I have to preface this post with an introduction to a buddy of mine. His name is Josh. Anyone that knows him would agree with my description of him as a force of nature. He’s one of the most unique, and generous people you’ll ever meet. He’s larger than life, but also one of the most understated people I know. And he will also try to kill you every time you eat or drink with him. But you’ll love every second of it. I’ve been buddies with Josh for several years now. We met as regulars at my favorite neighborhood cocktail bar singlebarrel (now called Haberdasher). I’ve “survived” many times hanging out with him, and have had the craziest dining and drinking experiences in the process. And that brings us to last Tuesday May 28th, at Orchard City Kitchen in Campbell, CA.

Orchard City Kitchen (OCK, as we affectionately call it) is one of my favorite local restaurants. The owner is Chef Jeffrey Stout, a Michelin star chef, who brings that incredible pedigree to his local neighborhood restaurant. They have a great cocktail program, and also continually changing menu with some staple items such as their Triple B ( honey butter, candied bacon, biscuits), and their hamachi sashimi appetizer. I take visiting friends from out of town to OCK quite a bit and those are the base items I always order, and they are never disappointed. I’m not a big biscuit fan, but these biscuits I could eat by themselves (or maybe with a bit of their honey butter). The hamachi sashimi is the perfect blend of tosazu (a Japanese dressing), charred avocados, bean sprouts, shingiku (Chrysanthemum), and Serrano chilies. The remaining menu items rotate pretty often, but if you ever visit OCK, you NEED to try whatever steak or chops they have available at the time. Chef Stout knows his steaks and chops!

With all that being said, last Tuesday, OCK posted on their Facebook page that they received a shipment of Australian tomahawk ribeyes, and Chef Stout noted to Josh that they were “best he’s ever tasted”. I had to take Josh up on his invite to “Tomahawk Tuesday”. Normally, if i were meeting up with anyone else, this would probably mean, we split a tomahawk, and maybe get another dish or two. But not when you’re hanging with Josh, no no no. I had to emotionally prepare my brain and stomach for what was to come. Like I previously said, I’ve hung with Josh before, so I already knew I’d have to get my own tomahawk, because he’s not sharing his. Challenged accepted. Oh did you forget the staple items I mentioned? We had the Triple B first, as a starter. Then we dove into our tomahawks. I managed to finish about 80% of mine before I look over at Josh scraping the bone of his tomahawk to get any remaining scraps of meat off. That bone could have been put on a display at a museum. Considering the challenge, I thought I did a whole lot better than the average person. I’m mildly proud of myself. But then, as the kids say, "shit got real”. As we’re imbibing several more cocktails, Josh is reminded of dessert, because, what nice meal would be complete without dessert, right? So for dessert, we order the Wagyu New York Strip, Butter Chicken Drumsticks, Hamachi Sashimi, Bay Scallops, and the Truffle Shuffle Burger. Between “helping” to eat all that, and washing it down with some whiskey, things got a little fuzzy. Maybe it was the drinks? Nah, it was definitely because of the food. As I woke up the next day, as I usually do after eating with Josh, thinking to myself, damn that was one of the greatest meals I’ve ever had. Then as I walk to my fridge to get some water, there was a tomahawk bone, covered in foil in there which was strangely poetic, as to say, yes, that really happened. Chalk one up for me. I survived a meal with Josh Kwok again, and I loved every second of it. Thanks Josh!