Your guide to Saturday’s Night Market: Food

June 12, 2013

Mari Taketa,

Heads up: New layout at this week’s Honolulu Night Market Xtreme. True to the theme, Red Bull’s X-Fighters are doing a live FMX jump demo up and down Auahi — I mean, have you seen these freestyle motocross tricks? Holy O.M.G., they do a lot more than backflips. This is the team that tours the globe, and they’ll be sticking around for autographs.

But back to our train of thought. Motorcycle stunts on Auahi mean your popup shopping is still in the warehouse, fashion show and headline music acts are still on the main stage and live art, dancers, DJs and street performers will fill the rest of the block party from Keawe Street to Lana Lane. But the food? It moves around the corner to Keawe, which will be closed to traffic to host the eats.

There’s news here, too. For the first time Insomnia Cafe, which usually services Night Market crowds by selling bubble teas inside, is spilling over onto the sidewalk with Vietnamese pho and spring rolls. Next door at Taste Table, Pili Hawaii’s Mark Noguchi (whose latest Cooking Channel stint, on Monday night’s “Man Fire Food,” repeats this Sunday at 8 a.m.) lays out his usual spread of surprises from local land, sea and childhood memories. On Keawe, Whole Ox offers dinner plus its new menu of eclectic late-night bites. And we’ll get to the two popup tents below.

Nonstop’s Night Market preview guide comes to you in two parts. Later this week, we’ll have closer looks at the new lineup of popup retail, the open-air fashion show and the headliner musical acts. And right here, below, are menu previews of all the food you’ll want to eat.

What: Honolulu Night + Market
When: Saturday, June 15 from 6 to 11 p.m.
Where: Auahi and Keawe streets
Admission: FREE
Parking: On-site and street parking, including Eat the Street lot one block away at 555 South St.

THE FOOD …

ARABIAN TENT: A popup by Xtreme Tacos, with Lebanese-style spice-marinated lamb kabobs and shish tawouk chicken over rice pilaf

ELENA’S: Lechon special, pork adobo, chicken adobo and gisantes bowls; pork adobo fried rice omelet, pansit/Shanghai lumpia combo with apple banana and chocolate drizzle

INFERNO’S WOOD FIRE PIZZA: After a long hiatus from the streets, Inferno’s is back with its kiawe wood-fired pies

ISLAND SANDWICH CREATIONS: Garlic butter shrimp plate, Italian meatball sandwich, barbecue pork sandwich and barbecue chicken sandwich

KAU KAU GRILL: Poke bowl, mini BBQ rib plate, mini garlic shrimp plate

KONA ICE: Home of the shave ice Flavorwave — as in you choose your flavors, you pour

LA COSECHA: Tacos and nachos, mui bueno, si si

MISO & ALE: The roving popup lands in Kakaako with Extreme Tots topped with your choice of shredded pork adobo, kalbi chicken or veg curry

OKO GUYS: Extreme Mushroom Overload with garlic and cheese, loco moco okonomiyaki, kimchee okonomiyaki

ONO EMPANADAS: Gourmet Argentine beef and chicken empanadas, plus cookies of dulce de leche sandwiched between lemon shortbread

ONOPOPS: Locally sourced artisan pops in Salted Watermelon Cream, Honeydew Mint, Watermelon Gazpacho, Watermelon Hibiscus, Cantaloupe Fromage flavors

PETIT SUISSE CREPES: Caprese with mozzarella, cherry tomatoes and basil oil; Greek with feta cheese, spinach and sundried tomato pesto; Extreme Dream with Nutella, strawberries, bananas and an extreme surprise

POP POP DONUTS: Mini-donuts with raspberry or lychee drizzles; or plain with cinnamon, powdered or espresso sugar or chocolate sauce

SIMPLY ONO: Loco moco with deep-fried soft-boiled egg and gravy, lobster nuggets with beurre blanc and garlic bread, spicy ahi poke, deep-fried red velvet Twinkies with $10 purchase

SOUL PATROL: Buttermilk fried chicken plus choice of waffle, cole slaw, cornbread, collard greens, grits or blackeye pea chili; mac and feta cheese with bacon, crab or bacon and crab; chicken, sweet potato and Portuguese sausage gumbo with cornbread, fried chicken, cornbread and fried chicken or seafood and rice

… AND MORE FOOD

INSOMNIA CAFE
669 Auahi St.
Pho, spring rolls, bubble tea drinks

MARK NOGUCHI / PILI HAWAII
Taste Table
667 Auahi St.
He says he’s almost done with the menu but not yet.

WHOLE OX DELI
327 Keawe St.
Dinner menu of gourmet hot sandwiches from 5:30
Late-night menu of bites, below, 9:30 p.m. to 1 a.m.
• Mac ‘n cheese with bechamel sauce (pictured)
• Fried chicken and waffle or pancake
• Kimchee hash
• Italian sandwich
• Philly cheesesteak sandwich