Eating is believing: Arancino’s 50 percent kamaaina lunch deal

Arancino’s two Waikiki locations are home to the best lunch deal in Waikiki — for Hawaii residents, anyway.

The restaurants’ $24 two-course lunch is 50 percent off for kamaaina with a valid Hawaii ID. That’s tomato bisque or a garden or Caesar salad, plus pasta or pizza. Like this.

Look for the “Lunch Specials” menu insert — the kamaaina mention is in fine print at the bottom.

Choose from five pastas (including a black squid ink option) and three pizzas for your main course. Pappardelle alla bolognese — made with Big Island beef — and pizza tre porcellini (basically, a meat lovers pizza) are the two newest additions.

The bolognese has a good meat-to-noodle ratio. They definitely don’t skimp on that beef, which is flavorful and fresh-tasting. Pasta choices at lunch are fresh pappardelle and tagliatelle. The pappardelle is delightfully chewy and glides down my throat. 

The best part: It’s the same portion size as the a la carte bolognese ($24), which makes this an incredible deal. 

The pizza dough is made fresh at the restaurant. If you’ve never had a cheesy pizza drizzled with honey, it’s the ultimate sweet-and-savory balance. The best way to eat this is to hold off on the honey, take a bite and enjoy the umami flavors, then drizzle honey over the rest of the slice.

The 7-inch pizzas are slightly smaller than the a la carte size, but I’m plenty full after devouring my side salad and several pieces of fluffy, chewy, housemade focaccia bread. 

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