Forked Up

CHOCOLATE-CHIP GELATO
VIA GELATO
1142 12th Ave., Kaimuki
Phone number (808) 732-2800
website viagelatohawaii.com

It’s easy to get overwhelmed at Via Gelato — so many flavors, but only two at a time can fit in a cup or cone. They range from almost-like-the-real-thing milk tea to lilikoi, and all are worth trying at least once, but sometimes you just want to keep things simple. Via Gelato’s take on chocolate chip uses light pieces of shredded chocolate to disperse that cocoa flavor, instead of the standard square pieces found in other ice creams. It’s so classy it hurts. Buried beneath all that chippy goodness in this photo is some snickerdoodle gelato — a cinnamon-y, crumbly winner.

OKONOMIYAKI “CHIBO”
CHIBO RESTAURANT
Royal Hawaiian Center, 2201 Kalakaua Ave., Waikiki
Phone number (808) 922-9722
website chibohawaii.com

Okonomiyaki essentially is a Japanese-style pancake, filled with vegetables and sometimes even seafood and beef. After it’s cooked, an okonomiyaki sauce (like a slightly sweet and thicker version of teriyaki sauce) and a mayo-based sauce are drizzled over everything and topped with dried bonito flakes. It is, in a word, delicious. Chibo Restaurant’s appropriately named Okonomiyaki “Chibo” is one of its signature items. Just keep in mind that the restaurant serves Osaka-style okonomiyaki — meaning it doesn’t include noodles, as those who are more familiar with Hiroshima-style may expect. Still, Chibo’s version is packed with bits of succulent seafood that add flavor to this already rich dish.