From the beginning, Blazin’ Steaks’ Atkinson Center location diverged from the brand’s simple formula of serving up basic grilled steak, chicken and fish with rice and a simple salad.

The small, casual eatery ventured into quesadillas, tacos, loco mocos, chili, burgers and even breakfast.

It was barely recognizable as a Blazin’ Steaks, and with a growing identity of its own, owner Keone Gaspar has branched off and officially re-christened the restaurant Atkinson Grill, though new signage has yet to be complete.

For old times’ sake, you’ll still be able to find steak, steak and more steak. Where not specified, it’s grilled tri-tip that can be paired with chicken ($8.95 regular/$11.95 large), shrimp ($10.95/$14.95) or fresh catch ($11.95/$16.95); served spicy with a ghost pepper sauce ($6.95 mini/$9.50 regular/$12.50 large); or topped with mushrooms and onions ($6.50 mini/$9.50 regular/$12.50 large). If you have trouble deciding, there’s the Steak Trio ($10.95/$14.95), with your choice of garlic, mushroom and onion, kim chee, spicy or poke steak. That last item is not really raw, but cooked through and tossed with a bit of soy sauce, green onions and tomatoes. It doesn’t taste like poke, if that’s what you’re expecting. It tastes like grilled steak.

As for that spicy ghost pepper sauce, it might be best to start at medium level. The hottest version, though tolerable at first, builds on the palate till you start feeling like a fire-breathing dragon.

The sauce also finds its way to orders of Firecracker Fish ($8.50/$13.50/$17.50) and Firecracker Shrimp ($7.50/$12.50/$16.50). Plates come with your choice of white or brown rice, or skin-in garlic mashed potatoes with brown gravy, plus a choice of tossed salad, potato-macaroni salad, steamed broccoli, carrots or corn, or, for an extra 50 cents, Nalo greens.

The new menu is the work of Robert Denis, a veteran of Orson’s Bourbon House and Don Ho’s, who makes the most of the small space and basic ingredients, arriving at inspirations such as a Korean burrito ($8.95) filled with steak, kim chee and your choice of white or brown rice, and although steak fried rice ($7.95/$10.95) is popular here, the pork adobo fried rice ($7.95/$10.95) is perfection.

The charbroiled chicken ($4.95/$6.95/$10.50) that turns up in so many places is dressed up with pesto for pesto chicken pasta ($7.95/$10.95), one of six pasta selections on the menu.

Also, where there’s beef there’s burgers, and diners have a choice of 13 of them, served on your choice of a kaiser, sweet potato or taro roll. A basic hamburger deluxe is $6.75, and those with huge appetites might cut straight to the Animal Burger, the burger topped with slices of grilled steak, cheddar, onions, mushrooms and Nalo greens, and served with house-made steak fries.

While pigging out on meat galore, I noticed a lot of the men coming into this place chowing down on salads.

Due to its proximity to 24-Hour Fitness, Atkinson Grill caters to a number of health buffs and bodybuilders, for whom it’s created the Body Builder Plate ($11.95) of chicken breast, egg whites, broccoli and brown rice.

Gaspar is also open to people creating their own combos.

If you’re still hungry after downing your plate, there’s dessert of brownie a la mode ($3.95) or banana-haupia bread pudding ($4), or maybe you just want strawberry or banana pancakes ($3.95/$5.95).

Nadine Kam‘s restaurant reviews are conducted anonymously and paid for by the Star-Advertiser. Reach her at nkam@staradvertiser.com.