Islands Fine Burgers & Drinks

A few months ago, after getting some shopping done at Ala Moana Shopping Center, we decided to eat lunch at Islands Fine Burgers & Drinks.

I ordered the Macaw Chicken Sandwich, which includes guacamole and bacon. YUM!

DH ordered the Hula Burger, which comes with sauteed mushrooms. He enjoyed the burger.

The boys shared a Jr. Quesadilla and fries.

The food was good, and although a bit on the pricier side, they do give UNLIMITED fries. For a fries lover like me, that's a great deal (I only requested one refill though--I'd thought I'd be able to eat more!).

The service was great too, and I'm sure we'll be back again--it's one of our favorite family restaurants to go to in Ala Moana!

Islands Fine Burgers & Drinks: 1450 Ala Moana Boulevard, Honolulu, HI 96814-4604, (808) 943-6670

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Chili's Grill & Bar

Recently we took the family to eat lunch at Chili's Grill & Bar in Mililani.

DH ordered the Half Rack of Ribs with Loaded Mashed Potatoes.

I ordered my usual from Chili's-Chicken Crispers. It was good, as usual.

The boys shared the Pepper Pals' Cheese Pizza.

It comes with a drink and a side. For the side we ordered mandarin oranges, but they were out, so we ordered the cinnamon apples instead.

That day they were also out of lemon and American Cheese!

Despite not having any mandarin oranges as we had ordered with the boys' meal, overall the food was great and so was the service.

Chili's Grill & Bar: 95-1249 Meheula Pkwy. Bldg. P Mililani, HI 96789, 627-0888

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Palazzo Ristorante Italiano

For Christmas we received a gift certificate to Palazzo Ristorante Italiano and decided to take the entire family there for lunch one day.

We went around 11:30am and it was really empty--we were the only ones there, and throughout our entire lunch only one other party showed up.

Although business was slow, service was far from slow.

Our server was really nice and always attentive.

Now only was the service great, but so was the food!

The complimentary bread. Flaky on the outside, soft on the inside. YUM!

I ordered what I usually order at Italian restaurants--Chicken Alla Saltimbocca with Potatoes.

Although I thought the portion was smaller than what I've eaten at other restaurants, it was still really good.

DH ordered the Veal Alla Piccata. He enjoyed it, but also thought the portion was a bit small.

We ordered the boys the Chicken Palazzo Sandwich, which came with a small green salad.

They did eat some of it--they're not used to eating this kind of sandwich, and they were more interested in eating the bread.

I gave it a taste and it was really good, and whatever the boys didn't finish, DH ate.

Our visit to Palazzo was really nice. Although we thought the portions were a little on the smaller side, the service was great and the food was really good.

I think next time we'll do take out, because they offer a 20% discount for all take-out orders with entrees!

Palazzo Ristorante Italiano: 99-080 Kauhale St., C2&3, Aiea, HI 96701, 808-485-8688

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Cacao Fest at Haleiwa Farmers' Market

Last month, after enjoying a nice breakfast at Cafe Haleiwa, we headed to the Cacao Fest at the Haleiwa Farmers' Market.


There was the typical farmers' market fare--fresh flowers, produce, and lots of good food, however for me the draw was the chocolate samples!

There were chocolate creations from restaurants such as Alan Wong's and Town.

You could even try out cacao fruit if you wanted to.

The cacao fruit was sad to be bitter, and I ended up not trying it, but DH did, and he said he didn't like the taste at all.

There were also many delectable delights in a recipe contest. Here are just a couple of the many entries.

Hopefully if they have another Cacao Fest there will be a lot more vendors that offer chocolate samples or chocolate products to purchase!

Haleiwa Farmers' Market: Hawaii 83 & Joseph Leong Hwy, Haleiwa, HI 96712, Every Sunday 9am-1pm.

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Blazin' Steaks

A bunch of Blazin' Steaks have been popping up around the islands, and our most recent visit was to the one in Pearl City.

All of the plates are $6.00, except for the combos.

I usually order the Korean BBQ Chicken plate, but this time I decided to try the Mushroom Chicken plate.


All the plates come with tossed salad with your choice of dressing.

The mushroom gravy was good, but the chicken was a little on the dry side. I only ate a few bites and gave the rest to DH.

DH ordered the Steak & Shrimp combo. He thought it was pretty good--he ate the entire plate.

The prices are reasonable, and the next time I go I'll stick to ordering the Korean BBQ Chicken.

Blazin' Steaks: 425 Kamehameha Highway, Pearl City, HI 96782-3238, (808) 488-7808

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Denny's Grand Slam Guest Appreciation

On February 9, Denny's offered free Grand Slams in its Grand Slam Guest Appreciation Promotion.

Prior to that day, I saw a lot of blog posts and tweets about it, and never thought about going.

Then DH saw the commercial during the Super Bowl and asked if we were going, and I said "Are you crazy?"

I could just imagine how chaotic would be.

Then the morning of February 9, he asked me again if we were going. Although very reluctant, I decided to call a couple of Denny's locations to see if the promotion was valid in Hawaii and to see if the lines were crazy.

I first called Denny's Kunia, and the woman who answered said it was a full restaurant, but people were moving quickly.

Then I called Denny's Aiea--they had a couple of empty tables.

Well, since DH really wanted to go, we didn't want to fight traffic into Aiea, so the entire family headed to Kunia.

As soon as we got there, I stood in line while DH parked.

There were only 4 people in front of me, but the line quickly grew behind me.

I had to wait no more than 5 minutes before getting seated. 5 minutes!

The restaurant was completely packed, but the service was great. In just a few minutes a server came by to take our order (Grand Slams of course!), and a few minutes later, we all were ready to dig in...

The Grand Slam consists of two pancakes, two eggs, two strips of bacon and two sausage links.

We all enjoyed the breakfast--especially DS1--he just devoured the pancakes!

The service was excellent, the food was great, and the whole process was so efficient--we were so impressed and pleased with how everything went that we ended up giving a 30% tip based on what we would have paid had the Grand Slams not been free (price of a Grand Slam in Hawaii is $8.99).

The manager said last time the promotion ran they gave away 2000 Grand Slams and were shooting for 2500 that day.

I wouldn't be surprised if they passed that number.

If Denny's has another promotion like this I would definitely go again, and I would definitely go to the Kunia location.

Denny's: 94-305 Kunia Rd, Waipahu, HI 96797-5375, (808) 671-6200

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WW: The State Flower

Visit Wordless Wednesday or 5 Minutes for Mom for more participants.

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Romano's Macaroni Grill

The first time we went to Romano's Macaroni Grill, DH and I had a really nice time--the service and food were great. The second time we went, the food was still good, but the service was lacking. We didn't think we'd go back again, but we decided to give them another try considering our first experience was really good.

DS1 was in school so it was just DH, DS2 and I.

We arrived just after 11:30am and it was pretty empty, but it started to fill up quickly.

Our server was excellent from the very beginning, and so was the food.

The complimentary bread, which DS2 loved.
DH ordered the Mama's Trio, which includes Primo Chicken Parmesan, Layers of Lasagna and Chicken Cannelloni. Everything looked really good, and DH said it was. He couldn't decide which was his favorite--he enjoyed each part of the trio!

I ordered the Eggplant Parmesan Lunch Special. It was really good--I ate the entire thing!

DS2 had the Chicken Fingerias (includes a drink with free refills). He loved his meal--especially the fries!

His meal also came with dessert--strawberries or vanilla ice cream with chocolate sauce. We opted for the vanilla ice cream with no chocolate sauce, which he and I shared.

What I love about Romano's is how they provide crayons and a paper table covering so kids (and adults) can scribble away. DS2 sure enjoyed himself!

It turned out that the third time was a charm for us in terms of our visit to Romano's. We had excellent service, and the food was great, and we will definitely be back one day!

Romano's Macaroni Grill: Ala Moana Shopping Center, 1450 Ala Moana Blvd, Suite 4240 Honolulu, HI 96814 808-356-8300

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Cafe Haleiwa

There's not too many breakfast spots in our neighborhood, so we decided to venture out to Haleiwa and eat at Cafe Haleiwa after finding a couple of good reviews of their breakfasts.

It's a hole-in-the-wall spot, and fortunately when we arrived there were a few tables open because just a few minutes later it was completely packed.

They offer the usual breakfast items, along with Mexican specialty breakfasts, but our family stuck to our favorites.


I ordered an "Off-the Wall" Omelette--a build-your-own omelette that comes with toast and your choice of starch. I ordered my omelette with bacon and mushrooms (cheese is already included), with homefries. Although the potatoes seemed a little too dried out, the omelette itself was really good. I ate the entire thing!

DH ordered The Country Breakfast, which comes with pancakes, eggs, and choice of meat. He ate all of his breakfast too.

The boys ordered 3 pancakes made with choice of fruit (they chose bananas).

The pancakes were light, fluffy, and huge! They both loved them, and DS1 kept asking for "more pancakes please," but we had to cut him off because I seriously think he could've eaten them all up if we let him.

The service was quick and friendly, and I was glad we ventured out to somewhere new, because we all enjoyed our breakfasts!

Cafe Haleiwa: 66-460 Kamehameha Highway, Haleiwa, (808) 637-5516

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Outback Steakhouse...Again

When DH's sister was in town a few months ago we took her to Outback Steakhouse. Even though there's an Outback in her neighborhood she hardly ever goes there, and since it was nearby where she was staying here on Oahu, we met her at the Outback Steakhouse in Waipahu.

And I'm really glad we went, because of a very funny moment (thanks to DS1), and I discovered a reasonably-priced dish that I'll order from now on whenever we go to Outback!


Of course we had to start off with the Bloomin' Onion.

I ordered the Alice Springs Chicken. Bacon, mushrooms, cheese on chicken...YUM!

DH's sister got the Outback Special Sirloin 6 oz.

DH had the Baby Back Ribs.

You see that big mound of mashed potatoes? DS1 thought it was a cupcake. He kept asking for "cupcake please," and no matter how many times we told him that it was potatoes and not a cupcake, he insisted on tasting it.

So we gave him a taste of the "cupcake."

And then he cried because he was expecting something sugary sweet, and immediately spit out the potatoes (which were quite good, by the way).

The boys shared the Alice Springs Chicken Quesadilla. They had a lot of leftovers because it was actually pretty large.

But this is what I'll be getting the next time I go to Outback. It's like the Alice Springs Chicken inside a tortilla, but for half the price!

We had a really nice dinner at the Outback!

Outback Steakhouse: 810 Ukee Street, Waipahu, HI 96797, 808-671-7200

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Daiichi Noodle Cafe

The first time I went to Daiichi Noodle Cafe was when my former boss wanted to go there for his birthday (he loved that place so much that he'd always request to go there for special occasions).

Ever since then I've gone there several more times, often trying out different dishes.

On this visit I ordered the Chicken Katsu Curry Rice.

Since I ordered it to go, the curry was in its own container (a first for me--no other restaurant has done that for me before when I ordered katsu curry), which I thought was convenient because I can never eat the entire plate, and when it's time to eat the leftovers there's usually no curry left.

The katsu curry was pretty good, the service was really speedy, and I know I'll be back again one day!

Daiichi Noodle Cafe: 99-804 Kauhale St. Aiea, Hawaii 96701, 808-486-7432

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