American

Mac 24-7

Hilton Waikiki Prince Kuhio Hotel, 2500 Kuhio Ave. (921-5564). Open 24 hours. Large plates $12-$28. AmEx, Disc, DC, JCB, MC, V.

Satisfy wee hour cravings with updated comfort classics gone luxe: lobster pot pie, loco moco with Hamakua mushroom gravy and heirloom tomato soup with grilled white cheddar sandwich. End it with an order of signature mac daddy pancakes: they’re as big as hubcaps.

Poke Stop

Waipahu Town Center, 94-050 Farrington Hwy., next to Sizzlers (676-8100). Mon.-Sat. 8am-7pm, Sun. 8am-5pm. AmEx, MC, V.

You can pick up poi, bags of dried aku and a bowl of ‘deconstructed sushi’ along with daily specials such as perfectly seared opah in a deliciously salty broth swimming with Portuguese sausage chunks and cabbage.

Restaurant Epic

1131 Nu’uanu Ave. (587-7877). Mon.-Sat. 11am-2:30pm, 5-11pm, Sun. 5-10pm. $5-$25, AmEx, Disc, JCB, MC, V.

A new chef and a new menu means good things for Epic. The Euro-Asian fare is solid and satisfying, from the li hing heirloom tomato salad to the blue cheese crusted opa.

South Shore Grill

3114 Monsarrat Ave. (734-0229). Daily 11am-8pm. Sandwiches: $4.25-$5.75. Plates: $5.75-$7.95. Cash only.

Get fresh mahimahi in soft tacos, as an entree with her addictive Asian-style slaw or in a sandwich with chipotle-aioli sauce. The food may be fast, but it’s fresh–and all made from scratch.

Cafe & Deli

Bert’s Cafe

939 McCully St. (941-2810). Mon.-Sat. 7:20am-1pm. $1.25-$5. Cash only.

This McCully cafe is a monetary bargain that serves up an endangered old-time neighborhood charm that money can’t buy. A complete breakfast is cheap, and the saimin and hamburgers aren’t fancy but are just what they should be: deliciously satisfying and familiar.

Coffeeline Campus

1820 University Ave. (next to the Atherton YMCA) 778-7909, Mon.-Fri. 7am-3:30pm; Sat., Sun. & holidays 9am-noon. $2-$7. Cash only.

Serving up strong, tasty coffee to wash down his made-with-care soups, salads, waffles, omelets, sandwiches and bagels. Coffeeline, with its open roof and art displays, is a peaceful retreat with plenny good reading material: The New Yorker, The Atlantic Monthly, Interview, The Utne Reader.

Daily Bread

1909 South King St. (951-6634). Mon.-Sat., 7am-7pm. Cash only.

With a dollop of European-style butter, something as simple as a slice of bread can be as exquisite and heartwarming as a fine chocolate truffle. Daily Bread makes a rare attempt to be a true boulangerie. Aside from baguettes, there are batards, boules, rectangular loaves of soft, sandwich bread, croissants, danishes.

Chinese

Fook Lam Seafood Restaurant

Chinatown Cultural Plaza, 100 N. Beretania St. (523-9168). Daily 8am-3pm and 5-10pm. Dim sum from $1.90. MC, V.

The dim sum cart comes around more often than at the bigger dim sum palaces, and cheap prices mean your stomach can be as big as your eyes. Superior taro gok and shrimp gau, when hot out of the kitchen, are highlights. Augment your plate with a handful of filled look fun rolls and house specialty braised e-mein.

Happy Day Restaurant

3553 Wai’alae Ave. at 11th Ave. (738-8666). Daily 8:30am-10:30pm. Dim sum: $2.30 per plate. AmEx, Disc, MC, V.

Servers greet customers like old friends. The place is great for big family dinners (Peking duck is tops), but it also has good dim sum. The turnip cake can’t be beat. The cooks turn coarse, bland daikon into delicately crusted creamy, savory-sweet squares.

Japanese & Okinawan

Aki-no-no

2633 S. King St. (947-1001). Tue.-Sun. 5pm-2am. Small dishes: $2.50-$9.50. Big dishes: $9.50-$25. AmEx, Disc, JCB, MVC, V.

Food wise, Aki-no-no is just another izakaya, but the sweet service from a small army of young women, the warm wood-and-bamboo cocoon of a room and the late-night hours make this spot worth adding to your list.

Gaku Sushi Izakaya

1329 S. King St. (589-1329). Daily 5pm-11pm; dinner $2-$40, omakase from $30. Disc, JCB, MC, V.

A casually festive sushi bar/izakaya hybrid. Sit at the sushi bar and choose from the catches of the day: jumbo scallops, peacock seabass, live lobster sashimi. Opt for sake and beer-friendly nibbles to share like the TNT, baked king crab or garlic ribeye and baked potato with mentaiko.

Gazen

2840 Kapi’olani Blvd. across from Market City (737-0230). Daily 5-11:45pm. $2.75-$15.95. Disc, JCB, MC, V.

Innovative izakaya and teppan dishes in a refined setting will satisfy all your omnivorous whims. Notables from the two-page tofu menu include tofu in soy milk broth and tofu mochi ‘agedashi style.’ The innovative cocktail and dessert selections stretch the borders beyond sake and ice cream to include concoctions like sweet potato mochi with Earl Grey Sauce.

Hakkei

1436 Young St., Suite 103 (944-6688). Daily 11:30am-4pm (last order at 3:30pm); 5:30-11pm (last order 10pm). A la carte items: $2.20 & $3.20. AmEx, MC, V.

Oden is the staple here. You choose items from a menu and order by the piece. Items include back-to-the-earth basics like daikon, potato, tofu and konnyaku. Hakkei also offers chicken dumplings, shrimp dumplings and squid dumplings, beef tendon and pureed pumpkin.

Mexican

El Palenque

177 Kamehameha Hwy., Wahiawa (622-5829). Mon.-Sat. 11am-2pm & 5-9pm, Sun 11am-3pm. Entrees: $6.95-$10.50. MC, V.

El Palenque serves up aromatic platters of Northern Mexican cuisine with old family recipes from Ciudad Juarez. From chimichangas to tamales to chile relleno, most every Mexican specialty is covered. The piquantly spiced mole is particularly enjoyable. El Palenque’s dark, thick version is championed by an imported Mexican chocolate and homemade chicken stock.

Maria Bonita

15 N. Hotel St between Smith and Nu’uanu Sts. (536-6185). Mon.-Sat. 11am-8pm. Plates: $7-$10. Cash only.

Serving the same standard gringofied Mexican fare–enchiladas, burritos–the cafe is a welcome addition in an area where you can’t swing a rice noodle without hitting a Vietnamese restaurant. You can’t go wrong with soft tacos stuffed with moist, tasty carnitas.