Forget Meet and Greet, Let's Meet and Eat!

Whew - after weeks of not having a computer, and then running into network problems once I did have one, I think I am finally back in the technological world once and for all! So I want to tell you about something exciting that recently went on in my "food world." Stay tuned, because with all that computer down time on my hands, my pictures have been piling up and I now have lots of "food fodder" ready for the days to come!

Not long ago, I got an unexpected email from a San Jose blogger, Nate, one of the masterminds behind the fabulous blog House of Annie. Nate was inquiring if I wanted to get together with some fellow food bloggers for dinner at a well-respected Japanese restaurant in Honolulu, Tokkuri-Tei. Would I? Of course! Thanks to Nate, I was able to meet and eat (even better than "meet and greet" as far as I'm concerned!) with count 'em 4 other food bloggers! Thanks to Foodbuzz.com we were all able to take advantage of a special program called "Dine on Us" that they provide for their Featured Publishers. Basically, if you are a Featured Publisher (FP) and want to get together with other FPs in your area, Foodbuzz will graciously foot the bill (once each year) for an evening of good food and good people so that you can network and meet the other foodies in the area (if you're interested in becoming a FP yourself, more information can be found here and you can sign up by filling in this little survey) - how cool is that? One other note about this company that I find a big bonus: they're green! They support other environmentally friendly businesses and care about the recent loss of honeybees (they even sent out seeds for bee-friendly flowers). If you don't know about Foodbuzz yet, be sure to check it out - it's a great site for networking and finding new blogs; sort of like Facebook for Foodies!

Nate and his wife, Annie, were in Honolulu visiting family. The other food bloggers that joined us were Albert, from Pizza Therapy and my new foodie friend, Deb, from Kahakai Kitchen.
Like most food bloggers, we could talk the entire night away about our favorite subject of food - which, I have to say, is so nice (normal friends start to tune me out after a while...)! Nate and Annie were both truly enjoyable - Nate's a whiz at the technical stuff and got us all up to date on the newest blogging features. Albert is a whiz with the technology too, and also one of the most genuine people I have ever met. And Annie and Deb and I had a great time discussing favorite dishes and cooking styles.

from left: Albert, me, Annie, Nate and Deb (photo courtesy of Albert)

Tokkuri Tei has an enormous menu, and those of us unfamiliar with Japanese cuisine were a bit daunted at first, but Annie swooped in to the rescue and offered to choose a smattering of several different dishes for the table to share family-style. The wait staff was also friendly and offered several suggestions, including the incredible "spider-poke" (pronounce po-kay) roll, an award-winning combination of ahi tuna, spider crab, and ikura fish roe. The salmon-skin tofu salad with silken tofu and topped with nori strips was also amazing. As was the salmon belly and the hamachi - all of the fish served was excellent and very fresh. All of these dishes were favorites around the entire table. One tip: Don't order everything you want at once - it will all come out at once and there won't be room on the table! Order a few things, then if you are stilll hungry a few more. You can read the other blogger's take on the evening and enjoy their fabulous photos here, here and here (my camera was also having issues, so I'll have to let them do the food porn...).

So, while it's coming a bit late due to the computer issues, thanks to Nate, Annie, Deb and Albert for an incredible evening of good food, new friends and tons of enjoyment. And thanks most of all to Foodbuzz for allowing it to happen!

Resources:
Tokkuri Tei
611 Kapahulu Avenue
Honolulu, HI
808.739.2800
Lunch: 11 AM- 2 PM, daily
Dinner: 5:30 PM - midnight, daily