Appetizers, bar bites, tapas, small plates—they all are interchangeable names for little finger foods that work as snacks, catered hors d'oeuvres or sports-gathering nibbles. Operators are coming up with decadent ideas lately.
I remember my first experience with the Hawaiian version of this. I attended a wedding reception in Hawaii, and while the wedding party was predisposed with photography, the bride’s father bid us spectators to the beach reception tent for pupus while we waited for the wedding party to join us and begin dinner. I asked someone. “Did I hear him correctly? Did he just say poo poos?” I had no idea what he was talking about.
Since then, I have become well familiar with the Hawaiian version of tidbits. When in Hawaii, where I live now, pupus are not necessarily tropical, but they are local. For chefs at-large, a Hawaiian pupus theme provides a base from which to draw when trying to devise a trendy theme.
If you’re going to use the term pupu, you likely will have to define it for guests. As you introduce Hawaii into your conversation, it would be best to include some common Hawaiian foods—and this assignment will make you reach away from pineapple and other tropicals. Here are a few common Hawaiian items for the pupus themed appetizer menu:
- Poke, which is most often raw ahi tuna chunks mixed with mayo and onions at a minimum, takes on snackability when featured as nachos or tacos. For example, the poke nacho pupus at Restaurant 604 in Honolulu include spicy ahi poke, won ton chips and sweet Thai chili sauce. The poke tacos at Hula Grill Waikiki combine marinated raw ahi, avocado, maui onion and wasabi aioli.
- Spam musubi is probably the most iconic use of Spam in Hawaii and is a common portable snack or lunch item. It’s simply pressed rice with a slice of Spam atop or between two “patties” of pressed rice, all held together with a nori wrap.
- Filipino lumpia egg rolls may not seem Hawaiian, but with a large Filipino contingency on the islands, it’s as Filipino/Hawaiian as it gets. The fried eggrolls usually are either filled with minced vegetables or banana.
If Hawaiian pupus don’t seem to be your thing, take inspiration from hand-held LTOs across the industry for some snack and appetizer inspiration. Perhaps the key is not to limit your ideas to lunch and dinner fare.
To its permanent menu, Hardee’s just added French Toast Dips consisting of five oblong pieces of powdered-sugar sprinkled French toast and served with a side of syrup.
Even McDonald’s came out with a little snack for an unspecified limited time—Glazed Pull Apart Donut. That is seven small glazed doughnut holes stuck together and “suitable for sharing,” which is what it’s all about.
In the spirit of pulling things apart and sharing, how about Little Caesars’ Crazy Calzony LTO. They call it a pizza-calzone mashup with a “calzone-like crust stuffed with garlic white sauce, mozzarella cheese and julienne pepperoni sprinkled with Parmesan cheese and served with a signature tomato sauce for dipping.
Finger foods suitable as snacks, sides or bar food have plenty of reach, especially if they are items consumers would not make on their own. If not themed, as in Hawaiian pupus, at least aim for craveability. Tell me what you think.
Jody
