Ohana!

Venue: Ohana Hawaiian Cafe
Location visited: 6320 NE Sandy Blvd, Portland, OR.
Website: http://www.ohanahawaiiancafe.com
To Visit? It's like visiting family :)

Gracefully light, delightfully refreshing, bursting of flavor, and a neon highlighter yellow. I'm talking about the Pineapple Shaved Ice at Ohana Hawaiian Cafe. The shaved ice here also comes in a viriety of flavors, some even in low-sugar. Don't let the colors intimidate you. The radioactive looking dessert packs flavor in this laid back environment. Here is where orange colored walls surround tables centered with cute pineappl- shaped salt and pepper shakers with choices of regular or low sodium soy sauce bottles.

Alternatives and choices are no problem since the menu boasts of combos featuring chicken, ribs, beef, tofu, and more with a side of rice or noodles, and salad (great light vinegrette dressing) or mac salad (light and not at all bland)! Did I mention the ribs, among other things don't just come in the commonly served teriyaki sauce?

Ohana offers an alternative seasoning to the usual beloved dishes: a mixed rubbing of sea salt, garlic, and ginger. The Short Ribs I tried were seasoned just perfectly and not dried from over grilling. And it's not home on the island without spam. The Spam Musubi is a grilled teriyaki glazed spam on a rice cube wrapped with nori (seaweed). It's not a bad dish to try if you're a noobie wanting to try it once and for all, or an old time spam lover. It's a slight shame that the rice here is a bit more on the sticky side. That and their Ohana Ice Tea, though donning great flavor, is overly sweet it tastes like it came straight out of a clover honney bear bottle. Shocked sweet taste buds aside, fish dishes and tofu steaks are also available if you happen to not be feeling so carnivorous on any given day, though the Kalua Pig and Teriyaki meats definitely deliver to your taste buds. Their special menu also provides for tropical desserts (Guava Chiffon Pie and Coconut Cake) leaving you with a feeling of blissful fullness. Aloha Ohana!