Aloha...Or maybe i should say "Ciao" All You Can Eat Spaghetti & Meatballs are back. Thursday nights at Kohala Burger and Taco.We will also be offering some Italian Specials, inspired by my recent culinary trip to Italy.This is my favorite promotion of the year. We transform our little "burger & taco joint" into a cozy Italian style bistro.The Lights are turned down, the candles are lit, the red checked table cloths are out and some of your favorite Italian classics are on the radio. We offer full service dining on these nights and its "first come first serve" Dinner Service Starts promptly at 5 and runs to 7:30 with last seating at 7:15pm. Please feel free to bring your own wine. We have the glasses! Often people ask me about this night and why we do it? I do it as a memorial to my Father in Law, Jim Scimeca. He was the best Italian cook i knew! He personally motivated and inspired my love of cooking and pleasing guests. He lived by the motto "Mi Casa es Su Casa" everyone was welcome and there was always scratch Italian on the stove. Sicilian Pizzas, Ravioli, Ciabatta, Pesto, Braciole...you name it. He loved to cook!
As the holidays neared we could always count on a big meatball feast and we all got in on the action, peeling garlic, chopping fresh parsley and onions, making bread crumbs and getting our hands in the mix...seeing who could make the perfect meatball! Jim never really used written recipes, it just looked like he threw in what he had along with some love. I have taken what I learned and documented (not duplicated of course) what I could, to get as close as I can. I'd like to pass down these "Dad's Meatballs" where i can and keep the tradition alive. The Back Story: In the early 1970's Jim and his wife, somehow "inherited" or bought this legendary little bar, Maynard's in Pacific Beach, San Diego. I'm not sure of all the details and I'm not sure Jim or Maynard are either. But the stories I've been told are quite insane, A biker bar, college bar and surf bum bar all rolled into one. Anyway Jim used to host an "all you can eat spaghetti night" which he served on paper plates for a buck! He used to tell me how he would make a 5 gallon batch of his basil marinara in the only pot they had in the kitchen and sling it out all night long. He would tell me that the tiny kitchen and he would be covered in sauce head to toe. He said it would take him until the next week to get it all cleaned up before it was time to do it all over again. Loads of local college students used to pack in for a weekly carbo load. Jim used to described Maynard's Spaghetti Night , as a kind of a cross, between, that Clint Eastwood movie with all the bikers "Every Which Way But Loose" , Jim Belushi's Animal House and that Scene from the "Blues Brothers" where they sang "Rawhide" and dodged beer bottles, all the while everyone looking for "Gidget".
Kohala Burger and Taco is a bit more low key from what I've described above, but its fun to know our roots. Please join me Thursday's as I prepare the perfect spaghetti. Presented with handmade meatballs made from 100% Hawaii Grass Fed Beef, Hormone and Antibiotic Free. Hot baked bread, Caesar Salads and our own Crispy Fried Zucchini. Eat as much as you like..... "Just Like at Dad's"! Chef Cary
Maynard's
