'Ono Kine Grindz

Jamie's Snack Shop

FINALLY!  Something new AND local!  I still have not finished my write up on The Fat Duck, but I do hope to finish by tomorrow!

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At the corner of Pauoa Road, there is a tiny, white, cinder block building housing a nondescript shop.  You really can't tell what it is from the outside because there is no sign above the door (not counting the cracked sign that reads 200).  In the mornings, you'll see quite a number of people entering the shop, only to emerge a few minutes later with a plastic bag in their hands.

If you're like me, your curiosity will get the better of you and one day, you find yourself stepping through the grill door into a "milk of magnesia" pink room.  Once inside, you'll see two tables to the left of the door and a chalk board with a handwritten menu straight ahead.  The choices are straight forward and some of the items are not available everyday, but if you're like me, you came for one thing.

The chicken katsu plate (US$3.95).

Fried to order, this plate of chicken katsu is served with a shoyu based sauce instead of the regular "chicken katsu" sauce.  Although it seems a little strange at first, you get used to it after the first few bites.  The crunchy pieces of chicken are flavorful and not at all greasy.

Jamie's Snack Shop
2001 Pauoa Road
Telephone: 808.599.3528

New Diner's Drive In

POST IN PROGRESS

Many years ago, this was one of my late night haunts.  I've stopped by here a couple of times recently and discovered that the "new" Diner's isn't nearly as good as the "old" one was.

Diner's combo special #1 - charcoal broiled New York steak with/without teriyaki sauce, mahi mahi, and fried chicken (US$6.45).

Homemade hamburger steak smothered in brown gravy and sautéed onions (US$5.65).

New Diner's Drive In
1333 North King Street
Telephone:  808.842.0344

The Well Bento

Back in July of 2005, The Well Bento announced that it was closing after several years of operation.  A little less than a month had passed before I discovered that the business was bought, and reopened, by a faithful customer and her fiancé. 

The Well Bento is actually located in a very outdated, and well worn, two story walk-up that looks more like an apartment building than anything else.  You'll know you've found them when you see this sign which is visible from the street as you're driving past.

In any case, once you've entered the parking lot, you'll notice Well Bento in the corner on the second floor.  It's not much to look at, if you ask me.

As you step through the doorway, you'll notice the front counter and the open kitchen.  Nowhere to sit, this is strictly take out.  Notice the mural on the wall?  That's a recent addition that brings some color to an otherwise, utilitarian space.

The menu is short, consisting of 7 different plate lunches, and a few sides.  Half of the menu consists of vegetarian options -- the zen macrobiotic, tempeh, tofu or seitan.  The other half of the menu is noted as "transitional" -- grilled chicken, salmon or steak and hamburger steak.  In my opinion, even though the options seem a bit limiting, the menu offers something for everyone.

Since I had previously tried the vegetarian options (and loved them), this time, I opted for items from the transitional menu.  Here is the grilled salmon (US$8.25).

The salmon is first seasoned with some olive oil and tamari sauce before being grilled to perfection.  The salmon was served on top of some Lundberg brown rice that had been covered in what the menu said was tahini sauce.  Looks like brown gravy, doesn't it?  Tastes a little like it too, only not as rich.  Garnished with some grilled/steamed vegetables, and served with a side of coleslaw and "healthy" macaroni salad, this made a satisfying lunch.

On another occasion, I decided to try a local favorite, the hamburger steak (US$7.50).

Here at Well Bento, you can have your hamburger steak prepared Louisiana style (with a homemade blend of Cajun seasonings), with Western BBQ sauce (which is a homemade maple barbecue sauce), or seasoned with tamari sauce.  This time I chose the Western BBQ.  The sauce gave a rich smokey, sweetness to the tender hamburger steak.  The only downside was that the hamburger steak wasn't all that juicy -- probably because it wasn't too fatty or full of fillers.

The Well Bento offers diners healthy alternatives to the standard plate lunch and is a place that should not be missed.  Keep in mind that the food here is cooked to order so be prepared to wait, sometimes in excess of 15 minutes.  With nowhere to sit, this could make the wait time seem unusually long.  It's recommended that you call ahead so that your plate lunch is ready upon your arrival.  Since there are very few healthy plate lunch alternatives, I consider the Well Bento to be a bargain.  Healthy, freshly prepared and delicious, what more can you ask for?

The Well Bento
2570 South Beretania Street Suite 204
Telephone:  808.941.5261

H & T Burgers

I don't often get out to the Windward side of the island, but when I do, I usually make a stop at Windward Mall.  There isn't really a great selection of stores there, but I do like to stop in for a bite to eat at one of the many small restaurants that one can find there.  One of these is H & T Burgers.

The shop is fairly small with 5 tables along the left side of the shop.  On the right, is the counter where you place your order, tender payment and pick up your food.  Everything is prepared to order (although I think some of the food might be pre-cooked) so it's usually quite fresh.  And even when it's busy, I've never had to wait for more than 5 minutes.  Looking over the menu, I usually skip the plate lunches and head right for the combo meals.  For a decent price, you'll get a burger or hot dog, french fries and a medium drink.  There are four combo meals to choose from...

After I made my selection and paid for my food, I watched as my food was prepared.

This time, I had the teriburger with french fries (US$4.90).

The teriburger is seasoned with teriyaki sauce before being cooked.  The sweet, slightly salty sauce is not as good as what you'll get at W & M, but it's decent.  The french fries were light and crisp and unsalted!

On another occasion, I sampled the chili hot dog with french fries (US$4.90).

The hot dog was a little over done.  It's possible that they don't sell many of these so it was sitting for a while.  The chili was a little spicy, but it tasted like it was from a can, rather than homemade.

The food here is a departure from the usual mall type of eatery (i.e. McDonald's, Pizza Hut, etc.) and the food is decent.  The prices are right, which is why this place is quite popular.  If you do happen to visit Windward Mall and find yourself at H & T Burgers, try the teri fries -- french fries covered with teriyaki sauce.  They are delicious.

H & T Burgers
Windward Mall
46-056 Kamehameha Highway
Telephone:  808.235.1311

Zaney's Restaurant

Located in the space previously occupied by New Century Chinese Restaurant, and the extremely short lived Welcome Inn Café, Zaney's is a somewhat unique player amongst the Asian food establishments that one would normally find in the area.  Situated on the ground floor of the Smith-Beretania Apartment building, Zaney's is far enough away from the heart of the business district to make a visit here a planned event.

Inside, the restaurant spacious and furnished simply with large number of tables and chairs.  The menu is located right above the entrance to the kitchen, and each day is marked with the dozen or so items that are on offer for that day.

On one of my many visits here, I ordered the mini garlic chicken with brown rice and tossed salad (US$4.00; regular US$5.75).

To prepare the garlic chicken, pieces of boneless chicken thighs are battered and deep fried until they are golden brown and crunchy.  They are then tossed in a garlic-shoyu sauce which is sweet, salty and just a little spicy.  Though they were well coated with sauce, the pieces of chicken still had quite a bit of crunch to them.

On other ocassions, I've also ordered the hamburger steak (regular US$5.75; mini US$4.00).  The regular plate comes with two scoops rice and one scoop macaroni salad.

To be quite honest, this really isn't like local style hamburger steak at all.  In fact, it reminds me more of the salisbury steak that you'd find in the freezer section of you local grocery store -- you know, like those in the Hungry Man type of TV dinners.

On other ocassions, I've had the beef stew and the beef curry, both of which had lots of beef, tender carrots and potatoes, and thick gravy.  The only thing that made those dishes less than stellar was the amount of flour/cornstarch used as a thickening agent.

The garlic chicken is the stand out here at Zaney's.  In my opinion, it's probably some of the best garlic chicken around.  The other dishes here are a bit hit and miss, but aren't really too bad -- especially if you take the portion size and price into consideration.  Give it a try, you're bound to find something there to like.

Zaney's Restaurant
1170 Nuuanu Avenue Suite 102
Telephone:  808.523.3380

Poke Stop

I have to mention before going on with this review that Elmer Guzman and his wife, certainly are personable people.  When I walked into the shop, a several weeks ago, Elmer greeted me and asked me if it was my first time there.  When I said that it was, he proceeded to walk me through the layout of the store, explain the menu board, and the lists of specials.  I found this quite impressive.

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Located in the Waipahu Town Center, Poke Stop has been open for about five months now and has been on my "to visit" list since then.  Recommended by Gail and Fran over at Hawaii Diner, and Jupiter over at Nattokun, it was just a matter of time before I made my way to this gourmet plate lunch and seafood shop.

Upon entering the shop, I was greeted by owner, Elmer Guzman.  He asked if I had ever been to the shop before, to which I responded, "No."  He was quick to point out the fresh fish and seafood, on the right side of the shop.

Slightly to the left of the door way was the poke selection.  And in between, were some cold items (sorry no photo).

As I looked around the tiny shop, the locations of the various menus were pointed out.  The regular menu was posted along the left wall, while the daily specials were posted on a white board above the kitchen's stainless steel range.

Here was the specials board on the day I visited.

I was so tempted to order the fried garlic blue crabs, but decided to have the Poke Stop surf and turf with Puna's potato salad (US$9.00) instead.

One scoop of white rice, one scoop of Puna's potato salad, a piece of kalbi and three huge shrimp (prawns) were staring at me in the face when I opened up the styrofoam container.  Chunks of red potato were mixed with some mayonaisse and secret seasonings to make this potato salad an excellent alternative to a plate lunch's usual macaroni salad.  The kalbi was tender, with a sweet shoyu based marinade.

And the shrimp?  Take a look for yourself...

Pan fried and well seasoned, this was so much better than your average peel-and-eat shrimp.  It was more like "peel-eat-suck-the-shells-and-want-more" kind of shrimp.  I don't know what he used in the marinade, but I can tell you that after eating these shrimp, I won't even give Giovanni's scampi another thought.

A friend who came along for the ride (and for lunch), had the Shoreline Chef bento with tossed greens (US$11.00)

This "bento" contained tossed greens, one scoop rice, Casian (Cajun-Asian) island fish, furikake salmon and two pieces of that tasty garlic shrimp.  I didn't get to taste any of this, even though I paid for it, but I was told that everything was expertly prepared.

When asked about the food here, yeah, I could say it was a little pricy.  I could also say that the portions were a little small too.  In the end, only taste matters, right?  Most often times, I feel you get what you pay for.  In this instance, what I paid for was friendly interaction with a chef who knows what it takes to make people happily satisfied, a tasty satisfying meal that made me feel full (not stuffed) and a desire to visit again...hopefully it will be soon.

Poke Stop
Waipahu Town Center
94-050 Farrington Highway Space E-4
Telephone:  808.676.8100

Pee Wee Drive In

Way back in 1985, a friend used to live a block away on Young Street, her mother used to own a shop around the corner on Kalakaua, Emilio's was still serving Italian food next door to her shop and Cinerama Theatre was still showing movies across the street.  Cinerama Theatre is now long gone as is my friend's mother's shop.  Emilio's closed down a short time ago, and my friend's mother also moved out from the apartment on Young Street.  My friend has now been living in Switzerland for 12 years, but Pee Wee Drive In is still going strong.

Quite a number of years ago, I had read in the local paper that the ownership of Pee Wee's had changed hands and I wondered if the food was still the same.  It has been many years since I was last here, even though I live quite nearby.  When I drove into the tiny parking lot, there was just one space left.  All of the tables fronting the shop were occupied and there were a few people sitting around waiting for orders that had already been placed.

I initially wanted to have the beef curry, but sadly it was sold out.  Instead, I opted for another old favorite, the BBQ burger with cheese, deluxe (plain, US$1.85; add US$.30 for cheese; add US$.35 for deluxe, includes lettuce, tomato, onion).

In less than 5 minutes, my burger was ready.  I also got a small order of the crinkle cut french fries (small, US$1.75; large, US$2.50) to eat with my burger.

Get a good look before it's gone!

The burger was just as I remembered.  More sweet than salty, this had a really strong BBQ (teriyaki) flavor.  The firm, well-cooked patty, the slightly melted cheese, the crisp fresh lettuce and sweet tomatoes all give this burger it's signature flavor.  Not quite as good as W & M or Bob's, and on par with the ones at Saint Louis Drive-In (no photo of the burger), it was good to know that some things never change.

By the way, I was even suprised to see green river on the drink menu.  How's that for a trip down memory lane?  Since I haven't seen that drink on a menu in ages, I got a medium sized green river to wash down all those delicious memories.  Ahhhh....

Pee Wee Drive In
1602 South King Street
Telephone:  808.949.5781

Mahalo Hawaii BBQ

Sometimes you're not always served the best food when you eat out somewhere, but what brings you back is time and time again is the people.  That's exactly how I feel about Mahalo Hawaii BBQ. 

Over the course of several years, I had visited L & L Drive-Inn near the corner of Kalakaua Avenue and Young Street (restaurant #12 for those in the know) whenever I wanted something quick and inexpensive to eat -- most often, it was the mini chicken katsu, or the mini loco moco.  On a visit about six months ago, I discovered that this place had changed, it was not L & L anymore, it was now Mahalo Hawaii.

Inside, the tables and fixed seating were the same.  The walls had been painted over with some bright yellow and orange paint.  And then there were the light fixtures.  Tiny pendant lamps hung over the tables casting a strange orange glow over the place. 

Instead of the usual stuff that I normally order, I decided on the mini general's chicken with fried rice (US$5.00; regular plate, US$7.95).

The fried rice was quite bland in the typical fast food, plate lunch place way and contained frozen peas and carrots, lots of onions and tiny bits of egg.  There were two pieces of steamed broccoli instead of the generic macaroni salad, and a huge mound of general's chicken.  Now, when I asked what this was, the girl at the counter (who was new, I suppose) told me that this was spicy "orange flavored" chicken.  When I tasted it, it was neither orange flavored, nor was it spicy.  Go figure.  It was probably the restaurant's attempted at serving General Tso's chicken.  Now I don't know of this is a Chinese creation or an American Chinese creation, but I do remember that I ate it for the first time at either a Hunan Garden or Ollie's Noodle Shop in New York City in the late 80's or early 90's.

On another occasion, I had the chicken katsu and fried mahi mixed plate (US$5.75).

A deep fried piece of mahi mahi was served alongside some deep fried chicken katsu.  It's stuff like this that makes me really love places like this.  In fact, I think they were made to serve this type of artery clogging goodness.  Most often times, at least in my opinion, the deep fried stuff is generally the best stuff on the menu.  Too bad I couldn't eat this all the time.

Mahalo Hawaii BBQ, much like the L & L's before it, doesn't really serve the best food in town, but it's OK.  If you're on a budget, you will get a huge portion of food for your dollar which makes this an attractive deal for many.  Mahalo Hawaii continues to offer the same menu as L & L -- local style plate lunches and sandwiches with a few pseudo Chinese dishes added on for good measure.  One thing for sure, the service here is fast and most often times pleasant.

Mahalo Hawaii BBQ
1513 Young Street Suite 101
Telephone:  808.951.4300

Karen's Kitchen

I first heard about Karen's Kitchen about three years ago when the office I work in had a pot luck.  Someone brought the potato salad from Karen's and it was so delicious that I just had to visit the restaurant to sample some of the other food.  Due to it's close proximity to my apartment, Karen's had become a pretty regular hangout over the last couple of years, but since starting this blog, my visits here have been infrequent at best.  One night several days ago, I left the office earlier than usual and decided to stop by Karen's on the way home.

It was already 8:00 pm, but the shop was quite crowded when I arrived.  In fact, Karen's seems to draw a steady crowd no matter what time of day it is, even though it is in a small strip mall in a mostly industrial area of town.

Tonight, I decided to have the hamburger steak with macaroni salad (US$6.95).

A huge piece of hamburger "steak" was topped with mushrooms and onions before being covered with lots of brown gravy.  The plate also came with two scoops white rice and some macaroni salad.  Delicious is how I'll describe this thick, well-seasoned piece of hamburger.  I'd probably go as far as saying that this is one of the better hamburger steak plates that I've had the pleasure of eating.  The gravy is the perfect consistency, though it can be a little salty at times.  The macaroni salad here is good too -- mixed in with all of the elbow macaroni, you'll find pieces of egg and potato as well.

For dessert, I had a slice of blueberry cream pie (US$2.50).

Although the blueberries used as topping for this pie are probably canned (?), the crust is flakey and definitely homemade.  The cream filling is dense and rich without being overly sweet.

On another night recently, I had the hamburger curry with tossed salad (US$4.95).

First of all, I have to mention the fact that the girl behind that counter was very nice.  It was late, a little after 8:00 pm, and when I had ordered the hamburger curry, she ended up putting whatever was left in the warmer into the "bowl" which is probably why the portion looks so huge here.  In fact, I couldn't eat it all.  The curry was very meaty and just slightly spicy, not really spicy enough for my tastes.  I got a lot of salad with some wonderful "oriental" style dressing that had the taste and armoa of sesame oil.

On the same evening, I decided to go home with a slice of the key lime pie (US$2.50)

When I ate this, my first thought was that it was really good.  I liked the graham cracker style crust and the key lime filling, which was thick and custard-y, was just the right tartness.  The whipped cream topping was sprinkled with something as well.  I couldn't really taste what it was, but my guess is grated lime zest.  Anyone know what it is?

The food here at Karen's is good without being fussy, and fresh, just like homemade.  The people here are helpful and friendly, making this a great place to eat at.  Taking the prices into consideration, the portions here can be considered extremely generous, thereby making a meal here a great bargain. 

Karen's Kitchen
614 Cooke Street
Telephone:  808.597.8195

Okata Bento

A while back one of my readers sent me an e-mail recommending the food at Okata Bento.  It's been a while since I've actually been here, so my recollection of the food that I ate here previously isn't what it should be.

Like many of Hawaii's Mom-n-Pop operations, especially those that have been in business for 20+ years, this is your typical hole-in-the-wall -- maybe Okata Bento qualifies for that title more than some of the others....

The entrance on the sidewalk leads to a take-out window.  There are no tables or chairs to sit at here.  You order and take your food away -- to the beach, to the park or home to eat.  I decided to sit and eat my lunch on a bench fronting the shop.  The food here is cooked to order so be prepared to wait for a few minutes.  If it's busy, the wait could be even longer, so if you're in a rush, you may want to call ahead.  Today, I waited for about 10 minutes which isn't too bad considering the food was cooked on the spot.

On this occasion, I ordered the bento with chicken katsu (US$6.75).

In addition to your main dish selection, each bento includes mahi-mahi, luncheon meat, egg roll, fishcake, takuan, ume and shredded cabbage on a bed of white rice.  The chicken katsu was crunchy outside, and moist inside.  It was pounded really thin, which is how I like it.  And even though it was deep-fried it wasn't oily.  The mahi-mahi was lightly floured and pan fried -- fresh and tasty.

On another occasion, I decided to have the bento with teriyaki chicken (US$6.75).

The bento contained the same items as the one above substituting the chicken katsu with teriyaki chicken.  The teriyaki chicken was cut into bite-sized pieces and well marinated.  The chicken was tender and slightly sweet, the marinade reminding me of Mr. Yoshida's sweet teriyaki sauce.

According to the menu - "All foods are cooked to order.  Our beef, chicken, and pork are trimmed of fat, bone and gristle, then cut into bite sized pieces...." - this makes the food here a little healthier, even if it is deep fried.  Oh OK, who am I trying to kid?  The food here is fresh, tasty, and decently priced.  Okata Bento is definitely worth a return visit. 

Okata Bento
3616 Waialae Avenue
Telephone:  808.737.6063