Aloha! Loco Ono pop-up Hawaiian kitchen is taking over the Refinery

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      If you enjoyed the Hawaiian kitchen pop-up at Sip Lounge earlier this year, you're in luck—it's saying aloha again to downtown Vancouver.

      Although Sip has closed (to be relaunched as a new outfit), Loco Ono will take over Sip's sister establishment The Refinery, located above it at 1115 Granville Street.

      Loco Ono chef Jan-Michael Reyes, working with Refinery chef Ian Everest, is taking a new direction with this menu.

      Instead of the bar-style menu at the previous pop-up, he's focusing more on homestyle comfort food designed for sharing.

      While there are a few small plates (including the addictive adobo chicken), there are bowls, such as the luau bowl (12-hour slow-roasted kalua pork, fried egg, and pickled vegetables) and moa bowl (honey shoyu-glazed chicken, with pickled vegetables) both with rice or quinoa salad.

      There's also watermelon salad (with basil pesto, tomatoes, and prosciutto) and sirloin steak with green pea purée, chimichurri, potatoes, and vegetables.

      Small plates are $10 while tapas and bowls are $15.

      To top things off, there's an array of island-inspired cocktails ($12 each) ranging from Makaha Beach (rum, white rum passionfruit, orange juice, mango tea syrup, guava bitters) to Birds of Paradise (kiwi-infused pisco, mescal, charteuse lime, blood orange, rosemary bitters, basil).

      One dollar from every Midnight Sun cocktail (Bombay gin, cold-steeped peach tea, thyme, St. Germain, grapefruit zest, cava) will go to the Canadian Mental Health Association.

      The official launch is on Wednesday (September 14), and will run from Wednesdays to Saturdays starting at 5 p.m. for the next seven weeks.

      Although if this iteration proves to be as much of a hit as its Sip run, who knows—maybe we'll see it extending its takeover like it did last time? Keep your fingers crossed.

      You can follow Craig Takeuchi on Twitter at twitter.com/cinecraig or on Facebook

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