Prima

Best for: Italian
Location: Kailua

After months of wanting to try Prima, a small Italian restaurant that opened up last fall, I finally made the trek to Kailua with Anthony and his friend Justin last week. Prima was exactly how I expected it to be... sort of reminiscent of some of my favorite restaurants in Portland, e.g. Broder, St. Jack, and Grüner -- I'm not sure if it's due to the typewriter font and lack of decimal places and dollar signs on the small menus or the cutesy minimalist decór, but Prima does share characteristics with town, my favorite restaurant in Hawaii. It had to be a good sign.

 

The restaurant looks like a chic cafeteria, with an exposed ceiling, robin's egg blue desk chairs and light recycled wood tables, and an open kitchen that showcases a wood-burning oven.

I had a glass of pinot grigio and shared a boquerones pizza and veal parmesan with Anthony. The boquerones pizza had thyme, white anchovies, chili water, and garlic. The crust was a little dry and too burnt (try JJ Dolan's for the perfect crust), but the toppings were fantastic. Gotta love those anchovies and thyme.




We had reluctantly ordered the veal parmesan because we figured we may still be hungry after just one pizza, and, ironically, this dish turned out to be better than the pizza -- not because of the veal, but because of the spaghetti. It's always exciting when pasta is properly cooked al dente in Hawaii.



Justin had the fried jidori chicken leg and thighs, which came with mashed potatoes and collared greens. Just like my al dente pasta, fried chicken that has flavor beneath the bread brings tears of joys to my eyes.




I regret not trying dessert here, because apparently the pastry chef is a Nobu alum -- is this the same chef who used to create the dolce mascarpone at Nobu that I still fantasize about?? I guess I'll find out next time.

Crepes No Ka 'Oi

Best for: Crêpes
Location: Kailua

Get Mushy crêpe, $7.50

Erin was craving pancakes, so we drove all the way to Kailua for a lovely brunch at Boots & Kimo's. Just our luck - it was closed! Desperate to justify the energy it had taken us to venture outside Honolulu, we walked around the block, sure that there had to be more restaurants that catered to the adventurous tourist with the right guide book. We were right. A few doors down was an adorable but crowded restaurant called Crepes No Ka 'Oi. Crêpes are even better than pancakes, so we were were happy to try it.



We sat outside for a while, waiting with mostly Japanese tourists. Finally we were called in and seated at a high table facing a large mirror. It's awkward watching yourself eat, which is why we resorted to spying on other diners during our meal.

They had a guestbook for comments.

I ordered the "Get Mushy" crêpe, which doesn't sound very appetizing, but actually it was delicious and loaded with sauteed mushrooms, melted pepperjack and cheddar, and honey ham. Unlike the soft crêpes I order at Chez Machin in Portland, this buckwheat shell was nice and crispy. Considering Hawaii has no other crêperies that I am aware of, I can easily say that Crepes No Ka'Oi offers the best crêpes on the island. I have absolutely no regrets that Boots & Kimo's was closed.