Traveling to Hawaii? Frugal Food in Honolulu
Some months ago, I asked my audience what they want to see on the blog. There were a few things in particular that caught my attention. They wanted to know how to make more money and money guides. They also wanted to know more about traveling on a dime. Since I don’t talk about travel much, I decided to enlist some other writers that can provide more detail. Today, we are going to talk about the much visited city of Honolulu in Hawaii. If you’re planning a trip, then here’s how you can eat good food for less.
Inexpensive Island Food in Honolulu
Hawaii is notoriously expensive and, because it’s an island, you can’t always get what you want. That’s why, if you’re visiting Honolulu, you want to know all about the new eats.
10 years ago, Honolulu only had two kinds of restaurants. You could either do high-end dining or small mom and pop places. Today, there’s a wide range of places to eat. But, before you start scouting the island, look in your own “back yard.” These Honolulu hotels are sometimes staffed with chefs that rival independent restaurants.
Once you’re ready to leave the hotel, here are a few places to check out.
Pint & Jigger
This is a gastro-pub, straight up. It’s located on King Street near the University of Hawaii. The shuffleboard at this place can really draw a crowd, and not just senior citizens either. You can order “pigs-in-a-blanket” and share it with the whole table, and the stout burger with beer cheese is to die for.
There’s a rotating 21-beer tap that includes local breweries and a neat cocktail menu with homebrew creations like “mesquite smoked manhattan”.
Lucky Belly
Lucky Belly almost sounds like a kind of Chinese restaurant, and you would be right to think that. This place serves up ramen noodles and other Asian-inspired starters like pork belly bao. There’s also Dusty Garble, who is a sommelier and a local who worked for San Fransisco’s Gary Danko before opening his own restaurant back home. He brought with him experience and fine wine.
Farmer’s Markets
Farmer’s Markets are hip and trendy on the island now, and it’s fun to see locals line up to eat foreign food that you wouldn’t normally expect to see. The Pig & The Lady sells Vietnamese food, for example, while WOW farm sells Mahiki Heirloom tomatoes. And then there’s the Hawaiian cheesecakes.
The owner, one David Bearden, makes a classic New York style cheesecake with or without macadamia nut short bread crust. The added flavors come from locally available fruits.
Lewers Lounge
Lewers is a great place to chill out, and you’ll feel like you’re on that show Mad Men. It’s located in the Halekulani Hotel in the middle of Waikiki and is basically a retro modern jazz lounge. The lights are dimmed, the red velvet banquets are overflowing, and there’s some soft jazz playing in the corner – enough so that you can enjoy yourself but no so loud that you can’t hear yourself think.
A waitress greeks you in a cream-colored dress and offers you any kind of mixed drink you can think of. This place has a dress code, so no open-toed shoes. But, it makes for great ambiance.
SALT: Bar and Kitchen
The SALT: bar and kitchen is a new dining joint in Honolulu, and it’s already won Honolulu Magazine’s Hale Aina Award for best new restaurant. The menu is both trendy and yet local. Here, you can get fresh-caught tako (octopus) with homemade chorizo or brown butter gnocchi.
If you want a more formal dining experience, there’s a “back room” or rather an upstairs where a muted T.V. plays surf footage while a dedicated bartender makes you a mixed drink.
Side Street Inn
If you’re looking for a place that’s casual and unpretentious, look no further than the Side Street Inn. It’s a very casual plan, shorts, t-shirt, whatever. You can get amazing service and the menu is easy on the tastebuds. Order “Da Works” and you’ll get fried rice with lup cheong (Chinese sweet sausage) and kimchee.
But, there’s also more familiar fare like fried chicken and pan-fried pork chop. Even some of the exotic-sounding dishes are surprisingly comfortable, like kal bi (Korean style short ribs) and corn chowder. The portions are generous and the price won’t kill your bank account.
There are many places to eat here, and you may need to be rolled out of the place when you’re done, but it’s all in good fun, and you’ll have a blast.
Author Bio: Stephen Kulas works as a field service engineer. He likes writing about his experiences to post on the web. His articles can be found on many travel and business websites.
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