Kaimuki retro café is packing 'em in

By Wanda A. Adams
Advertiser Food Editor

Waitress Denise Fo serves soup and salad to customers Greg Acohido, center, and Jason Heller at the 12th Avenue Grill, a recently opened Americana-style diner. Photos by Andrew Shimabuku • The Honolulu Advertiser 12th Avenue Grill 1145C 12th Ave. (one short block makai of Wai'alae Avenue on 12th; the door actually opens on an alley diamondhead of 12th). Lunch: 11:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. weekdays Dinner: 5:30-9 p.m. Mondays-Thursdays; 5:30-10 p.m. Fridays-Saturdays; closed Sundays 732-9469 BYOB, for now Parking in nearby metered lots (off Harding between 12th and Koko Head, or off 12th between Wai'alae and Harding) No reservations

A peek in the door of Kevin Hanney's month-old Kaimuki spot had me wondering, "Why aren't there more places like this in Honolulu?" And that was before I tasted the food, which is in a deeply satisfying retro-Americana vein.

Small, bustling nouveau diners like this are an every-block affair in cosmopolitan American cities, but there are few comparable places here — places where the food is both good and interesting, the waiters well-trained and efficient, the design tastefully simple, the room full of buzz (perhaps a bit too much buzz; it can get loud).

Although 12th Avenue Grill is tiny — 14 tables and the counter — I spotted friends on both visits, and the second time turned into a delightful gab fest with two Kaimuki pals I hadn't seen for ages, who insisted I take my solitary lunch over to their table. The cheerful way in which the waiters handled it showed that they are attuned to service — staff in so many places get huffy when you jump tables.

Hanney, a longtime Honolulu caterer, is realizing his dream of creating "a simple neighborhood café-type place, where people would really feel like they could stop in and get something good to eat at a reasonable price." In a post-visit interview, he said he hopes to have his liquor license in a couple of months, but for now it's BYOB for a modest corkage fee of $1.50 per drinker.

And he confirmed that the moan-inducing desserts are prepared by pastry chef Lisa Siu (of 3660 and Kaka'ako Kitchen fame). I indulged in the delicious fruit crisp on both visits; satisfying desserts made from whatever fruit is ripe each week, laced with crumbly topping — apricot one day, peach and blackberry another ($5.95). With my friends, I shared a memorable, very firm-textured, multilayered cheesecake slathered with rich cream-cheese icing ($5.95). I routinely order desserts, eat a bite or two and leave them, but this one I boxed up to take with me. There's also a pie of the day or strawberry shortcake ($5.95 each) and something called Almond Joy ($6.95).

But this is putting the dessert before the starters, salads and entrees (and don't we all wish we could get away with that more often?).

Neither of the salads I tried was particularly remarkable, but then, the '50s and '60s weren't big on greens. The Wedge — a quarter-head of iceberg lettuce with Maytag blue cheese and tomatoes in a bacon vinaigrette ($8.95) — reminded me why I don't care for iceberg lettuce (that soggy thing it does). But the flavors were yummy. A plain Caesar at lunch ($7.95) lacked zing; order it with the shrimp ($12.95) or chicken ($10.95).

I was, however, blown completely away by the baked macaroni and cheese ($6.95). No, no, not gloppy stuff swimming in yellow cheese, but a tidy ramekin of piping hot al-dente macaroni barely glazed by melted house-smoked parmesan and topped with crisp buttered bread crumbs. This dish is addictive; I dream about it at night. It also comes with sauteed mushrooms ($3 additional) or Black Forest ham ($3.50 additional).

The restaurant's signature dish is the kim-chee steak ($8.95 as an appetizer or $16.95 for dinner, with sweet-sour cabbage and a rice cake), and rightfully so. It's a tender piece of beef marinated in a sweet-hot mixture and beautifully grilled. This is another one haunting my dreams. They also make a "Reuben" sandwich with it — steak on rye with sweet-sour cabbage and smoked-pepper Thousand Island dressing.

Owner Kevin Hanney shows off his roasted garlic 'ahi with sun-dried tomato sauce.

The restaurant is not without rough spots: The foccacia bread was dry — and wouldn't cloverleaf rolls or some such be more in keeping with the retro theme? There is a desperate need for noise abatement; at one point I realized my throat was raw because I was shrieking at my dinner companion in order to be heard. And of course, in typical Honolulu fashion, they've been slammed at dinner since the night they opened, and they don't take reservations. Lunches are more sedate.

Altogether, however, the place passed my "time and money" test with gold stars and smiley-face stickers. The test: Would I come back on my own time and dime? Oh, yes. And would I recommend it to friends? I have.