A spoonful of honey

According to National Geographic Traveler Magazine, Volcano Island Honey makes the world’s best honey. We concur–and we’re not surprised. The pearly-white certified organic honey comes from the only known kiawe forest in the world.

Owner Richard Spiegel is the latest in the line of a century of beekeepers in the Big Island’s Puako Forest. The VIH operating philosophy incorporates sustainability and responsibility of the environment, the bees, the employees and their product. This translates to the positive energy that is absorbed by their final product. Selections of their Rare Hawaiian Organic Honeys include: White, Lehua, Liliko’i, White with Organic Ginger and Winter.

Would it be horribly offensive to the purists if we suggested that a spoonful or two of the delicious white honey would be the perfect complement to warm bread and peanut butter? –Carrie Kuwada Phipps

Honeys are available online at  [volcanoislandhoney.com].

New or Noteworthy

American

Nico’s Pier 38 Restaurant

1133 N. Nimitz Hwy. at Pier 38 (540-1377). Mon.-Fri. 6:30am-6pm, Sat. 6:30am-2:30pm. Dishes $6.25-$10. AmEx, MC, V.

Nico brings a high-end angle to the lowbrow plate lunch. In addition to breakfast features like sweetbread French toast and lunch faves such as beef stew and fried calamari salad, Nico’s serves furikake-crusted ahi and ginger-garlic cilantro dip with nalo greens.

Uncle Bo’s Pupu Bar & Grill

559 Kapahulu Ave. (739-2426). Daily 5pm-2am. Pupu $6-$10, Entrees $10-$25. AmEx, Disc, JCB, MC, V.

The seafood-heavy page-long pupu menu features strong flavors–sweet chili calamari, dynamite shrimp–to pair with successive rounds of drinks from the pink backlit bar. Don’t miss the Thai style steamer clams in a sweet chili garlic oyster sauce. There’s also a full menu of steaks, seafood, pasta and pizzas.

Waldo’s Great Flying Pizza Co.

95-221 Kipapa Dr. Mililani (623-1923) Mon.-Thu. 11am-10pm, Fri. 11am-10pm food, 2am drinks, Sat. 11am-10:30pm, Sun. 11am-9:30pm. Pizzas: $9-$19.95 Sandwiches: $5.75-$6.50 AmEx, MC, V.

Ensconced in the cellar-like ambiance, order up an all-American pizza pie on homemade dough, slathered with traditional sauce and 17 toppings to choose from.

European

Downtown @ the HiSaM

250 Hotel St. (536-5900). Mon.-Fri. 7-11am; Mon.-Sat. 11am-2pm. Food: $4-$16. AmEx, Disc, MC, V.

Chef Ed Kenney does it again with this Mediterranean-style lunch spot. The lamb lasagna and Wingnut’s Super-Sized Salad make breaking for lunch the smartest thing you’ve done all the day.

Du Vin

1115 Bethel St. (545-1115). Daily 11am-closing. Food: $4-$16. AmEx, DC, Disc, JCB, MC, V.

Sample vin, vino or wine from the expansive wine list to go with a cloudlike, supple brie baked in puff pastry, oysters Rockefeller or the chalkboard’s daily specials.

Elua Restaurant & Wine Bar

1341 Kapi’olani Blvd. (955-ELUA). Mon.-Fri. 11:30am-2pm; dinner served daily from 6-11pm, late night wine and cheese service Fri. & Sat. from 10pm-midnight. AmEx, Disc, MC, V.

Try both sides of the menu–the French with its rich sauces and succulent seafood and the Italian with its perfect pasta and down-home flavors. The pan-fried veal is divine.

Italian

Buon Amici Ristorante

3605 Wai’alae Ave. (732-5999). Daily 5:30-9pm. Pastas: $18.50-$22.50, Entrees: from $20.50. MC, V.

The restaurant strives to retain Italian-style neighborhoodiness. Fresh pastas are a standout, including classic Bolognese, papardelle with sausage and pancetta and gnocchi with gorgonzola cream sauce.

Pasta & Basta by Donato’s

Restaurant Row (523-9999). Mon.-Thu. 11am-10pm, Fri. 11am-12am, Sat. 5pm-12am. MC, V.

Donato Loperfido brings quality Italian ingredients–including house-made pastas, sausage and mozzarella–to this counter-service casual eatery. Twenty-three pastas (gnocchi gorgonzola, tagliatelle Bolognese) and an appealing array of salads, pizzas and paninis make deciding what to have a very difficult task.

Romano’s Macaroni Grill

1450 Ala Moana Blvd. (356-8300), Sun.-Thu. 11am-10pm, Fri. & Sat. 11am-11pm. Entrees: $9.99-$20.99. AmEx, Disc, MC, V.

Macaroni’s offers traditional fare including chicken scaloppini and veal saltimbocca. Order the giant mushroom ravioli covered with a creamy marsala sauce for a starter and the chocolate ganache-filled dessert ravioli for a finale.

Middle Eastern

Da Spot

1908 Pumehana St. between Waiola and Algaroba Sts. (941-1313). Mon.-Sat. 10am-9:30pm. Plate lunch: $6.50. Smoothies: $2.75-$3.75. Cash only.

Ahmed Ramadan and Ako Kifuji serve a lot of love along with their cheap, good food–the best of it Middle Eastern dishes based on recipes from Ramadan’s Egyptian family. Sauteed lamb with vegetables is a rich, red stew heady with cardomom and cinnamon.

Dat One Persian Restaurant

801 Alakea St. (791-1616). Mon.-Fri. 10am-2pm. Plate lunch: $6.50-$7.50

A point-and-pick eatery that serves up traditional Persian fare rich with cinnamon, lime parsley, turmeric and dill.

Good & Healthy Cafe

212 Merchant St. (566-6365). Mon.-Fri. 10:30am-5pm, Sat. 10:30am-2pm, Sandwiches and salads $5.75-$6.50, plates $6.75-7.95. MC, V.

Don’t expect belly dancers or elaborate oriental rugs at this cafe; the simple, fresh fare be the centerpiece. The refreshing nature of Lebanese cuisine–heavy on the cool crisp salads, bite-sized hors d’oeuvres and kebabs–makes it suited for Hawai’i’s sunny climate. The hummus is smooth, pungent and satisfying.

Southeast Asian & Indian

Cafe Maharani

2509 S. King St. (951-7447). Daily 5pm-10pm. Naan: $2.50-$3.99. Entrees: $7.50-$17.95. AmEx, Disc, MC, V.

Cafe Maharani has a tandoor, and it knows how to use it. From lamb tikka to tandoori chicken, the menu highlights northern Indian cuisine cooked in the cylindrical clay oven, including the staple of the region dominated by wheat: naan. Try the aloo (potato) naan, which holds a thin layer of potato puree with parsley and sprinkles of green onion, or the peshwari naan stuffed with almonds, cashews and raisins.

Spices

2761 S. King St., Diamond Head of University Ave. (949-2679). Tue.-Sun. 5:30-10pm. Starters: $4.75. Curries: $9.45-$11.45. JCB, MC, V.

You can get dillweed-flavored Laotian curry and Burmese khao soi noodles at this casual Pan-Southeast Asian restaurant. Chef Pony Norindr brings veteran restaurant expertise to working-class food. He uses no substitutes–the Laotian curry is packed with Lao eggplant and makheng, a pea-size eggplant cousin. The menu’s pice de resistance: housemade ice cream in flavors like lemongrass-chili and green apple-curry.

Phuket Thai

McCully Shopping Center, 1950 Kapi’olani Blvd. at McCully St., ground floor (942-8194). Daily 11am-10:30pm. Dishes: $3.75-$12.95. AmEx, DC, Disc, JCB, MC, V.

In a city blessed with dozens of Thai restaurants, Phuket Thai is one of the unheralded best. Noodle and curry dishes delight with an artful balance of savory and spice, but it’s the touch of sweetness in unexpected places (try the paht ki mao) that really sets this cozy eatery apart. The stuffed chicken wings are also a must.