Gillan’s shots capture isle life

Photographer Grady Gillan enjoys documenting people on Oahu at play, day and night, outside and inside, in candid portraits of our island life. Gillan occasionally puts out his own black-and-white photozine titled Aloha Friday, and the release of the second issue will be celebrated 6 to 9 p.m. Tuesday at one of his favorite night spots, thirtyninehotel in Chinatown. Copies will be sold there, as well as on his website at www.gradygillan.com. I like the photozine’s layout, which is similar in style and content to San Francisco’s Hamburger Eyes, coincidentally produced with the help of former Honolulu resident Dave Potes. Aloha Friday is a tangible document that celebrates the mediocre, the tawdry and the occasional beauty that surrounds us. — Gary Chun

Olive Garden flavor flies back

Increased work-related travel the past couple of years provided regular opportunities to hunt down two of my mainland must-finds: In-N-Out Burger and Olive Garden. Each visit provided fleeting satisfaction, until a kind server in a Reno Olive Garden informed me that bottles of the chain’s signature salad dressing were available for purchase. Since then, it’s become an omiyage of choice if there’s some wiggle room in the luggage weight limit. Careful packing is critical to keep the bottles from cracking and soaking my clothes in seasoned olive oil. Still, they tend to keep better over the trip home than, say, warm breadsticks. Dressing price varies by location. — Jason Kaneshiro

Ribs even Adam would enjoy

The best ribs in town are served only on Wednesdays at Kakaako favorite Karen’s Kitchen. At first glance, the pulehu ribs are nothing special: oven roasted — not slow-cooked in a wood-burning pit. But Memphis has nothing on these local-style pork ribs. Simply salted and served with a soy, vinegar, tomato and onion dipping sauce, it’s pork heaven. The ribs are served until 3:30 p.m. Wednesdays for $8.95. — Craig Gima

Jellycat plush toys a fluffy treat

Maybe it’s the long ears, the floppy arms or expressive face, but there’s something adorably irresistible about Jellycat plush animals. Take the Bunglie bunny, for instance. He’s ultra-soft and has a beanbag bottom, which makes it easy to sit him up. Prop him with his arm up on a rocking chair, and he kind of has an attitude. The other plus is that the Bunglie bunny does pretty well in the washing machine.

I’m becoming a fan of Jellycat, established in England in 1999, since buying the bunny for my baby. Besides the rabbit, the Junglie & Bunglie menagerie includes a zebra, giraffe, monkey, gorilla, dog, cat, horse and lion.

Jellycat plush animals have been spotted at the Cupcake Boutique at Ward Warehouse, and are also available at Amazon.com (small to medium, $18 to $25), although some are available for a limited time, as new animals are introduced. — Nina Wu

Stress Cupcake skips calories

OK, I admit it. I tend to be a stress eater. But fortunately for my waistline, I have a Stress Cupcake. Although nothing can truly compare to the bliss of shoving a sugary treat in your mouth, squeezing the foamy faux-cake really does have a calming effect. Order your own at thinkgeek.com for $4.99 plus shipping or Amazon.com for $7.99 with free Super Saver shipping. — Charlene Robinson