My favorite spots for out of town guests

Melissa - Chai's Island Bistro is a great place to enjoy Hawaiian music too...if they still do that.

Update: For those of you who are listening u00e2u0080u0094 tomorrow, watch video of Melissa as she chats with Cat Toth about her favorite out of town guest spots. We want to hear from you, so keep posting your suggestions! Stay tuned.

i wanna try them all!! or go to Genius lounge!!!

For older out town guests from Asia I would take them for good steaks at BLT Trump Waikiki . Service is very upscale VIP.

I don't think I've ever been to Shimazu. Where do you park if you do go there anyways?

It depend on the age of guest and of course background where they came from living on mainland or country. My guests would be from Asia in films and show business background. I do like local eateries but since guests would perfer more Waikiki spots. Top of Waikiki and Oceanurim , Pagoda and Wilow sound pretty good for them. Good steakhouse restaurant like Black Angus is must have.

(wonder if this will post?)

This is a very hard list to just mention 10 places. With the myriad of choices, flavors, nationalities, styles of cooking... it'll all come down to personal choices.

I too tend to stay away from Waikiki but because the visitors like to stay there I'll recommend some of your choices Melissa. I'll also send them to Roy's, Ciao Mein (if they're still in the Hyatt), and Hy's Steak House. At least now I can take them to Kaimuki Grill (that Fried Rice pic does look good) instead of Chinatown. As for breakfast, sometimes we'll go to Original House of Pancakes on Kapiolani or Pancake House by Waiakamilo Road.
The ex-locals visiting always head for the usual places to find their favorite grindz.

Since San Francisco Embacadero Hyatt shut down their revolving restaurant there no special restaurant like that in San Francisco. Top of Waikiki it great for them to enjoyed. I like do like Oeanurium and Pagoda very much. Willow sound so peaceful setting they would like.

Good list, even though I'm sure there's tons of places you left out! I agree with Little Village, RumFire and Shokudo... taken quite a few of my out-of-town friends there! Hmmm, now I should do the same list for bars and clubs, shouldn't I?

Wine Gurl: Plenty fuud porn on this post! Say, the plethora of Flied Lice reminds me that CAT is due to have her annual Fried Rice contest...you will need to get on her case and be a judge! Did the Chinoise invent fried rice? or was it the Italians?

Hello Melissa!
great list!
Been to more than half of those places.

Oh shoyu hot dog...slightly burnt too, just how I like it. Just gimme that and some white rice and I'm set. :-) I must stop by Kaimuki Grill one of these days!

Great list Melissa. I like your choices. For me, I would take guests to Kai Market and take advantage of the kamaaina deal. They get good food, a big selection, entertainment and a great view. They also validate parking, which is nice.

Good list Melissa. I'm adding Irifune, Tadashi, Town, Okata Bento, Highway Inn, Sugoi, Roy's, Pineapple Room, Ige's, Shige's, Tanioka's, and Kuru Kuru Sushi to this list. ;-)

Great picks! And oh man, did not know about the taro duck at Little Village. Heading back soon!

Wow, all those places look 'ono! Next time I'm back in the islands, I gotta try that kalua pig quesadilla!

Yikes! Waikiki places? I try to think more "No Reservation" style and take friends to less touristy spots or at least away from Waikiki as much as possible. The only exception being adjacent Rainbows drive in. I find another friendly hole in the wall place for more sushi is Tokkuri-tei. Then I would surprise them with lunch at Aiea Bowl and maybe some real saimin from Shige's in Wahiawa. I guess it all depends on what your guests are looking for...

Nice selection. I've been to several but have a hard time doing Waikiki due to parking, but next time we visit in-laws timeshare we can do the walk.

Most awesome! Excellent food choices, Melissa, I'm so hungry now :)

excellent gallery, feels like a great resource! as i said, everybody's list will be different, but urs has lots of picks that will accommodate a range of tastes and budgets w/o repeating what can be widely found on the mainland. nice!

How could you possibly narrow this list down to just 10 choices?!
For my friends who grew up here, but now live on the mainland, it's either Ono's, Rainbow's, Coco Ichiban, or Zippy's.
My parents like to take their out-of-towners to Tanaka of Tokyo (though the novelty isn't quite there anymore), Hiroshi, Ninnikuya or the Prince Court restaurant at the Hawaii Prince Hotel.

Great Suggestions. I also like Azure & Mitch's Sushi for a more upscale experience.

Oooh fantastic suggestions for my soon-to-be-here-OOTers. I'm surprised there's no garlic shrimp trucks on the list though!