I Found Deb’s!

I’ve been in Hawaii for over 12 years, and in all this time, I have only found one soul food joint. Back in the old days, when I was still active duty navy, my friends and I would pile into our cars, drive out to Kaneohe, and get our eat on at Deb’s.

Picture this: four, five, six weeks out at sea, eating canned food, powdered milk, and drinking bug juice. It won’t be long before a man begins dreamin’ of a home cooked meal, just like Momma used to make.

Deb had closed the doors to her restaurant, for about two years, while she looked for a new location. During that time, her bar-b-que sauce was being sold at Costco, and she did a couple of cooking shows at Hickam, AFB. Basically, we were left adrift, with no home cooked meal to guide us.

It was Valentine’s Day weekend, and I promised Mitsy that I would take her to get some real soul food.

I saw Deb’s number on an advertising banner and called it. No answer. Being ever resourceful, I looked her up on the internet. With printed instructions in hand, we set out on our journey. After several twists and turns (we got lost) we found her new location.

Deb’s menu includes real, southern style bar-b-que, smothered chicken, corn bread, hush puppies, catfish (fried in cornmeal batter), and greens. Just like Momma used to make. And just like Momma, Deb don’t take no smack from her employees, either. Oftentimes, you can hear her voice from the kitchen crack like a whip, keeping her workers on their toes.

After finally finding the place, and then waiting (im)patiently for her to open, it was Time To Eat! I had catfish, greens, baked beans. Mitsy had the pulled pork, macaroni and cheese, corn on the cob, and cornbread. It was every bit as good as I remember it to be.

The only low point of the meal was the peach cobbler. We got some pulled pork and cobbler to go. After resting our stomachs, we decided to try some cobbler. Well, it was terrible. Somebody had an off day when they made that dish. It was burnt, and pretty much tasteless. A big disappointment.

Other than that, Deb’s food is outstanding, and I will be going back.