If you've been a Central Oregon food truck connoisseur for the last few years, you'll know the name Aina Kauai Style Grill. Owner/chef Ian Vidinha has been making some of the best Hawaiian food found outside of the islands with kindness, craft and a deeply caring Aloha spirit.
"I have been cooking since a young age," says Vidinha. "Some of my fondest memories used to be helping my grandparents hand-cut pork and fat for sausages before we had meat grinders. We would spend days cutting meat and hand stuffing it at the table talking about life and eating homemade food that the land (Aina) provided. I really got into cooking when I moved to Colorado and worked at Rock Bottom Brewery and Old Chicago restaurants. I would travel around the states as a corporate trainer teaching new employees how to cook and prep."
Since originally opening years ago at Bevel Craft Brewing, it would be tough to find someone that had a negative experience with Aina...either with the food or with Vidinha himself. "Aina came about when I decided I didn't want to work for someone else," says Vidinha. "The food truck scene was growing here in Bend and I decided I would give it a try. I never thought that it would have been as successful as it has been. It's a lot of work and sleepless nights. I opened a few months before the pandemic and that sure was a stressful time. The pandemic was good for the food trucks because we were the only place people could go and eat at."
After closing for a while, Aina reopened outside the Deschutes Tasting Room before relocating to the On Tap food cart lot on the east side with a small, but expertly dialed-in menu featuring his legendary poke bowls, the Kalua Pig Plate and several more dishes. It had been at least a year since I had his Crunchy Poke Bowl with ahi, fresh pickled veggies, edamame, crunchy shrimp, ginger and furikake seasoning. The ahi was so fresh it melted in the mouth and the flavor profile along with the complex fusion of textures between the smooth cleanness of the ahi and the light crunch of the shrimp was wonderful. It's hard to oversell this dish, especially for people who are already in love with poke dishes.
Aina's poke bowls aren't like any you've had before, though, I can guarantee that.
"Our poke bowl isn't a traditional bowl like you get in Hawaii," Vidinha told the Source Weekly. "In Hawaii it tends to be mostly rice and fish, not as many veggies as we put in it, but our bowl has everything I like in it. When we were younger, we used to go to gatherings and all the uncles would be drinking beer and eating pupus (appetizers) which always consisted of poke, some sort of pickled veggies, edamame and various other things. So when I created the spicy bowl I decided to put all the pupus I enjoyed in the bowl. It works because the flavors and textures make a special experience when eating."
I also tried the Ahi Katsu with a perfect panko crust, topped with the house-made aioli with generous portions of rice and the best potato mac I've had in Bend. Seriously though, I'm already trying to figure out when I can come back and try the Kauai Pork and a Poke Bomb (sushi cone filled with rice, fresh ahi and Kauai-style island garnishes). [Clarification: Poke Bombs are not currently on the menu at Aina.]
For people unfamiliar with Hawaiian cuisine, I asked Vidinha what he found unique and special about the food.
"It's a blend of cultures that make up the Hawaiian style we know and love. It's heavily influenced by Asian cuisine and a lot of others that came to work in the plantations. A melting pot of different flavors. But for me it's the aloha. Without aloha it's just food. People remember how you make them feel a lot longer than how the food tastes. When people come to Aina I want them to know that I appreciate them more than they know. I love making people happy through my food and service. There are a lot of food trucks in Bend and they choose to come to mine. I want them to leave feeling like I put my heart into what I prepare and serve. I know I love to feel aloha from others and enjoy spreading the aloha when serving up our food."
