really was a fan of beer, but spending quite some time in Europe changed that.

The beers on tap are all labeled by their Alcohol by Volume (ABV) and International Bitterness Units (IBU) and not knowing what any of that stuff means, I had to ask. To put it simply the ABV is how much alcohol is in it and have you ever wondered what made some beer so dark but others so light? That’s where the IBU comes in, if it’s darker, the more bitter and the lighter, the less bitter.

These two drinks pictured up top are the tasters, 4 oz for $2. Left is the Pia Mahi'ai Honey Citrus Saison 5.0% ABV 25 IBU and the right  Makakilo Brown Ale 5.6% ABV 35 IBU. See the difference? The Pia Mahi’ai was sweet and light compared to the Makakilo Brown which was mildly bitter.

They have a small list of home made brews but if you ever get stuck of only choosing a few, get the Flight, you choose any six you’d like to sample, write them down and you get to try them all!

[TO WATCH OUR VIDEO COVERAGE, CLICK HERE] Flow Eats heads to Scratch Kitchen and Bake Shop in Chinatown on Friday September 26th.

So what makes Scratch Kitchen & Bake Shop so unique? Everything they serve is made from scratch daily (hence the name). This means everything is made fresh - a treat from the kitchen to your stomach.  Vina (Cristobal), Jason Tom (the human beatbox), and I waited about 20 minutes to be seated to a table. When we got to a table, the server gave us water and what surprised me was that they serve water in a clear blue glass jug. It was really interesting, but creative.  

Jason ordered the BLT Benny. It was the typical eggs Benedict sandwich merged into a bacon lettuce and tomato combination. The simple dish savored his taste buds as he enjoyed the new take on two classic breakfast and lunch items.

I ordered the Kalbi Meatloaf. The Kalbi Meatloaf is basically bi bim bap fried rice, sunny side up egg, kim chee cucumber & spicy ketchup. They only make 14 orders of this particular dish daily. I found that very interesting because the restaurant does get really busy and 14 is a small quantity to make every day. Luckily when the server took my order, they still had some available for sale. When I got my meal, the portion was very reasonable and it tasted amazing. I really enjoyed the fried rice. It was very unique and never tasted that kind of style of cooking before. It was also my first time trying a sunny side up egg. I also found it interesting but tasty at the same time. The presentation of the meal was also amazing. Everything looks professionally made and it was served in a hot pot as well which meant it came right off from the kitchen. 

Vina’s take on her experience was not as positive, however. “My take on the Creole Shrimp n' Grits was not exactly the most pleasant experience. Although I love the atmosphere and food variety that Scratch has to offer, I did not really enjoy the Shrimp n' Grits. I found some shrimp heads (I suppose that's their specialty. The waiter said that they put it there purposely) in my creole dish. On the plus side, it was a new dish I haven't tried before - but I would have settled with a salad instead.” 

After we finished our meal, I decided to try out Scratch’s baked goods and ordered an M&M and pecan scone, which was both crunchy and sweet. I could imagine myself eating that every day.

Overall, Scratch Kitchen & Bake shop is a great place to enjoy a meal. Their prices and portion size are very reasonable.

Enjoy and we hope to see you there at Scratch Kitchen & Bake Shop.  Scratch Kitchen and Bake Shop 1030 Smith St.  Honolulu, HI 96817

Hours:  Day: Tuesday - Sunday  8:30a - 2:00p Night: Friday - Saturday 5:30p - 9:00p Closed Mondays