We're not great fans of touristy Kailua, but we do love former Ritz-Carlton chef Amy Ferguson Ota's oddly named Oodles of Noodles, (808) 329-9222, a smart bistro where you'll meet every form of what home economics used to call alimentary paste, from Asian ramen to Italian capillini, nice wines, well-prepared food. Down the highway in an industrial park is the original restaurant of the chef who is arguably the face of Island cooking, Sam Choy, still run by members of his family, Sam Choy's Kaloko, (808) 326-1545; awesome breakfasts, 'ono fish preparations, many types of loco moco, quick service, reasonable prices.Headed south on Mamalahoa Highway, two longtime local favorites are worth mentioning: Teshima's Restaurant, (808) 322-9140, for Japanese meals (especially tempura!) and the dining room at the venerable third-generation Manago Hotel, (808) 323-2642, where hearty local-style meals are served dormitory-style at long tables (the pork chops!!!).
North, the highway takes you through resort country, where every hotel has a restaurant or two. We especially like Pahu i'a at the Four Seasons Hualalai, (808) 325-8333, The CanoeHouse at the Mauna Lani Bay Hotel & Bungalows, (808) 885-6622, Brown's Beach House at the Fairmont Orchid at Mauna Lani, (808) 885-2000 — all three offer pricey New Island cuisine in great beach settings — and Hakone, (808) 880-1111 — exquisite Japanese food — at the Hapuna Beach Prince Hotel.
Alan Wong and crew designed a restaurant for Hualalai Resort in 2004 — Hualalai Grille by Alan Wong, (808) 325-8525 — with a couple of signature dishes from his flagship restaurant (ginger-crusted onaga) and others created particularly for this clubhouse restaurant.
At Waimea is the spot we consider to be among the handful of consistently excellent restaurants in the state: Merriman's, (808) 885-6822, a repeat 'Ilima Award winner. Waimea town really is richly blessed with great places to eat, also including Daniel Thiebaut, (808) 887-2200, in the historic Chock In Store with a menu in which France and Asia meet.
On the Hilo side, we never get tired of Cafe Pesto, (808) 969-6640, (there's another in Kawaihae, (808) 882-1071) for its casual, eclectic menu including Asian-inspired pastas, individual pizzas and seafood risotto. Fresh fish is the specialty of the 83-year-old Seaside Restaurant and Aquafarm, (808) 935-8825, where mullet, aholehole and other fish are grown in Hawaiian-style fishponds; we also recommend the Paniolo Prime Rib.
Restaurant Kaikodo, (808) 961-2558, has settled in nicely in an exquisitely renovated space in a historic building; it's what happens when Asian art collectors team up with an award-winning East-West chef, Michael Fennelly. Hilo Bay Cafe, (808) 935-4939, a new lunch and dinner spot up the hill from Hilo town, is a 2004 'Ilima Critics' Choice, the first ever from the Neighbor Island, an honor richly deserved by this tasteful bistro serving what some have called a "Midwest/Rim" menu focused on locally grown, organic foods.
Lovers of local grinds simply must stop at 58-year-old Cafe 100, (808) 935-6368, named for the Japanese-American 100th Battalion; it's the spot that popularized (but not invented) the loco moco and offers an eclectic and ever-changing plate lunch menu. Also beloved of locals: Nori's Saimin & Snacks, (808) 935-9133, a narrow space tucked into a strip mall offering many varieties of well-made saimin and other local foods, plus housemade crunchy snack stuff. Itsu's, near the Edith Kanaka'ole Stadium, is a fishing tackle shop with a line out the door for inexpensive plate lunches (the gravy burger!), shave ice and colored popcorn omiyage.
