WE'RE CRAVING: POKE

FRESH CATCH

Fresh Catch, in the old Pizza Hut-Taco Bell on Wai'alae Avenue in Kaimuki, offers seafood, pupu, plate lunches and mountains of poke. The seafood showcases changes daily, with everything from crab poke to kimchee tako to taegu 'ahi. Owners Reno and Dominic Henriques rely on trusty family recipes to deliver tasty local specialties.

Fresh Catch, 3109 Wai'alae Ave., 735-7653

POKE STOP

Read Wanda Adams' review of the newest location of this poke haven on Page 6, and when in Waipahu, visit the original Poke Stop, where chef Elmer Guzman got us hooked on his "deconstructed" sushi bowl of blackened fish, creamy 'ahi, sesame tako, tobiko, pickled ginger and shrimp over rice.

The Poke Stop, two locations: 94-050 Farrington Highway, 676-8100; Mililani Gateway, 95-1840 Mehe'ula Parkway, 626-3400

J.J. SEAFOOD

This Kane'ohe seafood staple is Windwardites' go-to for super-fresh poke and seafood. The shoyu poke is fresh and firm, and the spicy 'ahi is a big seller. And when it sells out, the staff will gladly whip up a fresh batch just for you.

J.J. Seafood, 45-726 Kamehameha Highway, 236-4987

ONO SEAFOOD

At Kaimuki's Ono Seafood, you won't find big batches of poke sitting behind glass waiting for buyers. Here, every batch is made to order, which means you get to see the fish before it's chopped up and covered in seasoning — a great gauge of freshness.

Ono Seafood, 747 Kapahulu Ave., 732-4806

YAMA'S FISH MARKET

Yama's goes beyond poke to offer other Hawaiian specialties, including lomi lomi salmon. The fish is fresh, the food is 'ono and they do lunch catering and deliveries.

Yama's Fish Market, 2332 Young St., 941-9994

FOOD NEWS

Local radio personality Grant "Lanai" Tabura of Island 98.5's "Morning Madness" show has a thing for fine wine. And he's taken his love for the stuff to another level. This summer, his own wine, which was created by winemaker Mikael Sigouin to Tabura's specifications, will be available for by-the-glass purchase in various local bars, including Amuse and Ruth's Chris Steak House. The wine, titled "Look Me in the Eye," is a grenache shiraz blend that Tabura has categorized as an "occasion red." He also said the wine is specifically created to please a lady's palate.

Leeward Community College's Culinary Arts Program holds its annual fundraiser event from 6 to 9 p.m. Saturday at the LCC campus. Chefs Roy Yamaguchi, Alan Wong and Chai Chaowasaree will help the culinary students make the gala unforgettable. Tickets to the gourmet grazing event are $100. For tickets and information, call 455-0300 or 455-0298.

Auntie Pasto's restaurant (1099 S. Beretania St.) continues its annual CheeseFest, which started Monday and will continue through May 31. Cheese-centric dishes, such as cheese fritters, ricotta dumplings, and three-cheese risotto, will be offered as daily specials, along with the restaurant's usual cheesy dishes, like its whole wheat pasta with myzithra sauce. For more information, call 523-8855.

SMALL BITES

FOR THE LOVE OF LI HING

Remember the li hing mui days of the early 1990s? Everything was sprinkled with the stuff. Relive the past with Na 'Ono Farm's roasted Kahuku sweet corn with lemon butter and li hing powder ($3/ear). Or try any of the other eight flavors, including wasabi shoyu butter with garlic herb seasoning. Find the corn at the Kailua Farmers Market 5-7:30 p.m. every Thursday.

TANGO CONTEMPORARY CAFE

1288 Ala Moana Blvd., Hokua building

593-7288

Hours: 7 a.m.-9:30 p.m. daily

GRAVLAX ON TOP

At Tango Contemporary Cafe, the closest thing to a dish that grows out of chef Goran Streng's Finnish roots — at least on the lunch menu — is the open-face gravlax sandwich on rye bread ($8.50). Gravlax is salmon cured in a salt-sugar-dill mixture, thin-sliced, fork-tender and hard to find in Hawai'i; Tango's is made in house. Even without the side salad or fries and the carrot-and-raisin relish, the dish is a hearty meal in itself. The folds of glistening salmon form a platform for sliced hard-boiled eggs, tomatoes and cucumbers, drizzled with a dill-mustard dressing, all on a generous oval of dense and deeply flavored rye. (Finns make, and love, good bread.)