Sundays are my lazy days.  They’re the days I sleep in until 10, then roll out of bed, drag myself to the living room, and plop down on the floor to catch up on my guilty pleasures – trashy reality shows and fun Food Network shows that make my mouth water.  Somewhere between “Keeping Up with The Kardashians” and watching “The Real Housewives” duke it out, I always make time for my favorite Food Network show, “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives.” 

If you’ve never seen the show, “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives” (DDD) is hosted by Guy Fieri, a bleached blonde, spiky haired California dude with a laid back attitude and rock star style and energy, who travels the country in search of the best local favorite restaurants.  The show is captivating, addictive and introduces its audience to great eats that don’t usually receive a lot of national attention.  Don’t watch on an empty stomach!  If you do, be forewarned that for the rest of the day all you’ll want is to eat a big, juicy, sauce-dripping-down-your-face cheeseburger and other deliciously dangerous foods.

While spending a Sunday afternoon watching DDD, thinking of all the yummy food I could eat at home on Oahu – boneless chicken plate from Rainbow Drive In, pork chops and sizzling rib eye at Side Street Inn, fried rice and Nalo greens house salad with seared ahi from Kanpai Bar & Grill, a SPAM musubi from Fukuya – I realized that Oahu has some really great diners, drive-ins and dives.  Plate lunch-type food is one of many things that makes Hawaii special and is a part of our culture that should be shared with the world. 

Keeping this in mind, I returned to work on Monday with a new goal – bring “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives” to Oahu!  The OVB team worked together to pitch the show’s production company, Page Productions, on filming a few segments on Oahu.  We thought it would be an easy sell – why wouldn’t a crew from frigid Minnesota and a character like Guy want to visit Oahu?!  It turned out to be a lot tougher than we thought.  While the producers loved the idea of filming DDD in Hawaii, they were reluctant because of the costs and transport difficulties, the biggest of which was figuring out how to ship Guy’s Camaro.   

In addition, the show had a long list of specific criteria that each restaurant had to meet in order to even be considered for the show.  Criteria included food made with fresh (not frozen) ingredients and made from scratch, a historical or intriguing aspect about the establishment, and a camera-friendly character who is excited and capable to appear on TV.  This was more difficult than we expected!  We researched dozens of restaurants on the island, doing everything from trying their most popular menu items (it was a very caloric but delicious few weeks!) and speaking with their owners and reading online reviews, in order to compile a list of the best restaurants on the island that fit the show’s criteria.

Our PR team spent countless hours researching, planning and finding some creative solutions, and after almost two years and many, many emails and phone calls… mission accomplished!  “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives” came to Hawaii in October 2009 to film an all-Oahu episode and additional segments to be used in other episodes during the show’s eighth and ninth seasons.

The DDD/Page Production crew films at the Honolulu Fish Auction.

On Oahu, Guy visited Hank’s Haute Dogs, Highway Inn, Murphy’s Bar & Grill, Nico’s at Pier 38, Poke Stop, Rainbow Drive In, and attended a luau.  From what we saw during filming, Guy really hammed it up with the restaurant owners and chefs.  At the fish auction, Guy was caught playing with leftover fish fins and playfully throwing fish guts at his camera man.  He was so much fun to be around and genuinely as nice as he seems on TV.  He and the Page Productions crewmembers made the entire filming experience great for everyone involved. We loved working with them!

Guy Fieri and Nico Chaize, owner/chef of Nico’s Pier 38, inspect an Opah at the Honolulu Fish Auction. Guy called the Honolulu Fish Auction the equivalent of shopping on Rodeo Drive for chefs.

So what kind of car did Guy drive around Oahu?  What dishes did he eat at each location?  What goofy things did Guy do on air?  Some of you may know, but to those who don’t, you’ll just have to tune in to DDD to find out!

For more information about the show's filming on Oahu and a schedule of when the all-Oahu and additional segments will air, check out HawaiiMagazine.com. 

Make sure to watch these Oahu “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives” take the spotlight on the Food Network this Spring and Summer!  We’ll be tuning in too with the Oahu Visitors Bureau, and watching our hard work pay off.

-- MLT

Waikiki sunset (Jan. 15, 2010)  

--RAP 

Rainy day? Sunburnt and desperately seeking A/C? No matter the reason, even if you're not an art afficionado, make time to visit the Honolulu Academy of Arts, especially before Jan. 6, 2010, the last day of the Katsushika Hokusai exhibit. (It's also free that day, so no excuses!) 

For the first time in a decade, the Honolulu Academy of Arts is featuring Hokusai’s entire “Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji” series, one of the museum’s masterpieces, and a gift from the late novelist James Michener. The Academy recently announced it will extend the exhibit to Jan. 6 (YAY!). The beautifully serene exhibition has to be one of my favorite series presented by the Academy in recent years. You can spend hours gazing at each print, getting lost in each intricate detail, and somehow imagining you're in Japan. The Academy is one of Oahu's great hidden treasures, and time spent there is always lovely and enriching. If you're looking to explore Oahu's diverse arts and culture scene, visit the Honolulu Academy of Arts. 

The exhibit features many of Hokusai’s most famous prints, including The Great Wave Off Kanagawa.

You can even try your hand at printmaking, as my pal Al proudly demonstrates here. 

The Honolulu Academy of Arts counts more than 50,000 pieces in its permanent collection and houses one of the finest collections of Asian art outside of Asia. It also features masterpieces from Europe, Africa, Oceania, The Americas, and of course, Hawaii. Outdoor dining at the Pavilion Cafe (where I recently enjoyed a terrific portobello mushroom sandwich and locally-grown green salad) and a stop at the gift shop are must-dos while at the Academy, Hawaii's only comprehensive fine arts museum. 

Honolulu Academy of Arts, 900 S. Beretania St., Honolulu, HI 96814. (808) 532-8700 or www.honoluluacademy.org

--RAP

"What's a good casual restauant where locals eat?"

"Know of any great dive bars outside of Waikiki?"

"Where's a great place to just grab a beer?" 

When these questions arise, I have one answer: Side Street Inn! The dive/sports/karaoke bar/lounge/grill always hits the spot. Every time I take visitors here, everyone leaves happy* and ridiculously full. (*unless you're on a raw foods or organic diet. Haha.) 

Each Side Street dish is large and prepared family style, so it's best to come in a group so you can sample more of Chef Colin Nishida's goodness. One person per dish is usually a good ratio. So if you come with a group of 4, order 4 dishes, group of 5, order 5 dishes, and so on. After you get how much to order out of the way, your next challenge is what to order - the menu explodes with dozens of yummy choices.  

As a frequent Side Street patron, I'm here to offer you a guide to the tried and true dishes that always please. (I'm writing this from memory alone. No copy of the menu near.) If you're a fan of local-style comfort food with rich flavors and textures, you'll be a fan of Side Street Inn.  

Feast on this: Farmer's Salad, Pork Chops, Fried Rice, Sizzling Rib-Eye, Poke, and some drinks. 

Here are some of my favorites: 

Meats: 

Fried Pork Chops - Side Street's best known dish. Hey, if the pork chops are good enough to be in SAVEUR Magazine, they're definitely good enough for me. I always crack up at the ketchup served as a dipping sauce. So unexpectedly good!  

Misoyaki Chicken - Easy to overlook on the menu, because, c'mon who orders chicken at a restaurant? But order this and you'll enjoy simplicity of the recipe. 

Spicy Chicken - Tastes as if popcorn chicken were enlarged and lightly drizzled with sweet and spicy sauce. The taste and texture equals greasy perfection. 

Sizzling Rib Eye - When I hear the snap, crackle and pop of this steak as it's cooked up with chopped mushrooms, onions and butter, my heart pitter patters with excitement.  

Fish:

Poke - Classic Hawaii dish served up right. 

Ahi Belly - So fresh and delicious, you'd never suspect you were eating this in a dive bar. 

Carbs: 

Fried Rice - Insanely huge mound of sticky fried rice with portuguese sausage, bacon, carrots, peas, green onions. Compliments anything else you order on the menu. 

French Fries - No good reason, but I always like to order a basket of fries here. Probably because they also go well with anything on the menu. 

Vegetarian: 

Farmer's Salad - Nalo Greens (from Dean Okimoto's farm in Waimanalo) lightly tossed in house dressing and mixed with ripe tomatoes, avocado, onion, shrimp, capers, and something fried on top. The perfect salad to sneak into an otherwise meat and carbo filled dinner.

Garlic Mushrooms - Tender mushrooms bathed in garlic and butter. I could eat these by the dozen. 

Dessert: 

Fried Butter Cake - I ordered this for the first time with a food writer from San Francisco. The pound cake is fried in butter, so has a soft texture with an ever so slight crunch, then is drizzled in chocolate sauce, and topped with vanilla bean ice cream. We were giddy all night afterward. I often dream of this cake but regretfully sometimes don't have room to order it after filling up on all of the above. 

Girls' night out at Side Street. No counting calories allowed.  

Side Street also has weekly drink specials and a fully stocked bar, so is definitely a pau hana hotspot. It was once a truly hidden dive, but has increasingly become more popular and not without good reason. 

Guests of the restaurant read like a who's who of Honolulu. Chefs Roy Yamaguchi, Alan Wong, and Hiroshi Fukui are frequently spotted at Side Street, as is Honolulu's giant mayor, Mufi Hannemann. Famous mainland fans include Anthony Bourdain and Ming Tsai. You really never know who's going to be sitting next to you drinking a beer and singing karaoke! 

Don't be scared of the dimly lit exterior or high fat and calorie count. Many locals will tell you, a trip to Side Street Inn should be on any visitor's to do list. So kick up your heels, let your guard down, and enjoy one great night at this foodie institution. 

Side Street Inn, 1225 Hopaka St. (From Kapiolani Blvd., turn south on Pensacola, then turn left on Hopaka St.), Honolulu, HI 96814, (808) 591-0253.  

--RAP