Aloha GJ!

Hawaiian plates delight and await you in downtown Grand Junction! Chef Dante Tripi went to high school in Montrose, lived and worked as a chef in Hawaii, and now is in Grand Junction creating some delicious foods.

His food truck — Hawaii Street Food — can be found in Grand Junction outside the historic Lowell School on the corner of Seventh Street and Grand Avenue most days unless they are at an event.

Tripi went to culinary school in Vermont, interned at the Four Seasons on the Big Island and then spent years working at restaurants on the island of Oahu.

Chef Tripi told me he’s been working in kitchens since he was 14 years old and “fell in love with the controlled chaos.” Now nearing 45 years old, it is truly his life’s passion. Tripi noted, “After working in fine dining and upscale restaurants and building companies for others, I wanted to create something that was close to the food I loved to eat. I missed the Hawaiian ‘plate lunch’ and wanted to give that to others. Hawaiian comfort food mixed with what I’ve learned in the past 25-plus years. I needed to break away from the upscale and make food that makes me and others happy.”

I had the pleasure of tasting his delicious food while at the Grand Junction Symphony’s wonderful “Sinners & Saints” event at Restoration Vineyards in Palisade this summer. Everyone I was with enjoyed their food.

The portions are generous and include a variety of sides. One person ordered the Katsu Chicken which features “golden fried panko crusted crispy chicken cutlet” and is served with Hawaiian macaroni salad, pineapple ginger slaw and steamed rice.

We also tried the Ahi Poke plate with marinated tuna topped with avocado, jalapeños, ginger and sesame seeds and the Crispy Shrimp plate with tempura battered shrimp coated with a sweet chili Vietnamese sauce.

Other items on the menu include Colorado cross cut short ribs, Colorado pulled pork, and spam Musubi. Currently, they have a special if you visit between 2-4 p.m. where you can upgrade to an Hawaiian Mix Plate (which includes your choice of two proteins) for free.

I asked the chef about his food and he told me they use local whenever they can and that their Loco Moco plate features VanWinkle Ranch beef and is quite popular. (Be sure to watch for my upcoming column about the inspiring Janie VanWinkle.) This dish includes a grilled “juicy Colorado ranch-raised beef patty” on white rice, smothered with brown gravy and topped with a fried egg.

They also make malasadas — special Portuguese donuts that have an interesting history in Hawaii.

Portuguese immigrants in the late 1800s traveled a long way to Hawaii to work in sugarcane fields and later introduced these delicious donuts. (I recommend the historical novel, Honololu, by Alan Brennert, to learn more.)

I haven’t tried these fried treats at Hawaii Street Food yet, but they are filled with mango custard and I bet they are going to be amazing.

I love the statement Hawaii Street Food has on its Facebook page — “Food unites people in Hawaii. It centers on aloha spirit and ohana ties. We bring those warm island feelings to you, right here in Colorado.” (Aloha is a common greeting and also means love and compassion. Ohana means family and includes relatives, friends and chosen loved ones.)

Beginning in November, Hawaii Street Food will be open 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Thursday, noon to 8 p.m.

Friday and Saturday, and for brunch on Sundays from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.. As for the brunch on Sundays, Tripi told me he is “excited to bring the island-style breakfast to Grand Junction.”

For more information about this new business, be sure to follow them on social media. Chef Tripi will also be updating their website soon — www.hawaiistreetfood. net — and this will have additional information. Aloha!

OTHER FOOD NEWS

Colorado Mesa University is having a “Block Party of a Century” event from 5:30-10 p.m. tonight on Main Street in downtown Grand Junction.

They are celebrating the school’s 100th anniversary with a variety of foods from Trail Life, Bin 707, Chicken ‘N The Bag, Rockslide, Taco Party, Bravo’s Pizza, Wave Drinks and Sweets, and Carlson Vineyards. There will be live music, a beer garden, and more at this fun party that is open to the public.

Josephine’s recently opened in Fruita at 169 S. Mulberry St.. This Italian restaurant is sure to be very popular. They are run by the owners of the delicious Fidel’s in Palisade. I am planning on visiting them in the near future.

Sauvage Spectrum Estate Winery & Vineyard brought home some terrific wine wins! Their 2024 Zweigelt won “Best in Show” and “Best Red Wine” for the Governor’s Cup competition.

Co-founder and winemaker, Patric Matysiewski, commented “Zweigelt may be Austrian by birth, but here in Colorado’s high desert, it takes on an identity that’s entirely its own — vibrant, with a simple complexity.”

Stella’s Fried Pork Tenderloin restaurant is in their “soft opening” phase at 811 S. Seventh St. across from The Daily Sentinel. Two Iowa transplants started this restaurant to bring fried pork tenderloin and more to Grand Junction. Their breakfast and lunch menu looks like a crowd pleaser.

I look forward to checking them out soon.

If you have any food and beverage-related events or information you want readers to know about, please email me at AllThingsFoodChristine@ gmail. com.

Hawaii Food Truck’s popular “Loco Moco” plate features beef from VanWinkle Ranch. Photo courtesy of Hawaii Food Truck. (Christine Gallagher photo)

This Mix Plate has crispy shrimp and spam musubi on it in addition to the sides. (Photo courtesy of Hawaii Street Food.)

I’m looking forward to trying the mango custard-filled donuts called malasadas at Hawaii Street Food. (Christine Gallagher photo)

The stunning site of Palisade’s Restoration Vineyards was where I first tasted the delicious foods of Hawaii Street Food while listening to great music from the Grand Junction Symphony. (Christine Gallagher photo)

Chef Dante Tripi of Hawaii Street Food with some malasadas. (Photo by Holly Tripi.)

Hawaii Food Truck is a delightful place to get delicious food in Grand Junction. (Christine Gallagher photo)

FOOD NEWS

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