Jason Genegabus
GEORGE F. LEE / GLEE@STARBULLETIN.COM
Cafe Bronco patrons Russell Algoso, left, Felix Duarte Jr. and Rosie Akana belly up to the bar at Colburn Street.
CAFE BRONCO
Hours: Open 11 a.m. to 2 a.m. daily
Location: 1549 Colburn St.
(one block Ewa of Foodland Kalihi)
Phone: 848-0969
IF YOU read this column on a regular basis, you know the Barfly is always on the prowl for a new watering hole to check out around the island. Kick back at
neighborhood barBy Jason Genegabus
jason@starbulletin.comThis week's suggestion comes from Star-Bulletin sports reporter Dave Reardon, who (I think) would gladly give up chasing after college athletes to take my job if he had the chance. Dave stopped by my desk in the newsroom earlier this week to ask if I had ever stopped by a place called Cafe Bronco.
"Cafe Bronco? Where's that?" I asked, having never heard of a bar in town with that name. Located about one block Ewa of the Kalihi Foodland, Cafe Bronco makes its home on Colburn Street. Now Dave had gotten me interested -- bars that aren't located on major thoroughfares typically cater to people from the surrounding neighborhood who will keep coming back on a regular basis.
So off the Barfly went with his trusty Drinking Buddy to check out Cafe Bronco. While the place might look like a strip bar from the outside, with lights around its sign in front and a lack of windows, don't be afraid. Once we got past the cluttered front entrance and the bar itself, there was more than enough room to sit down and relax with a beer and some pupus.
About 15 tables of different sizes occupy space in the main room at Cafe Bronco, some designed for large groups and others made for three or four people to knock a few back. There was a decent pau hana crowd at the bar when we visited, forcing us to sit in a corner next to a pair of women in their 30s and a table of guys a bit older, who seemed to be gathering after a hard day of work at the office.
GEORGE F. LEE / GLEE@STARBULLETIN.COM
Cafe Bronco manager Johnnette Kapua pours one at the bar.
And just as I thought, most of the people seemed to know the owners and/or each other. We didn't get too many funny looks upon our entrance and didn't have any problems ordering drinks or pupus, however. That's another plus for the Barfly; there have been places I've gone to that refused to serve me before every regular in the house had been checked on and brought drinks.
What sets Cafe Bronco apart from other places is the serving sizes of pupus listed on its menu. The shrimp tempura ($10) and steak ($10) plates we ordered were well worth the money; I've paid the same price at other bars for half the amount of food. And while the steak was just a bit underseasoned for my tastes, the sheer volume of food made up for it.
Next time you're in Kalihi and need to kill some time, make a stop at Cafe Bronco. It's off the beaten path enough to make it a true neighborhood hole in the wall, and cheap beer prices and ono pupus make it worth your while. Keep the suggestions coming; send some e-mail to jason@starbulletin.com.
How much for a Bud Light?
The Barfly drank $2 on bottles of Bud Light at Cafe Bronco. This is the first time I've spotted the new Hawaii-themed labels on the bottles; instead of being printed on paper like before, the new labels are similar to what goes on Smirnoff Ice and Doc's Hard Lemonade bottles.
Get things to do?
Eight televisions and a pair of Megatouch game machines are spread throughout the establishment, and a jukebox makes its home near the bar. Music selections on the night the Barfly landed ranged from golden oldies and traditional Hawaiian music to Japanese and what sounded like Vietnamese-language songs. An eclectic mix, to say the least.
What about the grinds?
There are items like crispy gau gee ($7), chop steak ($7) and pork tofu ($7) on the menu at Cafe Bronco, as well as more expensive dishes like ahi poke ($10) and the steak plate ($10) we tried. You sure do get your money's worth at this place, so it's worth a stop if you're looking for some food to go with a cold beer or two.
And the help?
After an initial wait of more than five minutes to get our first drink of the evening, we got taken care of pretty well during our stop here. On busy nights, when all the tables are full, you might have a better chance of getting served at the bar itself, but it's not so bad as to suggest going somewhere else instead. The free plate of fried noodles we got was a nice touch, as was our server bringing a takeout container and plastic bag to our table at the end of our visit so we could leave with the leftovers.
Barfly appears every Friday in Star-Bulletin Weekend.
E-mail Jason Genegabus at jason@starbulletin.com with suggestions of neighborhood bars to visit.
