Downbeat Diner | Honolulu, Hawaii

We had purchased a Groupon (affiliate link) deal and were eager to try this place since I heard that there's a vegan alternative for every item on the menu. Our first trip down there was... strange. We made the mistake of trying it out on a First Friday so it was pretty crazy. They initially sat us at a table then asked us to get up because another party had been waiting. Ok... So now what? There's no place to really wait so we just stood at the door while everyone looked at us. AWKWARD. A half hour or so later, a booth opens up and we finally sat down. Then, something even weirder happened. The waitress asked if I could get up so she can crawl over our booth to unscrew the light bulb. Yeah, apparently they project a movie on the left wall, but there's no way to turn off just half the lights, so they unscrew the ones on that side. Can you say ghetto ops? Now, normally, an experience like this would be a one-shot deal for us, but here's the thing: the food was really good. So we did what any normal couple would do. We went back. The very next week.

If you want to give this place a shot (especially if you purchased the Groupon deal like us), keep this in mind:
1) Don't go on First Friday
2) At 6:30 pm, street parking along North King Street becomes available so that's your best chance at free, relatively close parking
3) Sit on the right side of the diner

Downbeat Diner
42 N Hotel St
Honolulu, HI 96817
(808) 533-2328
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The diner is located on Hotel street, next to Manifest and across from Bar 35. While we were waiting for a table on our first visit, there was a band playing outside and some guy dancing in the street. Gotta love the sights and sounds of Chinatown!


Inside, the decor is a modern take on a 50's or 60's era diner.


The fries are all kinds of awesome; crispy and well seasoned. We ordered a basket of cajun style, which tasted like Old Bay with a little extra salt and pepper.


Julie ordered the "American" with vegan patty and vegan cheese. She said it was really good and almost tasted like the real deal.


I got the Western Burger. No vegan patty here! It's a quarter pound of free-range Big Island beef. Oh, and bacon. Yes, REAL BACON.


As you can see, my burger was cooked to a perfect medium-rare.


On our first visit, I ordered the Ginger Brew, which is pictured on the right. It's a ginger ale that's made in-house and I highly recommend it. On the left is the vanilla milkshake, which I ordered for dessert on our second visit.


On our second visit, Julie opted for the vegan BLAT (bacon, lettuce, avocado, and tomato).


I ordered the Loco Moco. Unlike our first visit, the patty this time was a little overdone. The gravy was light and tasty and complimented the burger nicely.


On our first visit, the waitress handed us the check without asking if we wanted any dessert. Julie and I looked at each other, "Well, I guess that's that!" On the second trip, we ordered the apple fritters. A warm, soft middle with a nice little crunch on the outside.

Z Pizza | Honolulu, Hawaii

It has been months since my last date night post. We lost our babysitters for a few weeks and battled various illnesses after that. When we finally had the chance to go out, I was craving some pizza, so we went to check out Z Pizza in Ward Center. We were really impressed with the taste and texture; we can't wait to go back and try the other options on the menu.

Z Pizza
1200 Ala Moana Blvd
Honolulu HI, 96814
(808) 596-0066
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The lighting in the restaurant is very... orange. I had to adjust the color balance on every picture. When we first got there, there were no seats, so we sat in the waiting area until something opened up.


There aren't many places to sit inside and the few seats available outside looked vulnerable to rain. Luckily, a couple left just as our order was ready. Not-so-luckily, it was next to a table of excessively loud diners :\


We ordered the Pear and Gorgonzola Rustica. The gorgonzola is on the mild side, which is good for me as I'm not a huge fan of overly pungent cheese. What really made this dish was the addition of fresh thyme. It contrasted nicely with the warmer flavors of the pear and cheeses.


I also ordered a slice of Italian with pesto, mozzarella, ham, artichoke heart, tomato, and black olive. It was really tasty. In fact, it was so tasty that I devoured the whole thing before I remembered to snap a pic. I was forced to take this one of the display on our way out.

Loving Hut | Honolulu, Hawaii

Yes, that really is the name of this place. And yes, I chuckled to myself when I first read it, thinking at the time, "They named their restaurant what?!" Being that Julie is vegetarian, though, we had to give this quaint little place a fair shot.

Overall, the food isn't bad, but it isn't spectacular either. In my opinion, they try a little too hard pushing the faux meat, instead of focusing on truly amazing vegetarian fare.

Loving Hut
1614 South King Street
Honolulu, HI 96826
(808) 373-6465
Website

The first thing we noticed when we walked in was the "Mom and Pop" feel. The two ladies behind the counter were extremely warm and cordial.


We started with the Summer Roll ($3.50). They used yam root as a shrimp substitute, which has a strikingly similar texture to actual shrimp.


I went with their "Fabulous Phở" ($7.95). The broth was oily and light on flavor. It had just about every kind of meat substitute known to mankind. Maybe this is just me, but I'm perfectly happy with Tofu and veggies in my vegetarian phở.


Julie had the Lemon Grass Hawaiiana" ($7.95). She seemed to really enjoy it, saying that it was really tasty.


The lady who took our order talked us into trying the brownie ($5.95) for dessert. It looks pretty, but we'll probably pass on it next time.

V Lounge + Town | Honolulu, Hawaii

I have wanted to try the pizza at V Lounge for months, ever since reading this  Urban Mix Plate blot entry by Melissa Chang (@Meslissa808). Last night seemed like a good a night as any so we headed down there for some of their famous kiawe wood-fired pizza.

Afterwards, we had a craving for something yummy from Little Oven (@liloven), but as it turns out, they were only serving a limited selection of KC Drive-Inn waffle dogs and shakes, so we ended up at Town in Kaimuki for dessert. Overall, the food was excellent at both places, but the ambiance was very different. V Lounge had a relaxed, laid back feel; a stark contrast to the boisterous atmosphere at Town.

Believe it or not, I actually remembered to bring my trusty SD400, but the battery was dead! ARGH! You know what that means... yup, iPhone pics once again :\

V Lounge
1344 Kona Street
Honolulu, HI 96814
(808) 953-0007
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Town
3435 Waialae Avenue
Honolulu, HI 96816
(808) 735-5900
Website

Walking down Kona street at night can be rather intimidating and finding V Lounge can be a tad tricky. There's a sign above a little doorway. If you blink, you'll miss it.


There were very few people around when we first walked in. It started to fill up by the time we were finished, but never felt overly crowded.


We decided split a pizza and came up with a custom concoction of buffalo mozzarella, Hamakua oyster mushrooms, sweet onion, arugula, basil, and truffle oil, which is basically everything on the menu that isn't meat. It turned out amazing! The dough was soft and chewy, while the toppings were fresh and flavorful.


I've been to Town twice this week. We had lunch there on Thursday and decided to go for dessert last night. In the past when I've eaten there, I found the service to be extremely poor. On these two occasions, however, I was really impressed. The staff was friendly, helpful, and cordial and we didn't have to wait forever to get our food. Since we were only there for dessert, we sat at the bar. Turns out, that was probably a mistake because a bunch of weirdos camped out next to us. One guy was practically leaning on me the whole time.


Wifey got the pana cotta, which came drizzled with honey and served with pomegranate. It must have been really good because I didn't get any :(


I ordered the almond financier. The tart marmalade offered a nice contrast to the sweet cake.

Imanas Tei + A Latta Gelata | Honolulu, Hawaii

Imanas Tei is a tiny restaurant located near the corner of South King and University. Since it's not on the main road, it's difficult to see as you're driving. We ended up parking in the paid lot next door because the tiny one in front of the restaurant was full of craziness. The food was a little on the salty side, which is usually the case with Japanese cuisine, so we grabbed some gelato at Whole Foods for dessert. This was another camera fail event, so iPhone pictures it is!

Imanas Tei Restaurant
2626 South King Street
Honolulu, HI 96826
(808) 941-2626

A Latta Gelata (inside Whole Foods Market)
4211 Waialae Avenue
Honolulu, HI 96816

We sat at a huge table that takes up most of the dining room floor space. It was as if we were having dinner with 5 other couples, none of whom we had ever met. Yes, it felt like we were dining with strangers, and yes, it was weird.


As strange as this sounds, the potato salad was one of the best I've had. In my opinion, Japanese restaurants in general make the best potato salads. Must be that special Japanese mayo...


We also ordered Kabocha, since it's one of wifey's favorite foods. It was good, but nothing really special.


Wifey also ordered their mushroom miso soup.


This is their version of the cucumber roll. Most places just place a single cucumber spear in the middle, but Imanas uses lots of thinly cut cucumber ribbons. An intesting take on what is usually a pedestrian piece of sushi.


In addition to the cucumber, we ordered takuan and yamaimo rolls.


I love shishamo, especially when grilled like this. When I was done with this plate, all that was left was a leaf.


This is their seaweed salad. Looks fancy, but we were a little disappointed with the taste. The dish could have used some ogo or other texture, in my opinion.


For dessert, we went to Whole Foods for some gelato. The company that makes the gelato (A Latta Gelata) used to have a store in Kings Village, but that closed some time ago.


I went with a scoop of Strawberry + a scoop of Guava. It was the perfect ending to the meal.

Hale: Modern Macrobiotic Cuisine | Honolulu, Hawaii

This special Valentine's edition of date night was comprised of dinner and a movie. With most restaurants offering a set menu for the night, I knew it would be tricky finding a veggie-friendly option. The solution? a little place called Hale, which serves up (mostly vegetarian) "modern macrobiotic cuisine." And the movie? What sappy, romantic, lovey-dovey chick flick did we see? AVATAR baby! in 3-D! Sorry, I digress...

The food was great. We went with the Prix Fixe menu and weren't disappointed. Chef Moco Kubota does an exquisite job with flavors and presentation. The service was good, but our waiter seemed a bit apprehensive (to the point where I wondered if he had just started on the job).

There was one negative aspect to our dining experience that I must bring up. Halfway through our meal, a couple was seated next to us. The lady sat next to my wife in the booth that runs along the left wall. She had a dog in her lap the entire time. Yes, a DOG, in the restaurant, next to my wife trying to enjoy her Valentine's Day dinner. Granted, the dog was very well behaved, but we were just a slightly perturbed that the staff did nothing about it (and annoyed at the lady who obviously had no concept of appropriateness at the dinner table).

Hale Macro
1427 Makaloa Street
Honolulu, HI 96814
(808) 944-1555
Website
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If you didn't know it was there, you might miss this place. It's tucked into a little space on Makaloa and you won't find any signs on the road, just this one in the window.


The interior of the restaurant is shaped like a triangle, which limits the amount of seating. Ordinarily, this would be a non-issue, but being stuck so close to Fido can be rather unsettling.


The layout isn't all bad, though. One of the cool features is that the chef works behind the bar, so you can watch her prepare your meal.


As an appetizer, we ordered the fries (mainly because we saw someone else order them and they looked so good). In retrospect, we should not have ordered them. They were just average and made us full.


Now comes the good stuff...
Course #1: Maui onion and beet soup served in the same bowl with cauliflower and oatmeal soup. The beet soup was warm and contrasted well with the cooler cauliflower oatmeal soup.


Course #2: An appetizer sampler composed of stuffed baked tomatoes, ratatouille with homemade crouton, and organic tempeh escabeche.


Here's a closeup of the stuffed baked tomatoes. This was wifey's favorite.


Course #3: Wifey ordered the tofu, served on an Okinawan potato pancake with sweet and spicy papaya sauce and accompanied by Mesclun greens and steamed veggies.


My dish was identical to hers, except that I opted for Opah instead of tofu.


Course #4: Chocolate and strawberry cake with soy ice cream. It wasn't overly decadent as most chocolate cakes tend to be and offered just the right amount of sweetness to round out the meal.

Belladonna | Honolulu, Hawaii

Because we've been eating a lot of Asian food recently (Thai and Vietnamese tend to be the most veggie-friendly), we were in the mood for something a little different. Tucked in a little nook next to Coffee Talk on Waialae Avenue is a new restaurant called Belladonna. The decor is very modern and everything is pretty much brand new. Overall, the food was very good and the service was friendly. We sat at the bar, which gave us a chance to talk a little with the general manager.

I forgot my camera at home, so you're going to have to excuse the poorly image quality. I had to use my iPhone and these pictures really don't do the food any justice.

Belladonna
3605 Waialae Avenue
Honolulu, HI 96816
(808) 426-3552

As you can see, the place is so new that they don't have permanent menus yet. In speaking with the General Manager, he told us that they are still trying stuff out, trying to get an handle on what people like.


The bread was average. It was served at room temperature with some butter. If it had been warmed up prior to serving, it would have tasted a lot better.


We started with the salad of the day: Mesclun greens, goat cheese, candied walnuts, and mandarin orange. The dressing was a peppery vinaigrette, which went well with the pungent goat cheese and sweet orange and walnut.


There were no vegetarian entrées listed on the menu. So wifey was just going to order a couple of salads. Our waitress picked up on it and offered that they could do homemade gnocchi or pasta with veggies in either marinara or cream sauce. She went with the pasta and cream sauce. It was a little on the rich side, but we were extremely pleased with the way they had been so accommodating.


This may sound pedestrian to some, especially at a slightly upscale restaurant, but I went with the meatballs and spaghetti. I remember hearing somewhere that they true test of an Italian restaurant is their meatballs and spaghetti and this place did not disappoint. These were probably the BEST meatballs I had ever eaten. They were cooked perfectly and were so moist that they practically melt in your mouth.


Wifey ordered crème brûlée for dessert. I'm not sure why they brought out 3 spoons. I can't really comment on the flavor or texture because I didn't get any :(


I was a little more adventurous with my dessert. I went with their homemade gelato. How is that adventurous? Well it wasn't your run of the mill chocolate ice cream - it was chocolate bleu cheese gelato topped with a balsamic reduction. The manager said they're still working on plating this one so it isn't much to look at, but it was really good.