The Missus and I were looking at some of my old photo albums and flipped the page to my third grade class photo. I started cracking up and the Missus gave me a quizzical look. I then pointed something out to Her. All the boys were wearing long pants (no shorts were allowed in those days), Aloha Shirts (after all, it as class photo day), the girls Mumu's, but…….most of us were barefoot! I explained to the Missus that until the fifth grade, many of us actually did walk to school barefoot (though not uphill both ways). I mean this was the late 60's, early 70's, and things were different then. Plus, as I mentioned in my post on my "old neighborhood", Ali'iolani Elementary was just a block away from where we lived.
And this kinda brings me forward to this post. On our last trip back "home", the Missus asked me when I first remember having poke. We had just finished doing some stuffs at Ala Moana and I decided to show Her. Way back, when I was in the 5th or 6th grade, my Mom had an appointment in the Fort Ruger area. I was raised by a single parent and my Mom never ever drove, so we had to catch the Ruger bus and I waited while my Mom did her thing. After the appointment, we walked over to Ruger Market, and that's where I first remember having poke I really liked, over 50 years ago! I'd probably had it before; of course during the holidays there was sashimi and stuff, but I remembered the poke from Ruger Market clearly. Later, when I was older, my friends and I would drive on over after going to Cromwell's (I can't believe the cove is still around, though maybe not for long) and grab some poke, then go for a drive around Diamond Head Road and eat at the lookout or hele on over to Kapiolani Park or Paki Park and grind there.
So, we drove on over….and heck, I hadn't been to Ruger Market since before I left the islands; which would be over 25 years, but the place looks pretty much the same.
Though it's more of a seafood- Filipino/Hawaiian restaurant these days. When I was growing up, this was the neighborhood grocery for the area.
Different grades of Ahi is available, you can get poke made with pre-frozen Ahi (nah) or with fresh Ahi, what is called "Auction Fresh Ahi" on the sign.
You know what we got, right?
We'd already had some small stuffs to eat at Foodland Farms and this was a kind of a spur-of-the-moment thing, so we didn't go too crazy. We got one poke bowl, with brown rice, the chicharrons looked really good, so we got that, and also some boiled peanuts.
And then we headed off…..just like those hanabuddah days, I drove around Diamond Head Road to the lookout.
You can find the Amelia Earhart Plaque here as well.
As well as the "best seat in the house"….at least on this day.
And the local "security detail".
We headed on down and found parking and a table at Kapiolani Park and proceeded to dig in.
I was surprised to find that the kimchi was decent; not overly fermented, but still quite refreshing. The brown rice added a nice nuttiness to the bowl. The quality of the fish was good; tender and buttery in texture without connective tissue. We preferred the restrained, classic, soy-saltiness, with a hint of oceany sweetness of the Local Style Ahi. The Spicy Shoyu wasn't very spicy and was a bit on the salty side. Still, the quality and prep was way above anything here in San Diego.
The Chicharron was as good as it looked.
Crisp, with a slight crunch; porky and savory, which just enough salt. Talk about a guilty pleasure.
As for the boiled peanuts, well, the Missus was saving them for later. Though this little fella tried to make a move on the legume.
The Missus loves Her boiled peanuts, so he didn't stand a chance!
It was good to know that Ruger Market still makes decent poke.
The older I get, the more I treasure and appreciate those times and the chances I get to reflect on them. And it was wonderful to share a bowl of memories with the Missus.
Fort Ruger Market
3585 Alohea Ave.
Honolulu, HI 96816
And I also want to thank you for sharing in those memories with me! Thanks for stopping by!
In any case, consistency of the quality and flavors is the biggest reason we stop here. We just know what we order will be the same as always.
Of course, the prices have increased. Credit cards are now accepted and you pay when you order, not when picking up the order. 
A bowl of White Clam Chowder ($6) is always our choice. Filled with diced potato, celery and plenty of fat, fresh clams, the creamy clam broth is perfect without additions…but those oyster crackers added in about halfway just make the chowder 'fancier'.
Smoked Fish Cocktail ($8.95) instead of buying random smoked fish by the pound (which we usually do) was a good choice. There were three types of fish-meaty, firm tuna, a smokey yet sweet halibut and delicately smoke flavored swordfish. Each tasted great on its own but the house made, light horseradish flavored cocktail sauce, each bite had an additional flavor hint. Smoked fish as well as smoked meat is proper; smoked cheese is wrong.
Fish and Chips ($19). The classic. Three very large, thick pieces of flaky Alaskan cod coated in a light, crunchy, non-oily batter with plenty of thin, crisp fries and a delightful cabbage-carrot-bell pepper slaw which is lightly dressed in mayonnaise. The house made tartar sauce is unique and great with the fish as well as the crispy fries. The serving portion was plenty to share.
First off, the grilled sourdough was fantastic, texturally and in taste. As for the mussels, well the shellfish was tender enough, but the "escabeche" was really weak. I'm used to a good acidic, flavorful escabeche, the addition of paprika for smokiness, more points for garlicky-oniony tones, all of which seemed to be missing here. To be honest, any number of tinned mussels from Tunaville (post upcoming) would be more enjoyable to us then this. But heck, that sourdough was good on its own. On a positive note, this brought back wonderful memories of our lunch 
And just wandered around. I ended up buying more Tarbais beans in the shop/deli above….yep, 35€ a kilo and I bought another half kilo.
The Missus ordered a Savignon Blanc which She enjoyed and I got a Michelada, a nice taste of sunshine on a lovely day. Speaking of sunshine, we were really savoring it. Before we had left for our trip, the 
I swear I tasted some soy sauce in this ceviche negro; but I must be imagining things. I liked this refreshing dish. The shrimp had been chopped and for me, it made a nice bite when including the onions, cucumber on a tostada. The Missus thought the dish was short on shrimp and had too much "other stuff" for Her taste.
This was a nice portion of plump shrimp. Though that salsa verde was very mild and really lacked acidity. And because of that; the shrimp never "cooked/cured" in the sauce. It was basically raw shrimp the whole way thru. The tostadas provided were tasty and up to the task, but that sauce was really weak.
The coconut crust was a bit too sweet for us. There were also spots where the coconut was burnt, adding a rather unpleasant bitterness to the dish.
The Missus loved Her coffee and wanted to buy a bag. So, we went in and took a look around and could not find the coffee. So we asked Brian who told us he had two bags left behind the counter. He sold us one. It was $95! The Missus just absolutely loved this coffee.
We were interested to see what effect the "time of Covid" had on Suisan and it was soon evident. Gone are the tables out front. You wait in line in front of the shop, there's a limit to the amount of folks they let into a shop at any one time.
