`Opu Nui=BIG STOMACH

New Wendy's Natural Fries

2011-04-20T09:03:00.002-10:00

They look good, they taste good, but are they as "natural" as they claim? A blogger has poked a hole in Wendy's claims of the fries being "natural". A report shows the fries use a stew of exotic laboratory chemicals to improve the fries' appearance, flavor, and ease of cooking.

The fries do away with the steam skinning -- ironically, one of the most "natural" parts of the average fast food company's fry manufacturing process.

Chopped, the fries begin their chemical journey with a dip in sodium acid pyrophosphate. They're also powdered with slightly more natural D-glucose (crystallized from corn). Together the two components prevent the fries from browning during their first fry at the factory and their second fry at the restaurant.

What do you think?

Blanc Burgers and Bottles

2011-02-27T18:11:00.000-10:00

On our way home from Chad's funeral, I decided to stop at McFosters for Carissa. We drove right by Blanc, and remembered they had a vega burger, so I got lucky and was able to eat here. The burger of the day, Brunch Burger which is a beef patty, crusted in coffee, yes, coffee, along with bacon and a fried egg on top. This is probably the best burger I have had in Omaha. I consider myself a burger connoisseur, so when you ask me about burgers, I know. It was perfectly cooked medium and sprinkled with some green onions on the egg. ($10) My wife ordered the vegan burger, which is a lentil burger, had arugula and she opted out of the yogurt sauce since she is vegan and not a vegetarian. We then ordered the onion rings ($5). Pretty spendy since I think we only got 5 rings. They had lots of different bottles of soda, as well as beers and beer on tap. We didn't try any of the different bottles, but did have a good eating experience even though we both wanted more onion rings. We will definitely be back, maybe with a bit more money to try the truffle fries, and a couple of different bottles.
Check them out. More than I want to spend on a burger, but after the first bite, you don't mind.

Blanc Burgers+Bottles
3157 Farnam St.
Omaha, NE 68131
402.502.3686
http://www.blancburgers.com

Coffee crusted with fried egg

Perfectly cooked, medium with bacon, fried egg and green onions.

Onion Rings

Carlos O'Kelly-Maple

2011-01-15T16:52:00.001-10:00

This place sucked. I go out to eat for the experience. The waitress got my wife's order wrong, didn't even put the correct thing into the kitchen. My wife ordered a Navaho flat bread with beans, tomatoes, lettuce, instead got a taco salad (a salad shell) with beans and lettuce. I wanted a different dessert than what came with my meal-deal, and was told, "I can't". Didn't even try to ask if I could sub something, even when I said I would pay the difference. Waitress never came by to see how things were, and when we asked for hot sauce, took her a good 5 mins, just to bring it out.

Avoid this place... Plenty other "mexican" food out there.

Not going to even post the info.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Charleston's-Omaha

2010-09-15T02:32:00.000-10:00

Chad and I went to Charlston's for dinner last night. It is a fairly expensive restaurant here in Omaha. We ordered a creamed spinach artichoke dip to start, and it may have been the best spinach dip I have ever had, may have even been the best thing I ate last night. Chad then ordered the filet and I had prime rib, with fries (the girls at work said the fries are awesome, so I tried them) instead of the mashed. Each of our dinners came with salad and a croissant were both pretty full by the time the actual meal came out, but somehow managed to eat everything off each of our plates. Dinners were $23 each, not too bad, but I guess compared to some other places in Omaha, that is a bit high. Chad had a gift card for $75 that he had won at a work party, so dinner was free. Can't beat free.

A couple of shots to make you drool...

Creamed Spinach/Artichoke Dip with Salsa and Sour Cream. Fresh chips on the side.

A close up of the ooey, gooey, goodness......

My Prime Rib n Fries.

Charleston's Restaurant

3851 FNB pkwy
Omaha, NE 68154
(402) 431-0023

BLTsteak-Honolulu

2010-06-11T21:57:00.000-10:00

Bistro Laurent Tourondel or BLTsteak is located in the Trump Tower in Waikiki. This is the only luxury Hotel on Oahu. My wife decided to take me to BLTsteak for my birthday. The menu is on their website, so before we left for town, I already knew what I was going to order. 22oz Bone in ribeye. More on that later.
We had reservations for 6pm. Pulled up to the valet at the Trump Tower and step to the right, follow the hallway to the end about 30 or so yards, and you will be there.
We were joined by a few of my friends, brother and sister-in-law. Six of us steak eaters, and my wife the vegan at a high scale steak house. We were seated immediately at a sorta corner booth, with three people in chairs, and four of us on a nice comfy booth style bench. They started us off with some drinks, then brought out a meat tray (compliments of the chef), some chicken pate and toast, as well as some cheese bread with bacon, and then the big popovers. With that who needs the steak? I ordered my ribeye, with creamed spinach, and jalapeno mashed potatoes. Others on the table ordered their steaks, and sides. In all I think we got the sides covered, Kahuku bbq corn, grilled asparagus, potato and leek hash browns (my fave of the sides), scalloped potatoes. The chef's wife is a friend of my mother in law, so he sent out many different things throughout the night. One of the sides was the onion ring stack. All the sides were $8 each. Not bad, but they were pretty small. The corn looked like less than a can! Anyway, on to the steak. Mine, the bone in ribeye was $45. My brother ordered the porterhouse for 2-40oz, and his was $85. Others were the filet and NY strip. $34 for the 8oz filet, $32 for the 12oz The NY strip went for $37, $43 and $49, 14, 16, and bone in 20oz. All the desserts were $10, and very small portions, yet very sweet, and any more and it would be overkill. An awesome looking sundae walked by and I asked a waitress what it was. She replied, "it's a pineapple sundae, and very refreshing!" No one at the table ordered that, yet our chef sent one out to us. She was completely correct. I don't think there is any other way to describe that sundae. "Refreshing." It was great, with the pina colada sorbet. He also sent out some brownies, and peach cobbler.
Stuffed. Only thing to describe how we all felt at the end of the meal.
A HUGE thank you to Chef Johan Svensson for awesome steaks and wonderful service by the staff at BLTsteak.

BLTsteak
Trump International Hotel Waikiki Beach Walk
223 Saratoga Road
Honolulu, HI 96815
Telephone: 808-683-7440
Dinner
Sunday – Thursday
5:30PM – 10PM
Friday & Saturday
5:30PM – 11PM .

Nico's @ Pier 38

2010-05-30T15:13:00.009-10:00

So I watched the Triple D with Guy when he visited Hawaii. One of his stops was at Nico's on the Pier so I thought I better check them out. They have a counter inside where you order and pick up your food, then go outside under sorta a big patio and eat on the tables and chairs outside. It was a Monday lunch time, and was very crowded. I found parking, and walked into order. I had no idea what to get, so just picked the first thing on their menu, or their most sold "plate-lunch." THis was a Furikake Ahi. Cooked to order, just like a steak. I ordered medium rare, but got more medium well. Had brown rice and toss salad, instead of white and mac. Plate was good, but I was wanting more fish at the end of the meal. Brown rice, was well, brown not really dry like some places, but only about 1.5 scoops, verses other places that give you a hearty 2 scoops, and the toss salad was good mixed greens, with a house dressing. The fish since it was a bit over cooked was somewhat dry, so I used the tarter sauce, which I would normally never use on ahi, and it was boring. Not much too it, some mayo, and maybe pickle juice and some
I need to go back and try some of the other specials. The double cheeseburger sounds great, as well as the loco moco. Here are a couple of shots from my lunch. Looks good huh? Closed on Sundays-big bummer.

Zoomed in shot of the plate.

Nico's Pier 38
Monday - Friday
6:30am - 5:00pm
· Saturday ·
6:30am - 2:30pm
1133 N. Nimitz HWY
Honolulu, HI 96817
--
Tel: 540-1377
Fax: 540-1376

Pinky's-Kailua

2010-04-24T20:15:00.000-10:00

Never a good sign when the place is pretty much empty on a Saturday during lunch...

Where to start? We just spent a day boating out in K-Bay, came out the back gate, and saw Pinky's. I immediately grabbed my iPhone, launched the Yelp app and looked up the reviews. Pretty much all BAD. 2 of 5 stars. My first instinct was to get out of there, and find some place else to eat. Of the four of us in the car, one guy wanted to get out and at least see the menu. The rest of us sat in the car, and read other reviews, and thought to go somewhere else. When he got back to the car, he wanted to try it out. Although hesitant, we walked in.
"Sit wherever you want!" was the first thing we heard when walking in..., not "hi welcome to Pinky's" even a generic "aloha." We took a seat near the glass, so we could watch the ducks. We were able to order from the breakfast, lunch, and pupu menu. It took 5+ minutes from us sitting to someone bringing the menus. After getting our drinks (water and iced tea) it took another 4-5 minutes to come and ask if we are ready, then when we were still deciding, another 5 mins. After the food was ordered, the crab dip came out first (about 10min) after we ordered it, and the food took a good 20+ minutes. Good thing there were ducks outside on the canal to keep us entertained.
Prices seemed a bit high, but something we expected from Kailua. One guy ordered, the Pinky's Signature omelet($9.00), with kalua pig, onions and cheese, which came with breakfast potatoes, and toast. He also ordered french toast. One got the kalua pig plate (11.95) and a pupu of onion rings ($8.95) Good batter, big onions, sweet tasting rings, not for the price. Very expensive. A buddy ordered the avocado club sandwhich with fries and I got the french dip with fries. We both added cheese and garlic to our fries, which made them a couple bucks more. For a started we had the Crab-artichoke dip. It was ok, but a bit bland.
Everyone liked their food, I thought the french dip was good, but needed the au-jus to make it work. Without the dip, it was very plain, and the dip was salty, but not too bad. Our bill came to $75 without tip, and only 2 of us had iced tea.
The question is, will I go back? Hmmm, maybe. My wife is Vegan-pretty much "raw" and there was nothing on the menu she could eat. Good thing I was with friends. Over all the food was better than the reviews gave, but the service was bad. Gonna give it 3 1/2 stars due to the bad service and wait time for the food.
The bar had some nice tvs with the games on, so if you don't mind waiting for food, and want to catch a game, drop by Pinky's.

Prime rib french dip with cheese and garlic fries.

970 North Kalaheo Avenue
Kailua, HI 96734-1866
(808) 254-6255
Hours:
Mon-Fri 11 a.m. - 10 p.m.
Sat-Sun 7 a.m. - 10 p.m.

Over Easy-Scottsdale

2010-02-24T13:26:00.004-10:00

When I found out I was taking a trip to Scottsdale, AZ, I looked up if there were any places that Guy visited on his tv show, Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives. I found a few Mexican places, which I had already received recommendations, but one that he did visit was called Over Easy. He went to the one in Phoenix, but I found a second location in Scottsdale, and planned my trip.
We stopped in on a cool Saturday morning, and the place was pretty crowded, but we were seated quickly. First, my mom being in pain (the reason why we were in AZ) we notice the seating was very hard. No cushions on any seating, even the booths, pretty hard on our traveling backs. Strike one. They had all kinds of different breakfast eats on their menu, from omelets to waffles, even stuff on the "lighter" side, like fruits and yogurt. My mom liked that. I had decided back in Hawaii, what I was gonna have given the chance to eat here, and it was fried chicken and waffles. My dad ordered the same. One waffle, not really big like a Belgian, maybe a third of the size, and a piece of fried chicken about as thick on top. $9. Strike 2. I thought for the price I should have had more to eat, maybe a couple of eggs? Something more... My mom ordered a home-made protein bar, which looked like something my all-natural herb slinging sister makes. She liked it, I didn't, $4. Ouch. Back to my meal, when loading the chicken/waffle with syrup, this spices and sweetness start to make your mouth water. I loved my meal. My dad, did not. Too much spices on the chicken, didn't mesh well with the waffle. He would have liked plain fried chicken, and his waffle. Our bill, about $36, for the 2 waffle breakfasts, some fruits, a protein bar and one cup of average coffee. Strike 3.
The only good thing was we met the manager, he sold my mom a t-shirt of the restaurant (which they don't sell), and of course the only size they had for me was a 2XL. He did say he would send me one in the mail, a 3X, we'll see about that one.
The only picture I got was an almost finished chicken and waffle.

Over Easy-Inside the Ice Den
9375 E. Bell Road
Scottsdale, AZ 85260
Daily 6:30am-2pm
480-270-EGGS

Village Inn-Scottsdale, AZ

2010-02-24T13:10:00.007-10:00

I was fortunate enough to go on a trip to Arizona to help out with my mom and dad visiting the Mayo clinic for some medical needs. What I love about traveling is going to all the different eateries there, which we don't have in Hawaii. My first breakfast stop was the Village Inn. We had many of these in Nebraska where I attended college, but never really took advantage of a good breakfast place. See here in Hawaii we have 2 places in Mililani where I live, Zippys, and the Mililani Golf Course. Each has their own specialties, however, nothing like a big breakfast to get you going and out of the jet-lag feeling.
This Village was right next to our hotel. We walked up, and was seated right away. My dad ordered a 3 meat skillet, which had sausage, bacon and ham along with 2 eggs, over some homestyle potatoes, and 3 fluffy pancakes on the side. My mom ordered the french toast-and just ate eggs from my dad's plate. I ordered the Country skillet which had loads of potatoes, covered with country sausage and gravy, then smothered with scrambled eggs, and a side of 3 pancakes (see picture below). Wow! What a way to start of the day. Besides Dennys (we have 2 in Hawaii) there are not many places where you can get breakfast around the clock. Well Jack in the Box does it, but who wants fast food all the time?
With breakfast being the most important meal of the day, I think maybe it's time to open a new place here, diner style, just to have my breakfast fix, and maybe draw more people in and make a little dough....

Oh did I also mention they have great pies too!

Here is the info for the Village Inn, in Scottsdale on Pima and Shea

Hours of Operation:
Sunday - Thursday 5:00am to 12:am
Friday-Saturday 5:00am to 2:00am
10652 North 89th Place, Scottsdale, AZ 85260-6753
480-451-1962

Ninja Sushi-Mililani

2010-01-31T20:26:00.005-10:00

When trying to eat better in the new year, Sushi is always a good choice. Unfortunately sushi=rice, and lots of rice, is no good. I stopped into Ninja Sushi to try out a spicy ahi salad. Wow. This salad was great. Lots of good greens (not just iceberg), a good heaping scoop of spicy ahi, some one-ton chips, and two different dressings to add to all of it.
What makes this salad awesome are those two different dressings. There is a sorta spicy sauce that they would normally dress a spicy roll with, and also some wasabi dressing, which is awesome. Do yourself a favor, and order one. A bit pricey at $9, the only problem is you want more when you are done.
There are many Ninja Sushi restaurants around the island.

Maile Chinese Restaurant-Mililani

2010-01-05T16:07:00.005-10:00

Maile in Mililani has become a regular stop for me and my family. Growing up, we would normal go to Maile a couple of times a month. This trend still holds pretty true. Looking for a place to eat on a Holiday, Maile is most likely open. We decided to eat here Christmas Day-for dinner since we were tired of turkey, and the sides.
They pretty much never have a wait time, and the food is always good.
We usually order the crispy gau gee min, with vegetables, lemon mahi mahi, shrimp canton, vegetables with cashews, and sometimes an orange chicken, or beef broccoli. Since my wife has become a vegetarian, she only eats the veggies, and some of the noodles, picking out the meat! Each dish runs from $6.75 to $9.00 which would be for the shrimp or mahi mahi. It is usually about $30 for the two of us to eat, yet we order 4 dishes, with rice, and we could probably do with 2 maybe 3. There is always leftovers for lunch the next day (which is nice). They always give nice big portions.

If you are in Mililani, check out Maile, in the Foodland Shopping Center. The original shopping center in Mililani.

Here is some orange chicken, lemon mahi mahi, and shrimp with walnuts. You can see a little of the noodles on the back plate.

More pics to come, I'm sure we will be visiting again really soon.

95-221 Kipapa Dr
Ste C17
Mililani, HI 96789
(808) 623-2221

Morning Brew-Kailua

2009-11-18T12:55:00.004-10:00

I am currently sitting in the upstairs dining area while I drink my cold brewed organic ice coffee. I have stopped in here before, but never have tried the coffee. In Mililani, we have Starbucks, and well, Starbucks. Morning Brew has a nice "vibe." Lots of seating inside, as well as a few tables outside. I like the seats upstairs as you can look down and watch the baristas make the drinks, as well as see the other customers come in and out. There is a very eclectic group of people here for a Wednesday afternoon. You have a couple older guys reading, some students studying, a mom and son eating lunch, and just a few others having coffee, visiting and enjoying the atmosphere.

2 Free hours of internet service with a purchase, and very friendly staff.

If you are out in Kailua, or looking for a a caffeine fix, drop by Morning Brew and grab a cup.

Morning Brew
572 Kailua Rd
Kailua, HI 96734
(808) 262-7770

Shige's Saimin Stand-Wahiawa

2009-11-13T21:40:00.001-10:00

Carissa wasn't feeling really good, so I thought that some saimin
would make her feel better.
Shige's is located in beautiful Wahiawa. They have really good saimin
and local plate lunch style dinners. Saimin starts at $4.20 for a
small and can go up to $7.00+ for the large udon or won ton with
veggies. The plates range from $6.00 to $7.00. I really like the
hamburger steak as well as the teri beef.
If you are in Wahiawa, or looking to try authentic saimin drop into
shige's.

Will update hrs and phone later.

Good to Grill-Kapahulu

2009-10-22T19:01:00.006-10:00

BBQ ribs and Misoyaki Chicken with potato salad and shoestring fries- $12.99

While checking out some "nearby tweets" on my Tweetie 2 app, I came across someone tweeting for their new restaurant, Good to Grill. I looked up their website and found that they are "Wood-Fired Casual Gourmet" and when looking over the menu online, thought they sounded pretty reasonable. They are located in the Safeway Kapahulu Shopping Center, the new one right in the heart of Kapahulu.
While out and about yesterday in town, I thought I would give them a shot. Money is really tight these days, so if I am paying more than $7 for a plate lunch, it better be good. On the other hand, my wife was with me and she is a vegetarian now, so I had to pick up a Kove Bowl for her, while I went to eat meat!
The place was located on the makai side of the shopping center, on a corner, which is great since they have some nice outdoor seating. I walked in the front door, and immediately I could smell the awesome kiawe wood grill. Their menu was electronic on big LCD screens. They have a variety of things, plates, sandwiches, pasta, salads, pizza, sides, and desserts. All ranging from a $7.49 plate of chipotle chicken wings, and a prime rib plate for $16.49, to a grilled garlic prawn pasta for $12.99. Sandwiches were $7.99 to $9.99 and salads around the same price. Their pizza was also all under $10. They also have fried ice cream, bread pudding, and flan to name a few desserts.
I ordered a combination plate, hoping to try a couple different dishes they served. I picked the misoyaki chicken, and the pork ribs. They charged me $12.99 for that one, with the choice of 2 sides (rice, potato salad, mesclun greens, shoestring fries). I didn't quite understand why it was so expensive, when the chicken plate is only $7.99, and the ribs are $12.89? Maybe meet somewhere in the middle of the two instead of going $0.10 higher... oh well. I chose fries and the potato salad, since I am pretty sure I know what rice is like, and greens.
Here we go, the chicken was good, perfectly grilled with a little burnt edges, no skin, boneless thigh. There were two on the plate. The chicken had good flavor, but not much of it, good thing it was cooked over an open flame. The ribs given was 4 bones, very little meat on them. They had a good sauce on them, and was the best part of my meal. The fries, were so-so, not hot and crisp like I thought they would be. The potato salad had nice big chunks of potatoes, olives, peppers, but was very bland. It needed some salt, or something? I was expecting more flavor from a "casual gourmet." I left full, but not quite satisfied. I told my wife it was like eating at Chilis or someplace like that. I know that I would have paid probably $5-6 more at one of those places, so for the money, I guess it was ok. Overall, I liked the ribs, and even the chicken. I think having the two was a bad choice, since the ribs were so flavorful, and the chicken was good, but not next to the ribs (if that makes any sense.) If I do go back, I will try the prime rib, or maybe just the deep fried ice cream for $3.99.

Good to Grill
888 Kapahulu Ave., Suite 170
Honolulu, Hawaii 96816
(808)734-7345

Sunday 11-9
Mon-Sat 11-10

Just Tacos-Take 2

2009-09-28T14:59:00.003-10:00

Above is the fried calamari.

We had a meeting here a couple weeks ago. Tony ordered some calamari, and nachos for us to snack on... I gave this place another shot since the appetizers came out great. The sauces used were really good, and the portions were plenty for 3 of us to eat. I am still not sure about the prices for burritos, and other food, but for a late lunch meeting, this was a nice stop.

Here is the chicken nachos.

Mililani Town Center

Grass Skirt Grill

2009-09-13T21:19:00.000-10:00

My wife and I decided to try out a new place on the north shore. Opal
was closed, or it would have been Thai food again. Grass skirt grill
is located in the old Kua Aina spot, across Stortos and the court
house. Prices pretty normal for Haleiwa, $7&8.95 for chicken sand, and
she has the portabello mushroom sand. We got cheese fries 2.75. Pretty
good food, may need to try the fish stuff(what they are known for)
next time.
Fries & sandwiches shown below.

Will update info later.

Google Voice

2009-08-29T22:31:00.001-10:00

Got a google voice number for Opu-Nui. If you would like to give me a call, use the button below.

401-2OPU-NUI

Aloha,

FUDGE!

Chucks Steak House-Koolina

2009-08-23T15:42:00.003-10:00

For my buddy Mark's birthday, he decided that he would like to eat at Chucks. I have never been since there was a Chucks in Mililani, back when I was a little kid. Before the internet, cell phones, or even pagers. My wife, buddy and another couple went out to Ihilani for some steak.
I was a bit worried since my wife has become a vegetarian and doesn't even eat seafood. I knew they had a salad bar that came with the meal, so I figured if anything, she can eat that.
There were a couple of specials, so I tried to stick with one of those. To start off, none of us ordered any appetizers. Since we could have the salad bar, soup and bread with our meal, we passed.
The salad bar had normal vegetables, not too great. Had a few different fruits, including fresh pineapple. On the salad bar line, they also had a soup of the day, which happened to be beef vegetable. It was very tasty as well hearty. Lots of big chunks of meat and vegetables. For bread they had french roll, sourdough, and rye. On to the meal.
They had a sirloin steak dinner for 21.95. It came with a 10oz steak, rice, baked potato or fries. A teri steak for 23.95 and filet for 32 or 35, 6oz and 10oz respectively. The special was a 6oz piece of Mahi and 6oz sirloin for 23.95. For just a couple of bucks more, you got fish and steak. I asked to upgrade my steak for the bigger piece and it was $2.00 more. It was well worth the upgrade. My wife ordered the stir fry ($21.95), without any steak or chicken. They added mushrooms instead, and she loved it, said it was one of the best stir fry she has ever eaten. For dessert we shared the mud pie ($6.95).
Dinner was very good, came out exactly as ordered, and in a timely manner. With the way my wife liked the stir fry, I can see us returning very soon.

Sorry, no pictures (another good reason to return). We were so hungry, I didn't remember to take out my camera or iPhone to take a picture.
Dress is casual.
Phone : 808-678-8822
Address : 92-161 Waipahe Place Kapolei, 96707

$2 Valet parking good for 3hrs.

Big Kahuna's Pizza -n- Stuff

2009-07-21T20:25:00.006-10:00

Big Kahuna's is located in the Airport Trade Center. It used to be a hole-in-the wall place, but moved here a few years back. They serve pizza, sandwiches, shakes, garlic bread balls (pictured above) and a couple of desserts. One of the cool things here is that any pizza they have on their menu, you can get in sandwich form. Tonight I decided to order the BBQ pizza as a sandwich. Thin sliced bbq chicken red onions on cheese with bbq sauce, then sprinkled with cilantro. As a pizza a 7" personal pan would run you $7.55 and a 12" medium would be $19.95. The sandwich is $7.95 (pictured below). My wife ordered the grilled eggplant as a sandwich. Grilled eggplant, garlic, 5 cheeses, carmelized onions, sweet roasted red peppers & sundried tomatoes. She liked it, but probably would have liked the club or blt better, but went healthy. The garlic cheese balls go for $5.65 (12) and $3.15 (6).
The food here is really good, always hot, and made to order. A favorite of my wife and I, along with our friends. We will definitely be back many, many times.

Big Kahuna's
Open 7 days a week
M-F 10-9*
Sat-Sun 11-9*
*or until they run out.
550 Paiea St. Honolulu, HI 96819

808-833-5588 Give them a call to place an order so you don't have to wait so long...

D's Kitchen-Mapunapuna

2009-06-20T14:10:00.005-10:00

While driving through Mapunapuna, looking for a lighting cable, Pat and I discovered this little hole-in-the-wall. The Hawaii Lighting people said they couldn't do anything until after lunch, so we pulled up a picnic table and ordered some specials. I had the fried chicken and chili plate ($5.50). Pat ordered the special which had fried noodles, a piece of kal-bi, and bbq meat. All that for $4.75. The meat was good, but he said the noodles were just "ok." My fried chicken was boneless, skinless battered in flour, salt and pepper, then fried on a flat-top. Very juicy and a good crunch. Chili was probably from a can. You really can't go wrong for 5.50 though. If we do end up there again, I would skip the chili and go with a fried chicken/bbq meat combo.

If driving through Mapunapuna and you need a quick plate lunch, for a good price, try out D's Kitchen.

Sorry, I didn't get the times of business or the phone number...

830 Mapunapuna St.

Champa Thai-Aiea

2009-06-07T19:46:00.007-10:00

Wanted to go to Kuru-Kuru, but the line was about 20 deep last night. We drove through the parking lot, and saw this place, Champa Thai. We (my wife and I) both love Thai (nothing beats Opals) so we thought we would stop in.
We ordered the Thai Chili Fried Rice (beef), Pad Thai (Chicken) and Fried Chicken Panang Curry. All medium to hot spice.
The food came out fairly quickly. It looked as though the rest of the restaurant had their food already, so that was a plus. The prices was fair from $8.95 and up. Overall we were satisfied with our meal, and the servers never let my water cup go dry.

Thai Chili Fried Rice

Pad Thai

Champa Thai
98-199 Kamehameha Hwy # C2
Aiea, HI 96701
(808) 488-2881

The Counter-Kahala

2009-03-18T21:01:00.003-10:00

The Counter to me, is an upscale burger joint. Located at Kahala Mall, right across from Chillis, this new burger place was crowded. We put our names in, and had to wait about 20 minutes for a table. While we were waiting, they gave us all an "order sheet" for the BYOB (Build Your Own Burger) section. You start off with choosing Beef, Turkey, Veggie, or Grilled Chicken. From there you pick the size, 1/3, 2/3, or 1lb. Starting at $8.95, and up from there. You choose 1 cheese, anything from Gruyere to Tillamook Cheddar, and any other selection sets you back another buck. Moving on to toppings. You can choose up to 4, from Red Onions, Jalepenos, sprouts, to then the "premium toppings" which all are $1 more. Things like Honey Cured Bacon, or even Kim Chee. Next was a sauce, they had a lot to choose from, 18 to be exact. Teriyaki, Honey Mustard, and even plain Mayo. So the burger I built was Beef (of course) the 2/3 patty ($10.95) then I had Horseradish Cheddar cheese, red onions, dill pickle chips, grilled onions, and grilled pineapple. For my sauce, roasted garlic Aioli, on top of a hamburger bun. We also ordered some Fried Dill Pickle chips ($4.95) and Sweet Potato Fries ($4.95). The fried pickles were good, but very small portion, the fries were awesome and came with plenty to share.

Below is a picture of my burger. It was ordered Medium Well. Grilled onion and melted cheese on top, the red onions, pickles on the bottom. I had already removed the grilled pineapple and ate it on the side.

They had other things to choose from, such as ordering your burger/chicken/veggie as a "bowl." This would be on a bed of baby greens, no bun. Also had BLT, Ham & Swiss ($7.50) a Loco Moco, some desserts, a very good looking peanut butter shake, but we were too full to try anything else.

We were all very pleased with our visit to The Counter, and look forward to stopping back in to try other things on the menu.

The Counter
4211 Waialae Ave E-1
Honolulu, HI 96816
808.739.5100
thecounterburger.com

Summer Frappe

2009-03-09T21:21:00.004-10:00

After enjoying a Saturday morning walking through ChinaTown, picking up fresh vegetables, and other little eats, my wife and I stumbled onto Summer Frappe. I walked right past it, headed to pick up some manapua and pork hash for my dad. We then walked back to the window and gazed at all the fresh fruit in the glass case.
Since my wife spent a year of school in the Philippines, her first instinct was to see if they sold a green mango smoothie. She likes them sour. I looked at all the pictures on the wall from pineapple to avacado, and even jackfruit. No green Mango.
All smoothies ranging from $3.50 to $4.50. I thought, why not, let's give it a try. When there was no picture of a green mango smoothie, I asked the lady if she could make one. "No problem" she said as she walked in the back to get a nice fresh, green mango. She then asked if she wanted it really sour, or with some sweetness. My wife, not liking too much sugar, said, very little sweet. The lady making the drink asked if we had ever been to the Philippines, as most of the people who ask for green mango, are her Filipino customers. I told her that I didn't but my wife had. Within 2 minutes the drink was done, and it was just what my wife thought it would be. The drink had a nice sour taste of green mango, with a small hint of sweetness. Too sour for me, but my wife liked it.
We will definately be back to Summer Frappe, when we are in ChinaTown again.

82 N Pauahi St
Honolulu, HI 96817
(808) 772-9291

Red Lobster-Honolulu

2008-12-28T13:50:00.010-10:00

Red Lobster was a good choice. We decided on Red Lobster because we had a gift card. Along for the feast was Carissa's parents, brother and myself. We arrived for dinner and put out name in. They told us it would be around 20 minutes or so, which I didn't believe since there were a good 20+ people waiting outside. They do not take reservations or call-aheads, which is a bummer. After about 45 minutes we were asked if we wanted to squeeze into a booth, or wait for a table to open up. Now if I were about 100lbs lighter, I think the booth would have been "ok," but um yah, we waited this long, I think we can wait 5 more minutes for a table.
Our waiter was very friendly, and took our drink orders, brought us the drinks, then came back to get our food orders. After that, we got some hot biscuits from the oven. Very moist, cheesy and garlic-y. I ordered the choose 3- which I chose, fried shrimp, coconut shrimp, and wood grilled salmon ($22.99) Dinner came with a salad, and a side, I chose the baked potato (pictured above). Carissa decided on the "Ultimate Feast" which had a lobster tail, snow crab legs, Walt's fried shrimp, and shrimp scampi. She chose the mashed as her side. ($28.99). The food was really good. The crab was Carissa's favorite, and I really enjoyed the coconut shrimp. I would have to choose the fried shrimp at Bubba Gumps over RL, while the coconut shrimp here was better than Bubbas. Although the portions do not look very big, we all were very full walking out, and no one wanted dessert.
If you are going to dine here, please be prepared to wait, or come early to be seated right away.

1765 Ala Moana Blvd
Honolulu, HI 96815
Phone: (808) 955-5656
Sun - Thurs: 11:00 A.M. - 10:00 P.M.
Fri - Sat: 11:00 A.M. - 11:00 P.M.

Dong Yang Inn- Wahiawa

2008-11-05T12:43:00.003-10:00

The best Meat-Jun you will ever eat.
When I lived on the mainland for college, this was the only food I missed (besides poke). I can make Chicken Katsu, loco moco, and other island favorites, but could never master the meat-jun like Dong Yangs. The sauce is awesome. It's better to eat there, where they give you chicken broth with your meal, as well as all the kim chee you want. Your plate also comes with potato-mac salad when you eat in. I remember eating here growing up and the plate of meat-jun was only $4.25, now it is $6.50 yet still a great price for a lot of food.
If you are ever in Wahiawa, or passing through, especially after the beach, stop in and order some meat jun, you will not be disappointed.

546 Olive Ave
Wahiawa, HI 96786
(808) 621-5031

Souvaly

2008-10-06T21:36:00.004-10:00

Spicy.
Love Thai food. Can't wait to go to Thailand one day and enjoy some authentic dishes. My wife chose this place to celebrate her birthday. I had called for a reservation 4 days before, and we all looked forward to a new restaurant. The reservation was for 8pm. At 6 I got a call from them asking I we were still coming, because we should have been there at 5? Um, what? I told them no, it was suppose to be at 8pm, and they said that someone had written it down wrong. We still showed up at 8, and did not have any problems. We had a party of 8 and had ordered all sorts of different dishes. I started off with the fried calamari, which was very lightly breaded and deep fried. My wife chose the Island Curry (shown above) with chicken, medium spice. I had the fried chicken, very tasty with the same dipping sauce as the calamari. We also ordered some Pad Thai noodles (pictured below). I thought the food was very good, but was not thrilled with the service, as they really took their time to come by and see how we were doing. Sorta sucks when they automatically add the tip, due to the size of our party. Another thing I did not like is when they charge for every coke. Usually they tell you that there are no free refills on soft drinks. Nope, they just kept asking us if we wanted another one.
We probably will go back there, but I will stay away from the cokes!

803 Kam Highway
Pearl City, HI 96782
(808) 455-5888

You Hungry- Lunch Wagon

2008-05-29T12:34:00.003-10:00

This white lunch wagon sits on the corner of South and Halekawila St. Prices range from $4.25 for a mini to $6.75 for a regular. I have tried both the garlic chicken (regular $5.75) and the garlic ahi with sweet wasabi sauce ($6.75). Your choice of brown or white rice, mac or toss salad, at no extra charge. There are many other things on the menu, like a Hawaiian Steak, pork adobo, hamburger steak, mushroom chicken, and fried poke, just to name a few.
The garlic ahi was great. Lightly breaded and fried, then covered with a sweet and spicy wasabi sauce then with black sesame seeds. The mac salad is sometimes pretty plain, with small bits of carrots and celery to add color. I think I will opt for the toss salad next time.
Sorry no picture, I was too hungry to take one, and when I figured out how much I liked it, it was too late. I will definitely go back and get a picture and phone number and update this blog.

If you are in the town area, I highly recommend trying out this little lunch stop.

Old Spaghetti Factory-Honolulu

2008-05-06T10:22:00.004-10:00

Located in Ward Warehouse all the way at the end near Kincades. Fairly cheap prices and lots taste. I know there are many people who don't like eating here, but the wait is usually less than 15 minutes, and the food comes out pretty quickly. Plus, where else can you eat in a trolley car?
Hot fresh from the oven bread is served while waiting for your food. Salad is always fresh, (although iceberg lettuce) and order it with the creamy pesto dressing. I do tend to try and order different things when going places, but this place I always order the exact same thing. The pictures says it all, the Manager's Special $9 (choose 2) I opt for the meat sauce and brown butter mizithra cheese. Mix it up and enjoy. My wife ordered the Spinach tortellini with Alfredo sauce $9 (hat shaped pasta stuffed with meat and cheese, swimming in alfredo sauce). My sister in law went for the Spaghetti with browned butter and Mizithra cheese $8.20. If you are really hungry you can get a larger portion of spaghetti and more sauce for $1.95 more. Ask for the hearty meal. They offer a "complete meal" by adding a drink and some spumoni for dessert. Only $2.75 more. Not too bad.

If you are in town and not sure where to eat, give this place a chance.

Old Spaghetti Factory
1050 Ala Moana Blvd.
Honolulu, HI 96814
P:808.591.2513
Dinner menu link here.

Boston's Pizza-Kapolei

2008-04-30T10:25:00.003-10:00

If you love pizza, do not eat here. Let me repeat that, DO NOT EAT HERE. Poor service, poor quality, very dry pizza dough and very expensive. Hmm, "home of Hawaii's largest slice" Yes, you do get a quarter of the pizza when you order a slice, but a 2 topping slice will cost you $6.25- I can get a good plate lunch or better combo meal for that price. It is a big piece, but when you bite into it, it is a big piece of crap. Tons of oil.

I will not eat here again, I hope no one ever eats here again, and so they would close and put something worthwhile in their spot.

Curry house- Ala Moana Shopping Center

2008-04-30T10:08:00.004-10:00

Hot rice and curry. Sounds good huh? Now add your choice of chicken, beef, fish, crab, etc. All can be found at the Curry house. Plate is first loaded with rice, very HOT white rice, then covered with your choice of meat. My favorite is the fried chicken (or katsu) the covered with the spicy curry and lastly cheddar cheese on top. I never thought I would like the cheese, but it really brings out the flavors. That plate will run you $6.25. Eat in or take out, it is just as good. Do be careful if you eat in the restaurant, that plate comes out super hot. Give it a couple of minutes before diving in. I know it will be hard to restrain, but believe me, your tongue and roof of your mouth will thank me.

I would have to recommend this place for curry. A great comfort food.

Many locations to choose from- I just happen to work near Ala Moana.

(McCully, Ala Moana, Puck's Alley and Pearl Kai)

1450 Ala Moana Blvd
Honolulu, HI, 96814
(808) 949-4590

Makino Chaya-Aloha Tower Marketplace

2008-04-07T11:43:00.004-10:00

Cool breezes, open air seating, and tons of food. Select from salad and sushi station (30 types), hot food station which included bbq chicken, Wa-gyu Steak or burgers from Japan, a tempura line with shrimp, and veggie plus fried oysters,and shumai. Desserts which have a chocolate fountain for fruits and creme puffs, and more. An amazing variety of seafood, including Alaskan king crab, half-shell oysters, snow crab legs, dungeness crab, shrimp cocktail, sashimi, and miso butterfish. There is even a crepe station with fruits, whipped creme, chocolate and anything else you would want in your crepe.

Many people have put down this Makino in favor of another one, I have only been to this one, and the now closed Mililani site. Yes, there are a lot of people, parking is valet, or self park (during the day), which is free with validation from the restaurant. Over all the food is good. I normally eat lots of sushi, tempura, and the Wa-gyu steak. I can get my moneys worth on sushi alone.

If you are looking for a great lunch place check out this Makino Chaya- "Itadakimasu!"

Makino Chaya
Aloha Tower Marketplace
808-585-6360

D.K.'s Steakhouse-Marriot Hotel

2008-04-01T10:08:00.006-10:00

30 Day Dry Aged Steaks. D.K.'s is located in the Waikiki Beach Marriot Resort up on the third floor. When calling for reservations, the earliest time we were given was 8P.m. on a Friday night. When we got there, many tables were vacant, as the set our table of four. We all sat down and started to take a look at the menu. A round of water came out, and my buddy immediately ordered the Monster Shrimp Scampi ($12.95). He was told by our waiter that it only came with 3 shrimp, and so a second order was placed. At the time the waiter came back with our drinks, we placed our orders. The two guys ordered the 22oz Bone-in Rib eye ($42.95) and added the "complete meal" ($8.95)which gave us a choice of soup or Caesar Salad, Vegetable du jour and a choice of Potato Soufflé or Steamed White Rice. We both got the salad, and Potato Souffle. The girls ordered the 14oz T-Bone as well as the complete meal. Warm bread was brought to the table along with butter that has cayenne pepper and tarragon infused in the butter.
After salads and soups were eaten, the steaks came out shortly after. Followed immediately by our potato stouffle and steamed vegetables. Chef recommends that the steaks be cooked medium rare (not my normal temperature, but I thought I better go with it, since it's a $43 steak). The Rib eyes came out Med. Rare, and the girls ordered the T-bones Medium. All came out prepared as ordered. The rib eyes, seemed as though they were "charred" as to keep the meat inside tender. I had a hard time cutting the meat as it seemed raw inside to me, awesome flavor, would have liked a less charred piece. The T-bones both looked awesome and cooked to perfection. Potato stouffle was made with garlic mashed potatoes, then placed into a baking dish, covered with Parmesan cheese and rebaked. To me, very dry, I would have liked just plain garlic mashed potatoes. The veggies were awesome, with string beans, green and white, as well as baby carrots. Perfect tenderness and crunch.
The desserts ordered was the chocolate-chocolate decadence cake (7.95) the Chocolate chip bread pudding ($7.95) as well as a Mango sorbet ($5.95). No dessert for me, I finished my steak! The cake was warm and gooey, with rich chocolate ice cream. The bread pudding was warm, very moist and gooey, more than my buddy liked. He is more of a fan of a dense cake. It was covered with a scoop vanilla bean ice cream. I was not offered a chance to try the mango sorbet. :( Oh the Monster shrimp. Um, they never came out. I'm not sure what happened, but when we started eating the steaks, we told the waiter to cancel the shrimp. He apologised but we were not given an excuse to why we never got our appetizer. Oh well.
I personally thought it was one of the best steaks I had ever had. My friends, and wife thought their steaks was good, but thought I had cooked some better ones on my grill at home. When asked the question...DK or RC (Ruth Chris). I would have to say, Ruth Chris. That sizzle and butter... mmmmm, but that is for another entry.

D.K.Steak House
2552 Kalakaua Ave.
Waikiki, HI 96822
808.931.6280

Dinner nightly from 5:30pm-10:00pm

Did the valet parking-cost me $12.00, and that is after validation from the restaurant.

Mililani Golf Course Restaurant

2008-02-25T14:21:00.005-10:00

"ADOBO"
MMM What you see is a picture of a Kim Chee-Adobo Omelet. One of the greatest and tastiest omelets you will ever enjoy. The golf course not only has omelets, but other breakfast meals, such as waffles and the normal eggs, bacon, and rice, but also serves lunch and dinner. Lunches could be a plate lunch with their also famous "Hawaiian Steak" which is awesome, or club sandwiches with waffle fries. Prices are a bit steep, with the omelet going for $9.25, but easily could be shared by my wife and I. They have dinner buffets that change weekly, from a Hawaiian Night with Kalua pig, poi, long rice, to an Alaskan King Crab night, and even Puerto Rican night with pastele’s, gandule rice, bacalao salad. Service and touch and go. Sometimes we get served right away and food comes out quickly, other times, we are sitting there drinking 2 and 3 cups of coffee until we order our food. I think now that we hit up the golf-course a couple of times a month, they know us and we are served faster than before...either that or they have better servers now. All in all, if you never have had an adobo omelet (with or without kim chee) you need to try the Mililani Golf Course.

Side note: They also have fresh fish for poke, sashimi which you can purchase for take home. Also make pupu platters and lots of Filipino food. The Hawaiian Steak can also be purchased raw and ready for your grill at home. Just get one more pound then you think you will need. We always end up eating more of the steak than anything else at our cookouts.

95-176 Kuahelani Ave
808-625-2256
Daily 6a-8p

Ahi and Vegetable-Fort Street Mall, Honolulu

2008-02-22T13:35:00.008-10:00

Ahi and Vegetable is located right across from HPU main building directly on Fort Street Mall. It is a small "hole in the wall" place, where if you are not looking for it, you will miss it. Look for the picture menu posted outside of the door. There's approximately 10 tables (2-4 person) for those wanting to eat-in, but you are guaranteed to find a line when ordering your meal. If possible get your food to go, find a nice bench or office lunchroom and enjoy.

Made famous by their Spicy Ahi vegetable salad. A generous helping of lettuce, some sliced carrots and cucumbers, topped with a nice size portion of spicy ahi. Served with their traditional mild dressing, this salad is a treat. Can also be ordered with plain ahi, poke, salmon, etc. All salads can be ordered with rice instead. Sushi rice, white or brown. Extra rice is given upon request. The price-$7. Not a bad deal. If you wish to order the "set" you can get your ahi-bowl, a small salad and miso soup for a couple bucks more. They also have a teriyaki chicken bowl with a small salad for 7 bucks.

Those were the two items I have tried. It's hard for me to move away from the spicy ahi salad and try something else.

Info:
1126 Fort St Mall
Honolulu, HI 96813
(808) 599-3500
M-F only- lunch hours.

Just Tacos-Mililani Town Center

2007-09-30T15:38:00.000-10:00

Just Tacos opened in the town center, across from Loco Moco and Price Busters. A nice spot on the corner with dining at a bartop, outside seating and inside tables. Go in and seat yourself. Prices were very reasonable for a "sit down" style restaurant. Anywhere from $6 to around $12, from appetizers to big burritos. My wife ordered the taco salad which was a nice size fried shell filled with lettuce, cheese, cilantro,pico de gallo (chopped tomato, onions and chilis), guacamole, sour cream and your choice of chicken or steak. My buddy and I each ordered the nachos, corn chips covered in refried beans, melted cheese, pico de gallo, guacamole, sour cream and again chicken or steak. After the food was brought out, the waitress asked if we would like any salsa. Mild, medium, or hot. We had one of each. None of them were any good, very "watery" and pretty bland. It seemed more like a taco sauce, than a salsa.
The service was OK. Seemed like we waited over 10 minutes just to order, and then my wife's salad was out a good five minutes before our food. The tables and chairs were nice, but the music was a bit loud to have a conversation. You had to speak fairly loud to hear the people across the table.
The food was good, but I do like other favorite places for specific Mexican food. If we go back, I will probably get something other than the nachos.

First post

2007-09-30T15:36:00.000-10:00

This blog is written to help people choose a good place to eat. It will also help you to avoid the terrible places out there as well. My wife and I eat out all the time, along with our friends, so please check back often as we will update as much as possible.
We don't have a rating system, we just want to share our good and bad eating experiences.