THE NIGHT STUFF
Food is entertainment at Side Street

By Derek Paiva
Advertiser Entertainment Writer

Clockwise from left, Puka Asing, Allison Shea, Bronwen Boyan and Chase Harlan chat over a steaming spread. Photos by Rebecca Breyer • The Honolulu Advertiser

Ronald Cabado and Charles Domingo enjoy the convivial atmosphere.

Side Street Inn patrons enjoy food, drink and television on a recent Thursday evening. The menu is a perennial draw.

There's the Kailua bar with the coldest, cheapest pitchers of beer you'll find on the island. The Ke'eaumoku hole-in-the-wall that offers more free pupu the more you stop by. The downtown Irish pub with bartenders whose drinks are works of art suitable for a museum.

Lacking a firm definition for The Night Stuff, I usually reply that the column focuses on venues or events that offer some sort of entertainment — DJs, live bands, poetry, comedy, dancing, film, mimes, performance art with yarn, for instance. (Yes, I have been told the reply is lame. And no, I don't foresee my editors sanctioning a Night Stuff visit to Club Rock-Za anytime soon.)

But one reader had an intriguing idea last month. A frequent patron of popular bar & grills Side Street Inn and King Street Cafe, he suggested the idea of bar food as entertainment.

The popularity of both places, he insisted, is linked to their menus in much the same way a venue's or club event's popularity is linked to its music, bands or DJs. So while neither Side Street or King Street have poetry or mimes, they do indeed have ... entertainment.

So taking him up on his suggestion, I visited Side Street Inn first.

The scene was sports-bar homey, with bar mirrors, neon and a half-dozen silent TVs tuned to ESPN. An L-shaped bar was crowded with loud but well-behaved regulars downing drinks and grumbling about work. The rest of the dining room was a mix of couples, friends and families out to dinner with the kids. A young couple next to us with their 4-year-old bragged on the tasty wonders of their arriving food.

Side Street's menu is an intriguing mix of tastefully-prepared local comfort food and slightly fancier fare for more refined palates. Portions are generous. Expecting appetizer portions for two, we ordered spicy chicken ($5) and pan-fried pork chops ($8.75) from a selection of half-priced Side Street favorites called the "skinnies" menu.

Our spicy chicken arrived with six large, meaty pieces of boneless bird marinated in a homemade teri mixture, then battered and deep fried. Crispy, juicy and as sweet as they were spicy, they disappeared quickly. Our "skinny" order of pan-fried pork chops boasted two large, thick-cut chops rubbed with seasonings, coated with flour and browned to a golden crisp. Cut for ease with chopsticks, they were as mouth-meltingly juicy as the chicken, and excellent with or without a dip in a side dish of ketchup.

Just-seated arrivals stared hungrily at our growing buffet, politely asking questions ("Whoa! What is that?") or offering comment ("Brah, you gotta try da fried rice!").

"You guys expecting someone else?" asked one of our servers, glancing at the empty side of our booth and laughing. "I could join you, you know."

Lehi (silver-mouthed snapper) crusted with ginger and herbs is served with a chili citrus butter sauce, snow peas and shiitake mushrooms.

Now the couple next to us was staring. "We're ordering that, too, next time," said the man.

Next up, a 10-ounce Spencer steak ($17) served still sizzling, pupu-style on a bed of onions and mushrooms — all of it sautéed in a sinfully tasty blend of garlic, butter and seasonings.

"Had enough?" asked another server, smiling and surveying our damage. As our take-home boxes arrived, a female barfly fired up the karaoke machine with a chilling two-fer of Britney Spears' "Sometimes" and The Weather Girls' "It's Raining Men."

We stayed — mostly because we couldn't move — until 11:15 p.m. Side Street was still busy when we left, indeed entertained.

Next week: King Street Cafe.

Reach Derek Paiva at dpaiva@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8005.

WHAT: Side Street Inn

WHERE: 1225 Hopaka St. 591-0253, 596-8282

HOURS: 4 p.m.-2 a.m. (kitchen open until 12:30 a.m.) daily; lunch 10:30 a.m.-1:15 p.m. Mondays-Fridays

OUR ARRIVAL/DEPARTURE: 9:30 p.m./11:15 p.m. on a Thursday

AGE OF CROWD: 20s-60s

WHAT TO WEAR: Casual dress

PEAK CROWD WHILE THERE: about 75

THE LAYOUT: bar, two dining areas (smoking); one dining area (no-smoking)

FOOD PRICES: $4-$25

SERVICE: Our server got to us quickly and was genuinely sweet, despite having many tables (including a couple of surly ones) to deal with.

BEST SEATS: Booths near window overlooking street

BESIDES EATING: Karaoke at $1 per song, and ESPN

GRINDS WE'LL ORDER NEXT: Anise teriyaki short ribs on musubi ($10), sizzling 16 ounce boneless rib-eye steak with mushrooms and onions ($24)

Night notes ...

Congrats to Marloca, Toki, Chia, Ms. Angel and Zita on Escape's First Anniversary! Join Sisters In Sound (including a just-visiting-to-spin DJ Zita) in celebrating the milestone, Valentine's Day and Toki's own b-day, Saturday at Indigo Eurasian Cuisine. Three rooms of SIS and special guests. From 9 p.m. to 2 a.m., 21 and older. Free before 10:30 p.m., $8 thereafter.

Also downtown on Valentine's Day, the anti-heart day Black Heart's Ball. A gathering for folks with the love jones rather the whole romance thing on their minds, the party promises desserts, wine, music and "interesting people." From 9 p.m. Saturday at the Mercury Lounge, 1154 Fort Street Mall. $7. Call 479-0270 for more information.

Downtown art loft Soullenz Gallery hosts an evening of live world jazz fusion with the band Sand, Water, Moon tonight, 8 to 10, at 186 N. King St. (River and King streets, second floor). $5, call 525-7757.

Not working on Presidents Day? Another edition of Star Bar takes over Longhi's at Ala Moana Center on Sunday from 9 p.m. to 2 a.m. Open-air soundscapes provided by KSM, Tim B, Rayne, Slow Daddy and G-Spot. $10; 21 and older.