easy rider

electra huli huli cruiser

with more people opting for two wheels in face of higher prices at the pump and as a way to reduce their carbon footprint, you may have flirted with the idea of digging out that rusty old bike and taking it out for a spin. problem is it may be too small or, worse, too broken to get you on the road. enter the kalihi valley instructional bike exchange program (k-vibe) which will get you back in the saddle in no time.

a little kokua &/or sweat equity is all that's required. simply trade in your (or your keiki's) old bicycle for new wheels or help fix up bikes donated to the co-op and pay it forward. no bike and no time? no worries, a donation (which goes to stock bike parts and tools for the program) will get you rehabbed wheels so you can pedal along with one of the community bike rides organized by k-vibe.

click over to the official k-vibe blog to stay in the loop.

p.s. new bike owners are also welcome to stop by for a lesson in bike maintenance 101.

{via knittybird}

nico's at the pier

loco moco nico's style

on this last trip home, we finally made it to nico's pier 38 not just once but twice because the food was so onolicious. i heard about nico's sometime last year and became intrigued by the description of the menu being local style plate lunches with a french twist. ooh la la! 

located on the harbor, you know the fish is as fresh as it gets since every morning chef nico (who cooked at michel's and, at the opposite end of the dining spectrum, the kaka'ako kitchen) goes next door to the honolulu fish auction to stock the restaurant for the day's menu. our first visit was to meet my s-i-l for lunch and by 11:30am the place was packed with worker bees getting some midday sustenance.

alas, i had waited so long to dine at nico's that when our lunch was ready i dove right in and forgot to snap photos of our picks, however our party of three ordered up nico's furikake pan seared ahi, beer battered fish and chips and, from the dessert case, a chocolate mousse cake. i am happy to report that all our food was tasty and delicious.

in fact, everything was so ono that we decided to hit nico's for breakfast with the family that weekend. this time around the loco moco and fried rice were our favorites. the quality of the food for the price can't be beat and the somewhat industrial harbor front is a surprisingly pleasant nosh spot . . . especially on a quiet weekend morning.

the next day the star-bulletin had a nice feature on nico's in the sunday paper with a good tip to sign up for nico's mailing list to receive the day's specials via email.

nico's has invested in a handy dandy banner to point newbies in the right direction so be on the lookout for it (across from the eagle café) when you are on nimitz or just map it!

menehune mac snack attack

okay, so i knew that menehune mac would have you covered in the chocolate department, but even more enticing are the snacks from the hawaiian chip company carried on mm's website. onolicious flavors like garlic taro chips and kilauea fire sweet potato chips are more than enough to kickstart my craving for something crunchy right now.

however, the mango pasta from sun noodle sounds like a curious food find for the more adventurous foodies amongst us. fruity noodles may not be my thing but the macadamia nut pasta would be welcome on my dinner plate anytime.