Grinding away at work on Tuesday (no, not eating... actual work), I hear a faint..... "lance..... laaance".

Who? Wat?

Peek up my head from my half-walled cubicle like a meerkat, scanning left to right looking for da source.

Opso.

Eh, lo-lo. Nobody calling you.

"Lance!"

Ho! Gotta be somebody.

Turn around dis time and who do I see? Uncle Rodney staring me down with his infamous grin like he....... uh...... dat's fo' a'nODDah blog. 

So I stand up and walk towards da front of da office and who do I see pop out his head?

opso!

Now they BOTH grinning........  

UR:  "You ate lunch already?" (It's 11:30am)

BL:  "Uh, nope." (It's 11:30am.... who eats lunch 'dis early?)  "Wassap opso!"

UR:  "We going lunch... you like come?"

BL:  "Shoots. Let me get my wallet." (Readjusting my body clock as I walk back to my cubicle)   

So we head out walkin' to a little dine-in Uncle Rodney picked out (sorry, pictahs kinda blurry cause wen I normally take pictahs I take long time but we had guest so had to rush)...................

Cafe Imperial Tonkatsu House
Lobby area of a commercial/condo building on the corner of 725 Kapiolani Blvd and Coral Street

It's a nice cozy little place with about a dozen tables and of course.........

A bar!....... One of da first things opso noticed.     

Mostly...... "katsu" stuff and da prices not fo' da faint of heart.... especially fo' lunch

Tonkatsu sauce, housemade salad dressing and "spices"

All the meals come with miso. And yes, there was tofu and green onions sitting on da bottom.

Uncle Rodney had da Oroshi Katsu with a ponzu dipping sauce

I thought opso ordered sake.... but it was Uncle Rodney's ponzu sauce.

opso opted fo' a classic Chicken Katsu Curry
(had to hurry and take pictah cause I nevah like his food get cold... plus dis was da SECOND shot.... ai-goo)

I had da Katsu Donburi 

Da curry smelled good... well, like curry. They added brocolli to it which I've seen a couple times before but not too often.

Da katsu was ono! Very soft and da breading wasn't "overpowering" so you could taste both da chicken and da.... uh, katsu. It wasn't over cooked either but fo' da price we should of had two slabs each.

Uncle Rodney said his was ono too but have you heard him evah say anything bad?   

opso said his was ono too but da Braddah was sweating like da curry was too hot.... disappointing Braddah.... disappointing. How da heck you handle my kim chee?  

So how does Cafe Imperial Tonkatsu House rate on da Shaka-nack meter?

Tree shakas and Bumbye

If you love katsu then you'd really like dis place but da portions and da price jus' nevah do it fo' me. 

I know kinda weird.... back to back reviews but had to share! I don't venture out for lunch much during work cause I usually surf but dis was a welcome treat! Dat kinda made my day and da reason fo' dis Happy Feel Good Friday blog!

SHOUT OUT:  A huge Mahalos to opso cause he sprang for lunch treating Uncle Rodney and I! (We did leave dat tip though - it was da least we could do). Next time we buy.... how's Mickey D's sound?  

OPSO
(ohp-so)

Haole Translation: No more

Use: Wen you no mo' nothing

Sentence: “Ai-goo, money opso.”

Sentence: “Comments opso.”

Da Wife and I have always wanted to check dis place out but nevah had any reason to drive to Kapahulu.

Now we had a reason..... she was hungry and she wanted to eat there..... dat's good enough for me!

If you know where or driven by the new Kapahulu Safeway, you'd probably seen this (and jus' fo' all da Kwonics who always say no can see da pics... da pic box get one link - let me know if dat no work):

*UPDATE: Ok the link on da pics no work, so try CLICK HERE if you no can see da pics below:

Entrance fronting Kapahulu Ave

Now you're thinking what's so special about burgers on the edge? How's about ordering to begin with? 

If you've evah watched Seinfeld.... let's just say da ordering style is "Soup Nazi-ish". 

I am so glad it wasn't busy wen we got there cause we must have just stood there and stared at dat menu for ovah 15 minutes first wondering "how" to order but more importantly "wat" to order! (WWD!)  Wen we finally decided wat we was going to get and "thought" we knew how to order, da cashier politely stopped us and "guided" us through their ordering procedure.

We happily obliged. Well, considering it made his job easier and our ordering more simple. So as they got da grill going and da burgah toppings ready to go, Da Wife and I decided to enjoy our meal in the outdoor dining area. Did I mention dat it was table service as well?

Sorry, kinda blurry but dat's Da Wife's and I's hamburgers on da left

Fresh toppings await

Waiting for our food.... can you spot Da Wife?    

There are a few indoor tables but no fun dat kine

All your condiments ready to go plus... towelettes which I thought was a nice touch considering you'll be eating with your hands

Da Wife had a specialty burger called BB&B which is Bacon, Barbeque & Bleu.

I had mine's made "a la carte" with pepper jack cheese, garlic aioli, lettuce, sundried tomatoes and roasted red peppers

Not too make you any more hungry but hea's wat it looked like right before being chomped down on......

Open wide!

We also heard about their truffle oil fries and had to try 'em too!

Da damage.......

One thing to note about burgers on the edge, the hamburger itself comes two ways... and then two ways. You can either get premium ground chuck or the Wagyu beef and then you can either get it 1/3 or 1/2 pound sizes.

Da Wife had da premium ground chuck. I had da Wagyu beef.

Get da Wagyu beef.

They were both ono but the Wagyu had more.... flavah.

The truffle fries were damn ono! I'm a fry freak so wen I say it's ono... it's ono! Ok, did I just geek out?    :roll:       A little on da salty side but nonetheless compliments da fancy burgahs quite nicely.

Da place is a little small so wen get busy, it'll be elbow room only.

Da price? Kinda expensive for one burgah but considering da type of beef and da fresh ingrediments and toppings I would say it's about par for wat it is but defintely not something dat I would (could afford) to grind every week... not even every oddah week.

Good thing we had some GC's to burn AND we still get enough fo' one mo' visit! Cheee-hooo!

So how does burgers on the edge rate on da Shaka-nack meter?

Four shakas and an Au' right!

It would have gotten five shakas easily but da price just a tad high fo' da average Joe to eat occasionally - imho.

So if you in da Kapahulu area, have a few bucks to burn and craving an awesome hamburgah, like we say at WWD!.......

Go check 'em go check 'em go!

Bumbye da next review..... Keep your toes in da sand and your shakas flyin' high!

Mid-Life Crisis (MLC) blogger Rodney Lee (aka Uncle Rodney) posted a blog on Feb.18 titled, "Just Go Out There And Have Fun" and posed a question to me following a response he had to one of his posters (just so happens dat da poster is a Kwonic too!)    :

KAN:  I know some people (not me) who thrive on competitiveness-the act of competition and giving their all IS fun.

UR Response:  You talking about Brudduh Lance? Let's ask him when he's out to win, is he also out to have fun?

BL:  Sorry Uncle Rodney, I was tryin' and tryin' and there's no way I could fit my response without full on posting a blog in your blog because there's A LOT to say - it's simple but not.

UR's blog had asked about having fun in sports and we see eye to eye in general - well, literal too cause I tink we same height.    And here's a definition he posted,

I love dis kine philosophical/observation stuff (as you guys who frequently read have noticed by now) and wen Uncle Rodney asked... I couldn't resist. Well on with it......

First, I am very - ok, extremely - competitive but I value "fun" more than anything else.

How can that be? Well let me try explain wat I tink competition is.

Being competitive for me is more about doing the best I can and always striving to do more than I can. It's not about "beating" the other team or running up points on the scoreboard. It's especially more "intense" when I know I can do it whether I've did it before or not. So really - at least for me - it's competition against myself. Then I use that "edge" to try and "win" over the person/team I'm playing against.

For example, I've been playing all kine sports all of my life - and still to this day - and I'll tell ya that when people first meet me on the field or court - regardless of sport - the first impression they get is, "This little guy is playing? I'm going to cream 'em!"

Without getting into details, let's just say that I LOVE da underdog role and it's "fun" when I get to knock 'em on their okole! If I'm on the losing end of that battle, it just pushes me more to do better the next time and keep fighting.

Fun, I believe, is the emotional aspect that's displayed in everything we do whether it be sports, work or play. I've had fun losing, winning, at work, at home.... everywhere and anywhere!

Everyone concentrates and works hard. There are serious moments and times when your face looks like you're on the "throne"..... but how can you tell you're actually having fun?

By looking at their faces and their actions.

Look what happens when LeBron or Shaq goes up for a dunk... their face is pure intensity and concentration before and during the dunk..... the fun comes the moment they flush dat ball in! Look at LeBron's grin or Shaq's "dance". Look at da chest bumps, da hard high five's, da bench players jumping up and down, the crowd going wild.... That's when you know EVERYONE's having fun.

Look when Chad Johnson or most anybody scores a touchdown. They all wanna celebrate and "have fun". Have you seen their faces? Have you seen their dances? You can tell.

UR brought up Michelle Wie. Recently, before entering the final round she says she's just going to "go out there and have fun" but later it seemed to be her demise quote of the day. I believe she lacked something and she wasn't having "fun" either. Have you ever seen her giggle on the course or smile even? I mean a whole hearted smile - not da kine she always does: presses her lips tightly together like she's forcing it. We've seen that hundreds of times already.... no fun.

Look at Tadd Fujikawa last year at the Sony Open... you could tell he was having fun by his monstrous grins he flashed BETWEEN shots - not before his shot prep, not during his swing but AFTAH! And guess wat? When he was having fun, da crowd was having fun!

Fun is not necessarily the "celebration" itself - although some athletes could make a mini-series about it -  but it's the exhibition of emotions. That's when you remember if it's fun or not. You could make a fantastic play and when someone compliments you on it, your face lights up and you smile... now DAT was fun!

When you really think about it, fun only happens when you feel like you've been involved. When a teammate does well and you share in the moment (some people are not team players hence the "J" effect) you end up having fun yourself.

If you're ever on the spot as an individual like bowling needing a strike in the last frame to win it or 10 feet away for a birdie putt or on the free throw line needing a basket to win it and if you miss you surly won't be having fun because of just the emotional let down. You could of had a fantastic game and had fun through it all but it takes just that one moment to take all that fun away.

I'll tell you right now, writing a blog is NO FUN! But the interaction from the responses IS. You wouldn't believe how many times I smile when I read a post (dat's why I keep asking you guys to comment. *hint hint*). I have FUN from THAT.

Don't believe me? Ask Uncle Rodney, Queenie or Leslie. When they write, they're not smiling but when I pass by their desk and I see them grinning at the screen.... I KNOW THEY'RE ON THEIR BLOG!  I shoud paparazzi them da next time I walk by yeah?   :cool:

The next time you're at your keiki's ball game, watch them throughout the whole game and watch for their moments of "fun". You'll see the ones who don't enjoy the game are the ones who always say the game - or sport - is junk and "no fun". It's cause they're not laughing, smiling and enjoying it... they're NOT having fun. If there are more fun moments than not, you'll always be having fun.

Better yet, check out da peeps at work. You can see who enjoys their work or not. Or better yet a pah-tay - take a look around and see who's having "fun" and who's not.... you'd be surprised to see how many people truly are and how many just "say" they are.

Fun for me isn't so much about da wins and losses, it's about well.... having fun! 

So Have You Evah had "fun"?

You bettah believe at da next Triad pah-tay..... I'll be lookin'! Cause I bettah not be da only one having fun!

Howzit!

Last week Uncle Rodney posed a very interesting question to me on his MLC (Mid-Life Crisis blog) -

Wat is da question?  ........You have to tune in tomorrow to find out!  

I know I know........ Wassap Wit Dat! 

To tell you da truth, I've been thinking about it all weekend and to put my words into writing is proving to be a bit difficult without it being a full blown disertation.

Stay tuned for tomorrow's entry and hopefully we'll get a few more Lurkahs - and some MIA Kwonics/Lanceformers - out to post.........     

Bumbye, keep your toes in da sand and your shaka's flyin' high!

In today's news you mostly hear about how bad the economy is, professional athletes juicing up (steroids) and even high school teams running up a score 100-0. 

But every once in awhile we get a true Feel Good Friday story to share as well to.... feel good about.     

Read on and you'll see what I mean..........

By Tim Dahlberg | The Associated Press

The coach never considered any other option.

It didn’t matter that his DeKalb, Ill., High School basketball team had ridden a bus two and a half hours to get to Milwaukee, then waited another hour past game time to play. Didn’t matter that the game was close, or that this was a chance to beat a big-city team.

Something else was on Dave Rohlman’s mind when he asked for a volunteer to shoot two free throws awarded to his team on a technical foul in the second quarter. His senior captain raised his hand, ready to go to the line as he had many times before.

Only this time it was different.

“You realize you’re going to miss them, don’t you?” Rohlman said.

Darius McNeal nodded his head. He understood what had to be done.

It was a Saturday night in February, and the Barbs were playing a nonconference game on the road against Milwaukee Madison. It was the third meeting between the two schools, who were developing a friendly rivalry that spanned two states.

The teams planned to get together after the game and share some pizzas and soda. But the game itself almost never took place.

Hours earlier, the mother of Milwaukee Madison senior captain Johntell Franklin died at a local hospital. Carlitha Franklin had been in remission after a five-year fight with cervical cancer, but she began to hemorrhage that morning while Johntell was taking his college ACT exam.

Her son and several of his teammates were at the hospital late that afternoon when the decision was made to turn off the life-support system. Carlitha Franklin was just 39.

“She was young and they were real close,” said Milwaukee coach Aaron Womack Jr., who was at the hospital. “He was very distraught and it happened so suddenly he didn’t have time to grieve.”

Womack was going to cancel the game, but Franklin told him he wanted the team to play. And play they did, even though the game started late and Milwaukee Madison dressed only eight players.

Early in the second quarter, Womack saw someone out of the corner of his eye. It was Franklin, who came there directly from the hospital to root his teammates on.

The Knights had possession, so Womack called a time out. His players went over and hugged their grieving teammate. Fans came out of the stands to do the same.

“We got back to playing the game and I asked if he wanted to come and sit on the bench,” Womack said during a telephone interview.

“No,” Franklin replied. “I want to play.”

There was just one problem. Since Franklin wasn’t on the pre-game roster, putting him in meant drawing a technical foul that would give DeKalb two free throws.

Though it was a tight game, Womack was willing to give up the two points. It was more important to help his senior guard and co-captain deal with his grief by playing.

Over on the other bench, though, Rohlman wasn’t so willing to take them. He told the referees to forget the technical and just let Franklin play.

“I could hear them arguing for five to seven minutes, saying, ’We’re not taking it, we’re not taking it,“’ Womack said. “The refs told them, no, that’s the rule. You have to take them.”

That’s when Rohlman asked for volunteers, and McNeal’s hand went up.

He went alone to the free throw line, dribbled the ball a couple of times, and looked at the rim.

His first attempt went about two feet, bouncing a couple of times as it rolled toward the end line. The second barely left his hand.

It didn’t take long for the Milwaukee players to figure out what was going on.

They stood and turned toward the DeKalb bench and started applauding the gesture of sportsmanship. Soon, so did everybody in the stands.

“I did it for the guy who lost his mom,” McNeal told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. “It was the right thing to do.”

Franklin would go on to score 10 points, and Milwaukee Madison broke open the game in the second half to win 62-47. Afterward, the teams went out for pizza, two players from each team sharing each pie.

Franklin stopped by briefly, thankful that his team was there for him.

“I got kind of emotional but it helped a lot just to play,” he said. “I felt like I had a lot of support out there.”

Carlitha Franklin’s funeral was last Friday, and the school turned out for her and her son. Cheerleaders came in uniform, and everyone from the principal and teachers to Johntell’s classmates were there.

“Even the cooks from school showed up,” Womack said. “It lets you know what kind of kid he is.”

Basketball is a second sport for the 18-year-old Franklin, who says he has had some scholarship nibbles and plans to play football in college. He just has a few games left for the Knights, who are 6-11 and got beat 71-36 Tuesday night by Milwaukee Hamilton.

It hasn’t been the greatest season for the team, but they have stuck together through a lot of adversity.

“We maybe don’t have the best basketball players in the world but they go to class and take care of business,” Womack said. “We have a losing record but there’s life lessons going on, good ones.”

None so good, though, as the moment a team and a player decided there were more important things than winning and having good stats.

Yes, DeKalb would go home with a loss. But it was a trip they’ll never forget.

“This is something our kids will hold for a lifetime,” Rohlman said. “They may not remember our record 20 years from now, but they’ll remember what happened in that gym that night.”

————

Tim Dahlberg is a national sports columnist for The Associated Press. Write to him at tdahlberg@ap.org

 

Now DAT is truly a FEEL GOOD FRIDAY story! Mahalos to 9th Island Girl for sharing that with da WWD! Hui.

I can't even describe wat da heck was going through my mind aftah I read dat story but I do know dat human spirit is still alive out there in dis topsy turvy world..... but why is it dat these kind of stories come out of - wat appears to be - small town schools/communities? Has da "big city" no compassion? Is it so dog-eat-dog dat we fo'get to actually care?

I'm choke glad dat at least for one night in Milwaukee, sports helped a troubled soul cope and brought out da best in countless more. Sometimes it takes a tragedy to gain perspective of all things good and that's all it takes to keep the faith showing that good will is still alive and kickin' in this world.

Hilary Cooper said it best,

"Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away."