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Stopped by today for lunch while my wife was meeting some friends at NM. Sat myself at the bar and ordered a beer and Kilauea Burger. Man, the beer was ice cold. It was great. The burger however, it was pretty horrible. I of all people couldn't even finish the whole thing.

The Kilauea sounded like the ultimate burger for me...it had melted pepper jack cheese, thin crispy onion rings, and a black pepper-jalepeno pepper crust. I expected something huge as it was 10 bucks but I guess I forgot how expensive rent is at Ala Moana. When the burger came, two things came to mind, how huge it looked and where were the fries? Disappointed, I rechecked the menu to see if fries came with the burgers, they don't. When I checked out my "huge" burger, I found out that the patty itself was no thicker than a McDonald's patty. Also, my "medium" cooked burger was pretty much well done with a crispy burnt crust on it. Well, it's kind of hard to cook a thin patty medium unless you just flash fry it for a second on each side.

After my first few bites, I thought the burger was actually quite tasty. Then the pepper crust hit my taste buds. What a horrible taste! Imagine chomping on a mouthful of burnt peppercorns. I love black pepper but this was horrible. It was disgusting.

Needless to say, I finished my beer and got the hell out of there without even finishing half of my burger. The bartendress took away my plate and didn't even ask me if I was sure I was done, as if others have left Kilauea burgers uneaten in the past.

Now if only the burger didn't have the pepper crust, I'd say it would be a very tasty burger. However, for $10.00, I'd rather go to Teddy's, have a decently sized burger, fries, soda, and desert, and have enough to pay for my gas guzzling SUV to drive me to the Hawaii Kai location and back to town.

PS-The waitress basically threw my burger at me. Oh, and most people sit at the bar to have a nice conversation with the bartender. Today's bartendress had no personality at all. All she did was talk story with the other bartendress.

Tom's Tip: If you order the Kilauea Burger, don't forget to ask for NO PEPPER CRUST!

Bravo's garlic bread is one of the best in town. I like the vegetarian lasagna w/marinara sauce and the spinach ravioli. The prices are affordable. The restaurant serves smaller portions for the lunch crowd usually a soup or salad with pasta or pizza combo but this option should be reserved for small eaters only. Overall, service was good.

Sister restaurant of Side St. Bar and Grill. If you want a great plate lunch, this is the place to go in Downtown. Hidden in the TOPA Financial Center, Fort St. is definitely a jewel in the rough. Favorites include spicy garlic chicken, mushroom pork, Chinese style fish, Swiss steak, Portuguese beanless soup, etc, etc, etc...man I'm getting hungry! Fort St. also has a fresh and delicious Chinese Chicken Salad, once in a while has awesome specials such as fresh poke & rice, made to order hamburgers and sandwiches. Lunch time is take out only, but you can dine in their lunchtime dining area downstairs and catch up on CNN. For pau hana, head up the stairs to the clean and comfortable bar and restaurant area and catch the latest NFL game on one of their many big screen tvs. Service is great and they always have fresh popcorn for you to munch on.

Tom's Tip: Grab a beer and some poke after work and order some famous Side St. pork chops and fried rice to go to take home for a tasty dinner for your family.

Tom's Tip #2: Fort St. is the PERFECT place to catch a big afternoon game on tv. Don't worry, your boss won't smell the beer on your breath when you get back to the office.

Well known for their mochi anpan and spinach bread. Their chocolate donut is probably the best around.

Good assortment of local favorites. Go there early otherwise they'll run out of food. Strictly take out only.