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Aku Bone
is chillin’

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AKU BONE LOUNGE AND GRILL Location: 1201 Kona St. Hours: 5 p.m. to 2 a.m. daily (open earlier on Mondays during football season.) Phone: 589-2020

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ONCE AGAIN, the start of regular season Monday Night Football on television finds me searching for a new place to go and catch the games live.

I'll be perfectly honest here, folks -- I despise the fact that a certain local ABC affiliate continues to tape delay any football game that takes place on a weekday afternoon.

You and I both know they're doing this for money, since it's the station's belief that more people will be at home to watch commercials during primetime than earlier in the day when the games air live.

But I don't know anyone who bothers to wait these days, with the instant gratification of being able to find out what the score was by watching ESPN or by checking the Internet.

SO INSTEAD of waiting for the tape-delayed kickoff of Monday's game between the Green Bay Packers and the Carolina Panthers, I set off with a friend in search of a bar showing the game live.

Looking for somewhere in town to watch some football, eat some ono grinds and drink reasonably priced beer? Try stopping in at Aku Bone Lounge and Grill, on the corner of Kona Street and Pensacola Avenue.

Formerly known as the Kickstand Cafe, Aku Bone underwent a change in management awhile back and transformed from a biker hangout into a local-style chill spot.

Parking isn't the easiest thing to find in this neighborhood -- while there are a few spaces available along the Pensacola side of the building, a recent traffic realignment project in the area turned two lanes into three, which now causes parts of customers' vehicles to stick out into the roadway. It looks like an accident waiting to happen.

You're better off trying to squeeze your way into a space on Kona, or heading makai on Pensacola and looking for metered parking on Waimanu. If you're willing to walk some, there are parking options on Kapiolani Boulevard and back on the mauka end of Pensacola as well.

Walk through either one of Aku Bone's entrances, and you'll end up in a good-sized room filled with about 15 tables. Another dozen stools are open at the bar itself, and seven televisions are spread out to allow for a pretty good view from almost any seat in the house.

WITH BAMBOO lining some of the walls, a thatched overhang at the bar and furniture bearing a tropical theme, I got the feeling I was at an old kamaaina house on the Windward side of Oahu instead of a bar just a couple of blocks from Ala Moana Shopping Center.

Ever been at a friend's place to watch the game on a weekend afternoon, kicking back in the garage or the back yard with a cold one and some pupus from the hibachi? That's what it feels like at Aku Bone.

While there are high ceilings in the room, a couple of lower overhangs give you that garage-like feel. The bar's performance area also feeds into the illusion, since it has a painted backdrop that looks like the side of a house (complete with a door and windows).

BY MY count, there were only 14 customers at Aku Bone at 5:30 p.m. on Monday afternoon as the Packers pulled away from the Panthers on TV.

Everyone seemed to be a regular here, as the server on duty greeted a number of them by name and would stop to sit down and talk story whenever things slowed down a bit.

Although it doesn't look like it gets too busy on Mondays, I've heard this place is jumping on the weekends.

I've tried to get a glimpse of the action myself, but the lack of parking in the immediate area has always sent me elsewhere in search of a drink. I'm also told that Thursday nights are a good time to visit, as live entertainment is featured onstage at the bar. You also have a good chance of spotting local musicians, entertainers and community figures if you stop in for a drink here, as many of them are friends with the owners.

Cheap drinks, good food, a chill vibe and a chance to people watch -- the opportunity is there to enjoy all of these things at Aku Bone, and make it worth a stop to toss a few back whether there's a football game on television or not.

How much for a Bud Light? The Barfly drank a $7 pitcher of Bud Light during his visit to Aku Bone. Along with draft beer, $2.50 bottles are also available. Get things to do? Besides watching the game on television, a number of Megatouch game machines are located throughout the bar. While Aku Bone can't afford to have live entertainment on any other night but Thursday, karaoke is offered during the rest of the week. What about the grinds? Make sure you bring your appetite when you visit Aku Bone -- it'll take at least a couple of trips to get to everything worth trying on the menu. The Hibachi-Grilled Spencer Steak ($10) arrived at our table seasoned to perfection and served on a sizzling platter with onions and mushrooms, and still cost $4 to $6 less than some other places in town. You also get your money's worth with the Miso Salmon ($8) here. Other items worth trying include the Hibachi-Grilled Rack of Lamb ($18), Steamed Island Moi ($18), Alaskan King Crab ($16) and New Zealand Corned Beef ($8). Don't want to spend a lot of food? A number of other selections are available for just $5 each. And the help? Although there was a bit of a wait for our food, it made me feel better to know that our server was aware of the delay and apologized a number of times on behalf of the kitchen. But it was smooth sailing once we got our grinds, and it was comforting to know we were being checked on even though we had our hands full with the food and drinks already on our table. Sandy did a good job of making us feel taken care of, without being too overbearing in the process.

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See the Columnists section for some past articles.

Barfly appears every Friday in Star-Bulletin Weekend.
E-mail Jason Genegabus at jason@starbulletin.com with suggestions of neighborhood bars to visit.

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