Eating is believing: Arancino’s 50 percent kamaaina lunch deal
At Arancino on Beachwalk and Arancino di Mare, just show your Hawaii ID

The deets
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.