Happy belated Thanksgiving ya’ all.  Hope you had a great FEAST.

At this point, if you now don’t want to see Turkey for the next week at least, here I offer something entirely different and from the ocean in the form of Tako! A.K.A. “Squid”, or more technically, (an 8-legged) Octopus, which is a cephalopod. This, from a guy who had just arrived on shore with his catch as I arrived at Kuliou’ou Beach Park in Hawaii Kai, after having caught them right on the reef in Maunalua Bay.

The very first thing I asked him was, “What brah? Tako Poke?”, to which he (essentially) replied, “You know ‘dat cuz!”. lol

Check out this set of really cool pics I took (as always, click on each photo to enlarge it) just last weekend of his AWESOME, BEAUTIFUL catch, which are estimated to weigh between 3 to 4 pounds for each Tako (Octopus)…

The underside, where the “beak” is (hidden in that hole are the teeth the Octopus uses to crush small crabs and shrimp, which are its ideal food source)…

The Octopus’ ink sack (that black thing)…

Pretty neat, and truly one of them “Lucky We Live Hawaii”, priceless moments! I love the texture of the Octopus’ skin, as well as the complex parts inside and around its head.

I must admit, those were some GREAT photos. Which brings to mind this parody logo I created a while ago…

Those two Tako (the Japanese term for Octopus) got me so jazzed-up and “psyched”, I just had to go get me some Tako to eat, so I immediately headed back to town, down Kapahulu Avenue, and dropped by none other than the POKE KING of kings, queens and all other royalty in Honolulu over at Ono Seafood!…

I swear to God, this is by far, THE BEST place to get Poke on Oahu. Absolute BROKE DA’ MOUT WINNAHZ!

Ono Seafood’s Smoked Scallops…

Ono Seafood’s Dried Ahi…

Ono Seafood’s Smoked Marlin…

Dried Dark Meat…

Ono Seafood’s Sashimi…

Ono Seafood’s Smoked Tako…

Ono Seafood’s Opae (dried shrimp, which is ONO by itself with POI!) and Dried Tako…

Ono Seafood’s ‘Seafood Combo’…

Ono Seafood’s Pickle Onion (notice it’s singular “pickle onion” not “pickled onions”) and pickle ogo…

Ono Seafood’s Namasu and Kini Lau…

Ono Seafood’s Taegu, Usu Aji Kyuri and Dried Poke…

Ono Seafood’s Kukui Nut and Limu Kohu (gold!)…

Ono Seafood’s EXCELLENT Boiled Peanuts…

Ono Seafood’s Chili Pepper Water (a.k.a. “Chili Peppah Watah”)…

Ono Seafood’s current menu (as of 11/19/10)…

Notice the menu says “Poke Made to Order”. Big difference my friend. HUGE difference. That’s what makes them DA’ BEST-EST, EST, EST, EST, EST, ESTES.

This sounds familiar…

Ooh, now on Facebook!

This is Mrs. Sakuma, Ono Seafood’s owner/operator/”Poke Chef” (because, really, it truly is a very technical profession to make EXCELLENT>>Honolulu’s BEST Poke as they do!)…

Here’s a closer look at those BEAUTIFUL slices of Tako, just waiting for a dash of Shoyu, Chili Pepper, Kukui Nut, Hawaiian Salt and everything else that makes it the FANTABULOUS Poke that it shall become…

And finally, after it’s all dressed-up in said “ingrediments”, Ono Seafood’s MADE-TO-ORDER Tako Poke!…

How is it? AWESOME! So tender, and not rubbery at all. Fresh-tasting, while being perfectly seasoned with just the right level of salt, sweet, hot and spicy. 5 SPAM Musubi Tako Poke, right here at Ono Seafood. So, so ono! Om-nom-nom-Tako Poke-nom!

Rounding it out, I also grabbed a package of Ono Seafood’s Smoked Tako…

How is Ono Seafood’s Smoked Tako? Umm, can someone get me another package? EXCELLENT! Not too smokey, where I can still taste the Tako flavor, while being perfectly seasoned and sliced thin, so it was naturally easy to chew. Good stuff! 5 SPAM Musubi. Heck, probably everything that rolls out of Ono Seafood’s tiny hole-in-wall door is probably 5 SPAM Musubi stuff!

Ah yes, nothing like savoring the memory of super-fresh, made-to-order, broke da’ mout winnahz Tako Poke after a day of Turkey, Turkey, and more Turkey.

Happy Black Friday everyone!