Honolulu | Eat + Drink

This recap includes the downtown city area of Honolulu which we ventured to twice, once for dinner at Sushi ii and once for lunch at Lucky Belly, as well as the posh city streets of Waikiki Beach. We found downtown Honolulu to be relatively quiet where as Waikiki was always bustling! 

We had our best meals of the trip on this leg of our Hawaiian journey; nowhere else overall compared to the restaurant and bar scene here. 

Mahina & Son's at The Surfjack Hotel + Swim Club 

[412 Lewers Street]

Surfjack Hotel is wonderfully hip. A retro Wish You Were Here tiled pool immediately invites you into the well manicured space. Mahina and Son's is an open concept that abuts hotel lounge and sun deck. 

We started with addicting, super spicy pickled peanuts with jalapenos. If you've never had pickled peanuts they are an absolute treat. I don't remember exactly what we drank but the cocktails were on par.

We hadn't yet tried Poi (taro root) which is a major Hawaiian crop / right of passage. It worked well in the Pa'a'ai Salad with pickled Akule (big eye scad), pohile (Hawaiian fiddlehead fern) and tomato. The first main was Monchong (Sickle Pomfret) with 'ulu (breadfruit), green bean, cherry tomato and chervil. The second was Opah (Moonfish) with savoy cabbage, purplette, u'ala (sweet potato) and a mustard-bacon broth. Dessert was the Dark Chocolate Butter Mochi with black sesame gelato and mango jam.

Sushi ii

[655 Keeaumoku St] 

An omakase menu is offered (go for it!) in this unassuming strip mall nook. A parade of impossibly fresh nigiri delights from Chef Hiro: lango, kinmedai, shima aji, toro, uni, hokkiado scallop, ikura, ama ebi...with a grand finale of miso soup!

Bar Leather Apron
[745 Fort Street Mall #127]

We ubered from Sushi ii to Bar Leather Apron for a night cap. This intimate cocktail den is located on the mezzanine level of the Topa Financial Center in downtown Honolulu. It is definitely a random, hidden location and it was a little tricky to find; part of the charm for sure. They have four old Fashioneds on the menu, naturally we each got one. 

Appetito

[150 Ka‘iulani Ave]

Appetito is a chic craft pizza and wine bar, which we chose on a whim. I took just one photo of this phenomenal pizza: KING CRAB SHISHITO with avocado, shishito peppers and arugula on a cream sauce drizzled with wasabi mayo. We had a really great time here, much in part to our amazing, personable bartender, who in hindsight I recognized as professional surfer Keala Kennelly. She totally made our night.

Queen Street Cafe + Grill
[99 Kauhale St, Aiea]

Queen St Café + Grill is actually located in Aiea - the town that Pearl Harbor is in. We had lunch time to fill between our morning arrival and our late afternoon tour of the USS Arizona, so we opted to venture off campus instead of hitting up the hot dog cart with everyone else. I'm so glad we did! (Pearl Harbor has no entrance fees or parking fees so it's easy to leave and come back in one day.) The Poke Bowl Lunch at this no frills café is easily one of the best I had. You can mix and match so I had tuna and beef with pasta salad and white rice, Bob had chicken and beef with potato salad and brown rice.

Lucky Belly
[50 N Hotel St]

We stopped in Chinatown for lunch after we checked out of The Alohilani and before we headed for the North Shore. Lucky Belly was host to a decent lunch hour crowd. We sat at the bar and sipped ice cold Asahi Beers alongside delicious food. Bob had Tempura Shrimp Tacos topped with asian slaw and yuzu mayo. As for me, you know I can't pass up a good bowl of Ramen (I think this was my third so far in Hawaii!) The Lucky Bowl with bean sprouts, soft egg, wakame, sesame seeds, green onion and ginger was excellent.

The Beach Bar @ Moana Surfrider Hotel
[2365 Kalakaua Ave]

Moana Surfrider is a Westin Resort & Spa right on Waikiki Beach. This was our favorite place for cocktails - the nicest bartenders, live music, hula dancing, and you are literally steps from the sand. 

We absolutely loved the food scene in Honolulu and would give all these spots our vote of approval. 

Omakase @ Uni

 Back in February we celebrated my 33rd Birthday at Uni, a contemporary Izakaya helmed by Chef Ken Oringer featuring inventive Japanese cuisine alongside an extensive craft cocktail and sake program. We went all out with the Omakase (chefs tasting) and it was worth every penny. 

Omakase is typically twelve courses, starting small with a few perfect one bite dishes and building in substance as it progresses. At Uni the elements of each dish are plated strikingly so and further each bite takes your palate by surprise. Flavors are remarkably nuanced, intricate, and complex, the fish so fresh, the knife work so precise. 

 We had a cocktail each followed by two gorgeous, striking, fantastic bottles of sake; a Hakkaisan ($55) from Nigata - a sparkling junmai ginjo brut and later a Nigori Dassai '50' ($45) from Yamaguchi, a polished and approachable junmai daiginjo. 

I captured most dishes but did omit a few - here goes:

 Smoked Uni Spoon | osetra caviar, quail egg yolk, yuzu
Foie Gras ice cream | ostreta caviar, potato chip

Kaki - Aunt Dotty Oyster | yamamomo granita, tonburi 
Tai - Sea Bream sashimi | concord grape, myoba

Spicy Tuna + Foie Gras Tataki | aji amarillo, pistachio, pear 
Live Maine Uni Sea Urchin | citrus ceviche, cherry tomato

Nigiri | Toro (fatty tuna), Maguro (bluefin tuna), Hirame (Fluke) + more
Hotate - Scallop | maitake mushroom, chinese chive vin, candied bacon jam
Suzuki - Bass | maguro shirodashi, lemongrass, garlic

Lobster Carbonara | Maine lobster, ramen noodles

Korean Ricecakes | kalni oxtail, kimchee butter, gremolata

This meal had been on my bucket list for awhile, I was so grateful for this exceptional and really fun birthday dinner!

Uni

370 Commonwealth Ave

Boston, MA 02215

goodies | Eataly, Merchant, Pabu + more

Standout dishes and drinks: 

Boston, Newton, Watertown, Hingham | Nov + Dec 2016, Jan 2017

Linguine alle Vongole @ Eataly

Hamachi Blood Orange Crudo @ Eataly

Aloha Weisse, Nightshift @ Branch Line (not pictured but really good here this month: White Anchovy Toast w/rotisserie tomato, Trumpet Mushrooms w/ sumac oil)

Smoked Sea Trout w meyer lemon, crispy brussels sprout leaves, radish @ Merchant

Sake / Spicy salmon hand roll @ Pabu

Happy Spoon - oyster, ponzu creme fraiche, uni, tobiko, ikura @ Pabu

Excellent, go-to sushi @ Super Fusion

Insalata: baby arugula, gorgonzola, San Daniel prosciutto, port soaked figs, wood grilled shrimp @ Alma Nove
The Commodity (tequila cabeza, strawberry infused campari, east india sherry, lemon) @ The Hawthorne

Asparagus, panchetta, poached egg pizza @ Brewers Fork

It is sort of crazy how many good food and drink pictures sit in the archives of my phone. I am constantly snapping away and saving them for a rainy day. I hope you enjoy the mash up!