Hilo Pizza Co.
Located at Puainako Town Center in Hilo is Hilo Pizza Company. Owner Tom Elliott came to Waimea to retire. He had a restaurant in San Francisco in the Mission District, called Rustic. But the opportunity to open a pizzeria brought Tom out of retirement.
Tom mixes his own flour combinations to make the perfect pizza crust, makes his own sauces, and hand stretches the dough.
I have been to a cooking school in Sorrento to learn how the people of Naples, who invented pizza, make their famous dish. The finished crust is similar to bread, nice bite and not hard or crusty. Hilo Pizza Company’s pizza crust reminded me of the pizza of Naples.
On my recent trip to Nagano, Japan, we went to my girlfriend Yumie’s oldest son’s Italian and Pizza Restaurant. I thoroughly enjoyed his crab and corn pizza. His crust was nice and soft and not chewy, his sauce was a white sauce and compatible with the corm and crab.
Hilo Pizza Company’s white pizza with house made white sauce, shredded mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses reminded me so much of the pizza I had in Nagano.
Some of the other pizza selections at Hilo Pizza Company include bruschetta (house made red sauce, fresh mozzarella, basil, pecorino, Romano, oregano, mild Calabrian pepper flakes), chicken pesto (chicken breast, house made pesto, with mozzarella cheese), Italian special (prosciutto, soppressata, pecorino, Romano, red onion, mozzarella, provolone, arugula and Italian vinaigrette), Reuben (house made red sauce, corned beef, sauerkraut, mozzarella, Swiss cheese, with Russian dressing), pepperoni (house red sauce, pepperoni and shredded mozzarella), and cheese (house red sauce, shredded mozzarella and oregano).
Although they are not a gluten-free kitchen, nor have a dedicated oven, they do offer gluten-free crusts. Call (808) 657-4992, or 65 PIZZA, to place an order, but it doesn’t take much time to have one made to order if you just go to their location.
Peppercorn Spice House
Peppercorn Spice House is located next to the McDonald’s in Keaau, across the street from Keaau Shopping Center. Grayson and Fa Nguyen ran Lemongrass Restaurant for 20 years, then sold it.
They opened Peppercorn Spice House about six months ago, serving Chinese, Vietnamese, Thai, Japanese katsu, and Korean chicken dishes. Grayson said their pad thai is quite popular.
My friend Lisa’s favorite is minced garlic soft-shell crab, salt and pepper style. We also ordered the tom kha soup, a creamy coconut-base soup with tomatoes and oyster mushrooms and crispy eggplant. Their garlic udon noodles are quite tasty.
Note about cooking oil:
One of my pet peeves is rancid oil. I am super sensitive about this and can tell when a restaurant does not change their oil in their deep dryer often. I know at White Guava Cafe, oil is changed every other day and it shows in the finished product. I have thrown away food that smells of oil that has not been changed for a while.
Restaurant service and good food
After just returning from Japan, and knowing the pride taken when serving food, it is difficult for me to accept bad service, waitresses who are moody and take it out on the customer, and food served that is not up to par. In Japan tipping is not customary and yet the waitresses are courteous, not expecting any kind of gratuity in return for their service.
We were at a restaurant in town recently. The waitress brought out an order in a very shallow dish and spilled it on the table and on my guest, and then said, “I knew this would happen.” My guest said, “If you knew you would do this, why didn’t you change the bowl to a deeper one?”
Sometimes what we may think is common sense may not be to someone else.
Surinam cherries
We have a Surinam cherry tree in our backyard and it has been producing cherries. My grandson picks a handful every day and we have now a gallon of cherries in the freezer. When freezing the cherries, it is recommended that the large seed be removed, making more room for more cherries.
Eugenia uniflora, also known as Brazilian, Surinam or cayenne cherry, is native to South America and is often used as a hedge.
In Bermuda it is planted as an ornamental but is now listed as out of control and as an invasive plant.
To make Surinam jelly, place the cherries in a pot and add equal amount of water and heat until the water boils. Boil for about 10 minutes. Strain through a sieve and measure the amount of liquid. Add equal amounts of sugar and boil until the mixture reaches 220 degrees F. Place in sterilized jelly jars.
Email Audrey Wilson at audreywilson808@gmail.com.