Honolulu Weekly

Cafe & Deli

Coffeeline Campus

1820 University Ave (next to the Atherton YMCA) 778-7909, Mon-Fri 7am-3:30pm; Sat, Sun & holidays 9am-noon, $2-$7. Cash only.

Serving up strong, tasty coffee to wash down his made-with-care soups, salads, waffles, omelets, sandwiches and bagels. Coffeeline, with its open roof and art displays, is a peaceful retreat with plenny good reading material: The New Yorker, The Atlantic Monthly, Interview, The Utne Reader.

Daily Bread

1909 South King St (951-6634). Mon-Sat, 7am-7pm. Cash only

With a dollop of European-style butter, something as simple as a slice of bread can be as exquisite and heartwarming as a fine chocolate truffle. Daily Bread makes a rare attempt to be a true boulangerie. Aside from baguettes, there are batards, boules, rectangular loaves of soft, sandwich bread, croissants, danishes.

Kalapawai Cafe & Deli

750 Kailua Rd (262-DELI), Daily 6:30am-9pm, tapas menu after 5:30pm. Tasting plates from $5. AmEx, MC, V.

The deli offerings are good, but it’s when evening falls that this place really shines. Try the chef’s daily fish specials. They’re always perfect.

This Is It Bakery & Deli

443 Cooke St between Pohukaina and Auahi Sts (597-1017), Mon-Fri 6am-4pm, Sat 7am-3pm; This Is It Too, 1001 Bishop St and Alakea (526-2280), Mon-Fri 5:30am-2:30pm. Plain bagels: 85 cents each, $9 a dozen. AmEx, Disc, MC, V.

Bagels, sandwiches, salads and desserts are also on the menu. When it comes to bagels, well, this is it.

European

Cafe Miro

3446 Wai’alae Ave (734-2737). Tue-Sun 5:30-9pm. Chef’s tasting menus: $32, $43. AmEx, Disc, MC, V.

Serving classic French food while still keeping things on the traditional side. The menu reintroduces the classics like a bright, delicious vegetable terrine. And the crme brulee is quite possibly the best on the island.

Du Vin

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

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.

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.

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 sound so alluring. Gnocchi in sage brown butter. with fresh peas are a must order.

Japanese & Okinawan

Banzai Sushi Bar

North Shore Marketplace, 66-246B Kamehameha Hwy, behind Patagonia (637-4404). Tue-Sun 5-10pm. Appetizers: $3-$12.50. Sushi & sashimi dinner: $18.75. AmEx, MC, V.

You get standard sushi with a Brazilian twist at Banzai Sushi Bar. Take a seat (on a chair or on a pillow) on the big wood lanai. Tuck into citrusy ceviche, nigiri sushi and maki as crickets and geckos serenade you.

NeoNabe

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

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.

Taishoken

903 Ke’eaumoku St (955-8860). Mon-Sat 11am-10:30pm; Sun 11am-8:30pm. Average bowl of ramen: $7. Cash only.

The Honolulu branch of one of Tokyo’s most famous ramen shops, this is a must-stop for noodle aficionados. Taishoken is famous for a dish it invented: Tsukemen. Dip firm room-temperature noodles (made fresh daily) into a bowl of soup, almost like soba. Choose between shoyu or miso broths.

Korean

Choon Chun Chicken B.B.Q.

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

The restaurant wants 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.

Mary Jane’s Kitchen

1694C Kalakaua Ave at Fern St (943-2109). Mon-Fri, Sun 9am-9pm. Entrees: $6-$12.50. Cash only.

You get unadulterated Korean home cooking at this humble fluorescent-lit box on Kalakaua’s budding K-strip. Jane Shim creates MSG-free, flavorful food and her daughter Ellen is your ebullient host. A must-order is the dol sot bi bim bap, an earthily savory DIY fried rice..

Mexican

El Palenque

177 Kamehameha Hwy., Wahiawa (622-5829). Mon-Sat 11am-2pm & 5-9pm, Sun 11am-3pm. Entrees: $6.95-$10.50. V, MC.

El Palenque serves up aromatic platters of Northern Mexican cuisine with old family recipes from Ciudad Juarez. From chimichangas to tamales to chile relleno, most every Mexican specialty is covered. The piquantly spiced mole is particularly enjoyable. El Palenque’s dark, thick version is championed by an imported Mexican chocolate and homemade chicken stock.

Maria Bonita

15 N Hotel St between Smith and Nu’uanu Sts (536-6185). Mon-Sat 11am-8pm. Plates: $7-$10. Cash only.

Serving the same standard gringofied Mexican fare–enchiladas, burritos–the cafe is a welcome addition in an area where you can’t swing a rice noodle without hitting a Vietnamese restaurant. You can’t go wrong with soft tacos stuffed with moist, tasty carnitas.

Mexico Lindo

600 Kailua Rd (263-0055). Sun-Thu 11am-9pm, Fri-Sat 11am-10pm. MC, V.

Mexicao Lindo has friendly service, live mariachi and hearty fare that’s far from authentic–perfect for Windwardites who prefer things western with a Pacific twist. The blue crab quesadilla with the signature papaya avocado salsa is perfect.