FIRST FRIDAY EATS

With all the eclectic eateries around Chinatown, First Friday has the potential to be an exciting regular street food festival in addition to an art gallery and bar crawl. Here's a roundup of what's currently on the streets for First Friday.

Downtown @ the HiSAM: It's not street food, since you have to dine in for Downtown @ the HiSAM's (250 S. Hotel St., 536-5900) First Friday tapas menu, but the small plates here are similar in spirit to what's being served outside: casual bites to accompany a bit (or a lot) of booze. The menu changes from month to month, but there are a few variations on a theme. One is the deviled eggs ($2.50), topped with a thin slice of jalapeno, giving the rich and almost mousse-like deviled egg filling a spicy kick.

Here, a bruschetta ($5.75) isn't just confined to diced tomatoes on bread. A crusty sourdough is topped with butternut squash, candied pecans and pea sprouts. It tastes almost like sweet potato pie, with the sprouts providing extra texture and a hint of pea flavor.

Though the roasted smashed fingerling potatoes ($5.50) look as if they're drowning in sauce, we find by the last warm bite, we've wiped the plate clean of the tangy, creamy garlic aioli that tempers the spiciness of harissa, the Moroccan chili paste that strikes an addictive balance of heat and flavor.

Hole in the Wall: Shop, Bop & Grind, the little block party on Chaplain Lane, has all our favorite elements of street festivals, including finger-lickin' eats provided by Hole in the Wall (1154 Fort Street Mall, 532-9911). The eatery gets out of its hole to offer an assortment of fried goodies and barbecue. The smoked brisket slider ($3) has soft slices of beef, drizzled with a sweet barbecue sauce and served between two pillowy white buns. The baby back ribs ($5) are pretty much the same thing, tender pork on the bone bathed in the sweet and tangy sauce.

The Manifest: There are hot dog vendors scattered throughout First Friday's streets and newcomer Manifest (32 N. Hotel St., www.manifesthawaii.com) has joined the fray. The Chicago-style, Chi-town dog ($5) is loaded with tomatoes, onions, a pickle spear, jalapenos, and an extra splash of Tabasco. The Seattle-style Super Sonic dog ($5) comes with cream cheese and onions.

Otto Cake: Cheesecake baker Otto debuted his Otto Fries ($1) last month, adding to his repertoire of goodies we just can't get enough of. Thick, hand-cut potatoes are baked and served with a spicy ketchup that tastes like a Bloody Mary. And even though we're talking about food special to First Friday, no one walks into Otto's shop (1160 Smith St., 834-6886) without a bite of cheesecake. Our First Friday happy ending is the key lime cheesecake ($5), tangy, smooth and sensuous: pleasure that doesn't involve a walk of shame.

— Martha Cheng

FOOD NEWS

Ruth's Chris Steak House Hawai'i will celebrate its 20th anniversary with a wine dinner at 7 p.m. Tuesday, featuring the restaurant's exclusive private label wines. The five-course dinner will be served at all Ruth's Chris Hawai'i locations, including its two O'ahu locations at Restaurant Row and the Waikiki Beach Walk. The dinner, with wine pairings, is $79.95 per person. For more information on the dinner or to make reservations, call the Restaurant Row location at 599-3860 or the Waikiki location at 440-7910.

Chef Colin Hazama, who gained a culinary following with his innovative tapas menu at the Sheraton Waikiki hotel's RumFire restaurant, has accepted a position as chef de cuisine for the Kauai Grill at the St. Regis Princeville Resort on Kaua'i. The Kauai Grill is the culinary concept of famed New York chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten, and is scheduled to open Nov. 10.

Three new restaurants are scheduled to open at Ward Centre over the next few months — Ka Restaurant & Lounge (fusion), Pablo McGinty's (Mexican-Irish) and Paparazzi (a restaurant/nightclub). The new restaurants will fill the open spaces on the second floor of Ward Centre, joining Ryan's Grill.

THAI TOO

In the space that was once home to Ploi Thai (which was once Bliss nightclub), is another Thai eatery: the new Blue Ocean Thai Restaurant. The ground-floor dining room is where cravings for rad na and pad thai are satisfied, and the karaoke bar upstairs is where things get a little less sophisticated — and a lot more fun. Opened last month, Blue Ocean Thai Restaurant serves all the Thai staples, and offers weekday lunchtime specials under $10 for the Kaka'ako business crowd, as well as a Sunday dinner buffet for $14.95.

Blue Ocean
327 Keawe St., 585-9545
Hours: 11:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m., 5-9 p.m. Mondays-Thursdays; until 10 p.m. Fridays; 5-10 p.m. Saturdays; 5-9 p.m. Sundays

DEATH BY COBBLER

There are a ton of reasons to make The Little Oven (1467 S. King St., 947-6836) a regular destination, but the best reason is Joyce Harada's divine mango cobbler. Fresh mango is topped with a thick layer of a just-sweet-enough, biscuit-like crust and served with a pat of whipped cream that's just one step away from being butter. It's sweet, warm dessert rapture.