You risk underestimating mac salad. Yes, it can be an afterthought, a cheap container of bland chain-restaurant carbs that was purchased from Fred Meyer.
As a chilled, creamy counterpoint to the heaps of sweet, grilled meat and two-scoop rice in your takeout clamshell, mac salad, when prepared with respect, becomes a necessary component of any Hawaiian plate lunch.
I grated the carrot and onion in the manner suggested by food writer Alana Kysar in her cookbook, Aloha Kitchen, since I felt like I was taking my mac salad seriously. However, the chefs behind the new Kau Kau restaurant in Northeast Portland, Tracee and Brandon Hirahara, go above and above by brunoising their vegetables into tiny cubes and then par-boiling them until they reach the ideal texture.
According to Brandon Hirahara, most people don’t consider mac salad to be a side dish. Some even claim that they dislike it. Additionally, many places don’t focus much on making it good. There are two ways to do things: the quick way and the elegant way. Our goal at Kau Kau is to emphasize doing things politely.
The married couple, Tracee as chef de cuisine at Eem and Brandon in the same position at Langbaan, met while working at the Halekulani Hotel on their home island of Oahu. They have experience managing some of Portland’s greatest restaurants. Next month, they expect to operate a simple lunch place at 2026 N.E. Alberta St. in Kau Kau, where they intend to use their culinary resumes.
“Our industry experience is the biggest difference for us,” Brandon Hirahara stated. From mom & pops and poke shops to fine dining and opulent hotels, we have nearly 50 years of combined experience in a variety of culinary genres. Tracee was a bartender by trade. While maintaining our authenticity, we are taking some artistic license.
Kau Kau’s Hawaiian combo includes kahlua pig, chicken long rice, two-scoop rice, and mac salad.Thanks to Kau Kau
Hawaiians residing in Oregon may have nostalgia for a Leonard’s malasada or Zippy’s chili. However, anyone who has attempted to sate their appetite for a plate lunch outside of the West Coast knows that Portland, and particularly Northeast Portland, has some excellent options. In addition to the ono fried chicken at Grind Wit Tryz, 4318 N.E. Cully Blvd., and the 30-year-old Noho’s, 4627 N.E. Fremont St., there are hundreds of food carts (with a special shout out to Smokin Fire Fish, which seems to have closed again).
However, Kau Kau already hosted one of the most talked-about pop-ups of 2024 during its summer residency at the Little Griddle on Southeast Hawthorne Boulevard, and the Hiraharas add a degree of technical talent, a list of difficult-to-find foods, and a dash of extra imagination.
A more sophisticated view of Kau Kau’s menu has traditional chicken katsu and garlic shrimp prepared here with ground Maui onion chips in the dredging, presented on a platter with one scoop of Tracee’s mac salad and two scoops of delicious Koshikari rice. For a slight premium, real Mac fans can reverse the ratio. Naturally, there will be SPAM musubis, salmon poke with spicy kimchi, and Zippy s-style chili chicken.
However, the menu also features more complex dishes such meat jun (Korean-Hawaiian fried beef), pastele (a pork stew with Puerto Rican influences), and tako luau (octopus boiled with taro leaves). A saimin noodle soup with oxtail broth, which combines two traditional Hawaiian dishes, will be the first of the kitchen’s house specialties. (And I’m beginning to believe that the Hiraharas are superfans of Zippy.)
According to Brandon Hirahara, the adage “Hawaii is a melting pot” is really accurate. It illustrates how varied Hawaiian food is. It draws inspiration from a variety of cuisines, including Portuguese, Japanese, Korean, and Filipino. Polynesian people are really fond of SPAM. Much of it originated in the era of plantations, when various civilizations coexisted.
In order to add more color and warmth, the restaurant, which is still awaiting its liquor license and several permits, will quickly redecorate. The front of house manager, Kim McAvoy, will mix some tropical drinks to go with the meal. Desserts include, of course, butter mochi and andagi, a savory-sweet doughnut hole that is popular in Okinawa and Hawaii.
According to Brandon Hirahara, we’re cooking simpler, more modest fare than we used to. However, that doesn’t imply that it’s simple or that the cuisine isn’t worth the effort. The idea is straightforward, but putting it into practice is a little trickier.
Kau Kau intends to open at 2026 N.E. Alberta St. by the end of February, subject to permissions. Too short to wait that long? The Hiraharas and former Eem chef Colin Yoshimoto are organizing a joint dinner at Toya Ramen, located at 803 S.E. Stark St., on January 28.
Russell, Michael; [email protected]
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