Gregg Hoshida

Jul 10, 2024 | honolulumagazine.com | Gregg Hoshida

If you’ve been paying attention, a lot of Korean barbecue joints have been popping up recently. While it’s great that we have a multitude of choices, where to spend our hard-earned money becomes the question. Consider Yakiniku Tawashi—if you’re craving KBBQ by Monday, July 15. I am gnashing my teeth about discovering Tawashi, only to learn it will be closing for renovations as of July 16.

Jun 5, 2024 | honolulumagazine.com | Gregg Hoshida

The croissant game is strong at this new pâtisserie near Eggs ’n Things. Close your eyes and take a deep breath. Outside, birds chirp in the morning sunlight; inside Vavin Dessert Bar on Saratoga Road, espresso drips into a warmed demitasse as aromas of butter, yeast and flour rise from the freshly baked croissant on your plate. The tableau in the airy, high-ceilinged café could be mistaken for one on the streets of Paris—like Rue Vivan, which it is named after.

May 30, 2024 | honolulumagazine.com | Thomas Obungen |Gregg Hoshida

Babes BakeryWe hardly hear of new spots opening in lower Kaimukī, but former pop-up Babes Bakery now has a brick and mortar home near Vons Chicken. Between sourdough breads, Munchie loaves stuffed with cheese, peppers and eggs for dipping in chili con carne and Chippy cookies with chocolate and potato chips, there’s plenty to load up on.

May 16, 2024 | honolulumagazine.com | Gregg Hoshida

At this 95-year-old landmark in Kealakekua, local-style favorites are flavored with nostalgia. Nostalgia is a powerful ingredient. It flavors our food with memories that make it that much more delicious. That bowl of saimin you ate with your parents in the third grade. The first bite of Zippy’s chili after coming home from your first semester in college. Cheeseburgers at Kenny’s at Kam Shopping Center in Kalihi, where I grew up.

Feb 14, 2024 | honolulumagazine.com | Mari Taketa |Diane Seo |Gregg Hoshida

O oxtails, how many ways do we love thee? More than seven, actually. Oxtail is so popular in Hawai‘i that Gregg Hoshida’s two reviews of Jamaican eateries, both with “oxtail” in the headline and excerpted below, were our No. 1 and No. 3 most read posts of 2023. So many Vietnamese restaurants serve oxtail pho (four in Kaimukī alone, and that’s not even getting to urban Honolulu, Chinatown and the rest of O‘ahu) that we gave up on trying them all.