Honolulu Weekly

A Taste of New York

1137 11th Ave. at Wai’alae Ave., Kaimuki (737-DELI). Daily 10am-9pm. Steaks: $32-$46.95. Sandwiches: $11.95-$14.95. Cheesecake: $9.95. BYOB $5/glass. AmEx, Disc, MC, V.

This is O’ahu’s closest thing to a Big Apple deli, serving overstuffed reubens and Eisenberg’s corned beef from Chicago. Fifteen bucks may seem steep to Honoluluans used to paying $2 for a thin teri-beef sandwich, but these monsters come loaded with 11 ounces of meat. At night the deli becomes a steakhouse, where again you get what you pay for. Must try: house-made cheesecake based on a recipe from New York’s Carnegie Deli.

Bombay Indian Restaurant

Discovery Bay Center, 1778 Ala Moana Blvd. (942-3990). Daily 5-10pm; Main dishes $9.95-$21.95. JCB, MC, V.

Curry house classics are served in a pleasant, Pier 1-esque dining room. The tandoor is the basis for grilled meats, baked breads and the chef’s special chicken tikka masala, a beguiling combo of salty-sweet tomato sauce, smoky charred chicken and numbing chili heat. The awesome rendition of gulab jamun, deceptively light spherical fried dumplings made from powdered milk and steeped in cardamom-infused honey syrup, will make you rethink Indian desserts.

Buon Amici Ristorante

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

Italian for ‘good friends,’ this incarnation of the former C&C Pasta Company strives to retain Italian-style neighborhoodiness, featuring some dishes from the old menu, plus a few dishes served at downtown’s Spada (they share an executive chef). Fresh pastas are a standout, including classic Bolognese, papardelle with sausage and pancetta and gnocchi with gorgonzola cream sauce. BYOB for now.

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.

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.’ Even humble standards are elevated: Try the Kilauea, a dashi-drenched mound of fried rice in a hot stone pot, and the indecently lush version of tsukune. The innovative cocktail and dessert selections stretch the borders (and your stomach) beyond sake and ice cream to include concoctions like feather-light sweet potato mochi with Earl Grey Sauce.

Ichiriki

510 Pi’ikoi St. (589-2299). Mon-Thu 5-11pm, Fri-Sat 5pm-midnight, Sun 5-10pm. Entrees: $15.95-$45.95. Disc, JCB, MC, V.

Japanese hot pots at this nabe restaurant arrive in either single servings in a metal pot or in a must-try serving for two in a washi paper-lined basket designed to absorb fat. Cook your choice of meats, vegetables and noodles in your choice of broth (spicy Pirikara or kim chee recommended). You’ll still have room for the light ujikintoki, a green tea shave ice. Don’t miss the excellent sake selection served hako style.

Kiawe Grill BBQ & Burgers

1311 N. King St. (841-5577), 2334 S. King St. (955-5500). Mon-Sat 10am-9pm, Sunday 10am-8pm; $2.15-$16.95; AmEx, MC, V.

Burger zealots will note that this sandwich is thoughtfully structured: Cheese meltingly adheres bottom bun to hot burger, a superior patty which is stacked with onion, tomato and iceberg lettuce and held in place by a mayo-slicked top bun. The Kobe-style (Wagyu beef) burger with cheese is a standout: Gild it with doubly smoky kiawe grilled bacon and a side of steak cut french fries, ample, salty and crisp.

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.

The mod setting of this dressed-up 24-hour bar/diner leaves those in vinylville far behind. 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. Start your night with a drink from the full bar, or end it with an order of signature mac daddy pancakes: As big as hubcaps, they’re enough for four people and the pinnacle of late-night gluttony.

Matsugen

255 Beach Walk (926-0255). Daily 11:30am-2pm;5:30-10pm. $3.50-$35.50, soba $7.80-$18. AmEx, DC, JCB MC, V.

At this shrine dedicated to the craft of Japanese buckwheat soba, noodles are hand-made fresh in the dining room’s exhibition area six to eight times a day by Shingo Chibana, soba master. The superior noodles are firm without being burdened by firmness, and you can get them chilled or hot, from barely adorned mori and kake to fully-accessorized natto-bukkake and ebi tempura variations. The stellar traditional ‘edo’ style poke is both restrained and whimsical in seasoning.

Mekong I

1295 S. Beretania St. (591-8841). Mon-Fri 11am-2pm, daily 5-9:30pm. Entrees $8.95-$13.95. AmEx, Disc, JCB, MC, V.

Dine on superior renditions of menu standards like fried calamari and spring rolls at Honolulu’s first Thai restaurant. The sublime Garlic Shrimp, cooked in a sauce of pepper, garlic and coconut milk, warrants new synonyms for ‘rich.’ There’s a Rasta stripe of excellent curries, all deepened and tempered with coconut milk. Slightly sweet, tangy shrimp pad thai is a beaming poster child for the one-wok meal. Two more reasons to love Mekong: BYOB and a brisk takeout business.

Taiyo Ramen

451 Pi’ikoi St (589-2123). Mon-Sat 10-3am, Sun 10am-9pm. EntrÈes: $6.25-7.95. Cash only.

The real reason to come to Taiyo Ramen is the chicken katsu curry rice. Thick, yellowish brown and slightly tangy with a spicy bite, the curry sauce was born to cling in globs to the generous plateful of rice and copulate with the fried chicken katsu. Just as notable are the moist, garlicky gyoza and the pleasingly spicy diced kim chee. The noodles aren’t bad, either. Watch Korean soap operas on the flatscreen monitor as you dine.

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 at this sleek resto-lounge 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. There’s also a full menu of steaks, seafood, pasta and pizzas. Service is gracious and exactly what you’d expect from a place where the chef prefixes his name with ‘Uncle’.