'Ono Kine Grindz

Lox of Bagels

Lox of Bagels is in a mostly industrial area right off of Nimitz Highway.  I normally stop by here on Saturday mornings on my way to the office and grab myself a bag of bagel puffs (rounds of cinnamon raisin bagel dough filled with cream cheese) to go.  The bagels here are fresh and they are pretty good and so are the sandwiches.

(I still miss H & H Bagels.  I used to visit the shop on 80th and Broadway every week when I worked right up the street.)

Ham, egg and cheese on a whole wheat bagel (US$3.95).

Turkey on an everything bagel (US$5.25).

Lox of Bagels
111 Sand Island Access Road
Telephone: 808.845.2855

Fritz's European Bakery

Fritz's makes excellent breads, but it's been a while since I last had their sandwiches.  Were the sandwiches here as good as I remember?

The Boss on wheat, grilled.

Fritz's Special on multi-grain, grilled.

 

If you need a sugar rush afterwards.

Fritz's European Bakery
1336 Dillingham Boulevard
Telephone: 808.845.0650

Big Kahuna Pizza

Big Kahuna Pizza is located along a stretch of roadway that is home to warehouses, and auto body and repair shops.  Since most of the surrounding area is industrial, one wouldn't expect to find a little green and yellow "shack" serving some of the Island's best pizza here.

A long time destination of both local residents and visitors, you'll have to keep your eyes open for the signs announcing da Big Kahuna's and quickly turn into the gravel parking lot.  If you drive too fast, or aren't looking for it, you'll drive right past it.

Walk past the "porch" and open the screen door to enter the tiny restaurant.  You'll see the menu board above the counter where the orders are placed.  The menu is quite lengthy, and includes a number of pizzas and sandwiches.  If you don't like waiting, take my advice and place your order over the phone -- well in advance of your anticipated pick up time.  But be forewarned.  If it's busy, the wait can be as long as 30 minutes or more!

After placing your order and paying for your meal, you can choose to dine-in (you food will be brought to the table), if one of the four tables inside the restaurant are available.  Otherwise, you'll have to order to go.

Since I had some time to spare, I decided to eat in.  It was busy, and crowded, so I ended up waiting 15 minutes for a table to open up and another 10 minutes for my food to arrive.  What did I order?  I had "da sumo special" (6" personal pan, US$5.95; 12" medium pan, US$16.95).

This perfectly sized pizza contains an extraordinary variety of tasty toppings.  Here's the short list of what's on here: pepperoni, ham, Italian sausage, kalua pig (!), Portuguese sausage, bacon, onions, fresh mushrooms, chopped tomatoes and black olives!  Is that artery clogging goodness or what?  Even with all those toppings, the thick, fluffy and slightly sweet crust remains crisp and crunchy until the last bite.

I also ordered the garlic cheese balls (one dozen, US$3.35).

Fluffy and slightly chewy, these garlic cheese balls are brought to the table straight out of the over.  Rich and buttery, and made flavorful with all of that garlic and cheese, the bottoms of these are crispy, making these so fun to eat.  I do have to tell you that these garlic cheese balls are addictive -- you can't eat just one.  In fact, before you know it, you've eaten them all.

Sometimes when I'm in the area, and don't feel like having a pizza, I'll go for one of Big Kahuna's amazing sub sandwiches.  Here is the surfer sub combo/grinder (with turkey and roast beef, US$6.35).

The paper plate-sized homemade bun was slightly sweet, yet dense and fluffy.  Nicely stuffed with more than a few slices of roast beef and turkey before being topped by some shredded lettuce and tomatoes, this is one heck of a sandwich.

Big Kahuna Pizza
833 Puuloa Road
Telephone:  808.833.5588

Grand Café & Bakery

After returning to Hawaii from my trip to Singapore, I was on my way to the post office to collect my mail.  I noticed a couple men standing outside the old Wing Coffee Building, and I saw that it had been converted to a restaurant.  Looking in through the window, it seemed to have drawn quite a nice sized crowd, so I made a mental note to stop by here one day for lunch. 

Grand Café and Bakery has been open for a little over a month or so, and judging by the crowds, they've been doing some brisk business.  When I arrived with a friend, we were told the wait would be about 10 minutes for a table (actual wait time was 15 minutes).

While waiting, I decided to take a look at the baked goods in the chiller up front.  There were cakes, danish pastries, cream puffs and other goodies....  I spotted one that I wanted to try, and decided that if I had enough time left over, I would order some dessert (I didn't have time).

The friend that came along had the meatloaf (US$7.75).

The individual bacon-wrapped meatloaf was served with a red wine reduction and was made using ground beef, pork and veal (!).  I was told that it was very delicious, though the portion was sized a bit small.

I had the Grand Café Reuben grill (US$7.75).  I had really wanted to have the chips (Utz potato chips), but unfortunately, they were already sold out.  Instead, I had to settle for the cole slaw.

The Reuben sandwich was filled with lots of meaty corned beef, a bit of sauerkraut and Russian dressing.  It was all topped with some nicely melted Swiss cheese.  The rye bread was nicely toasted and had a wonderful flavor without being too buttery.  The corned beef, for the most part, was lean.  In fact, a great thing was done with this sandwich.  When I opened it up to have a look, the lean slices of corned beef were on top, with the fattier pieces below.  It made it easy for me to remove some of the fatty pieces of corned beef for a slightly "healthier" sandwich.  The cole slaw here was great.  Not being a cole slaw fan, this was extremely fresh tasting and contained very little mayonaisse or vinegar.  It was actually refreshing.

Since it took a while for us to be seated, for us to place our order, and for our food to actually arrive, I was out of time and could not order the dessert that I was hoping to.  Instead, I took it home with me so that I could have it after dinner.

What did I get?  The chocolate cake (US$4.00).  When I inquired at the counter, I was asked if I was going to eat this alone.  "Of course," I replied.  The gentleman at the counter looked shocked.  He explained that most people "share" the desserts, Well, he obviously didn't know me!  He then offered that the chocolate cake was made with pure chocolate, not cocoa powder.  I was immediately impressed, and happy, that I had made such a wise choice.

After dinner, I attempted to eat this huge slice of chocolate cake.  It was three layers high, with an equal amount of chocolatey frosting.  The cake was moist and dense, and because it was made with real chocolate, it was very chocolate-y, but not at all sweet.  It was by far, the best chocolate cake that I've ever tasted.

According to some information on the menu, the Grand Café and Bakery was originally founded back in 1923.  Many of the recipes used in preparing the food date back to this era.  The food here is excellent, and a pretty good value considering the quality of the food, the atmosphere and the service.  This is definitely a place that I'd continue to visit for years to come.

Grand Café & Bakery
31 North Pauahi Street
Telephone:  808.531.0001

Queen's Deli

The other day, a friend told me about Queen's Deli and the tasty sandwiches that serve.  I told him to call me the next time he was going to have lunch here so I could go with him.  Well, he called and I went...and am I glad I did.

Queen's Deli is not too far from the office, in fact, there are a lot of restaurants in the immediate vicinity of this place.  When I arrived it was packed.  I would have to say that there were about 15 people inside the small shop itself.

While I waited to place my order, lots of people came and went.  A lot of them must have been regulars as their food was ready when they arrived.  A few  people inspected their lunches before leaving just to be sure that they were leaving with what they ordered.  I guess it's easy to get confused when there are so many orders and so many people.

Near the front counter, a board lists the day's specials.

On the left side of the front counter, they have a display with all the different types of breads that are on offer with your sandwich. I really like having a choice.  This is a huge plus!  There were some breads that were no longer available -- the honey wheat and the onion were both sold out by the time I arrived at 12:30 pm.

Since this was my first time here, I asked my friend if he would mind trading half of his sandwich for half of mine so that I could sample more than one type.  He said he didn't mind one bit.  I ordered one of the day's specials, the barbecue chicken sandwich (US$5.75), he ordered the mahi club (US$5.75), our bread choice?  The Kaka'ako because it looked yummy.

OK...we waited, and waited, and waited...in total, the wait was about 25 minutes!  That's how busy this place is!

When the sandwich arrived, I was really surprised.  It was served warm and the bread was toasted.  The sandwich was quite large and even the two halves were a bit too much for me.  Besides, the sandwich, you get your choice of two salads.  I chose the pesto pasta and the tossed salad with no dressing.

In front, you can see the pasta pesto salad on the left.  It was delicious.  I'm glad I chose this.  On the right, is the mahi club.  A nice piece of mahi mahi is topped with cheese and baked (or fried, not sure which).  There's also lettuce, tomato and bacon in this sandwich.  The combination of flavors was wonderful.  The crisp bacon and the mahi mahi went surprisingly well together.  I like the addition of the cheese which made this even better.

In the back, you can see the tossed greens on the left.  It was a good salad because of the combination of lettuces, radicchio, carrots, and other leafy greens.  Topped with melted cheese and shoved into the Kaka'ako bread with some lettuce and tomato, the barbecue chicken sandwich was so good!  The barbecue sauce was a bit sweet, a bit smokey, and a bit spicy.  In my opinion, it was perfect. 

I'm definitely going to come here again.  But next time, I'll call in my order in advance.  Since this was my first time here, I didn't expect to wait so long for just a sandwich, but I'd have to say it was worth the wait.  After looking over the menu, I'm thinking of trying the tuna melt on marble rye, the taro burger and the cobb salad.  This is quite a bargain for lunch especially since you get a choice of two salads (or a salad and chips) AND a 16 ounce (?) drink all for the US$5.75.  How can you beat that?  You can't, especially since these sandwiches are some of the tastiest around.

Queen's Deli
801 Alakea Street Suite 110
Telephone:  808.521.6288

Boulangerie

A couple of weeks ago, while on my way to eat Restaurant Yamagen, I passed by this place.  I stopped on the side of the road to check it out, but it hadn't opened yet.  Several days ago, I drove by on my way to Restaurant Yamagen...again.  This time, I saw the lights on inside and there was a woman behind the counter.  With anticipation, I parked on the street in front of Boulangerie.

Here's a close up of the sign in front.

Boulangerie, which means bakery in French, is a Korean-owned, French-style bakery.  There are quite a number of items on the menu, including coffee, sandwiches and bubble drinks!  In the cold case up front, there were a few beautifully decorated cakes.

As I took a look around the shop, I realized that there really wasn't much left.  The one thing that caught my eye was the last loaf of chestnut bread (US$6.50).  I decided that I would take this home with me.

The bread was taken from the shelf and wrapped in a plastic bag.  I couldn't wait to get it home so that I could try it...

When I got home, I quickly unwrapped it and looked at it for a moment.

There were a few slivers of almonds on top of what looked like a "crunchy" crust.  Here's the huge (!) piece that I cut for myself...

The inside of the bread was light and fluffy, and full of chestnuts.  You can't see them too good in this photo, but subsequent slices, which I should have taken photos of, had lots of pieces of sweet chestnuts in them.  The top of this bread was a little sweet and a bit crunchy.  The slivered almonds complemented this loaf of bread quite well.  The bread was very good.  It was something I would definitely purchase again. 

Although the bread was a little expensive, the prices at Boulangerie are comparable to what you'd pay at other French-style bakeries (i.e. Saint Germain, Panya Bistro and Ginza Kimura-ya) around the state.  I'll be sure to stop by here again since it's quite close to home.  Next time, though, I'm going to try the turtle bread.

Boulangerie
1495 South King Street
Telephone:  808.949.1588

Sandwich Islands Deli

Friends of mine have been telling me about the lunch time eats at this place for a while now. Since it's a bit far from my office and because most of the food is gone by the time I go to lunch (usually at about 1:30 pm), I never made it here...until now. 

A friend wanted to meet for an early lunch (11:30 am) and suggested that we meet here at Sandwich Islands Deli.  This shop serves sandwiches, salads and hot entreés for the downtown lunch crowd.

I'm told that normally, if you arrive after 12:30 pm or so, there is hardly anything selection of hot entrees.  I guess that says something about the popularity of this place.  When we arrived a little after 11:30 am, the place was already starting to attract a crowd.

This place is just a counter, a drink machine and a few employees serving the food.  No seating is provided inside this small sized shop, however, they do offer outdoor seating in the courtyard...and lots of it.

It was a nice day so I didn't mind sitting outside.  Only a few of the tables were occupied.  I guess most people buy their lunch and eat in the comfort of their air conditioned offices. 

For today's lunch, I ordered a one choice plate lunch (US$4.75).  You have your choice of about 10 or so entreés which can change daily, I chose the baked mahi mahi.  Each plate comes with your choice of rice (white or brown) and salad (tossed or macaroni).  Since I've been trying to eat a little healthier, I chose the brown rice and tossed salad with no dressing.

The mahi mahi was coated with some type of sauce (sorry, I couldn't make out what it was) before being baked.  The moist, flakey pieces of fish were then topped with green onions and croutons (!).  The croutons were a first.  Creativity aside, the cruchiness of the croutons proved to be the perfect compliment for the fish, which was fresh and delicious. 

My friend also ordered a one choice plate lunch.  His choice?  The hamburger steak.

The hamburger steak was homemade.  Thick and juicy, the hamburger steak was  smothered in brown gravy and topped with some sautéed onions.  This sure looked good. 

The food here was tasty, the portions were huge, and by my standards, lunch here was a great value.  The staff was friendly and provided efficient service.  I also liked the fact that there was lots of outdoor seating.  That's always a plus, especially when the weather's nice.  Am I coming here again?  I'll be back tomorrow to try that yummy looking hamburger steak!

Sandwich Islands Deli
345 Queen Street
Telephone:  808.521.8820

Ba-Le Sandwiches & Bakery

20 years ago, the first Ba-Le Sandwich Shop & Bakery was opened by a Vietnamese immigrant who had just relocated to Hawaii from San Jose, California.  Located in downtown Honolulu, this shop was originally opened to cater to the local Vietnamese community.

Today, this "fast food" bahn mi (Vietnamese sandwich) shop has grown to over 20 locations throughout the State of Hawaii and has brought Vietnamese food to the masses.  Last night, I visited the location at Daiei Kaheka.  This shop is located right outside the entrance to Daiei and inside the Yummy's Korean BBQ.

There are several different types of bahn mi on the menu as well as a few other Vietnamese dishes such as curry and pho.  I decided to have the lemongrass chicken bahn mi (US$3.75).

This sandwich is served on a French loaf that is baked daily at Ba-Le's main bakery in Kalihi.  Many say that this is the best French bread that you can find in the Islands, and I agree.  In fact, Ba-Le supplies French loaves/sandwiches to large hotel chains (Hilton and Sheraton) and to major airlines (Japan Airlines, United, China Airlines, etc.), AND (if that weren't enough) makes fresh pizza dough for one of the state's larger pizza chains (Papa Johns).  Impressed?

The sandwich is delivered warm and toasty.  The bread was crisp and crunchy on the outside, and fluffy on the inside.  The lemongrass chicken was spicy and delicious.  This bahn mi had just the right about of pickled carrots and daikon.  It was finished off with a bit of cucumber and cilantro (Chinese parsley).  Tasty, warm and delicious, after eating this, I was content.

If you're looking for a quick bite, that is fresh and tasty, AND a good value, the bahn mi at Ba-Le is sure to please.

Ba-Le Sandwiches & Bakery
Located at Daiei Kaheka
801 Kaheka Street
Telephone:  808.942.4446 

Kua 'Aina Sandwich Shop

Located near the busy intersection of Auahi and Kamake'e stands Kua 'Aina Sandwich Shop.

This is the "town" outpost of the legendary North Shore sandwich shop of the same name.  They've been in business for over 20 years, on the North Shore, serving the same huge charbroiled burgers and sandwiches that everyone loves.  In fact, they've become so popular, that in addition to this location in town, they've also set up shop in Los Angeles and Japan!

It's quite crowded when I arrive...

and before I even get my food, the place gets to be like a sardine can!  This place is extremely popular with both the locals and the tourists. 

On my last visit here, they didn't have any avocado...but today, I'm in luck...they have avocado!  I ordered a 1/3 lb. cheeseburger (with cheddar cheese) on a kaiser roll (US$6.00) and add on the avocado (US$1.10). 

The burger is served with lettuce, tomato, mayonaisse, grilled onions (none for me) and a carrot stick at no extra charge.  The burger is charbroiled to perfection and very nicely seasoned.  It's moist and juicy...and it goes so well with the fresh avocado. 

I also get a small order of home-made French fries (US$1.80).

These are of the shoestring variety, and although I normally prefer thick, wedge-type fries, these are actually quite nice.  They're very light and crisp with no added salt! 

Besides burgers, Kua 'Aina serves a wide range of sandwiches such as turkey, roast beef and mahi mahi, but it's the burgers that really put them on the map.  Now that I'm done, I'm already looking forward to my next visit.

Kua 'Aina Sandwich Shop
Ward Village Shops
1116 Auahi Street
Telephone:  808.591.9133