Aku Eats Oahu : Italian : Italian, page 1

Italian, page 1

If you can find me a better saltimbocca than this one from Verbano's, I'd be real surprised!

Verbano’s. A Closer Look. 3 locations: 3571 Waialae Ave. at the Atrium S.C. in Kaimuki (map shown), 735-1777; 1451 S. King St. in McCully/Moiliili, 941-9168; 98-151 Pali Momi St. at the Pearl Ridge S.C, 487-1118. Lunch Monday-Friday and dinner daily. Prices: $$. Map. Verbano’s is, for the price, a really great Italian restaurant. Sure, the owners are not Italian and the entire experience may not be as authentic as say, Mediterraneo or Sistina, but virtually everything on the menu is great. The chicken puttanesca comes with a skin that is bursting with flavor and is enhanced with garlic, capers, onions, and anchovies, while the chicken saltimbocca is one of my favorites, coming with a breaded chicken breast topped with eggplant, prosciutto ham, and mushrooms in a wine/butter sauce. There are also vegetarian dishes like fungi with broccoli, mushroom with spinach, or a medley of vegetable choices, all coming in sauces like garlic and extra virgin olive oil or home-made marinara. The carbonara is great if you want a white sauce, and the arrabiata is perfect if red suits you better.

Café Sistina. 1314 King St. in McCully/Moiliili. 596-0061. Lunch Monday-Friday, dinner nightly. Parking in building. Prices: $$$. Map. Sergio Mitrotti is a modern day renaissance man, adorning the walls of his restaurant with replicas from the Sistine Chapel by strokes from his own brush! It seems he has already run out of room, but his creativity will no doubt find an expression somehow, even if he has to create new paintings right over the old ones! The menu offers some truly authentic Italian foods, but also, in step with his ever-progressive personality, a cutting edge section with items such as shrimp and mango fettucine and an African-spiced chicken breast over vegetables and polenta. Dining room manager Jessica, who is almost always there, is the up-beat hostess whose infectious energy is sure to put a smile on your face.

Mediterraneo, with dishes like this seafood mare, will please even the most die-hard Italian traditionalists.

Mediterraneo. A Closer Look. 1279 S. King St. in McCully/Moiliili. 593-1466. Lunch Monday-Friday, dinner nightly except closed on Sunday. Parking in small lot behind restaurant or on street. Prices: $$$. Map.
Like Sergio Mitrotti, Fabrizio Favale is also a renaissance man of sorts, skilled in furniture building and designs that fill his restaurant with an equally unique, Italian-style country home. Both the pasta and sauces are made in-house, which makes for delicious, very traditional-tasting dishes. I recommend any of the red sauces, as the sweetness of fresh tomato and herbs really shines through - I find it amazing that so many people are used to having canned or partly-canned tomato sauce and have never tasted a sauce from fresh, whole tomatoes, a difference that is like night and day. Items like the seafood mare, pesce puttanesca, home-made Italian sausage, and primavera all have a flavors as wonderful and as authentic as you can get in the islands. Although they have a selection of wines and Italian beers, you may bring your own wine at a $15 corkage fee per 750ml bottle.

Arancino di Mare. 2 locations: 2552 Kalakaua ave. at the Waikiki Beach Marriott Hotel (map shown), 931-6273 (map shown); and 255 Beachwalk at the Beachwalk in Waikiki, 923-5557. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner daily. Prices: $$. Map. With both stores located in Waikiki, this casual but stylish Italian restaurant caters mostly to tourists, but does draw a smattering of locals, as well. The Marriott location is the original store and features both an indoor and outdoor section, the latter of which is quite large and a pleasant place for a meal under the stars, along with a partial view of Waikiki Beach. The various pizza’s here all come with a very thin, crisp, Roman-style crust and are definitely the crowd favorite, especially the delicious, all-white shrimp/garlic/onion version. Other fine dishes are the fettuccine with asparagus and prosciutto, the seafood-filled spaghetti pescatore, and home-made lasagna.

arancino di mare and shrimp garlic pizza

Pizza often takes center stage at Arancino, but don't forget about the other dishes lurking in the background.

Sabrina’s. A Closer Look. 3036 Waialae ave. in Kaimuki. 739-0220. Dinner nightly, except closed on Monday. Parking outside store. Prices: $$. Map. This little spot at the bottom of St. Louis Dr. has a small parking lot and lengthy wait, but the food here is undeniably authentic, and the level of care and diligence they pursue in providing this authenticity is clearly apparant and undeniable. It’s always great when they start you off with olive oil/balsamic vinegar along with your bread instead of butter, and you’ll feel even better with great appetizers like salmon or beef carpaccio, cut thin and spread over a light salad. Main courses favor all manner of pasta, many of which are made in-house. The squid ink linguine is very popular, arriving in a tomato-based sauce, but that’s not all you’ll find. There is a delicious tomato-based Bucatini (fat hollow spaghetti) Al' Amatriciana w/pancetta, along with an absolutely fabulous Rigatoni Alla Boscaiola, or rigatoni with pancetta, mushrooms, peas, white wine, onions, and parmesan. Meaty choices include ossobuco and pan-roasted filet of beef, both of which need to be ordered a day in advance, along with risotto's, skewers, veal, salmon, and much more. At the bottom of Kaimuki, it's all about going back to the old country!

Two very popular staples at Sabrina's are a prosciutto melon appetizer and house-made squid ink linguine.

Assagio’s. 4 locations: Ala Moana S.C. (map shown), 942-3446; 7192 Kalanianaole Hwy. at the Koko Marina S.C. in Hawaii Kai, 396-0756; 95-1249 Meheula Parkway at the Town Center of Mililani, 623-5115; and 354 Uluniu St. in Kailua, 261-2772. Parking in center lots. Prices: $$$. Map. This family of restaurants is one of the most popular Italian food stops on the island. The ambience is reasonably elegant but casual, and the prices reasonable. They have a good eggplant or chicken parmesan and a tasty chicken anchovy olio, loaded with garlic and anchovies sautéed in olive oil and served over a bed of linguini. The ceasar salad is always a crowd-pleaser, tossed at your table with an anchovy paste infusion that offers a salty, pungent “kick” just where you need it. You will have a difficult time deciding what to get from the large menu, but whatever it is, you’ll likely enjoy it! The Ala Moana location is perhaps the classiest of the chain when it comes to atmosphere and ambience.

Paesano. 2752 Woodlawn Drive at the Manoa Marketplace in Manoa. 988-5923. Lunch and dinner daily, except closed for lunch on Sunday. Parking in center lot. Prices: $$. Map. Owner Thomas Ky also owns the excellent Assagio chain so you know this is a worthwhile restaurant, attracting a loyal patronage that waitstaff frequently call by name. The atmosphere and dishes are quite similar to Assagio’s except perhaps a bit more on the casual side.

Auntie Pasto’s. 2 locations: 1099 S. Beretania St. in Makiki (map shown), 523-8855, lunch Monday-Friday and dinner nightly; and 94-663 Kupuohi St. at the Kunia S.C. in Kunia, 680-0005, lunch and dinner daily. Parking on street (Berenetania) or in in center lot (Kunia). Prices: $$. Map. Auntie Pasto’s has been packing ‘em in for many years now. Its bold American-Italian-style dishes are a favorite for locals, with a large variety of selections and a fun, casual, no-frills atmosphere. Just be aware that the kitchen does get really loud, at least at the main store on Beretania st., both from the clanging of pots and sizzling of sauces as well as the deliberate shouting that is seemingly employed to keep energy levels high. There are all the classic dishes here cooked in home-style fashion, from spaghetti bolognese and eggplant parmesan to mushroom ravioli and veal marsala, as well as such items as steak Florentine and pan-roasted whole Dungeness crab.

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