Restaurant openings in Kakaako continue at a rapid pace, bringing new choices to those who live and work in this bustling neighborhood. These three spots offer takeout convenience and tasty bites:
EARL Kakaako
EARL’s second sandwich shop is bigger than the original in Kaimuki and has a different menu, but still prides itself on creative combinations made from scratch. Owner Justin Parvizimotlagh said all the meats are braised or roasted in-house. “We’re cooking, not assembling,” he likes to say.
“We’re not a complacent company,” Parvizimotlagh added. “We wanted to try a new menu, new store, new location. We try to be counter-current” — doing the opposite of what’s trendy — “and pave our own path and identity.”
The Drew pastrami sandwich is the only item from Kaimuki that has made it to the new store.
The name of the shop is an acronym for “Eat a Real Lunch,” and a tribute to the Earl of Sandwich, an 18th-century aristocrat often credited as the inventor of the sandwich.
Highlights: The Short Rib Torta sandwich, with braised meat, oaxaca cheese sauce, refried beans, roasted poblano tomatillo salsa and veggies; and the Nashville Fried Chicken Po Boy, buttermilk-fried chicken tossed in hot sauce and remoulade. Burgers are making a debut, served after 5 p.m., including the Chili Relleno Burger.
Details: 400 Keawe St.; 744-3370. Open 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily; earlhawaii.com.
Prices: Sandwiches $9.75 to $13.50; salads $12; appetizers $10
— Pat Gee, Star-Advertiser
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The Hibachi Honolulu
After nearly 10 years in Kailua, this poke bowl-plate lunch shop has expanded with an eatery at Keauhou Lane. Friends and owners Terrill Chun, Mark Ushijima, and Renee and Kennison Pang “keep it local, with a little twist,” said Renee Pang.
The menu, expanded off the original in Kailua, includes plate-lunch standards such as barbecue chicken, but also features lamb chops and grilled salmon. Skewers and nice-sized burgers round out the meat menu.
A poke case offers a variety of seafood options as well as banchan such as sesame choy sum, furikake mac salad and veggie-tamago yakisoba.
Hibachi Honolulu also serves as a deli market with a curated selection of wine, sake and other liquors, plus local artisan products such as hot sauces, fruit and nut butters, and taro and sweet potato chips.
Highlights: Dictate the kind of meal you’d like. Poke bowls start with a base of either sushi rice or greens, or go heartier with lamb chops, or lamb or steak skewers. For the budget-conscious, burgers start at $6.50, or graze on pupu items ($5 and under) such as chicken wings or gau gee. Finish up with an Ono Pop or a baked treat from Tiny Pyramid.
Details: Keauhou Lane, 502 Keawe St. near Down to Earth; 762-0845. Open 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily.
Prices: Plates and skewers $8.95 to $13.95, poke bowls are priced by weight and run roughly $8 to $12
— Joleen Oshiro, Star-Advertiser
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HiCraft Kitchen
Carlos Jorge and sandwiches share an affinity rooted in Jorge’s early days in restaurant kitchens, when sustenance would a be dinner roll stuffed with whatever you could scrounge to fill it. Perfectly portable, it gave a hungry cook needed calories before starting dinner service, Jorge said.
The idea of opening his own small sandwich shop was a dream crafted after running huge kitchens as executive chef, including Zuma in New York and the St. Regis resort on Kauai. HiCraft is the first of what Jorge hopes will be a trio of Oahu restaurants.
HiCraft’s prices are at the high end of these new places, which Jorge acknowledges and attributes to the quality of locally sourced ingredients and exacting —and often lengthy — cooking techniques. “That’s why we have ‘craft’ in the name.”
A special touch: Dining countertops are made with wood salvaged from lanes of the old Waialae Bowl.
Highlights: Jorge’s favorite and top seller is the Shorty’s Rib sandwich — short ribs from Kauai’s Makaweli Ranch slow-cooked for 12 hours and served with watercress and horseradish cream. Also: the HiBall, veal and lamb meatballs in marinara sauce, and Niihau lamb neck with harissa tzatziki. The menu also includes soup, salads and pour-over coffee.
Details: Keauhou Lane; 379-1842. Open 11:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Tuesdays to Saturdays; dinner hours to come.
Prices: Sandwiches $13 to $14, salads $9.50, soup $9
— Betty Shimabukuro, Star-Advertiser
