reviewing the food & entertainment pleasures of Honolulu
Last night we met Andrew & Rob at Side Street Inn for dinner. I wasn’t all that excited to go there as the last time I was a bit disappointed. Well they got it right last night.We had the excellent fried pork chops, delicious kim chee fried rice, an enormous side salad, spicy chicken and the rib eye steak on a sizzling platter. The steak was beyond the medium rare we ordered, but still tender and juicy. The spicy chicken is deep fried, but I didn’t find it spicy. It was crunchy and ono. The side salad was mostly iceberg lettuce, with some cucumber and tomatoes. The tomatoes were actually ripe, which seems a rarity anymore. The fried pork chops are still my favorite thing here. They cut the meat off the bones, batter both meat and bones and fry it all up. They’re sooooo good. I have the recipe from when the restaurant was featured in Saveur Magazine, but I haven’t tried to make them yet. The service was attentive and we got a table right away. It was also a great pleasure to eat here without the cigarette smoke. Thank you smoking ban!
I guess I didn’t have enough fried food last night. Today for lunch I walked down the street to Fukuya Delicatessen. I’d seen this place for over two years and never ventured in. It is a Japanese “Okazuya”. That means you pick what you want out of the warming table and displays. There’s no menu on the wall nor any signs to tell you what to do. I observed the people in front of me and dove in. I had a double order of Mochiko Chicken ($1.40 each), a vegetable croquette(75¢) and vegetable tempura (85¢). The Mochiko Chicken was the best of the bunch. It was warm and crunchy, slightly sweet. Some of the best I’ve had, but it could have been a little sweeter. The vegetable tempura was good enough, but it would have been better warm. The croquette was mashed potatoes with veggies in it. It grew on me. The lunch cost $4.61. There was a large assortment of other things available, including chow fun, fried rice, musubi and mochi. Their menu is online here.
Sorry for the lack of photos. I’ve got to get into the habit of taking my camera with me when eating. My cell phone camera just doesn’t take good pictures.
Side Street Inn
Lunch: 10:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. Monday-Friday.
Pupu: 4 p.m.-12:30 a.m. daily.
Bar: 2 p.m.-2 a.m. daily
1225 Hopaka St. 591-0253.. VS, MC, AX, DC, DS, JCB.
Fukuya Delicatessen & Catering
Wednesday through Sunday, 6 a.m. - 2 p.m.
2710 S. King Street 946-2073 VS & MC
Friday, March 16, 2007
Mochiko Chicken, Vegetable Croquette and Vegetable Tempura