When we opened our restaurant, Holy Smokes BBQ & Whole Hog House in April 2004, we had designed and installed a whole hog smoker in our kitchen. It was perfect and would cook a small pig in several hours. Every Wednesday, we would cook a whole hog on that spit and serve it in the evening. The kitchen would be the hottest place to be on those days between the hog cooker and the wood oven, but it was a very special place to be.
Either Chef Seth or Papalu would butcher up the various parts of the pig each week. Customers didn't see the whole hog, but they got to taste the tender sweet meat of a pig cooked with love!
After the destruction of the restaurant in 2007, we continued to do more "hog dinners". PapaLu would mesmerize those interested with his explanations of the bits and pieces of the pig while giving out tidbits to taste. It was a very special dinner, one that honored the animal itself.
It is emotional to look back to see where the curve went on this day, our first year at the Deli (April 22, 2011). Not to worry, we always seem to find ourselves ahead of some sort of curve.
