Sunny Days is healthy, yet it falls short on finesse

It took a while for Honolulu restaurateurs to catch on to the siren song of breakfast, but since the morning- and all-day breakfast movement started last year, we’ve seen lines out the door at places like The Nook, Tucker & Bevvy Breakfast, and one of the originals, Cafe Kaila. There just aren’t enough seats to accommodate all who want a satisfying start to their day.

Sunny Days is the latest entry to the scene. It’s an all-day casual restaurant that I’m lumping in with the breakfast bunch because its biggest claims to fame appear to be the fresh juices that are a healthful wake-up call for the body, and the ricotta soufflé pancakes that, surrounded by fruit, are a colorful eye opener.

The new eatery is in Diamond Head Center, which is also home to Bogart’s and another health-oriented cafe, Diamond Head Cove. In an area that draws runners, tourists and residents out for a stroll — and often in need of refreshment along the way — Sunny Days appears to be perfectly situated in the space formerly occupied by Surf ‘n’ Turf Tacos. Although, with $12 cold-pressed juices, competition may be tough since neighbors are offering similar items for $8 or $9.

Sunny Days is an extension of Hanafru, a Japan-based company that started with a chain of high-end fruit shops. Over time, the company introduced LoL, a healthy sandwich brand, and Parachutes, specializing in cold-pressed juices. That healthful synergy gives direction to the menu at Sunny Days.

The charming, surf-themed cafe is home to a short menu of sprout-filled sandwiches, a loco moco with a quinoa option to replace rice, and those pancake platters on which fresh fruit also play a starring role. You can pair your plate with an array of Parachutes cold-pressed juices, including three Hawaii exclusives: melon (honeydew), watermelon and pineapple, all with chia seeds ($13 each). Others are blends such as “Repair” (with carrot, apple and orange) or “Kale Diet” (with kale, spinach, celery, carrot, orange, pineapple and apple).

It’s a welcoming place for vegans and vegetarians, though the majority meat-loving crowd won’t find it holier than thou. There’s decadence to be had in caramel-coated banana pancakes ($10), eggs Benedicts ($16) topped with bacon, and even a rib-eye plate offered on Mondays.

For now, many meat entrees are offered one day a week, but as a matter of this restaurant’s survival, the short list should be expanded to every day of the week for more interesting options. I love vegetables, but eating them shouldn’t feel like a sacrifice, as it does here. If fresh produce with little enhancement is to be a hallmark, that produce better be excellent. But when Mother Nature isn’t cooperating, it’s a problem. I visited with several different people over a couple of days and in each case, no one touched the salads because of tough greens and bitterness brought on by the recent spate of hot weather. Imported berries were not much better.

I also love a good vegan sandwich ($12), but here, a thick layer of sprouts and mushy tomato gives it a bland presence. I’m accustomed to ingredients like grilled summer squash, zucchini and eggplant that give such a sandwich body, texture, sweetness and a bit of char for additional flavor.

For me, that “something’s missing” aspect permeates the menu. Even a pastrami sandwich ($16) lacks oomph, though its lack of oiliness is a plus.

Though the restaurant has an egalitarian philosophy of rotating its employees through the rote prep and cooking process, I can’t help but question this protocol. Aren’t some people better cooks than others? Where its competitors have three people behind the counter, Sunny Days often has 10. What’s lacking is someone with critical faculty to recognize what isn’t working.

In VARIOUS hands, those English muffin-size soufflé pancakes can be perfect one day, with the lightness of its egg white meringue, and bitter with too much baking soda the next, or more raw than custardy another day.

There is probably a way to make tofu spam musubi ($2) taste great, but here, the tofu is marinated in a teriyaki-style sauce that is single-note salty. There’s also real Spam musubi ($2), but the brick of rice is too large and rubbery.

For now, some of the best things on the menu are the pancakes (when done right), the Sunny Bowl ($12) of acai with a generous amount of bananas, a salmon plate with a dice of the fish over a mountain of vegetables, and the bacon eggs Benedict. Also of interest is a Japanese-style carb-on-carb offering of Egg Slut ($14), a mason jar filled with mashed potatoes and topped with a poached egg that can be mixed together to form a topping for toast.

Ultimately, whether you like Sunny Days or not all boils down to whether you choose health or flavor. I think a majority of us are looking for a sweet spot in the middle.

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

BITE SIZE

Loco mocos reimagined Mondays at Highway Inn

The Smokin’ Moco is one of the hits at Highway Inn Kakaako’s weekly Moco Mondays, which celebrates the beloved island combo of rice, meat and gravy topped with eggs over easy.

As a variation of the basic hamburger patty loco moco ($11.25 regular or $7.85 mini), the star of the Smokin’ Moco ($12.50, or $8.75 mini) is the centerpiece of juicy, brok’ da mouth lychee-wood smoked meat.

But you can’t eat the same moco all the time, so Moco Monday was born, allowing chef Mike Kealoha to get creative and test the possibilities. Recent experiments included a truffled ahi sushi-style moco ($16.25) and “I Wanna Wana Moco” ($17.95), topped with sea urchin and thin strips of nori to mimic the wana’s spines.

I hope that a “Highway Inn Hawaiian Plate” loco moco ($15.95, pictured) will make its way onto the permanent menu. It has all the weightiness of a Hawaiian plate, the rice surrounded with beef stew, topped with a full size laulau and over-easy egg garnished with lomi salmon. The presentation may be different, but it all adds up to happiness in your opu.

While in Kakaako, you’re welcome to check out the lau lau-making process that takes place 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays. A video of the process is at honolulupulse.com/takeabite.

Highway Inn Kakaako is at 680 Ala Moana Blvd. Call 954-4955. If you’re in Kalihi, check out the new Bishop Museum Cafe by Highway Inn, open to museum visitors and the public from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. daily.

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