Food + Drink 2007
Image: Ilsa Enomoto
1 Soursop ’til you drop
This green heart-shaped fruit looks like it came out of Latin American surrealist fiction. Often found in Chinatown markets, most of us have no idea what to do with soursop. Native to the West Indies, it is commonly used to make a tropical juice or sorbet. The sorbet smells and tastes like the essence of the tropics. Here is a recipe so you can make you own soursop sorbet:
Soursop sorbet recipe
Use ripe soursops. They should be soft to the touch and a little squishy. Remove seeds and skin. Seed removal can be eased by putting the pulp in a food processor fitted with a plastic blade. Use the food processor to break up the pulp, making seed removal easier. After you remove the seeds and break up the pulp, use a strainer to produce juice:
1 cup soursop juice
1 cup water
7/8 cup sugar
Mix these three ingredients and freeze. After the mixture is frozen, break up slightly and put in food processor fitted with metal blade. Add 1-2 tablespoons lime juice, plus lime rind and 1 egg white. Process in food processor until all the icey bits are incorporated in a meringue like foam. Return to freezer and serve when firm.
2 Happy accidents
What to do with an abundance of parsley and organic lemons? Ed Kenney, chef and owner of the Kaimuki restaurant town, decided to experiment and his ‘mistake gone good’ is now a top seller at lunch. The original lemonade tasted good, but it was an ugly gray color, so Kenney decided to add juiced parsley to brighten the color. Turned out the parsley also took away some of the lemonade’s tang, so he splashed some on top. And hoping to highlight local, organic honey growers, Kenney replaced some sugar in the recipe with honey. ‘Even more yummy!’ he says.
town
3435 Wai’alae Ave., 735-5900
[townkaimuki.com]
3 Fishy business
Mahimahi is probably one of the most sustainable fishes in our seas. This handsome multicolor beauty matures quickly compared to swordfish and tuna, so you don’t have to worry about wiping out the breeding stock. That said, it is difficult to find really fresh mahimahi from Hawai’i–beware of the ‘island caught mahimahi’ which could well be from Taiwan or the Marshall Islands. If you get a chance to get it fresh off the boat, don’t pass up the opportunity. Few fish are better quickly sauteed and served with lemon.
Photographed at Hiro Fish Market, Stall 12, O’ahu Market 524-4160
4 Just eat it
Alice Waters would be proud. The kids of Makaha Elementary School know more than the rest of us do by the time they’re in 6th grade. Under the guidance of Mr. Gigi–a former Catholic priest who gives back by volunteering his time at Hoa ‘Aina O Makaha Farms–the kids operate and maintain a fully functional farm. Each year they learn the sow-grow-harvest cycle for their crops (cabbage to corn, green onions to lettuce, bananas and papayas) and learn the interdependent nature of nature by keeping honeybees, raising waterfowl and milking goats. It’s a garden of dreams–a lively haven that Mother Nature made and the children nurture.
Hoa ‘Aina O Makaha Farms
84-200 Ala Na’au’ao Pl.
695-7900
5 Pickin’ and a grinnin’
Tantalus is still the best picking place in the summer for wild treats like guavas, liliko’i and avocados. Admittedly, the avocados can be stringy, but its worth the time and effort to do a little urban foraging.
6 Off the wall
Most folks come to the Sure Shot Cafe for the ’smokey bagel’ sandwich to munch on with a cuppa Joe, but once inside, their eyes stray to the artwork on the walls. For over a year now, those walls have held the phantasmagorical doodles of artist Kit Grant. These black-and-white beauties were at once whimsical and playfully dark. But now, sadly, they are gone. Just this month, the exhibition changed to the fiery arboreal miniatures of Anthony Mendivil. Mendivil is in love with trees and in his paintings, they seem to be dancing, waiting, reaching out to one another–just the thing to gaze at while digging into one of Sure Shot’s delicious granola bars or, on the weekend, a fruit-topped waffle. Sure Shot owner Kiko Hayashida has been supportive of local artists’ work for years now, so stop by for a latte and a look.
Sure Shot Cafe
1249 Wilder Ave.
523-2326
7 The world isn’t flat, but some of the best breads are
Hawai’i is crying out for more and better Indian food. At Maharani you can get puri, you can get nan, you can get paratha–all those wonderful savory breads that just aren’t easy to find in our town.
Cafe Maharani
2509 S. King St.
951-7447
8 Green giant
It’s the best four-table eatery in town. And even among the bigger players, the Green Door Cafe holds it own. Owner and chef Betty Pang makes her version of Malaccan and nyonya cuisine to a full house every day. Her lime green door on Pauahi Street is the gateway to an ever-changing short-but-strong menu of dishes chock-full of flavor–cumin, coriander, kaffir leaf, galangal, chili are all easily distinguishable in her fragrant offerings. And if she runs out of something, she’s quick to suggest a comparable alternative or to whip up something that’s not on the menu.
Green Door Cafe
1145 Maunakea St. (entrance on Pauahi Street between Maunakea and Smith streets)
533-0606
9 We kid you not
Cafe Miro isn’t a balloon and crayons family restaurant, but it knows how to treat the wee ones. It’s still the same dark, intimate dining room in Kaimuki with an excellent prix fixe menu and the best creme brulee in town. It’s just that when you are invited for dinner there, 5-year old included, there’s no reason to decline. Chef Shigeru Kobayashi offers a simple three-course meal for the young diner. It’s not on the menu since it’s personalized for each child. It could be pasta, steak, fish or a smaller portion of an item from the prix fixe selections. It’s a practical solution as well as a thoughtful one. Kobayashi explains that the prix fixe menu is simply too much for a child to eat. On a recent visit, vichyssoise, curried chicken and vanilla bean ice cream came as beautifully plated as the grownup versions.
Cafe Miro
3446 Waialae Ave
734-2737
10 When bar food won’t do
Let’s say you’re stumbling out of Magoo’s or Eastside Grill-why you would be stumbling, we’re not going to say-and you suddenly realize you’re starving. You can either head back into the two establishments and order up some deep fried bar grub or you can mosey on over to the BlueWater Shrimp & Seafood truck on the corner and place an order for up a plate of garlic shrimp. For just a second you might be tricked into thinking that you’ve somehow stumbled your way to the North Shore, and considering how, um, absent-minded you presently are, that’s a possibility, but, relax, you’re still in Mo’ili’ili. And your dorm room is just a few blocks away. There’s also a sister location in Waikiki.
BlueWater Shrimp & Seafood, 2 locations
Kuhio Ave., between Launiu and Kaiolu Sts.
Corner of University and Varsity Place
11 Beyond BBQ
Cinnamon is the surprise in the shortribs at 12th Avenue Grill. More often served as comfort food than a gourmet entree, these shortribs are beyond BBQ and light in flavor, served on horseradish mashed potatoes. Miss Mabel may not like the etiquette, but a multi-bite of shortribs with the potatoes brings out an expected kick-n-sweet combo. Most diners who order by the glass choose the Pinot Noir to pair with the shortribs, but the more adventurous should go for the Cabernet Savignon, the Andeluna Winemaker’s Selection (2005) from Mendoza, Argentina. Something about the hints of cassis, sweet pepper and cherry liqueur wash down that bite just right.
12th Avenue Grill
1145-C 12th Ave.
732-9469
[www.12thavegrill.com]
12 Sashimi on the cheap
It’s lunchtime, and you want fish. The fish sandwich from the Golden Arches just doesn’t cut it. And the carelessly made rolls from the fast-food style sushi joints won’t satisfy you either. Fortunately, there’s Masa’s in Maunakea Marketplace. Whether you want ‘ahi sashimi alone or the chirashi, Masa’s serves up wallet-friendly ways for you to satisfy your midday fish fix.
Masa’s
Maunakea Marketplace
13 I’ll melt with you
It’s more or less an ordinary tuna melt. It looks like one anyway. Perhaps it’s the sprinkling of cumin on the pre-melted swiss cheese or the tangy bite of papaya seed dressing that gives Andy’s Sandwiches and Smoothies in Manoa an edge above the competition when it comes to the perfect tuna melt. A bite into this one and you’ll want to kiss your buttery cheddar things goodbye forever. Andy’s specializes in healthy alternatives, and the tuna loves it. Homemade bread with layers of veggies, tuna and the glorious melted cheese are as nurturing to the senses as the aloha that emanates from this family-owned business. They pack in the University of Hawai’i- Manoa lunchtime crowd, so be prepared to stand in line. It’s worth the wait.
Andy’s Sandwiches and Smoothies
2904 E. Manoa Rd., 988-6161
14 Hail Mary
Finding a good Bloody Mary can be a bloody difficult quest–there’s danger at every turn, from watered-down concoctions that taste like little more than a chilled can of Campbell’s tomato soup and vodka to soulless pre-mixed, pepper-and-Tabasco-free potions. But when you find a good one, you cherish it. At Kelly O’Neils, their Bloody Mary is better than good. It’s bloody great, packing a peppery kick that would knock out the largest elephant and the world’s worst hangover.
Kelly O’Neils
311 Lewers St.
926-1777
[irishpubhawaii.com/kelleyoneils]
15 Making friends is easy
Nothing will win you friends like beer. Not kind words. Not good deeds. Not even money. But buying beer by the six pack costs money, money most folks just don’t have. So in order to make sure that you have plenty of beer for your friends without going in debt, maybe you should start making your own. The folks at O’ahu Homebrew & Winemaking will help you get started.
856 Ilaniwai St. # 103, 596-2739
16 No need to fish for a compliment
Savas Mojharrad’s Olive Tree Cafe may be one of the island’s top Mediterran restaurants, but it also happens to be where diners can get one of the best deals in town: the lamb shanks, served on Wednesday. Even better: This is about the only restaurant in Honolulu where you can actually see fishermen delivering big blue and gold mahi directly to the kitchen while you dine. Lines can be long, tables few. Order out and you can have your fish sandwich and eat it too.
Olive Tree Cafe
4614 Kilauea Ave. , 737-0303
17 Once you find it, you’ll never forget
Nestled behind Papa John’s Pizza in a small strip mall, it’s easy to miss Tokkuri Tei’s quaint and modest sign. Look past the newspaper covered front windows and step through the door into a lively and energetic izakaya.
The eight-table dining room is cozy and boisterous, a helpful wait staff gingerly surfing their way through the thoroughly pleased patrons. Red paper lanterns sway from the ceiling (or is that the sake?) and laminated paper menus on binder rings hang from the walls.
If you’re looking for intimacy in your dining experience, find a restaurant with low lights and a booth. For a chance to be loud, enjoy yourself, laugh and talk out of turn while noshing some of the best Japanese food in town, you’ll fit right in.
Tokkuri Tei
611 Kapahulu Ave., 739-2800
18 The best way to get your coffeeÖ
Weekly, Kona Brewing Company’s Pipeline Porter can be found in bottles, but it is much better straight from the tap at the Kona Brewery in the Koko Marina Center in Hawai’i Kai.
The smooth and easygoing porter has a pleasantly distinct roasted coffee aroma and flavor. That’s because it’s brewed with freshly roasted 100 percent Kona coffee. It’s a dark beer but without the heavy taste, so it’s easy to put down two or three while posted up at the bar, enjoying the view of the tranquil marina.
Kona Brewing Company
Koko Marina Center
7192 Kalaniana’ole Highway, 394-5662
[konabrewingco.com]
19 I scream for gelato
La Gelateria squashes the competition (and fresh fruit) with their award-winning gelatos. The Italian ice cream joint has made a name for itself over the last 25 years and now creates exquisitely simple desserts for more than 50 restaurants, 10 hotels and a steady stream of satisfied gelato lovers that would be lucky to taste the same flavor twice.
One of the only all-natural ice creams in town, the icy treats are made with no colorings or artificial flavors. They use real fruit and real ingredients. The chocolate is made with cocoa, the fruit is pulped and the nuts are ground into pastes. If you don’t do dairy, opt for a sorbet. The hard part is deciding which of the 200 flavors to enjoy–lilikoi, azuki bean, mint chocolate chip, Irish cream, pear champagne, vodka lycheeÖ.
La Gelateria
819 Cedar St.
591-1133
20 The waiting is the hardest part
Fort Ruger Market is the post-beach stop for ono lomi salmon, pipikaula, kulolo, lau lau and poi. This unassuming neighborhood market has been serving O’ahu for more than 60 years. It also has ‘ahi jerky, smoked tako and ahi fillet, but where Fort Ruger really shines is at the poke counter. It’s mixed while you wait, guaranteed to be fresh.
Fort Ruger Market
3585 Alohea Ave.
737-4531
21 Give and you shall receive
The garlic ‘ahi at Irifune is great stuff. But before you leave, toss a few bucks in the net on the ceiling. At the end of the year it goes to charity.
Irifune
563 Kapahulu Ave.
737-1141
22 A Hawaiian classic
Helena’s sets the standard for Hawaiian food on O’ahu and Helen Chock herself will be there to greet you, as she has for over 60 years. Check out the pipikaula hanging from the kitchen ceiling. Savor the squid luau. Fill up on poi and lomi salmon. A few years ago, Helena’s received James Beard Foundation’s Regional Classics Restaurant Award.
Helena’s Hawaiian Food
1240 N. School St.
845-8044
23 Tai me up, tai me down
Some people sip a drink for the taste, others to relax and catch a buzz and some just go nuts and get blotto. The mai tai at Buzz’s Original Steak House in Kailua will have you sitting on the fence between buzzed and blotto depending on how many you’re able to put down (up to the maximum limit of three).
Their signature mai tai is made with a shot of light rum, another shot of amber rum, a splash of secret mai tai mix, a float of dark rum and then garnished with a lime and a cherry. Well worth the $7. If you can’t handle your liquor then order the BFRD (big f#$@%$* rum drink), just a mai tai in a bigger glass with pineapple juice to mellow it out.
Buzz’s uses Bacardi and Meyer’s rums in this firewater fantasy that is oh, so smooth!
Buzz’s Original Steakhouse
413 Kawailoa Rd., Kailua
261-4661
24 Why do they call ‘em chips when they’re fries?
Fish and chips aren’t the type of bar food you expect from Hula Grill Waikiki; sashimi and crab and macadamia nut wontons are the usual favorites. But these are no ordinary fish and chips just as Hula Grill is no ordinary bar. (They have happy hour on Sundays after all.)
Tender and flaky chunks of mahi mahi coated with a light and crispy beer-batter are generously served up on a heaping pile of fries. And the kicker is the secret sauce. The secret is not what’s in the homemade chili water, but where it is. Lift up the basket of fish to find a white ceramic bowl of sweet garlicky goodness.
Hula Grill Waikiki
at the Outrigger Waikiki Hotel
2335 Kalakaua Ave., 923-4852
[hulagrillwaikiki.com]
25 The one fast food chain we’re dying to have
Yeah, it’s owned by the Golden Arches, but Chipotle Mexican Grill is fast food with a conscience, and that’s a good thing because their burritos and tacos are top-notch. Their livestock is humanely raised, and their operation low on Styrofoam. But so far, Chipotle hasn’t decided to set up a home in Hawai’i, at least not yet, but this sustainable and simple operation is spreading coast to coast. We hope they won’t overlook the islands much longer.
Chipotle Mexican Grill
[chipotle.com]
26 Supermercado
So, you’re making a South of the Border dish, but you don’t have the right ingredients. Silly gringo, don’t you know that you need to look no further than LaRaza? Masa, chipotles, plantains, tomatillos–they’re all here for the picking. And be sure to snag some of Martha’s killer homemade tamales.
Mercado de La Raza
1315 S. Beretania St., 593-2226
27 Sandwich lover’s paradise in paradise
The cold deli sandwich is a lunchtime culinary art greatly overlooked and rarely perfected. The folks at Diamond Head Market and Grill achieve this feat and sell more than 100 fresh handmade sandwiches a day, even more on the weekends.
Why? Because they’re damn good! All the meats are rubbed, roasted and sliced in store. The aioli, chutneys and hummus are mixed up fresh and the wheat bread is always fluffy.
Forget about sprouts and cucumbers, these sandwiches are stacked with meat, cheese, lettuce and tomato, except of course for the fresh mozzarella and tomato sandwich with pesto and the grilled eggplant veggie sandwich with roasted red pepper aioli.
The honey roasted turkey with cranberry chutney and grilled ahi with wasabi aioli are house and patron favorites. Or feast on sandwiches stacked with lamb and whole grain honey mustard, smoked ham with house fruit mustard, and pastrami with jarlsberg. And this is just the tip of the iceberg.
Diamond Head Market and Grill
3158 Monsarrat Ave.
732-0077,
diamondheadmarket.com
28 Tool time
In this age of culinary worship, it’s not hard to lose yourself among the shelves of kitchen gadgetry at The Compleat Kitchen, co-founded by Joan Nam Koong. The locally-owned stores are one-stop shops for everything from cupcake liners to popover pans, trendy picnic baskets to stylish aprons, bamboo cutting boards to Japanese steel blades, waffle irons to that tomato-red Le Creuset pot set you’ve had your I-wanna-be-the-next-Top-Chef eyes on. Speaking of Koong, she has encouraged us to ‘go home, eat rice’ with her numerous local cookbooks and local food columns. The last few years, she has donated her time and energy to building farmers’ markets. If you shop at the KCC or Kailua farmers’ markets, you owe her a warm mahalo for getting it all together.
The Compleat Kitchen
Ala Moana Center, 1450 Ala Moana Blvd., 944-1741
Kahala Mall, 4211 Wai’alae Ave., 737-5827
[compleatkitchen.com]
29 Funny looking fruit
Jeanne Vana of North Shore Farms in Waialua is no stranger to hard work. And her nine-and-a-half acre farm is no stranger to tomatoes because that is Jeanne’s specialty–colorful, flavorful, lumpy and bumpy ‘big wave’ heirloom tomatoes. She plants with the seasons to bring out the best of her six varieties of heirlooms. Pineapple tomatoes are the pick right now.
Picked ripe at the peak of flavor for ultimate freshness, these freaky fruits are used by gourmet chefs all over town and available at ‘Umeke Market and Natural Foods in Kahala, Kokua Market, KCC Saturday farmers’ market and the Kailua farmers’ market on Thursday.
At the farmers markets, Jeanne offers a big taste of her heirloom tomatoes on homemade pizza–Italian style–made with fresh pesto and big slices of tomatoes for full flavor.
North Shore Farms
Waialua
389-6255
30 How sweet it is
As if Portuguese sweet bread isn’t just right all by itself. The masters of local diner fare at Liliha Bakery haven’t improved on the traditional pillowy bread–they’ve just given us options. After all, how often do you actually have the vinha d’alhos to go with the bread? Liliha’s take on it: A big wedge of bread, buttered on one side and grilled until it’s golden and starts to soften and lose a bit of its height. It’s the perfect side for an order of the diner’s corned beef hash. Plus, it’s an excuse to get a little tub of that hot pink jelly that you’ve loved since you were a kid.
Liliha Bakery
515 N. Kuakini St.
531-1651
31 The joy of soy
Tucked away in the Manoa Shopping Center, Soy to the World shows just what the little soybean can do. Using 100 percent organic soy beans and natural nigari (sea water), this tiny take-out shop goes way beyond its soymilk, with pineapple soy haupia, lemon soy pudding, tofu dango and musubi with organic rice. But the big seller is its soy wrap, with soy, lettuce, carrots, mayo, okara and konnyaku ($3.75). Okara is the high-fiber by-product from the soybean press, and konnyaku is a meat substitute with yam powder and okara. It may not sound like much, but the combination is better than a burrito and comes infused with fresh Japanese flavors.
Soy to the World
2764 Woodlawn Dr.
988-8555
32 The doctor is in
The Halekulani’s cocktail doctor, Dale DeGroff, has cornered the mixed-drink market in this city. With his NYC sensibilities (he honed his skills at the notorious Rainbow Room) and a savant-like grasp on boozeology, DeGroff can make anything you ask for. Anything. Gin Rickey? You don’t even have to ask twice. A Singapore Sling? He knows it and makes it without batting an eye. And if you’re a cocktail rookie, he’ll guide you through the wild world of alcohol and mixers, neat or on the rocks, until you leave happy–and hooked.
Lewers Lounge
Halekulani Hotel
2199 Kalia Rd.
923-2311
33 You are getting sleepy, very sleepy
Yama’s Fishmarket at the Diamond Head end of Young St. in Mo’ili’ili serves up portions of local favorites that can put the lunchtime diner into a deep, postprandial torpor. With a varied selection of plates and sides, Yama’s also offers fresh poke and a haupia brownie that can break the heart of the most steadfast dieter. Although the beef stew and shoyu chicken and pork adobo are as good as you’ll find anywhere in Honolulu, Yama’s excels in Hawaiian food dishes. A favorite combo features a bambucha laulau, moist and lean and wrapped in taro leaves, smoky kalua pig and fresh lomi lomi salmon that balances the meaty flavors with a precision worthy of linen napkins and silverware. Yama’s will even substitute poi for a measly 40 cents (but get there early). The sheer weight of the Hawaiian combo plates is impressive. Dining at Yama’s is truly digging in.
Yama’s Fish Market,
2332 Young St.
941-9994
34 Like beef?
Though most of Parker Ranch’s beef may be sent to feed lots on the mainland, we finally have a good local choice for red meat. The North Shore Cattle Co. raises cattle without antibiotics and hormones. Restaurants across the island serve up the locally raised beef: Alan Wong’s Restaurant, The Pineapple Room at Macy’s, Ola at Turtle Bay Resort, Pizza Bob’s, Tamura’s, Kona Brewing Co., town, Kulia Grill, Top of Waikiki and at the rancher’s own North Shore Cattle Co., Paniolo Grill. You can also pick up beef at the KCC and Kailua farmer’s markets.
North Shore Cattle Co.
685-6400
[beefhawaii.com]
35 To those on the front lines
We have to be grateful that Hawai’i’s farmers persevere in the face of outrageously expensive farmland and a lack of long-term leases, both factors making it difficult for farmers to invest in their operations. Too much farm land is being rezoned for non-ag purposes and existing farmland can be legally used for other purposes.
Agricultural theft is a big issue and the laws are difficult to enforce.
A new agricultural pest arrives almost weekly–we now have a deadly citrus disease, mango mites, apple snails, bunchy top banana virus, honeybee plaguesÖjust to name a few.
Taro farming, in particular, has become a political act which requires farmers to be lobbyists and water rights specialists.
So, we salute those farmers who continue to work hard, persist and supply us with fresh, local foods.
36 Top of the pops
When it comes to quality and variety, no other local soda comes close to the bubbly stuff made by the fine folks at Waialua Soda Works. Delight at the range of flavors, from liliko’i to root beer to mango. Trade in your all too sweet Aloha Maid for a tall, cool drink that you won’t forget. Visit the company’s website to see a list of local restaurants and retail outlets where you can pick up some of best soda around.
Waialua Soda Works
371-7556
[waialuasodaworks.com]
37 It’s a mad, mad, mad, mad, mad world
Our sympathies go out to the unsuspecting diner who wanders into Indigo during the pau hana hours of 4 to 7pm. It’s mad, we tell you, mad, and packed to the gills with work-weary professionals chatting and flirting and drinking away their worries. The cause of all of this madness? Why Indigo’s Tuesday-Friday Martini Madness, when martinis go for $2.50.
Indigo
1121 Nu’uanu Ave.
521-2900
38 The roe less traveled
Poke in all of its many styles can be happily found at Tamura’s Market. One of our favorites is the poke with masago. If you don’t see it, ask for it and the poke man might just fix it up for you right there and then.
Tamura’s Market
54-316 Kamehameha Hwy.
232-2332
39 Much ado about manapua
A manapua is more than a white ball of bread with the red-dyed mystery meat surprise inside. A manapua is the dollar you saved from your lunch money so that you could have a snack while you waited for the bus. A manapua is that sweet and filling meat treat that was there for you at the end of the road when you got home. Most of us fell in love with the manapua back in small kid time. And it’s a love affair that has never ended.
Island Manapua Factory
2752 Woodlawn Dr.
988-5441
Kalihi, 811 Gulick Ave.
847-2677
40 Don’t be a sap
Pacifikool’s ginger syrup has been a standard at our O’ahu farmers markets and other specialty stores since 2004, when local girl Cheryl To first introduced this product. It can be used to make everything from ginger ale to ginger martinis to gingerbread. Get a bottle and give it a go. It’s hard to go back to the commercial stuff after a little experimentation with this spicy concoction. Visit the Pacifikool website to get a list of locations where you can buy this one-of-a-kind syrup.
Pacifikool
953-2060,
[pacifikool.com]
41 Smoothie heaven
Tropical Smoothie Cafe is the perfect all-in-one hangout. Located on the corner of Pi’ikoi and Waimanu Streets (next to KHON2–you can even park in their lot), the restaurant’s ambience is exquisite. The space is large and acoustically sound, vibrant with bamboo trim and tropical fruit-colored walls. It even boasts a soundproof smoothie bar–the only one anywhere. You see, owner Teddy Wells cares about the customer. When he invested in the franchise he had certain demands. He came up with the idea of isolating the blenders, which makes a huge difference in comfort level. One can relax quietly with an acai smoothie, veggie wrap and wide-screen TV while browsing the Internet. Or hold a business meeting. Stay all dayÖthat would make Wells happy.
Tropical Smoothie Cafe
Hawaiki Tower
88 Pi’ikoi St.
593-7373
42 Pizza and beer will never divorce
Mama’s Island Pizza has a happy hour. It’s not a secret, but not many people are aware of this fact. Well, their loss because it’s one of the best happy hour deals on the island. Monday through Friday from 3-6pm, Mama’s offers $1.99 draught beers of which there are two–a domestic and a premium–and a medium pizza for $9.99.
Their pizza dough is made from scratch, and they use a blend of cheeses for full flavor. The crust is perfect, not too thick, not too thin, and it goes great with the pints.
Mama’s Island Pizza
108 Hekili St. suite 107, Kailua
624-MAMA (6262)
43 Foraging for fruit
When you have a taste for jackfruitÖor jabongÖor persimmonÖor tamarind, there’s really only one place to go: Chinatown. The best part: It’s much cheaper than shopping at your local chain grocer. Maybe all those nasty things people say about durian are wrong. There’s only one way to find out.
Honolulu’s Chinatown
44 An apple banana a dayÖ
We love our local bananas, particularly the Brazilian variety, which are locally known as apple bananas. Easy to pick out, they have a distinctive little nose on their tip and offer more favor than those monocultured Central American bananas. They have a sweet, custard-like favor and are available throughout the Islands. They also have the added advantage of holding up better over time than other bananas, remaining firm and sweet, even when their skins have turned dark.
45 Don’t make a run for the border, run to Beretania
It’s hard to come by a Mexican joint in Honolulu that doesn’t have a Chihuahua as a spokesperson. And it’s even more difficult to find authentic Mexican cuisine. They’re there of course. The latest member to this elite club is Los Chaparros. Boasting a truly attentive–and friendly–waitstaff, Los Chaparros serves a mean shredded beef enchilada (take it with the zesty, but far from scorching, green sauce) and a host of other dishes that an unnamed fast food joint only bastardizes.
Los Chaparros
2140 S. Beretania St.
951-6399
46 The queen bee of honeys
Lehua honey comes from hives located more than 4,000 feet above sea level, in the verdant, rolling slopes of our Big Island’s volcanoes. Bees reap a seasonal harvest from the blossoms of Pele’s flower, ‘ohia lehua. This golden white honey is uniquely Hawaiian; it has a floral flavor and a creamy consistency. Although you can come across this honey at farmers’ markets occasionally in Keauhou or Hilo, you can order it directly from the company’s website.
Volcano Island Honey Company
Toll free 888 663-6639
[volcanoislandhoney.com]
47 Box breakfast
The Irish believe that there’s a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. That may be true in the North Atlantic, but here on O’ahu, we’d be willing to bet that when you find that place where the rainbow touches the ground, you find a box of Champion Malasadas. Yeah. You know it’s true.
Champion Malasadas
1926 S. Beretania St.
947-0367
48 A big mac attack
Plate lunch wouldn’t be plate lunch without it. Potlucks would be incomplete without three or four kinds. The way it acts as a cool creamy foil to khal bi or shoyu chicken is beyond compare. Local style mac salad goes beyond just macaroni and mayonnaise. Add potatoes, boiled eggs, canned crab, shredded carrots or frozen peas and we still call it mac salad. It’s a guilty pleasure that’s on everyone’s list.
49 The big cheese
You managed to get your hands on a tete de moine wheel (finally!), but before you let your food snob sensibilities get the best of you, you realize that you’re not in Switzerland anymore, Heidi. Maybe not, but R. Field is an admirable alternative considering our location. Find the best cheeses from anywhere in the world–Norwegian gjetost, Irish blue, English cheddar, Humbolt Fog, Italian truffle-infused Assiago and yes, Swiss tete de moine–at the specialty store. We know fondue is all the rage again, but really entertain to impress with a raclette party–R. Field has the cheese, all you need is the grill. But you’ll have to dial Switzerland for that.
R. Field Wine Company
Foodland (Honolulu & Kailua)
1460 S. Beretania St.
596-9463
108 Hekili St.
261-3358
50 A comfort food classic
Hotshot chefs can fancy up the classic sandwich all they want, but there’s nothing quite like a grilled cheese made with two slices of nutrient-free white bread and Kraft singles. Zippy’s unadulterated sandwich comes grilled to perfection: golden and crispy on the outside (thanks to the generous helping of salty faux butter stuff slathered on the outsides of the sandwich) and molten cheese–or something like it–on the inside. Order a cup of chili to go with it and comfort has never tasted so good.
Zippy’s
Multiple locations
[zippys.com]
