Honolulu Weekly

Cafe & Deli

Kalapawai Cafe & Deli

– Kawehi Haug (5/30/07)

Sitting right off of Kailua’s main drag, between KFC and Arby’s, Kalapawai Cafe & Deli is a cute, charming and quaint surprise. Part country cafe, part saloon-style eatery, it’s this island’s equivalent to Maui’s Hali’imaile General Store. The mostly southern-European-inspired flavors can be mixed and matched at whim, and always with rewarding results. The portions are kept in check–you won’t get mountains of food or family-sized platters. Who says you can’t have your steak…and fish and pizza and pasta…and eat it, too?

Mix Cafe

– K. H. (10/17/07)

The bustle and din at Mix Cafe belies its smallness. Six tables for two and one table for six turn the long narrow space into a cafe that seats fewer diners than most people here have family members. The full staff–warm, friendly and charming–is always at your beck and call. Order the sandwiches with a side of country salad, potatoes and roasted veggies tossed with oil, vinegar and salt and pepper and you won’t miss the fried starch that we normally pair with our sandwiches. Its breakfast menu is also certainly worth waking up for. The amazing waffles are in good company with Bruno’s signature omelette, a fritatta-like dish that’s chock-full of fresh veggies that threaten to make an addict out of anyone who discovers them.

Chinese

Aloha Bistro

–Rachel Brown (5/7/08)

Along with the chopsticks and handle-less tea mugs, the restaurant offers few entrees over $20 and excellent service. Presentation figures big into the bistro’s specialty dishes, the Seafood Taro Bowl: a medley of fish, squid and vegetables which comes in a delicate bowl of violet taro that soaks up the garlic sauce as you eat. Chinese tourists and islanders alike can find something familiar and comforting at Aloha Bistro: Good food, good prices and a staff that shouts in Cantonese.

Filipino

Marilou’s Restaurant & Catering

–Walter Rhee (3/5/08)

The allure of traditional Filipino cooking lies in the braising of meats slow-cooked for several hours to release the flavors. Each lunch/dinner combo comes with four items of your choice–pinapaitan, pinakbet (a soup with long green beans, few pieces of lechon-crispy fried pork, bitter melon, eggplant and tomatoes), dinguanan, pork guisantes, pork adobo, mungo beans or pork menudo. All items on the combo plates are savory. Take your pick from Banana lumpia and halo halo for dessert. Marilou’s is the place to go for a real comforting home-cooked Filipino meal.

French

JJ Bistro & French Pastry

–R. B. (6/18/08)

The food is so eclectic and the flavors so harmonious, that JJ transcends such labels as “French-Laotian” or “Eurasian.” There are two fixed menus offering soup, appetizer, entree and dessert. One such entree is the Fisherman’s pot pie with a dense, flaky crust that cradles a rich concoction of shrimp, scallops, salmon, zucchini and bamboo shoots, all drenched in a buttery cream sauce. The pastry display boasts a variety of desserts, including the famous chocolate pyramid, lemon honey cake, plum tarts and frou frou au chocolate. JJ provides world class cuisine in a chic setting at very reasonable prices.

3447 Wai’alae Ave. (739-0993) Mon–Sat, 9am–9pm. Sun, 12pm–9pm, Entrees: $19.95–$24.95. AmEx, Disc, MC, V.

Japanese & Okinawan

Chiba-ken

– R. B. (5/21/08)

Chiba-ken is a quiet garden in Dante’s dark wood of outer Waikk, just over the bridge and the crawling Ala Wai canal. Their outdoor seating even includes a proper lava rock wall to shield you from the sidewalk traffic and really makes you feel like you’re in Hawai’i. While they offer Western-style drinks, the true star is the sake. They have over a dozen selections ranging from very sweet to very dry. And the sushi? Chiba-ken makes it as it’s supposed to be made: perfectly bite-sized with just a tiny mouthful of rice under a slice of fish you don’t have to gnaw in half. Reasonably priced delicious sushi in a great location with a spectacularly helpful staff, Chiba-ken promises a perfect evening before you can say, “Banzai!”

468 ‘Ena Rd., (941-2800) Sun–Thu 5:30pm–11:30pm, Fri–Sat 5:30pm–1:30am. Entrees: $8.50–$17.50. AmEx, MC, V.

Southeast Asian & Indian

Bombay Indian Restaurant

–Napua Leong (1/3/07)

One of the highlights of Indian cuisine is its wonderful treatment of vegetables, and I was thrilled to see my favorite dish on the menu: Baingan bhartha, baked and mashed eggplant. The popular veggie standards are available, plus lesser-known variations like bhindi masala made with okra. While some Indian desserts can be either excessively floral or clunky, the ones at Bombay are subtle and mostly pleasant.

India Cafe

–R. B. (4/16/08)

India Cafe, a small, homey restaurant in Kilohana Square, serves up some of the best curry-and-roti combos in town in a cozy, laid-back atmosphere. The menu is basic but varied, with six different chutneys, 11 types of bread and enough variations of curry to turn anyone’s head. It is vegetarian-friendly, with as many vegetable sambals and masalas as there are meat offerings. Of special note is the okra vegetable curry, a delicate, mild dish–the soft okra leaves room for the spices to stand out, creating a wonderfully complex mixture that starts out with a bite and goes down smooth. Spicy but not scorching, stop by India Cafe after your next Bollywood marathon and satisfy your craving for cayenne, tamarind and cinnamon.

Madras Cafe

– Carlie Singh (4/23/08)

Madras is just about your only choice for fast, cafe-style Indian food at lunchtime. While ingredients change daily, the food tastes home-cooked instead of “restaurant food.” The dishes are thoughtful, well-balanced and consistent–they will satisfy your hankering for Indian food without sending you back to work exuding clouds of curry. The service is friendly and fast with enough variation in the menu to make Madras Cafe a weekly lunch spot.

Opal Thai Food

– N. L. (1/10/07)

Diners who devour satay and fried rice have come for the cooking of Opel and Aoy Sirichandrha. Originally from Thailand, they are now united on the North Shore to serve simple, good, honest food. What may be the best things on the menu aren’t cooked at all. The popular green papaya salad is seasoned with an authentically pounded tincture of lime juice, fresh garlic and tomato.

Pho Minh Thu

–N. L. (1/10/07)

The promise of hot, healthy pho helps to offset the lackluster ambience here, as does the swift and attentive, if hurried, service. The pho is a watery beef-based broth slow-cooked with hefty doses of Saigon-Cinnamon, star anise and ginger. Pho is the saving grace at Pho Minh Thu, standing alone as a lone exemplar of the soul of the Vietnamese kitchen. Pho is also a testament to the many threads of influence in Vietnamese cuisine, the noodles-in-soup being a distinctively Chinese gastronomic desire.