Garlic AND ginger? yep! at first i thought this was the very first festival for "Garlic and Ginger".... but then taking a look at the website, apparently they brought it back per "popular demand". good thing too! i missed the first one! check out this crowd! geez! even with $3 admission, and over-priced booze.... they still managed to draw a huge crowd! luckily, i got in for free, courtesy of YELP! :D first thing in my mouth - dried, smoked aku. SO GOOD! this was about $5, so not too, too bad. the smoke flavor wasn't too strong, and it was nicely fishy. Next up - Beef and Pork Garlic Sugo on Baguette with Arugula and Garlic Vinaigrette. what a mouthful! this sandwich was pretty messy, as you can imagine. because there were so many dishes to try, i shared this with a friend. i thought it was pretty good, and so did my sharing partner.... but my 2 other friends that tried it did not agree. one said it was too sweet, and another just thought it was horrible.... perhaps i tried the only good sandwich that was made? ah well.... where do i begin?! i know..... the bacon.... always start with bacon. this was several rashers of roasted garlic candied bacon. so good, i got them TWICE. up top you'll see the Braised Bone-In Short Ribs with Country-Style Garlic Mashed Potatoes topped with Fried Garlic. this was AMAZING. the meat was very tender, the mashed potatoes and gravy were fantastic, and the fried garlic just pushed everything right over the edge into awesomeness. in the right corner you'll find the Hot Ginger Chicken Slider with a Cucumber Asian Slaw and Kim Chee Aioli, with Maui Onion Potato Chips. this was just ok.... i think it was because i wasn't in the mood for more sandwiches at that point. BRING ME MORE MEATS! that very pretty dish you see up there is the Fried Garlic Ko Chu Jang and Garlic Glazed Pork Shank; Kahuku Corn & Edamame Succotash, House Made Pancetta, Polenta Fries. this was hands down my favorite dish at the festival. the pork was tender, the edamame succotash was delicious, and the polenta was even better. everything about this dish, from presentation (at an outdoor festival for crying out loud!), to flavor was incredible. as you can see.... it is not a proper festival without drunkards. here is the booze table, where a friend of mine got a ginger flavored cocktail that was so horrible, she couldnt even give it away for free. WOW......
aside from that, the food was damn good. OH before i forget! i also tried... but did not take pictures of..... Garlic ice cream from Dave's ice cream, Grilled Garlic Steak with Roasted Garlic Mash and Cold Shrimp Salad with a Ginger Miso Sesame dressing, Ginger seared fresh island fish topped with roasted garlic and served with vegetable orzo salad. sorry for not taking pictures of all the other dishes..... i was too busy eating them!
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