Just last week I talked about humble, no-frills Japanese comfort food for all, in favor of the nontrendy restaurant, and this week I’m back with the local equivalent, Holoholo Bar & Grill.

Jill Owens, a former chef for Aloha Stadium’s Center Plate, knows a thing or two about feeding the masses, and she said she always wanted to open a restaurant of her own. Choosing a format was a no-brainer because she feels this town doesn’t have enough family restaurants.

"I’m part Hawaiian, and on the Hawaiian side of the family, there are 15 of us. We’re always looking for places where we can eat family style."

They find the food, portions and prices best at bars but are hindered by environments that are not conducive to having tots in tow. As a new mom, Owens created her own space with family in mind, so while there is an adults-only bar in the back, the front of the house is open to the extended ohana, from keiki to kupuna.

That said, it is a dangerous place for the hungry, because Owens understands what locals like to eat, and everything on the menu tugs at that particular nerve-connected memory, taste, love and nostalgia. For those who grew up here, the response to the menu is almost Pavlovian, and it’s just too easy to say yes to one more dish, and another. If everyone has a say, you’ll have a lot of plates on the table.

Each offering comes in a full or half-portion. Half-portions are enough for people with normal appetites because of the heavy nature of the dishes. Half-portions also allow you to try more selections so you can decide whether to commit to bigger portions on follow-up visits.

Each dish is colorfully presented on the restaurant’s website, holoholobarandgrill.com, so you can even map out your meal in advance.

Holoholo Bar & Grill offers lunch on weekdays and brunch on weekends, but given my recent spate of brunch write-ups, I’m focusing on dinner.

The local passion for mayonnaise makes it logical to start with Cheesy Crab Bread ($10.95 half, $15.95 full), focaccia smothered with creamy surimi dip and topped with a layer of melted cheese. The smaller order has eight pieces of bread, small but enough for four because you don’t really want to fill up on bread, do you?

Drunken Seafood is one of the priciest items on the menu. This saute of clams, shrimp and calamari ($17.95/$23.95) is served in a thin, buttery beurre blanc broth too sweet for my taste.

One dish bound to be fun for all is the Hot Sushi Tower ($8.95/$12.95). This deconstructed spicy California roll starts with a base of baked furikake rice topped with sriracha- and sesame oil-tossed surimi and cucumber strings, with avocado and nori sheets on the side for roll-your-own sushi. The half-tower is enough to be a meal for four. You’ll be a hero if you bring the full tower to your next potluck.

Among the most popular dishes are the slow-cooked sake-braised barbecue brisket ($15.50/$21.95) and backyard-style smoked meat and wilted kale salad ($14.95/$18.95). Pork has been the meat of choice for this dish recently, marinated five days for a char siu-meets-smoke flavor sure to generate cravings. The kale is young and tender, chopped into bite-size pieces for easy eating.

A lot of the greens on the menu come from Owens’ sister’s Big Island aquaponic farm. Both are believers in sustainability, and Owens says she tries to source as many ingredients locally as possible.

Every bar and grill has to have a burger, and here it’s the aptly named Lip S’macka ($11.95), a sweet teriyaki-kim chee burger topped with a light kim chee spread. Order it with fries or a salad. Tasty, and more of the spread would be quite welcome. For the sake of balance, we got the salad, requesting the house-made Caesar dressing, which is a good attempt at the classic that few try to replicate these days because people complain about anchovies. But, why let the culinary wimps ruin it for the rest of us? Let them eat Thousand Island.

The specter of bad ethnic humor comes across with a dish of Local Style Fly Lice ($6.50/$9.50). Despite gains in political correctness, in the land of minority rule the ones most likely to order the fried rice are those who can still laugh at being the subjects of the joke.

Other items include beer-batter fish tempura and chips ($14.95/$18.95), nori-wrapped, seared ahi "cigars" (market price) and, sometimes available, savory sesame-coated Duck Balls — jin dui, or airy Chinese-style mochi balls, with duck meat filling.

The last part of the equation is desserts by Daniel Teijeiro. A pastry case eventually lures diners to get out of their seats and simply stare. Desserts change daily and often. It’s quite possible to see 10 different types in the case at the start of the evening and another five more by the end of your meal, anything from mocha mousse to little red velvet and lilikoi cakes, so don’t order without checking that roster twice.

Nadine Kam’s restaurant reviews are conducted anonymously and paid for by the Star-Advertiser. Reach her at nkam@staradvertiser.com.