VINO ITALIAN TAPAS & WINE BAR
Inspired by the Italian enoteca, Vino brings the best of food and wine together in the casual setting of a room dressed in the warm colors of Tuscany.
The rustic, Italian-style menu is equally casual, with plates meant to be shared with a friend or two. One mainstay since the restaurant’s opening in 2004 is the asparagus Milanese, now topped with roasted Hamakua mushrooms, a local organic egg, shaved Parmesan and white truffle oil.
A variety of gnocchi, crispy whole branzino and red wine-braised lamb shank are other favorites, along with house-made burrata, or mozzarella with a center of mascarpone, served over pesto with tomato concasse.
At the heart of Vino, of course, is the wine that accompanies meals. Master sommelier Chuck Furuya offers a stellar selection, and with his encyclopedic memory always has a story to tell about each one. Wines available by the glass are also offered in 2-ounce tasting pours to allow guests to explore different regions around the globe.
Waterfront Plaza, 500 Ala Moana Blvd.; 524-8466. Dinner (Wednesday-Saturday). $$-$$$
SALT Kitchen & Tasting Bar in Kaimuki offers inexpensive tapas and higher-priced large plates. --Star-Advertiser / 2011
SALT KITCHEN & TASTING BAR
In a year, SALT Kitchen & Tasting Bar has evolved to offer fewer of the small, inexpensive tapas it opened with and more higher-priced large plates. But it’s still a great place to unwind at the end of the day, with a full bar, brews and stellar wine menu to accompany the housemade charcuterie and cheese plates at the heart of the tasting menu.
The hungry can piece together a simple meal of salads and sides such as roasted beets, steamed clams and smoked ahi-stuffed piquillos or go for a more traditional dinner with such entrees as a $25 mixed grill platter with house sausage, Shinsato pork loin, smoked meat tongue, Kulana flatiron steak, Maui onions and Ali’i mushrooms.
Menus change with the seasons, so don’t grow too accustomed to one dish. Experimenting is part of the experience. It’s not every day you come across grilled Madagascar prawns with bacon jam.
3605 Waialae Ave., Kaimuki; 744-7567. Dinner. $$-$$$
MING’S CHINESE RESTAURANT
This humble restaurant looks like any other typical strip-mall Chinese hole-inthe-wall, but even a cursory check of the basics will reveal superlative cuisine from a chef formerly with the high-end Dynasty kitchens.
Here you’ll find the full spate of Cantonese and contemporary fare, but for those who long for something different, the restaurant also offers a Shanghai menu that includes xiao long bao (soup dumplings) and sheng jian bao (pork buns) that are “95 percent close to Shanghai,” according to a friend who now lives in the Chinese metropolis.
Some dishes can be too authentic, so staffers make a point of steering diners away from things “local people don’t like.”
Waiakamilo Shopping Center, 1414 Dillingham Blvd., 841-8889. Lunch, dinner. $$
Sushi ii's chirashi bowl features an assortment of sashimi and shellfish served on sushi rice. Chef Garrett Wong offers some of the best seafood. --Cindy Ellen Russell / crussell@staradvertiser.com
SUSHI ii
In proprietor and sushi chef Garrett Wong I trust. He’s of a breed of stoic types who would simply lose face if failing to seek out and offer the very best seafood for clientele who put their faith into his little sushi bar/izakaya, which is packed most nights. (Try going during
lunch hour if you must get a seat.) One of his most recent offerings is
baby abalone you’ll down raw, though he’ll turn it over to the kitchen if you can’t bear to bite into the wriggling creatures.
As good as the sushi and raw selections are, such as snapper or whitefish with truffle ponzu, your non-fish-eating friends can join you for an equally wonderful hot menu that localizes and westernizes the izakaya concept with such selections as pork belly-wrapped asparagus, prosciuttoand basil-wrapped sea scallops, salt-and-pepper kalbi and lamb lollipops.
It’s not possible to have a bad meal here.
Samsung Plaza, 655 Keeaumoku St.; 9425350. Lunch (Wednesday-Saturday), dinner (Wednesday-Sunday). $$-$$$
–Nadine Kam, Honolulu Star-Advertiser “Weekly Eater” restaurant reviewer