CRITIC’S PICKS BETTY SHIMABUKURO
Honolulu Star-Advertiser “By Request” columnist KISS MY GRITS If you have friends from the South who’ve been separated for too long from cheesy grits, Carolina barbecue or a decent po’ boy, take them to Kiss My Grits. They may well weep, so great will be their joy. You, meanwhile, can appreciate the sheer audacity of a place that will give you “a biscuit as big as a cat's head served with your choice of fixins.” A place that cares nothing about your waistline except how to make it happily expand, that will serve you seafood any way you like it, as long as it’s fried. And where you get a deviled egg with just about anything you order. The greater your disconnect from traditional Southern cuisine, the greater will be your sense of awe. In my case: Until my first visit here I had never understood hush puppies. They seemed like blobs of fried dough with none of the character of andagi. Made here they are crunchy, light and full of yum. The menu has many such revelations. Also fabulous: fried green tomatoes, fried shrimp and Smoky Mac N Cheese. ——— Puck’s Alley, 1035 University Ave.; 3480626; kissmygritsyall.com. Lunch, dinner. $-$$
YATAIMURA The top-floor food mart at Shirokiya has always been a great place to hang out, with its live cooking stations and variety of packaged foods beckoning to be carried away. But since it was reborn last year as Yataimura, the place has graduated from fun to fab, my favorite place to eat in all of Ala Moana Center. You’ll find two dozen “yatai,” individual stands offering hot foods, cold salads and room-temperature bento. Choose fancy sushi or a variety pack of musubi. 24
‘ILIMA AWARDS
Miso butterfish or grilled abalone. The selection is dizzying and not just Japanese. Chinese and Korean favorites are here, too. Pick bento-style lunches or have ramen, tempura or yakitori made to order. Visit the beer garden for a $1 Bud or a $2 Kirin. Watch the takoyaki chefs turn out their luscious octopus dumplings. Walk around the whole place before you decide. Keep in mind that although you can only eat so much, you could also pick up dinner. ——— Shirokiya, Ala Moana Center; 973-9111; www.shirokiya.com. Breakfast, lunch, dinner. $-$$
HIROSHI EURASION TAPAS Hiroshi Fukui was one of the first friends I made when I started writing about food more than a decade ago. He guided me through the labyrinth of Japanese cooking and taught me to fry shrimp. So although I might quarrel over that strange word “Eurasion,” I have a natural inclination to like his restaurant and love his food. Still, you should trust me. Fukui has a way of merging East and West that is both adventurous and elegant. Have the Sizzlin’ Hamachi Carpaccio with truffled ponzu, the kampachi “en papillote” or the mekajiki (swordfish), panko-crusted with roasted shiitake mushrooms. Keep in mind that Fukui is an avid fisherman, so if you see a special listed as “chefcaught,” order it. It could well have been reeled in that morning. And keep an eye out for his contemporary kaiseki dinners — 10-course meals with wine pairings. No one should die without trying at least one. Trust me, or if not me the many people I’ve sent to Hiroshi’s. My two oldest kids live in the food-happy towns of Los Angeles and Baltimore, yet when they
CRAIG T. KOJIMA / CKOJIMA@STARADVERTISER.COM
Chef Hiroshi Fukui of Hiroshi Eurasion Tapas arranges sushi using kampachi, ahi and foie gras for the ‘Ilima Awards cover. come home just about the first thing they say is, “When are we going to Hiroshi’s?” ——— Waterfront Plaza, 500 Ala Moana Blvd.; 533-4476; www.hiroshihawaii.com. Dinner. $$$
magnet for the island’s top chefs? Pork chops and fried rice are the staples, but you also want the ribs, steak, smoked pork, ahi belly, steamed clams and spicy chicken (and chicken gizzards). The newer Side Street Inn on Da Strip in Kapahulu is a larger, more traditional restaurant, with some of the same faSIDE STREET INN/SIDE STREET vorites plus an extensive salad menu INN ON DA STRIP and such starters as “Da’ Siamese twins, Those who don’t know any better Mr. Roast Pork and Char Siu with Bao.” would likely drive on past the original Da Strip also offers Sunday breakfast. Side Street Inn, nondescript as it is, Pork Chop Moco. Mmmm. tucked around the corner from Ala ——— Moana Center. Inside it feels like your avSide Street Inn, 1225 Hopaka St., 591-0253; erage bar, emphasizing booze and busy Side Street Inn on Da Strip, 614 Kapahulu TV screens. But by now we all know betAve., 739-3939; sidestreetinn.com. Dinner, ter, right? Who hasn’t heard of chef Colin late night. Weekday lunch, Hopaka Street Nishida and the good, honest cooking only; Sunday breakfast, Kapahulu only. $$ that has made Side Street Inn a late-night HONOLULU STAR-ADVERTISER