There are many reasons why I’m such a pork fan, and that I write a weekly pork-fueled column called Dose of Vitamin P. One of them is certainly my father. For his 70th birthday, my family spent a week together on Oahu, and our marquee meal was at Town, a longtime favorite restaurant from Ed Kenney. Better yet, the restaurant put together a special family-style menu that focused on pork, which took my Dad by surprise in the best possible way.

Not every plate featured pork, but we certainly got a sizable Dose of Vitamin P. For instance, the salad course starred unctuous Coppa di Testa with pa’i’ai (crispy pounded taro), green beans, tomato, watercress, and salsa verde. They also tossed fettuccine-like Pig’s Blood Pasta with a tangy puttanesca-style sauce of capers, red onions, chiles, tomatoes and basil.

Still, neither dish prepared us for the porcine impact of their Pig Platter, which hosted pork loin dressed with vinaigrette, grilled pork leg drizzled with chile aioli, and oozing slabs of pork belly with crispy cracklings and salsa verde. The sides were also standout, including creamy polenta, bitter greens with sultanas and mac nuts, and skin-on French fries served with aioli. Pairing the fries with pork resulted in my favorite bites of the night, which I dubbed pork frites.

Town knew when to pour on pork flavor, but they also knew when to show restraint. For instance, dessert contained no pork whatsoever, which worked out well, since my dad’s birthday candle worked a whole lot better when planted in toasted coconut cheesecake than it would have in more pork parts.

Dose of Vitamin P spotlights my favorite pork dish from the previous week.