Honolulu Weekly

Choon Chun Chicken B.B.Q.

1269 King St. at Birch St. (593-4499). 11am-2am daily. EntrÈes: $8.95-$32.95. AmEx, MC, V.

Sisters Suk Hui and Hyon Suk Yi want to turn you on to dak kalbi, a Korean stir fry originally from the Choon Chun area of Seoul. It’s a cook-at-the-table one-pot dish that can feed four. What you get is a mountain of raw chicken, carrots, onion, cabbage, sesame leaves, sweet potato, chili paste and rice cakes. The gas is turned on and the server tosses the ingredients together. Also tops is the spicy buckwheat noodle salad.

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. SautÈed lamb with vegetables is a rich, red stew heady with cardomom and cinnamon. You can choose from 21 types of smoothies, too. There are just a few seats in the small storefront, so take your Styrofoam container of food to the park bench kitty corner to Da Spot for al fresco dining.

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.

Mariposa

1450 Ala Moana Blvd. (951-3420). Sun-Wed 11am-9pm, Thu-Sat 11am-10pm. Entrees: lunch $16-$25, dinner $24-$45. AmEx, Bergdorf Goodman, JCB, Neiman Marcus, V.

Updated menu, same luxurious setting. Famished shoppers pour in for refined island-inspired cuisine with a focus on seafood and an array of salads. The popular warm liliko’i pudding cake, delicate and topped with a butterfly cookie, is a highlight of the dessert menu. While the prices are high, the finest things here are complimentary: warm double manapua-sized popovers and a panoramic vista–from Ala Wai Yacht Harbor to Ala Moana beach park–best enjoyed from the shaded outside lanai.

Osake Sushi Bar and Sake Lounge

1700 Kapiolani Blvd. (944-4848). Wed-Mon 5pm to 2am. Dinner service until 1am. Sushi rolls: $12-18. AmEx, Disc, JCB, MC, V.

Service your lips or your hips at Osake Sushi Bar and Sake Lounge. Occupying the old Blue Tropix, the club for young sophisticates has been de-ghettoized and filled with well-appointed lounge furniture. It’s not the most conventional place to eat, but that isn’t to say they don’t serve quality sushi and excellent sashimi. They do. Sushi rolls like the Candy Cane Roll, a serviceable California roll topped with red ahi and white ika, are inventive, and the uni is first-rate.

Spada

First Hawaiian Bank Center, street level, 999 Bishop St., entrance at Alakea and King Sts. (538-3332). Mon 11am-2:30pm; Tue-Fri 11am-4pm, 5pm-9pm. Tapas: $3-$9.95. EntrÈes: $5.95-$26.95. AmEx, Disc, MC, V.

While popular for lunch, this downtown Italian spot is just what you didn’t know you wanted for mellow after-work reverie. Kick off your merriment with a happy hour caipirinha or martini and an order of Thiago’s special dip with housemade bread. Tapas are just $6 from 5-7pm. Save room for zabaglione with mango sorbetto, an exclamation point of fruit and cream.

Soul De Cuba CafÈ

1121 Bethel St. (545-CUBA), across from the Hawaii Theatre. Lunch 11:30am-2pm; dinner 5:30-10pm. Starters: $5-$9. EntrÈes: $9-$16. AmEx, DC, Disc, MC, V.

Good things come in small packages at the 40-seat Soul De Cuba Cafe. Start with the devil crab appetizers–the crispy outside, the thick, stuffing-soft layer of dumpling and the inner pocket of seasoned lump crab are addictive. The restaurant’s signature entrÈe, the Pollo Soul de Cuba is a breaded chicken breast smothered in a chunky warm salsa that boasts sweet, meaty chunks of guava and mango, citrusy pineapple, buttery rum and black beans that are an unlikely–and beautiful combination.

Sweet Basil

1152 Maunakea St. between Pauahi and Beretania Sts. (545-5800). Mon-Fri 10:30am-2pm. Starters: $4-$7.95. EntrÈes: $750-$11.95. AmEx, MC, V.

A welcome addition to pho-rich Chinatown is Thai, with a lineup of familiar dishes done well with quality ingredients. A star of the menu is the short ribs braised in massaman curry–your spoon sinks into the long-simmered meat. Neighborhood office workers pour in for the $8.95 all-you-can-eat buffet.

Tran’s CafÈ

2080 S. King St. (947-3638), 10am-10pm. EntrÈes: $6.50-$7.95. Cash only.

Tran’s CafÈ offers traditional Vietnamese selections ranging from pho to curry to rice and noodle plates in an unpretentious setting. Good prices and simple flavors are the reason to come. Pleasing dishes include the spicy lemongrass chicken and the tofu veggie stir fry. Best bet: Go with the pho.

Town

3435 Wai’alae Ave. at 9th Ave. (735-5900). Mon-Thu 11:30am-3pm, 5:30-9pm; Fri, Sat 11:30am-3pm, 5:30-10pm. Dishes: $13-$22. AmEx, MC, V.

Chef-owner Ed Kenney and chef de cuisine David Caldiero bring Honolulu dining up to date with town. Pure, unadulterated flavors punctuate the Mediterranean-leaning dishes made with local ingredients. The only problem is deciding what to order–braised veal cheeks and mussels in a Cinzano-spiked broth are so alluring. Gnocchi in sage brown butter with fresh peas are a must order.

Yakiniku Toraji

949 Kapahulu Ave. (732-9996). Daily 5pm-1am. Dinners for two: $49.50, $69.50, $99.50. AmEx, MC, V.

The first American venture of a Japanese chain has floor-to-ceiling windows, black backlit banquettes, and grills that pull smoke inward–this isn’t your Ojichan’s yaki< \h>niku. At Toraji, the vegetables are crisp, the meats well-seasoned and menu well-thought-out–spelling a first-rate experience for cook-your-own enthusiasts.