Hawaiian Grinds

Drew and I love us some Hawaiian grinds (food). If we hear there's a new place that's opened up in Portland, we have to try it. Throughout Portland Metro, we've been to Bamboo Grove, L&L, Noho's, Ate-Oh-Ate, Ohana Hawaiian Cafe, Da Hui, Hawaiian Kine BBQ, Lilikoi, Roxy's Island Grill, Hawaiian Times, Hapa Grill, Aloha Grill and 808 Grinds. Yeah, you could say we've been to a few.

There are many activities that should not be performed on an empty stomach, including dancing, swimming and surgery. Especially one not full of some Hawaiian grinds.Wait, what? For reals though, one should not celebrate a reception with out some great eats. With this in mind, we started thinking about what kind of food we wanted to offer our guests at our at home reception. Getting married on Maui and wanting to bring the islands home for our Portland celebration, we didn't have to think about food long (Who are we kidding? We are always thinking about food!) before we came to the quick conclusion that we wanted to serve some good ol' Hawaiian grinds.

Plate lunch always makes for good grinds!

Now trying to figure out exactly what kind of Hawaiian grinds we wanted to serve wasn't as easy. We tossed all kinds of different ideas around for many months. We made more than one menu. We had to decide if we were going to make all the food ourselves and have more food or if we were going to get it catered and have less. In the end, it all came down to keeping our sanity. As a result, we decided to make a couple things and get the rest catered. But, by who?

We decided to look into catering with Ate-Oh-Ate, Bamboo Grove and 808 Grinds. So far, we've looked at prices, their selection and how the food is served. We aren't wanting full catering, but instead want the option to be able to pick up some catering trays of a few options and then add to it for a spread of tidbits and pupus (appetizers). Because our at home reception starts after lunch and ends before dinner, we don't think it's necessary to have a full menu to serve. I was also very happy with the tidbits and pupus we had at my first bridal shower and thought going in that same direction would work nicely for the Portland celebration. Basically, we'd like to provide our guests with a Polynesian eatery smorgasbord of our Hawaiian favorites.

Luck would have it that Sake One, the sakery that we are members of, is having a members only party tomorrow pairing their sakes with 808 Grinds' food. Score! Not only will we get to pick up our newest shipment of sake, but we will be able get some delicious Hawaiian grinds to have with it. A nice way to do a tasting before deciding which place we want to go with. I'll let you know tomorrow how everything goes.

How did you decide what kind of food to serve at your reception?


All photos are personal photos.