Eat and drink
Readers’ picks
Best place to get falafel
Pyramids
Plenty of places serve up the deep-fried garbanzo and fava bean patties, but your favorite spot for the Middle Eastern veggie balls is Pyramids. The Kapahulu Avenue staple has been satisfying cravings for Egyptian fare for years, and it’s still the only place where you can get your falafel with a side of belly dancer.
758 Kapahulu Ave., 737-2900
Best museum restaurant
Contemporary Museum Cafe
Must be the hummus and pita sandwich, because there’s nothing quite like it. Add the cozy surroundings, the outdoor tables that overlook the lush garden and the cool art exhibitions, and it’s no wonder the Contemporary Museum is your favorite place to eat and get cultured. The restaurant is currently under renovation, but you can still get the hummus and pita sandwich from the lunchbox menu and eat it picnic-style in the garden.
2411 Makiki Heights Dr., 523-3362
Best place to buy homemade bread
Great Harvest Bread Company
A national chain isn’t exactly what we had in mind for this category, but what the hell? We can’t resist those rounds of dense yeasty bread in all the fun flavors either. Spinach-feta or blueberry-cranberry bread baked fresh every couple of hours? It’s homemade enough for us.
Multiple locations,
Best shrimp truck
Giovanni’s
The Kahuku lunch wagon always has been–and still is–the most popular stop along the North Shore. The scribbled-over walls of the truck keep track of years and years of devoted fans who come hungry and leave happy. They better make room for more names because this mobile eatery will always be everyone’s favorite.
Best BYOB
Ong King
Not only are you down with the variety-show type antics that go down on the King Street location, you’re down for bringing your own bottles. You’re good. Real good.
184 N. King St., 428-3233
Best hulihuli chicken
The fundraiser kind
We may have been looking for something a little more specific, but when you put it that way, how can we argue? The fundraiser kind is much better than anything any of us could make at home, so bring on the pre-sale tickets–we’ll be the first in line on pick-up day.
Best lunchtime buffet
Indigo Eurasian Cuisine
Though the place is showing its age, it’s still the best deal for a quick and delicious lunchtime meal. Chef Glenn Chu knows his stuff, and you know it. Goat cheese wontons anyone?
1121 Nu’uanu Ave., 521-2900
Best place to eat in Chinatown
Little Village
The problem isn’t choosing where to eat in Chinatown, it’s choosing what to eat at Little Village, because it’s just understood that when in Chinatown, you eat at Little Village. We’re glad you get it. The pan-fried beef, walnut shrimp, garlic spinach and special fried rice? Yeah, those are our favorites too.
1113 Smith St., 545-3008
Best 3rd-shift eatery
Wailana Coffee House
Where would this city be without Wailana? Hungry at 2 in the morning, that’s where. The always-open diner that makes old-school look infantile is still the go-to eatery for late-late-night munchies. Because there’s nothing better for a belly full of beer and dancing-worn feet than a plate of eggs benedict. Mac 24-7: You’ve got some catching up to do.
1860 Ala Moana Blvd. at ‘Ena Road, 955-1764
Editors’ picks
Best naan
Cafe Maharani
When it comes to unleavened bread, no one gets it quite as right at Cafe Maharani. Hot and soft, with just enough height and bite to make it worth the effort, and just flat enough to make it wrap perfectly around a bite of chicken curry.
2509 S. King St., 951-7447
Best jackfruit smoothie
Summer Frappe
It’s not just the best because it’s the only jackfruit smoothie that we know of. Bang Nhi Chau’s smoothies come packed with fruit and thankfully lacking in any fillers like juice and ice. Here it’s fruit, fruit, fruit.
1120 Maunakea St. #192, 772-9291
Best pizza at your door
Roberto Pizza Party
If you think ordering pizza and having it delivered to your door is the best innovation of this smart-but-lazy-as-hell society that we live in, consider this: A chef who will show up at your door to cook the pizza for you. For an hourly fee, Roberto Gramigni cooks pizzas for your party in his portable pizza oven–and turns out gourmet pizzas that shame the other guys (other gourmet pizza guys included).
[email: robpizzaparty1], 497-5324
Best use of red and yellow
Baci Bistro’s heirloom tomato salad
Kailua’s Baci Bistro turns out an heirloom tomato salad whose red and yellow tomatoes are perfectly accented with a tangy-sweet balsamic reduction and topped with creamy mild Gorgonzola. Who cares that the osso bucco is to die for?
30 Aulike St., 262-7555
Best underground eatery
Art’s Hideaway
Tom Waits sang about a world going on underground, but in the land of houses on stilts, it’s hard to get beneath the surface, at least until the proposed underwater thoroughfare through Pearl Harbor gets approved. But Art’s Hideaway, located on Bishop Street takes its name seriously, allowing one to actually get away from the throng of the downtown foot and street traffic. Walk down the steep steps during the lunch hour, however, and you’re likely to see just as many people, with good reason–great food with better prices bring people back again and again. Try the steak and salad with the garlic mashed potatoes, and you’ll never want to see the sun again.
1110 Bishop St., 531-1775
Best bar-to-bar delivery service
King’s Pub
A lot of the great local watering holes don’t serve food. So what happens if you’re stuck with 7-11 drunk food, deemed so because that’s the only time it tastes good. But just in case you weren’t already in King’s Pub, they’re willing to come to you. Boasting all the prized bar goods (pizza, hot wings, nachos, etc.) and no minimum order restriction, with the lowest prices going for $5, you can save your seat for power hour with impunity.
King’s Pub, 949-1616
Best way to get over that Saturday morning hangover
Brunch at Grand Cafe and Bakery
OK, so maybe you didn’t grab those hot links Da Smokehouse was offering. Maybe you didn’t stop by Wailana Coffee House for an order of Spam and eggs. Yeah. You’re probably feeling it the next morning. If you are, it might be a good idea to swing on by Grand Cafe and Bakery for some much needed nutrition. Eggs Benedict, ‘Remember when’ corned beef hash, Island Bananas Foster French Toast, any one of those dishes will do the trick.
31 N. Pauahi St., 531-0001
Best place to get 2AM-cart food for the totally trashed
It’s true Wailana Coffee House won the reader’s pick for best third-shift eatery, and it was well deserved. But for those exiting the Hideaway or Irish Rose Saloon, who just want a quick bite before stumbling home (or to the next club), there’s nothing finer than the food cart manned by Scotty and supplied by the nearby Da Smokehouse, because his Louisiana Hot Links with the specially-made jalapeno mayonnaise are to die for. Don’t call them hot dogs, because these links put the meat of undeterminable origins to shame. Also offering pork and beef sandwiches every night and quesadillas on Saturday, even the staff at The Rose hope for slow spots, so they can run down and have a quick hot beef injection.
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