Travel, reading and other exposure to some of the best art, architecture, fashion and cuisine have led me to think of myself as a global citizen, able to fit in any city beyond my point of origin.

But somewhere in my psyche I will always be Nadine from Hawaii, the same scrappy Waipahu girl who gave as good as she got when pushing and shoving her way with the boys onto the school bus at the end of the school day at Waipahu High. We were all so anxious to get on with our real lives, we couldn’t be bothered with queuing up nicely.

One never escapes one’s past, and nowhere is this demonstrated more than at the table, where our appetites are shaped by the foods and flavors we loved while growing up, no matter how evolved we think we are.

This was made clear at Lisa’s House, a sports bar where the uniform of choice is a hoodie and a beefy T — and that’s for the women.

The food here reminds me there’s more to life than a Michelin or Gayot rating, and of course, there’s no place like home.

It’s funny that no one else in the crowd makes a big deal about the food. They’re playing darts, shooting pool and casually snacking in between because, for most people, this is what normal looks like. But for foodies always chasing the trendy, new and/or exclusive, the experience is a time machine journey back to our childhoods, a trip both nostalgic and exhilarating.

It started with leaping back a step when walking into the place, which looks like a messy, makeshift party room at any aunt or uncle’s house if your address is not in Manoa or Kahala. The furniture’s a mix of card-size and folding tables with folding chairs, and countertops are adorned with trophies and stuff — lots of stuff.

Before moving closer to town two years ago, the bar was opened a decade ago by Dorothea Fujinaga and her children Brandon Fujinaga, Shannon Inouye and Lisa Higa on Ualena Street near the airport.

Brandon, who loved cooking for the family while growing up, is an alumnus of Kapiolani Community College’s culinary program, and he works his kitchen magic here. Namesake Lisa happened to have a lot of friends who enjoyed showing up at her “house” for billiards, darts and Brandon’s cooking.

You’re going to have to come back here two or three times with a big group of friends to make a dent in the lengthy and mouth-watering menu, featuring all the touchstones of kamaaina living. Garlic ahi? Check. Pulehu short ribs? Check. And what’s a party without pupu galore?

Of course you’re gonna start with poke, and the favorite here is the Hawaiian-style ahi poke (market price) with ogo, green and white onions, sesame oil, Hawaiian salt, red pepper and crunchy inamona. Other options are shoyu limu, spicy Korean ahi, shoyu salmon ($11.50) and tofu poke ($9.25).

Then there are fried chicken wings ranging from the classic Frank’s Red Hot Buffalo-style ($8.75) to unique ranch-fried wings dusted with a salty, sharp seasoning mix of the sort used to flavor chips and popcorn. It works here, so much so that there’s no need to dip into the accompanying ranch dressing, which detracts from the flavor of the wings themselves. The dressing works for those who like their food drenched in sauce.

And pupu offerings would not be complete without a steak plate somewhere in the mix. The house special steak is 8 ounces of grilled New York steak ($12.25) in a juicy sauce of mushrooms and onions. Or, for the same price, get that New York steak coated green with the ginger, garlic, green onion and cilantro sauce more typically served with cold ginger chicken at Chinese restaurants.

Most people rave about the portobello fries here, large slices of mushroom fingers tossed with Parmesan and served with ranch dressing and marinara sauce ($9.25). It’s one of those things that, because of the hype, doesn’t seem all that when you dig in. It’s probably light and airy when it leaves the kitchen, but because of the moisture in ’shrooms, it loses the crisp factor fairly quickly. And it could have used a pinch more salt. Luckily, I was recently given a small tin of Maldon sea salt flakes from the United Kingdom, so will have my own stash the next time the need arises.

For me the truly crave-worthy dishes hit the base note of fatty richness. These included the hot crab and clam dip ($10), an oozy, creamy baked combo of chopped clams, imitation crab and Parmesan, served with tortilla chips. It’s the sort of dish that any 20- or even 30-something could handle, while causing the rest of us to weigh the health risk versus the pleasure. It’s the same with the garlic butter clams ($12.25). They take value seriously here, so while the clams are small, a pound of them is plenty for three or four people. The buttery broth is enough to fill a soup bowl, and I’m wondering how many are tempted to finish this fatty elixir. Also fitting this mode is the seafood-stuffed salmon ($14.25).

By the time the pulehu short ribs ($20) arrived, other diners had eaten their fill, but I kept going. The ribs were dry and rather chewy but hit the right shoyu, salty notes. I finished most of the platter by myself, all the while justifying that it was mostly bone and that all the thin slices of meat would simply add up to one order of steak at a fine steakhouse.

Ah, who was I trying to kid? Next time I’ll bring people with bigger appetites to save me from myself.

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