Auntie Pasto’s

Chris McDonough

Best place to eat on Beretania Street

Auntie Pasto’s

Local restaurateur Ed Wary opened his family-friendly Italian eatery 20 years ago, and it edged out even older-timer Grace’s Inn for your favorite place to grind on Beretania Street. Good food at good prices? Always a winner. And a great place to take the keiki after force-feeding them culture at the nearby Academy of Arts. We’re going to ignore the reader who suggested the Foodland dumpster.

Auntie Pasto’s, 1099 Beretania St., 523-8855, [www.auntipastos.com]

Best midnight snack

Zippy’s saimin

Okay, maybe it’s not the world’s most original choice but hey, it’s practical. When you’re drunk and/or tired, the decision-making process is severely impaired and when there’s a Zippy’s location on the way home–no matter where home is–it’s a given. Extra points are added for that romantic, nocturnal aura at the midnight hour. It’s the closest a Honolulu resident can get to being in an Edward Hopper painting. And when one is drunk or tired, nothing is more soothing than the healing properties of saimin. Just the broth alone has the ability to both calm and sober. Plus, why would you want to eat heavy right before bed anyway? Our metabolisms aren’t what they used to be, you know? –Ryan Senaga

For a Zippy’s location, call 973-0880, [www.zippys.com]

Best pau hana for free food

Costco*, Indigo

After a long day of slaving in front of the PC under soul-deadening fluorescent lights and zombie chatter at the Menehune water cooler, where do you want to mooch some free grinds to regain the will to do that 9 to 5 again tomorrow? Instead of a proper restaurant, Honolulu likes to recharge their gastro-batteries atÖCostco?! YeahÖReal classy, people. Prowling the aisles for thimble cups of ravioli and toothpick-stabbed string cheese pieces. The runner up and actual dining location was Indigo. No matter how much the food costs though, nothing can eradicate the harsh memories of the office quite like a liquid dinner of their venerable bargain happy hour saketinis. Now that’s what we call a corporate retreat.-R.S.

Indigo Eurasian Cuisine, 1121 Nu’uanu Ave., 521-2900

Farmer’s market at Kapi’olani Community College

Malia Leinau

Best farmers’ market

Kapi’olani Community College

There’s no contest: The farmers’ market at Kapi’olani Community College is worth waking up for. It’s like the swap meet of food–and it heeds the must-buy-local voice that we island dwellers can’t silence in our heads. Want mix-your-own ginger ale made from home-grown ginger? Check. North Shore beef? Check. Hau’ula tomatoes? Check. Can’t make it over the Pali on a Saturday or Sunday morning to head into town? Visit Kailua’s own farmers’ market on Thursday evening and marvel at the fact that there’s a bee keeper in Kailua who harvests enough honey to sell it.

Kapi’olani Community College parking lot, 4303 Diamond Head Rd.

Best Hawai’i-brewed beer

Kona Brewing Company & Brewpub

Once again, the Big Island brewery walks away with the honor of best locally brewed beer. And it’s no wonder. With it’s dark, smooth, chocolatey Black Sand Porter that–and we’re going out on a shaky limb on this one–might (might!) be a satisfactory substitute for Guinness, and it’s ultra mild and buttery Liliko’i Wheat Ale, there’s no reason not to head to Hawaii Kai for a pint. So what if the Irish and the Germans are cringing?

Kona Brewing Company & Brewpub, Koko Marina Shopping Center, 394-5662, [www.konabrewingco.com]

Indigo

Michelle Takiguchi

Best First Friday eatery

Indigo Eurasian Cuisine

After hoofing it up and down all those Chinatown blocks, hopping over sleeping homeless bodies while politely sifting through cellophaned prints in art galleries, and standing in baby-step-by-step lines for cheese and crackers, one helluva appetite can get worked up. No surprise that Indigo is once again hitting the Best of Honolulu list. The new additions to the menu this summer only strengthen the iron grip this eternally stylish open-air, brick walled Asian-themed dining haven holds over the area. It’s definitely the best non-Chinese food restaurant in the area–perfect for second, third and fourth Fridays too. Speaking of Chinese, runner up Little Village is also a must visit on any day of the month as well. That mango pudding should be considered a First Friday art event.–R.S.

Indigo Eurasian Cuisine, 1121 Nu’uanu Ave., 521-2900

Best burrito for minimalists

Diego Taco Shop

The burrito makers at Diego’s have perfected the minimalist burrito. If, for example, you order bean and cheese, that’s what you get. This is not to say that there’s anything boring about the food at Diego’s. The meat is tender and well seasoned. The flour tortillas are fresh, and the beans are homemade and taste authentically Mexican. If you eat red meat, order the Carne Asada and ask them to put beans inside. You’ll fart happily for days.–Tim Dyke

Diego’s Taco Shop, 2239 S. King St., 944-2942

Best place to get fresh fish

Hiroshi’s Eurasian Tapas

Chef Hiroshi Fukui of Hiroshi Eurasian Tapas doesn’t just buy his fish fresh, he’s been known to catch it himself and serve it the same day. And when his catch meets his incredible culinary prowess, the result is astonishing. Like his recent on-the-fly special of seared mahi with a kim-chee beurre blanc sauce. Makes you wish that all places really meant it when they say ‘catch of the day.’

Hiroshi’s Eurasian Tapas, Restaurant Row, 533-4476

Best place to be lactose intolerant

Olive Tree CafÈ

Touchy tummies take heart. Oliver, the next-door deli partner of the Olive Tree CafÈ in Kahala is stocked with an impressive variety of sheep and goat cheeses that put to rest the misguided notion that anything from a sheep or a goat tastes bad. Owner Savas, who like Cher, uses only his first name, imports only the best cheeses from Spain and Greece–from soft, buttery feta to nutty Spanish manchego to the salty, versatile kefalograviera. Go on a Friday night when Savas is there and let him teach you how to eat like a Mediterranean.

Olive Tree Cafe, 4614 Kilauea Ave., 737-6226

Hometown Noodle Factory

Chris McDonough

Best fresh pasta

Hometown Noodle Factory

Whether it’s ravioli for dinner or look fun, Hometown Noodle Factory in Chinatown’s got your pasta. Get squid ink, shrimp egg, spinach and even an organic variety of the ubiquitous staple. There’s plenty for the purists, too. All fresh, all good.

Hometown Noodle Factory, 135 North King Street, Stall 6B, 523-9888

Best coffee and cake

CafÈ Laufer

Kaimuki may be the closest O’ahu has to San Francisco’s North Beach, with the ’90s redevelopment resulting in a certain hip, artsy-fartsy-ness and an excellent strip of eateries spanning Wai’alae Avenue. The best place to get each cup of joe freshly brewed and a plate of designer cake though, is CafÈ Laufer. The real sinful delights are the desserts. Pretty tortes, tarts, white wine gel cakes, chocolate decadence, bread pudding, Èclairs and dozens of other meticulously crafted and presented sweets line the refrigerated counter. Getting just one is not an option.–Ryan Senaga

CafÈ Laufer, 3565 Wai’alae Ave., 735-7717

Best midnight sushi

Sushi King

Sushi King serves fantastic and fiscally prudent midnight dinner specials, the kind UH students can afford. One can’t find a cheaper and fresher chirashi special at that hour, but the really original choice is the salmon katsu. The perfect volume of breading and a tender filet matched with a mayonnaise/tartar/katsu sauce is terrific. The combo entrees also come with either California roll or spicy tuna. Those not on a budget will revel in the fully stocked sushi bar and an excellent menu of Japanese cuisine.–R.S.

Sushi King, 2700 S. King St., 947-2836