Da Scoops

Glazer’s Coffee
http://www.glazerscoffee.com/
2700 South King ST #D101
Honolulu, HI 96826
(808) 391-6548

Glazer’s is a relatively new coffee shop in the area of the university, near the still in business Cafe 2600 as well as the dear departed Javarama/Readery area (interestingly, there’s no Starbucks anywhere nearby). Glazers is an independent shop with prices lower than either Starbucks or some local competitors such as CoffeeTalk. They offer WiFi with purchase and graciously allow notebook users to plug in and power up. The place is clean and has readily accessible bathrooms; parking can be an issue just like for all businesses in the area. I had my usual, an iced latte, which was served in a real glass–a nice touch.

The wireless Internet is fast, but you don’t get the password until you get your drink–which is not horrible, but it was quite busy while I was there so I couldn’t use it while I was waiting (fortunately, I always have reasonably fast Internet access as long as I have my phone and a Sprint signal). The decor is nicer than most other coffee shops in the area and not like your mass produced Starbucks feel.

The coffee? It’s very decent; personally, I’m a bit biased to the stuff I make myself with my AeroPress, but it’s quite drinkable, and prices are better than local competitor CoffeeTalk up the road in Kaimuki as well as Starbucks–if you can find one near the area.

The parking is fair at best, just like you would expect in this area. On a hot day like today, even with the air conditioning and the tinted (large) front window, it can get a bit warm. Still, Glazer’s is unquestionably worth a shot if you want to try out an independent coffee shop on O’ahu.

I’ve been to New York and I’ve been to Chicago, so I’ve had pizza in some places believed to be America’s meccas of the Geek’s dream food. Mama’s Island Pizza in Kailua tries to fill a hole in the local dining establishment on the windward side of O’ahu.

Chain pizza places abound on the island (Domino’s, Boston, Pizza Hut, Papa John’s, and my personal favorite, Round Table), but smaller, locally owned institutions are much harder to find. Mama’s has been open since 2005 next to Foodland in Kailua (right near R. Field’s). Offering indoor and outdoor seating and domestic and local beer on tap, it’s far from stuffy and very family-like in atmosphere.

The atmosphere wouldn’t matter if the pizza wasn’t any good. It’s pretty darned good; as my lady friend is vegetarian, we had the Margherita (although it was a toss up between that and the Island Veggie Spectacular, even though the veggies on that didn’t seem all that island; no telling if they were indeed spectacular). Its hearth-baked crust is somewhere between thin and thick an fine and the cheese was great. Mixed in with their fresh vegetables and Kona Brewing Company beer on tap on a breezy and clear Sunday night, Mama’s provided a great dining experience in the heart of Kailua.

Mama’s menu also includes sandwiches, salads, and chicken wings; we did get a small bit of salad but didn’t sample the rest.

The service at Mama’s is quite decent; it’s family run (and the very young cashier can’t yet serve alcohol–talk about an out-of-this-age-group experience) and the family is ridiculously nice. They certainly deserve a sizable tip for their hard work and tasty food. I’d recommend them highly if you want a less than formal non-chain pizza night out.

Mama’s Island Pizza
108 Hekili Street, Suite 107
Kailua, Hawaii 96734
(808) 624-MAMA (6262)

Billing itself as a place for northern Italian cuisine, Cafe Sistina on King Street is a great place for pasta. With an extensive imported wine list and an above average collection of beer as well, Cafe Sistina is a great choice for both casual dinners and special occasions. It also has selections for those of the vegetarian persuasion as well as the omnivorous among us. While parking during the day can be difficult, parking in the evening is never a problem. The restaurant itself is not large, but not small; it is typically quite busy. The interior is decorated with paintings reminiscent of the Sistine Chapel painted by the owner/chef himself. Even on a busy night the restaurant gives the illusion of privacy for each table, perfect for romantic dates. Credit cards are accepted, and prices run from the teens to maybe $50 per person; a dinner for two including desert and a few drinks (and tip) was less than $100.

The menu is divided into three sections, from the chef’s grandmother’s recipies, to his mother’s, to his own. The organic salad as a starter was fantastic, and the penne alle melanzanne (penne pasta, eggplant, and fresh mozzarella cheese, tossed in a tomato sauce with basil) as superb. The desert, a very rich chocolate cake shared by two, was fabulous as well.

All in all, I would highly recommend Cafe Sistina for special occasions; the parking during the day is probably a significant drawback, and it’s certainly more pricey than most of the places I eat, limiting my visits there to perhaps once a year. Still, it’s a fantastic little piece of northern Italy in Honolulu.

Cafe Sistina
1314 King Street
Honolulu, Hawaii
808-596-0061

Located in downtown Honolulu, Little Village Noodle House is not exactly a secret (it’s been around for over 20 years and reviewed many times, including several times on Yelp). It’s been around for quite awhile for good reason: it has some real appeal.

First off, it has its own no charge parking lot! It’s not huge, but in downtown Honolulu, this is a gargantuan advantage. We showed up on a Friday evening at about 5 pm and were seated very quickly, but when we left about an hour and a half later, there was a line eight patrons deep, so I would suggest arriving early for dinner.

Long time friends of mine would be shocked to read me reviewing a Chinese restaurant as I am well known to not care for that particular cuisine (as an aside, while I can’t really know how this is, I suspect being local to Hawai’i and saying, “I don’t like Chinese food,” is similar to coming out of the closet. Once when I said this, a friend of mine said, “That can’t be. Local guy like you?”). However, given that my dining partner is vegetarian and the location was convenient, I went for it.

Little Village bills itself as health oriented; their current menu is MSG free, although the actual physical menus were printed when MSG free was “on request”; the “on request” part is now covered up with stick on labels. The food menu is online as well, at their Web site; we had a variety of dishes–their menu definitely does not lack variety–mostly vegetarian but also including minute chicken. The servings were large enough that there were enough leftovers for the two of us to go home with a meal for the next day. Total damage to the pocketbook was approximately $30.

The restaurant (and restrooms) are more than decently clean, the food is varied and reasonably priced, the parking is available and free, the service is decent, and they take credit cards. They are, however, quite busy and a bit noisy (not overly so).

I’d recommend it if you want somewhere to eat downtown, and moreso if one of you is vegetarian.

Little Village Noodle House
1113 Smith Street
Honolulu, HI 96817
Phone: (808) 545-3008, fax: (808) 545-3738