I like to think of myself as a progressive eater, which goes hand-in-hand with having been born with a case of wanderlust, the desire to explore new places, meet new people, learn new things and try new food, never staying still at risk of mind/soul atrophy.
But the opening of two Vietnamese-inspired restaurants — one contemporary in style, one more traditional — suggests a split personality on my part, as I equally prize comfort, history and respect for the roots of cuisines.
You may prefer one style or the other, or you may also embrace duality.
ALTHOUGH THE menu at Love & Limes initially struck me as that of a Vietnamese restaurant, Kevin Taira, who owns the restaurant with his wife, Kim, would disagree.
“We started with the idea of offering something healthy,” he said, with the inspiration of the cuisine of Kim’s native Vietnam.
He’s right. Upon further study, few dishes are inherently Vietnamese, though many have the added brightness of a touch of lime juice common to the cuisine, which also gives the restaurant its name.
There’s another story to that too. Kim said, “My mother-in-law thinks he’s the love and I’m the lime — sour!”
He has worked in hotel restaurants, from the Ilikai to the Halekulani to the Kahala, while she grew up cooking for her family, plus an extended family of 30-plus after immigrating to the Pacific Northwest, where relatives owned bars and restaurants in Seattle and Portland, Ore.
Tired of working for others, they struck out on their own with this restaurant in part of the space that formerly housed Aloha Tofu Town. For a small place, it’s quite charming, with the shabby-chic quality of upcycled furnishing plus tables built by Kim, who said that given the option, she would love to spend her time making furniture.
Although a handful of Vietnamese dishes are on the menu, they are noticeably lighter in sugar, salt and fishy pungency than what you would find at more traditional restaurants. These include a pleasant crab-ball noodle soup ($10) and Vietnamese beef stew ($12). Traditionalists may miss the punch and boldness of a mom-and-pop, but the experience is soothing and won’t leave you feeling weighed down.
The restaurant’s signature plates ($11 to $13) start out gluten free, with a bed of your choice of a summer salad (greens, cucumbers, beans and carrots), quinoa, rice or rice vermicelli. To this add your choice of 10 to 12 proteins offered daily, such as fried tofu; crabcake medallions (which to my taste could be more crabby); delicious blackened shrimp with Kim’s signature rub of herbs, brown sugar and paprika; rib-eye steak; blackened ahi; or chicken of the day, which might be tomato-braised or marinated in ginger and lime.
Rice bowls ($10 to $11) can be topped with chicken of the day, beef stew, honey-garlic ahi poke or crispy pork belly, which wasn’t quite as crisp as you would find in Chinatown.
Banh mi are simply listed as sandwiches and a saucy BBQ pork sandwich is as assertive in flavor as it gets here.
But the one must-try here, the piece de resistance, is the honey-garlic ahi poke, a happy accident created when a staffer grabbed honey sauce instead of garlic sauce. Rather than ruining the poke, the error turned into a eureka moment. The sweetness adds a surprising touch to the usual flavors of soy and onions. For me, there could be less honey, but it really does work. These days, people line up for the poke alone, at $18 per pound.
LOVE & LIMES
Dole Cannery, 735 Iwilei Road; 536-8119. Open 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. weekdays. About $15 per person.
>> Food: ***
>> Service: ***
>> Ambience: ***1/2
>> Value: *** 1/2
FOR ABOUT 15 years, Nga Nguyen ran Pho Bistro in Waipahu, then decided she needed to take a break from the demands of running a restaurant.
A restaurateur at heart, she couldn’t stay idle, so she simply moved her biz, reborn for trendy Kakaako as Niu Baguette, but still traditional in its approach to Vietnamese cuisine.
If you happen to work in the area, it’s a pleasant place to walk over to for lunch. In the evening, it’s best to show up just as tow-away hours expire, as street parking is otherwise difficult to find.
Given the restaurant’s name, one would think baguette sandwiches, or banh mi, would dominate, but they number only four, the smallest part of the menu. The meaty BBQ-sauced pork ($7.75) is my favorite, stacked with sweet marinated daikon and carrots, plus cucumber, jalapenos and cilantro. Other options are shredded chicken, tofu or a combo ($8.75) of pork and chicken.
The menu offers no surprises, but the basics from spring rolls ($6.50) to green papaya salad ($8.99) are beautifully presented and satisfying enough to merit many return visits.
Rice and rice vermicelli dishes fill the menu, topped with a choice of grilled pork ($10.50), lemon-grass chicken ($10.50), garlic tofu ($10.50) and other standards.
Pho broth runs a bit sweet, nothing that a little tableside Sriracha or chili sauce can’t fix. The house special pho combo ($10.75) features a mix of beef brisket, flank steak, meatballs and eye-round steak. If that’s not enough, you can add additional noodles ($2.50), brisket ($4.25) fish-cake balls ($4.25) and more to your soup or to any dish.
An oxtail pho ($13.25) featured more, smaller tail sections than usually offered, making it a little easier and daintier to eat.
Be on the lookout for more specials coming soon, ranging from pad thai shrimp to chicken or shrimp fried rice.
NIU BAGUETTE
709 Cooke St.; 597-9069. Open 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Mondays to Saturdays. About $25 to $30 for two.
>> Food: ***1/2
>> Service: ***
>> Ambience: ***
>> Value: ***1/2
Nadine Kam’s restaurant reviews are conducted anonymously and paid for by the Star-Advertiser. Reach her at nkam@staradvertiser.com.
