The Weekly Eater

BY NADINE KAM

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Artistry, ambience and superior
cuisine define Nonbei

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I try not to feel too disappointed when I see magazines doing national round-up stories that overlook Hawaii. Only Alaska and maybe Iowa can feel our pain.

So when I saw Gourmet's October issue, with a pull-out restaurant guide, I was pleasantly surprised. Just as I skimmed past Boston, Chicago and Detroit, and about where Los Angeles would normally pop up, was Honolulu.

There were few surprises on the magazine's list. Kama'aina who regularly read our paper are already well-acquainted with La Mer (best for business by Gourmet's reckoning), Alan Wong's (buzz-worthy), Chef Mavro (a gourmet favorite), and neighborhood gems Roy's, Side Street Inn, and Sam Choy's Breakfast, Lunch & Crab. But Gourmet editor Ruth Reichl and her crew did make one daring recommendation in mentioning Izakaya Nonbei as another of the neighborhood gems.

For one thing, you need to know your karei (flounder) from your kushikatsu (deep-fried breaded chicken) -- the "English" menu is spelled out in Romanized Japanese! Just be glad it's not in kanji, as posted on the wall across the bar.

The first time you visit you may have to be guided like a child by gracious hosts, led by Tomiko Mori, to the choicest parts of the menu. Not a bad plan, actually, as it would not be in their best interest to steer you wrong. And the printed menu offers only a third of what's available.

Having sampled quite a bit here, I'm not sure there is a bad selection on the menu. I'm just amazed to find such a small staff and kitchen consistently turning out exquisite dishes, each carefully planned and executed.

AYUMI NAKANISHI / ANAKANISHI@STAR-BULLETIN Served at Izakaya Nonbei, from left, are the Nonbei Special Steak, Karei Karaage and Sashimi Moriawase, and in the teapot, Matsutake Dobinmushi, four of the Kapahulu restaurant's most popular dishes.

Nonbei is designed to capture the ambience of a country inn. As soon as you walk in, you're transported to a winter in Japan, where a kettle and faux flame suggest warmth and hospitality. So does the bar, central to any izakaya, or pub. A dais is decorated like a living room, lined with wooden chests and tatami for floor lounging. Just kick off your shoes and spread out.

ALTHOUGH GOURMET described the cuisine as country cooking, I don't think that description does justice to chef/owner Teruaki Mori's work. It takes an artist's eye to create a sashimi platter ($30) that might be compared to ikebana. Blood-red maguro and shirami (flounder) are arranged to resemble flowers with centers of ikura (salmon roe). Squid is layered with shiso and rolled up for a playful touch of greenery. Slivers of hamachi and salmon round out the platter.

There's no sushi here, by the way, only sashimi, because it would be rude to fill guests up with rice, though it's available for the asking. There is also soba and udon ($4.75 to $6.75) for those in need of a comforting bowl of noodles.

Take a break from the usual chicken karaage (deep-fried) in favor of karei karaage (flounder, $8.95). The fish's head, skin and bones are deep-fried to form a bowl for the meat. Add chili pepper and green onions to ponzu sauce to create your own tart dipping sauce, and enjoy. Polish off the "bowl" afterward, which is as crisp as a potato chip. Oishi!

The Nonbei Special Steak ($14.45) is also a must; it's so tender and delicately flavored that most people don't recognize it as steak. This is topped with crisped slivers of garlic and accompanied by sauteed onions and matsutake mushrooms.

Mushrooms also figure prominently in dobinmushi a consommé served in a ceramic teapot. The golden elixir, said to be excellent for recovery from colds, is poured into sake-sized cups to focus one's attention on the intensity of co-mingled flavors of chicken, cilantro, mushrooms, onions and shrimp. When the liquid's gone, pluck out these morsels from the bottom of the teapot.

For dessert there's azuki beans and mochi or green tea ice cream to enjoy before they send you out with a "mata kite kudasai" (please come again), to which you might respond "dewa mata ashita!" (See you tomorrow!)

Izakaya Nonbei 3108 Olu St. (off Kapahulu Avenue, between Mokihana and Charles streets / 734-5573 Food Service 1/2 Ambience 1/2 Value 1/2 Hours: 5 p.m. to midnight Mondays to Sundays Cost: $35 to $40 for two without drinks

See some past restaurant reviews in the
Columnists section.

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Nadine Kam's restaurant reviews run on Thursdays. Reviews are conducted anonymously and paid for by the Star-Bulletin. Star ratings are based on comparisons of similar restaurants:

	excellent;
	very good, exceeds expectations;
	average;
	below average.

To recommend a restaurant, write: The Weekly Eater, P.O. Box 3080, Honolulu, Hawaii 96802. Or send e-mail to nkam@starbulletin.com