Off Track: Comfort Food for the Soul: My Top 6 Restaurant Picks on O‘ahu Right Now

From the Frolic Hawaii website

If you ask me to name my favorite places to eat on O‘ahu, don’t expect a simple answer. Instead, you’ll receive a lengthy list organized by category and cross-referenced by time of day, price point and ambience—complete with a Venn diagram and a brief deck of slides. Totally casual. Having spent the bulk of my life working both in the front and back of house in restaurants, bars, hotels and nightclubs, to say that I’m obsessive about the details that surround dining would be an understatement. For me, it’s always been about the whole experience. So whether it’s a fine dining restaurant or a neighborhood haunt, I’m delighted by the nuances of joy, artistry and passion.

Lately I’ve been gravitating towards those places that exemplify craft and consistency. And since moments of comfort and time spent with friends are more precious than ever, for me this has translated into a heightened sentimentality towards eating. My favorite places are a mix of old-school nostalgia, some finer but no less comforting delicacies, sublime patio ambience, and the most beautiful smoked brisket I have ever seen.

And these six eateries are

Maria Kanai