GREAT EATS HAWAII: HOME BAR AND GRILL

Sunday, March 10, 2013

HOME BAR AND GRILL

HOME BAR AND GRILL

HONOLULU, HAWAII

HOME BAR AND GRILL

1683 KALAKAUA AVENUE

HONOLULU, HAWAII 96826

808-942-2237

HOURS: 2:00 PM - 2:00 AM

Had never heard anything about Home Bar and Grill until I read another Hawaii Food Blog that raved about the place. I saw the pictures posted on http://www.fashionablyforwardfoodie.com

and said I am going there. Less than 24 hours after reading the blog post we were making our way to the back of Home Bar and Grill to pay $5.00 to valet park. This is a key tip for dining here. Park in back because the stalls fronting Kalakaua Avenue are scarce and usually full. We arrived in back and found courteous valets. As we entered, we saw a sign on the door that said "Under 21 not admitted after 8:00 pm". While I would not say that this place is not kid friendly, I would recommend going early if you have kids. This is a bar with loud music, dart machines and young bar crowd. Walked inside and found a loud bar crowd at 6:00 pm. The place was filled with locals in small and large groups, all with plates of food on their tables that looked incredible. The bar was already packed with many patrons standing two deep in front of the bar. People are here to drink and EAT. It reminded me of a younger Side Street Inn. The low booth seating really opens the place up and you are able to see all across the restaurant. Great for people and food watching. The plates traveling out to customers all looked amazing. We wanted to try every single one of them. We were greeted by a cute and smiling waitress named Jerri. She was a bottle of 5 Hour Energy packed in a tank top and shorts. She bounced from table to table taking orders, bringing drinks, filling water glasses and even bussed and cleaned the tables. Always smiling and always moving. Non stop service with a smile. Jerri was fantastic. We ordered drinks and they were out in a snap as we looked over the menu. So many things sounded delicious. We decided to narrow our choices to four as the dishes here are large and made to be eaten family style with everyone sharing. Started with the Because Chris "the situation" Tai wanted it Tater "Nachos" with jalapeños, sour creme, green onion, bacon, nacho cheese, salsa and olives ($9). These are Tater Tot Nachos will all the flavor of nachos plus great crispy light puffs of potato. We loved this dish and they are addicting with the jalapeños. Next up was the Seared Ahi Sashimi ($15). This is hands down the best value for Seared Ahi in the State of Hawaii. Fifteen bucks for a huge platter of perfectly seared sushi grade tuna served with a delicious Spicy Soy Vinaigrette. I want to explode here with happiness. We have paid $15 - $20 for six to eight small slices of ahi and here is a about twenty large pieces for $15. If you do nothing else at Home Bar and Grill, drop in and order a cold beer and the Seared Ahi Sashimi. One of the best ever! Next up was Big John's Spicy Kim Chee Fried Rice ($10). Served up with two eggs cooked any style on top of the rice. Again this was a bargain at $10. We had enough to take home and eat for three days. The Kim Chee Fried Rice is loaded with Portuguese Sausage, Bacon, Spam and Kim Chee. I did not find the Kim Chee to be overpowering. It added great flavor and was not too spicy. Would not say this fried rice is as good as the Side Street Inn Fried Rice , but it is certainly is up there in portion size and taste. Loved it. For our meat entree we ordered the Wafu Steak ($23 16 oz size) served with braised onions and mushrooms with Daikon and Ponzu sauce. The steak was cooked to a perfect medium rare. You need to get a bit of the Daikon and Ponzu sauce on the steak to add some flavor. Liked the steak but we were so full from the other stuff and took most of it home to savor on another day. By the time we were finished the bar had filled with a young UFC type crowd mixed with lots of gals and guys just hanging out local style. Made me feel old and remember the younger days of cruising the clubs. Could have stayed for hours but we had our daughter who is under 12. We thanked Jerri and told her the service and food were fantastic. It was! This is a great local spot that I highly recommend if you want to eat great food at super low prices. Just remember that it is a bar and with that you get the bar atmosphere and crowd. Don't expect to take a date here and get a quiet table in the back. This place is open until 2:00 am and I can tell that it probably gets pretty rockin with the late night crowd. I'm going back without child to enjoy the food and be young again with friends. THIS IS A TASTE OF HAWAII FAVORITE!

Click below for another post on Home Bar and Grill:

http://greateatshawaii.blogspot.com/2014/04/home-bar-and-grill-revisited.html