NORTH SHORE GRINDS

In today's TGIF, we reviewed six North Shore eateries, but there's plenty more food where those came from. Here are a few additional North Shore spots worth checking out.

COFFEE GALLERY

One of the North Shore's only coffee cafes, Coffee Gallery has a near monopoly on the espresso scene, offering more than 50 types of coffee beans. Get your joe with homemade pastries, such as the Purple Sweet Potato Haupia and MacNut Bar ($3.95) and the Chai Spice Coffee Cake ($2.95). Plus they serve affogato — vanilla ice cream drowned in espresso. It doesn't get much better than that.

Coffee Gallery, 66-250 Kamehameha Highway, 637-5571

UNCLE BOBO'S SMOKED BBQ

At Uncle Bobo's Smoked BBQ in Kaaawa, Uncle's not kidding around. Order the combo plate ($18.95) and you'll get so much food, you'll be embarrassed. The meal, which easily feeds four, comes with huge portions of tender, moist, smoky ribs, beef brisket, pulled pork, "redneck rice" (wild rice meets dirty rice), baked beans and coleslaw.

Uncle Bobo's Smoked BBQ, 51-480 Kamehameha Highway, 237-1000

STORTO'S DELI & SANDWICH SHOPPE

Storto's has been stoking surfer energy cells on the North Shore for more than 30 years. (There's a second location in Kaimukí, too.) Subs are the thing here: hefty 8-inch half-sandwiches ($6.25-$8.25) or, for dawn patrollers who hit the waves without breakfast, ridiculously large, 15-inch whole sandwiches ($12.50-$16.50) — with six meats, if you want 'em.

Storto's Deli & Sandwich Shoppe, 66-215 Kamehameha Highway, 637-6633

TED'S BAKERY

Ted's Bakery and its fantabulous desserts are well worth the drive up the North Shore. Their local-style lunches are awesome. But what really hooks everyone are the desserts. Along with Chocolate Haupia, they've got Chocolate Peanut Butter Cream and Strawberry Cheesecake pies, to name a few. Can we say, "a little slice of heaven?"

Ted's Bakery, 59-024 Kamehameha Highway, 638-8207

Ted's Bakery, 59-024 Kamehameha Highway, 638-8207

HAWAIIAN TIMES TWO

Haili's Hawaiian Foods is now more than just a lunch truck. We love the truck and the "Backyard Luau" concept, but we're also big fans of the new sit-down location on Kapahulu Avenue, officially called Haili's Hawaiian Foods Restaurant. At the new location (the lunch truck is still parked across from Ward theaters), you can get all the same Haili's Backyard favorites ó kälua pig, laulau, pulehu steak, chicken long rice, beef and tripe stew, some of the best pipikaula around ó plus more. The restaurant, in addition to offering the full Haili's menu, also has a poke bar and makes its own in-house dried aku (and the sign hanging on the window boasts: no blood, no skin).

HAILI’S HAWAIIAN FOODS

760 Palani Ave.
735-8019
Hours: 9 a.m.-7 p.m. Mondays-Saturdays

SMALL BITES

THE LEGEND OF THE 12-INCH TEMPURA

It's true. There really is such a thing as foot-long shrimp tempura. We've seen it, measured it and eaten it and the verdict is in: Sometimes bigger is better. At Hifumi Restaurant (100 N. Beretania St., 536-3035), they don't only make it big, they make it good. The giant tempura is crisp and sweet ó and it's all that even after sitting around for 10 minutes.

— Edward Morita

FOOD NEWS

Cheap eats alert! The Outrigger Reef on the Beach hotel is now offering its popular all-you-can-eat lunch buffet at the Shore Bird for $9.95 per person. For diners who prefer to eat cheap later in the day, the hotel’s Kani Ka Pila Grille has extended its happy hour. From 3 to 6 p.m. daily, get a 16-ounce cold Kona Fire Rock Ale or Kona Longboard Lager for just $3 each, or any tropical drink including the classic Blue Hawaii, Mai Tai or Lava Flow for just $5 each. Appetizers start at just $4.95 and include seasoned edamame, ginger-buffalo wings, sashimi with mango-wasabi sauce, crab cakes and more. Call 924-4990 for more information.
Restaurateur Ken Wong recently closed his Banana Leaf Italian Bistro in Market City (his Banana Leaf Pasta Cafe in McCully Shopping Center is still open), and will open in its place the Anytime Cafe. The new cafe is a revision of his old — and beloved — restaurant Hong Kong Orchid Noodles. Anytime Cafe will serve up a wide range of dishes from American breakfast fare to Italian-inspired pizza to Hong Kong-style noodles.
After years of making do in a tiny, always-crowded location, uber-popular breakfast spot Boots & Kimo’s Homestyle Kitchen is now open at a bigger place in a brand-new building, just up the street from its old Kailua digs (151 Hekili St., 263-7929).