FORKED UP

FRIED AHI BELLY BITES
NICO’S PIER 38
1129 N. Nimitz Hwy., Honolulu
Phone number (808) 540-1377
website nicospier38.com

Nico’s menu boasts that these Fried Ahi Belly Bites are “famous,” and we can believe that. It takes an already sweet and fatty (in a good way) ahi belly and makes it even more decadent by frying it and pairing it with lomi tomatoes and a Sriracha aioli. It makes for a nice snack to munch on at the bar while you wait to be seated. After a few bites (or, like, 10, but who’s counting?), all that fried sweetness might get to be a little much, so we recommend sharing.

SALMON & IKURA DON
RESTAURANT DO-NE
1614 Kalakaua Ave., Honolulu
Phone number (808) 626-5782
website idilai31.wix.com/do-ne

Japanese food is nothing if not consistent. A salmon don at one place will look and taste approximately like a salmon don anywhere else: slices of thin, un-seasoned sashimi over rice, with salty ikura as a garnish. Restaurant Do-ne doesn’t mess with the classic formula, either. What you see is what you get. So why recommend it? Well, the fish quality is solid, you get some surprisingly fancy kobachi (small appetizers), and it’s a complete meal for less than $15. Do-ne does more than raw fish, of course: It also has an extensive selection of cooked donburi and teishoku options.