Alisi's Hawaii on FM 1960: J.C. Reid photos
Last week, an article in the New York Times "Choice Tables" travel section entitled "Remixing Regional Flavors in Houston" became the subject of great interest in the Houston food community. Perhaps confirming what many of us already believed, the flattering article proclaimed that Houston is "a place with a world-class food scene and a rising generation of culinary stars." Not unexpectedly, the Houston fooderati - restaurateurs, chefs, bloggers, Twitterers, PR flaks, food groupies, etc. - were ecstatic.

And justifiably so. The article revealed to a national audience the experiences that many of us have noticed over the years - local, talented, creative chefs mixing and fusing the dizzying melting pot that is the Houston food scene. Vietnamese, Tex-Mex, Mex-Mex, Chinese, barbecue, diner food, Gulf Coast seafood, southern comfort food, taco truck fare, just to name a few. The writer, a former Houston resident, also added an interesting twist to the writeup: she factored in Houston's unique lack of zoning laws and featured restaurants that remixed building types as well as cuisines. For example, Reef is in a former car dealership building, and Textile is in a former burlap factory. I thought it was a clever observation.

Which got me to thinking. If someone from New York could come to Houston and find several high profile restaurants which fit the bill of remixed cuisines and repurposed building uses, surely members of the Houston food community could come up with hyperlocal, under-the-radar examples of the same. And based on a recent food exploration excursion, I found the perfect example - Alisi's Hawaii.

Alisi's Hawaii is located on FM 1960 just west of US 59. The building is an old roadhouse/doublewide/tire shop transformed into a Polynesian pavilion complete with a deck for a Luau dinner and a stage for hula dancers, male warriors and fire knife dancers. Palm fronds and bamboo shoots cover everything. The menu is mainly takeout, and there's no dining room - just the outdoor deck and picnic tables. And when it comes to cuisine, Alisi's has one of the most radical remixes in Houston.


Cajun Hawaiian Fusion
There aren't many Hawaiian restaurants in Houston. But Alisi's doesn't just do Hawaiian - it's a Hawaiian food AND Cajun cuisine restaurant. On a recent cold January afternoon, myself and fellow food explorer Jay Francis pulled into Alisi's parking lot (which it shares with a taco truck for good measure). The elaborate sign off 1960 promised crawfish, catfish, shrimp and a "buffet cafeterial style." When we approached the order window, a gentlemen of obvious Hawaiian/Polynesian descent stepped out from a side door and greeted us. Perhaps he saw us snapping pictures and that tipped him to the possibility we were food bloggers. He was right, of course, and he was ready to tell us a story.

We introduced ourselves and asked him his name. He opened his mouth but caught himself, pausing momentarily (you could almost hear the gears turning in his head), and then announced "Chief Tama." Then he told a story about how Alisi's has been open for about a year and they mainly do either takeout or large Luau-type parties in the summer. The menu reflects the crazy Hawaiian-Cajun fusion: Kahlua Pork and Blackened Catfish is a standout. Something called Aloha Obama Chicken pays tribute to our 44th President's roots in Hawaii.


Sapm musubi
I skipped the Cajun stuff and ordered the spam musubi, one of the most traditional of all Hawaiian snack foods. It's basically the size and shape of an elongated hockey puck and made with a layer of sticky rice drizzled with teriyaki or rice vinegar combined with a layer of spam and wrapped with nori, or seaweed wrap. The sweetness of the rice combined with the saltiness of the spam and the fishy seaweed flavor is one of the most unique flavor experiences you will find in Houston.

There's something outlandish, quirky and deeply personal about Alisi's that is far removed from the polish and buzz of restaurants like Reef and Textile. And Alisi's Hawaii is probably not going to end up in any New York Times articles about Houston's world-class food scene. But if the criteria for a unique Houston restaurant is a remixed cuisine and a repurposed building, along with an abundance of entrepreneurship and chutzpah, Alisi's is in a class all it's own.