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.

Bert’s Cafe

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

Operating in the same location since 1939, this McCully cafÈ is a monetary bargain that serves up an endangered old-time neighborhood charm that money can’t buy. A complete breakfast is just $3.50, and the saimin and hamburgers aren’t fancy but are just what they should be: deliciously satisfying and familiar.

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.

In this riverfront Chinatown dining room, 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. Good basic dumplings and one of the few places serving Shanghai-style soup dumplings (though they’re not on the menu). 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.

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.

Grand Cafe and Bakery

31 N. Pauahi St. (531-0001). Tue-Fri 7am-1:30pm, Sat-Sun 8am-1pm, Entrees $9.55-$18.50. AmEx, MC, V.

A weekend brunch alternative to your 40-bucks a head, belly-bursting hotel buffet. Classic eggs benedict is topped with fresh, subtly lemony hollandaise, bananas foster French toast comes with a moppable brown-sugar-butter-rum sauce, and an unexpectedly retro corned beef hash retains the sour brininess of house-cured meat. Some added highlights: good organic coffee, house-churned gelato and a few al fresco tables in the tiny garden courtyard.

Holokai Grill

226 Lewers St., 2nd Floor, (924-7245). Lunch 10:30am-4pm, dinner 4pm-10:30pm, bar open until 2am; Lunch: $8-$15, dinner: $15-$25. AmEx, DC, Disc, JCB, MC, V

This Polynesian Voyaging theme restaurant offers the same breezily buoyant atmosphere as sister eatery Tiki’s. Choose from pupu classics like coconut shrimp or build your own burger with toppings like kim chee and spicy guava sauce. Pacific Rim and American classics include fresh fish dishes and grilled Sterling Silver steaks and chops. Don’t miss the bar’s creative cocktails, including the dirty martini and bloody mary, both gilded with bleu cheese and bacon stuffed olives.

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.

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.

Mexico Restaurant

1247 N. School St. (845-9059). Sun-Thu 10am-9pm; Fri-Sat 10am-10pm. $6.50-$16.95. MC, V.

All your rice-and-bean accompanied standards are here, along with an extensive seafood selection (crab rellenos, scallop tacos, chipotle shrimp). Best bet: double-tortilla, south-of-the-border style tacos, featuring authentic fillings like carnitas, carne asada, lengua (tongue) and tripitas (intestines) topped with cilantro, onions and salsa verde.

Romano’s Macaroni Grill

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

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.

Soul De Cuba CafÈ

1121 Bethel St. (545-CUBA), across from the Hawai’i 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 this 40-seat eatery. Start with the addictive devil crab appetizers–the street food of Tampa Bay. 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. Throw in the bolero and the SanterÃŒa artwork, and there’s no question: This place has soul.