Wining and dining fit variety of budgets

Sometimes it's nice to have someone do the cooking for you. Whether it's for breakfast, lunch, dinner or snacks or drinks, Oahu's choice of eateries cover the gamut of culinary temptation. And you don't always have to spend a lot to get a good meal.

Being at the busy Ward Centre may have helped Ryan's Grill to be named the best place for a business lunch, but according to its general manager, the star of the show is the combination of good food and an attentive staff.

"We have great leadership during lunch and the managers have really put together a crew that works well together," Charlotte Alvarez said. "The part of the menu where we really get a chance to shine are the specials. We can bring in the freshest fish and we can change things up a little."

While dining out in the middle of the work day can be a great relief from the stress of the office, a business lunch is also work and time is of the essence.

"We have recently made an effort to separate lunch and dinner and give the guest a great value at lunch based on portion and how fast we can prepare things," said Alvarez, knowing that many customers have more work to do and don't want to get bogged down by a heavy lunch.

For those not needing to get back to work right away, or may be done for the day, Ryan's happy hour starts at 4:30 p.m. and includes drink specials and tasty pupus.

While Hawaii has been getting international recognition of late for some truly outstanding places to eat, sometimes we just need something that is cold, sweet and fun to eat.

Since 1951, Matsumoto Shave Ice has been the place to go for the uniquely Hawaii treat. Boasting 24 individual flavors and countless combinations, it's easy to please every palette. And it's those flavors and the way the cones are made that help make the Haleiwa landmark Star-Bulletin/MidWeek readers' favorite choice for shave ice.

"We make our own syrup, it's all homemade, so the taste is different from the other shave ice places," said the store's vice president, Noriko Matsumoto. She also noted that the ice is shaved more finely and flavor is enhanced by home-cooking the azuki beans.

Matsumoto's is open daily from 9 a.m. and the line starts right away as visitors and locals alike wait their turn for the treat that has made the general store famous.

What started out as a simple concoction of gin and vermouth became an international phenomenon when a handsome spy told us that it is better to be shaken than stirred. Ever since James Bond placed his order, the martini has been the drink of the cool set and in Honolulu, no place is more hip than Indigo Eurasian Cuisine. The Nuuanu Street restaurant -- cited as having the best martini bar -- boasts a menu of about 30 different martinis designed to tempt not only palette, but also the eyes.

Jason Castle, the beverage director and sommelier at Indigo, says it's that combination that has made Indigo's martini bar so successful.

"The martini in its essence is a very simple drink and the overwhelming majority of martinis we serve at Indigo have nothing to do with the original drink of gin with just a touch of vermouth. Most of our martinis have multiple ingredients, very fruit-forward flavors, very dynamic flavors, very impressive and almost outlandish garnishes. So it's really developed into a whole new idea."