WE'RE CRAVING: CHEAP EATS

AHI & VEGETABLE

Cheap AND healthy. That's how Ahi & Vegetable came to be every conscientious-food-lover-on-a-budget's go-to spot for a good midday meal. Choose your base: salad greens, brown, white or sushi rice, and then start piling on. Build your own fresh fish combos with your choice of 'ahi poke, spicy 'ahi, salmon, shrimp, unagi, chicken, natto and ikura. The fish is super fresh, and the price is super reasonable ($5-$8).

Ahi & Vegetable, two locations: 1126 Fort Street Mall, 599-3500; 801 Alakea St., 548-7777

HELENA'S HAWAIIAN FOOD

Everyone knows the only place for the best Hawaiian food is at home, courtesy of tutu. But Helena's is the next best thing. Satisfy all your cravings for kalua pig, poi, laulau, lomi salmon, butterfish collar, pipikaula and everything else at Helena's in Kalihi for a small price. You can get your perfect Hawaiian meal for under $9.

Helena's Hawaiian Food, 1240 N. School St., 845-8044

HOLE IN THE WALL

Hole in the Wall is a hole in the wall, but this hole turns out super 'ono grinds for super cheap — nothing is more than $8. In typical local takeout fashion, the menu is long and includes the staples: chili, beef stew, fried chicken, hot dogs, burgers and garlic fries. Add to those daily specials like roast turkey with stuffing and gravy, calamari steak, meat loaf and entree specials that include fork-tender roast pork with mushroom gravy and hamburger steak, and you have more than just a hole in the wall, you have a restaurant.

Hole in the Wall, 1154 Fort Street Mall (entrance on Chaplain Lane, between Fort Street Mall and Bethel Street), 532-9911

MANA BU'S

Build your own bento from freshly made items like Okinawan sweet potato salad and brown rice musubi (or any of the many varieties of musubi) for under $6. Get there early, or risk going hungry.

Mana Bu's, 1618 King St., 945-2323

FOOD NEWS

Hawaiian Red Veal made its debut in stores and restaurants this week. The locally raised young beef is hormone- and antibiotic-free. Local chefs Alan Wong, Ed Kenney (town, Downtown at the HiSAM), Goran Streng (Tango) and Elmer Guzman (The Poke Stop) are already planning to feature the meat in their restaurants. Home cooks can find it at R. Field in Foodland on Beretania Street and in Kailua. The meat is seasonal, and will be available through June, and then again in the fall.

Don Ho's Island Grill (528-0807) wants your best soup recipe. The restaurant holds a monthly recipe contest, and the theme for April is soup. Chef Robert Denis will judge the entrants' recipes and a pick a winner, whose signature soup will appear on the restaurant's menu the following month. Recipes can be dropped off, along with a name, address and phone number, at Don Ho's in the Aloha Tower Marketplace. All recipes must be original and must reflect the restaurant's Island-style cuisine.

Free burgers! Jack in the Box's weeklong promotion to get the nation hooked on its new mini sirloin burgers by giving them away this week ends Sunday. Walk into your local Jack in the Box and say you'd like to taste one of the little burgers, and they'll give one to you, free of charge, no questions asked. The giveaway is limited to one mini burger per customer.

SMALL BITES

KETTLE CORN THAT ROCKS

Like kettle corn? Then you gotta snag a bag from Popcorn Express. They make it local-style, a little sweeter with a dash of salt. Whatever they do turns out a treat that's positively addictive. Owner Duane Tanaka sets up shop on Saturdays in the lot by Star Market Mo'ili'ili, selling 4-quart bags for $5 and 8-quart bags for $8. You can also order at www.popcornexpresshawaii.com.

BANGKOK CHEF 2.0

It's true: Bangkok Chef is no longer confined to that sweaty green garage on Nu'uanu Avenue. It's expanded to a second location in spanking new quarters in Manoa, which means air conditioning, more tables and, most important, a full-on parking lot! So how does Bangkok Chef-Manoa compare with Bangkok Chef-Nu'uanu, food-wise? The Manoa location may be only a few months old, but the buzz has been all over the place, from "can't tell the difference," to "a step down." The truth: Food-wise, both locations are pretty much the same entity. There's no reason to rate one above the other. Good food, good service, great price.

— Mari Taketa