12th Avenue Grill

The same phenomenon happens all over. A new restaurants opens, everyone writes about it and--as long as the food is decent--it coasts on that popularity for a year or two before crowds begin to taper off. 12th Avenue Grill breaks that common cycle by still going strong after nearly four years, consistently filling tables night after night. The cozy dining room "hides" on a small alley between 12th Avenue and Kokohead in Kaimuki, one block makai of Waialae Avenue, sandwiched between mutiple municipal parking lots. Stepping inside, the warm lighting and dark wood booths make the outside world recede far away.

The 12th Avenue Grill menu has shifted and matured over time but remains true to the focus on contemporary American cuisine, or as I think of it, comfort food with style. Long-time favorites like the Kimchee Marinated Skirt Steak and Hickory Roasted Organic King Salmon have been rotated out while other trademarks like the Baked Macaroni and Cheese remain stalwart. I think they'd have a revolt if they stopped their trademark mac 'n cheese.

Fig salad, Pan-seared Ahi and Porter Spareribs

The Baked Macaroni and Cheese ($5.95, not pictured) bathes elbow macaroni with a smooth mixture of smoked Parmesan and Pecorino cheeses then tops it with crunchy bread crumbs to turn this kiddie classic into an adult favorite. Add Alii mushroom for $2 and Black Forest ham for $2.50 for even more substance. Seriously, this is one of the best mac and cheeses ever. You owe it to yourself to give it a try.

Over the numerous visits we've sampled most of the menu and now find ourselves drawn to the seasonal specials board. For our salad course, we shared a Big Island Fig Salad with Apple Cider Bacon, Maytag Bleu Cheese, frisée, aged balsamic and hazelnuts($10). Each ingredient was well-balanced with the others. The sweetness of the fig and the crispy-edged bacon keep the cheese from overpowering.

My wife selected Pan-Seared Ahi for her entree ($22). The generous block of medium rare ahi was topped with cucumber basil salsa and corn shoots then served with roasted garlic mashed potatoes, Big Island fern shoots and an olive tapendade. It all sounds more complicated than it is. The flavors are understated in a way that features the freshness of the fish and fern shoots.

I was wavering between the cinnamon-braised shortribs and the special porter beer-braised bone-in shortribs ($21/each) until learning that the latter were braised with Kona Brewing Companies Pipeline Porter. Yum. The preparation was rich with the coffee and chocolate of the beer and served with roasted potatoes and Big Island carrots ($21). The next diners over called back their order and switched to the special shortribs after noticing my plate and how the meat falls right off the bone at first touch of a fork. (We generally sit at the chef's counter when we come. The experience is both more social, and allows us to sometimes sneak in without a reservation.)

The desserts at 12th Avenue are very good without being transcendent. They offer their own take on panna cotta, bread pudding, molten chocolate cake and fruit crisps (each $6.95, not pictured) sure to satisfy your sweet tooth. Each was rock solid, but I had the sense that they were picked more for their popularity than from an attempt to do something new.

But then, that's really what 12th Avenue Grill is all about--timeless dishes prepared with just enough creativity to keep them fresh, but never so much variation as to offend one's sense of what it should be. Comfort food with style.

12th Avenue Grill
http://www.12thavegrill.com/
1145C 12th Avenue
Kaimuki, HI 96816
(808)732-9469
Hours: Mon-Thu 5:30-9pm, Fri & Sat 5:30-10pm, closed Sundays

Other sites:
→ Midweek gushes over Chef Hanney and his specials
→ After a lukewarm first visit, 12th Ave wins over HawaiiDiner

There's still time to enter your name in my raffle to win the new cookbook by Iron Chef Morimoto. Do it, you won't regret it!