Mac salad, the king of side dishes

We just finished an epic Memorial Day weekend full of friends and fun, and hosted a luau-ish style party! We have never been to Hawaii, so you'll have to forgive me for my lack of authenticity.

We needed to come up with a Hawaiin style main dish and side that was easy to make and a real crowd-pleaser. Luckily, that isn't too hard, these folks know how to eat! My favorite is the "Plate Lunch". The Plate Lunch typically consists of a protein (pork, beef, chicken, or fish) in some sort of BBQ or teriyaki or other awesomeness, served with rice and a side of my all time favorite food ever, macaroni salad - or as the locals like to affectionately call it, "mac salad" for short.

Shaking Beef: tender loving morsels of sweet, salt, and savory

Ever since moving to California, we’ve staked out a couple of extraordinary places that we come back to (mostly to take our friends) even though there is so much more out there to try. One of these places is The Slanted Door in San Francisco. Of course, being in SF, your restaurant is likely not successful unless you use organic produce and ecologically sustainable meat products, and keep it fresh and locally sourced.  Especially if you live at the Ferry Building. 

Charles Phan created an epic establishment with national acclaim, and introduced me to combinations of flavors that I’ve never imagined possible. This man is my hero. Now, I won’t claim that I know a lick about Vietnamese cuisine, and Slanted Door is very distinctively American (California) with a blend of half the world’s countries (isn’t that what America is all about?), but I will say that if the menu reflects elements of what Vietnamese food is, I should really get more involved. A gateway to a world of discovery.