Honolulu Weekly

Baja Tacos

3040 Wai’alae Ave. at St. Louis Hts Dr. (737-5893). Mon-Sat, 10:30am-8pm. Two soft tacos: $3.75. Combo plates: $6.25-$7.25. Cash only.

Roosevelt grads Tracy and Winston Gabrile’s spot may be a taco stand, but it uses restaurant-quality ingredients–ribeye for the carne asada and center cuts of pork chops for the adobada. Winston learned how to cook Mexican while working in Ensenada, Baja California. Grab and go or BYOB and take a seat in the tiny dining area.

Du Vin

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

This downtown brasserie’s menu reads ’served daily from 11am untilÖ’ and the telling ellipsis captures the languid, nuanced dining missing from Honolulu. 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, and make it an open-ended evening.

Jane’s Fountain

1719 Liliha St. (533-1238), Mon-Fri 6am-10pm, Sat 7am-2:30pm, $2.50-$8. Cash only.

The cheeseburger deluxe is the thing to order at this retro throwback neighborhood joint. Deceptively simple and capable of generating cravings that you’ll drive crosstown to satisfy, these are like Mom should have made. Freshly formed patties achieve a crusted char while remaining tender and so juicy that they leave a puddle on the plate.

Kenny’s

Kamehameha Shopping Center, 1620 N. School St. (841-3733). Sat-Wed 6am-10pm; Thu 6am-11:30pm; Fri 6am-midnight. $9-$17. MC, V.

Four decades old, Kenny’s is a great old-fashioned diner, where you can sidle into a booth and get your eggs over easy. Salads are verdant mountains and burgers are big. But those in the know go for the fresh fish of the day program. You can get a garlic ‘ahi steak for a mere $9.99, or go high end with a $16.99 broomfish.

NeoNabe

2065 S. King St. (944-6622). Sun-Thu 5pm-2am, Fri-Sat 5pm-5am. Entrees: $14-$19. MC, V.

Bleary-eyed-yet-still-beautiful partygoers have a healthier after-hours dining option with NeoNabe, your not-so-ordinary late night Japanese restaurant. The shabu shabu joint offers entrees of prime rib eye, pork loin and a vegetarian comprised of tofu, bell peppers, zucchini, shiitake, enoki and button mushrooms, won bok, spinach, carrots and tofu. Indulge in one or a combo of the flavored broths: traditional, katsuo, beef, chicken, ninniku (garlic), negi (onion), vegetarian, teri, miso, pho and kim chee. Swish with care. They’re open until 5am on Friday and Saturday nights.

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. Part of the fishing village, the day’s catches are the freshest in town. Rub elbows with fishermen and auction hands on the lanai.

Paradise Found Cafe

66-443 Kamehameha Hwy., inside Celestial Foods, Hale’iwa (637-4540). Mon-Sat 9am-5pm, Sun 9am-4pm. EntrÈes: $3.95-$8.95. Cash, local check, bartering.

This 5-year-old nook at the rear of a gritty healthfood store looks like a 1970 hippie throwback, but the fresh casual food goes beyond tasteless tofu. At Paradise Found you’ll find monstrous sandwiches like the garlicky tempeh gyro, global-inflected dishes like a Thai-inspired peanutty eggplant stir-fry and pro surfers like Joel Tudor.

Phuket Thai

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

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 a must. The friendly staff helps make Phuket Thai one of Honolulu’s true gems.

Romano’s Macaroni Grill

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

A pleasing addition to Honolulu’s short list of satisfying Italian dining options, 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, and you won’t be disappointed. A little chianti and Frank Sinatra will almost make you forget you’re at the mall.

Shokudo

Ala Moana Pacific Center, ground floor, 1585 Kapi’olani Blvd. at Kaheka St. (941-3701, [shokudojapanese.com]). Daily 5pm-2am. Starters: $2.75-$9.75. EntrÈes: $6.75-$18.75. AmEx, DC, Disc, JCB, MC, V.

The prototype of what aims to be a 50-location nationwide chain, Shokudo is a luxe cafeteria. What you get is a grand, airy space serving well done, casual contemporary Japanese food. Dishes range from fresh house-made tofu to teriyaki chicken pizza. Grilled sliced steak, spinach salad, unagi rice and multi-ingredient maki are all to be had. Take your pick of a range of refreshing shochu cocktails at the giant square bar. Add this one to your list of late-night watering holes.

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.

Kapahulu’s unofficial restaurant row gets a late-night dining option with this sleek resto-lounge. The seafood-heavy 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. Service is gracious, informative and exactly what you’d expect from a place where the chef prefixes his name with ‘Uncle.’

Young’s Fish Market

City Square Shopping Center, 1286 Kalani St. (841-4885), Mon-Fri 8am-5:30pm, Sat 8am-4pm; Plates $6.25-$12.40. MC, V.

Divided into a cafeteria-style lunch counter and a take-out luau supplier, there’s just one vibe at this local favorite: let’s eat, lu’au style. Ample laulau are a perfect balance of lu’au leaves and pork. The kalua pig, one of the best versions in town, retains traces of imu smoke and pairs perfectly with generous servings of fresh poi. There’s a lineup of other poi supper favorites, including chicken long rice and squid luau. An array of unadulterated poke may deflect your sweet tooth from the requisite block of haupia to a second helping of limu kohu ‘ahi or raw white crab, lightly coated with salt and chili flakes.