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Nadine sez...

The Philly cheese steak, like jambalaya, is often better in concept than reality. For one thing, the "cheese" isn't usually cheese, but processed foodstuff like white American cheese or Cheez Whiz. Still, I never fail to be lured by the idea of a cheese steak.

Downtown types on the noontime food crawl can head to Bishop and Hotel, where Ono Cheese Steak serves up traditional beef Phillys in 7-, 10- and 16-inch sizes ($3.69 to $9.39), plus chicken and a local-style kalua pork version, all with white American cheese and served on Amoroso rolls.

The meat here is sliced so thin it curls on the grill. At a glance you'd think it's hamburger and the fillings are skimpier than any other Philly I've had locally. And here, "grilled onions" means a light sprinkling of diced onions, not the usual big loops and strings. Maybe it's better that way, so you can still be able to talk to people at work.

» Place: 1102 Bishop; look for the Liberty Bell with lei.
» Hours: 10:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. Mondays to Thursdays, to 6 p.m. Fridays, and 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturdays
» Call: 531-8585

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STAR-BULLETIN

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Michelle sez ...

I think it's interesting what some people do to their cars so I'm going to check out the ExpreScion Showoff contest 2 to 5 p.m. Saturday at the Servco Mapunapuna Plaza. I came close to purchasing the Scion tC when it first came out but felt guilty trading in my old faithful Honda that, for 10 years, never caused me any problems. I hope to also catch "Four Brothers" because it's been a while since I've seen Mark Wahlberg in anything.

Nancy sez ...

I haven't taken my son to the zoo in a while and to beat the heat I think I'll take him on the twilight tour Saturday. The tour runs from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. and costs $12 for adults and $8 for children ages 4 to 12. It's a great tour because the guide passes on interesting tidbits about the animals -- for instance, did you know that hyenas don't laugh? -- and we get to see the nocturnal animals in action.

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