Common Touch: Fine Hawaiian Food Needn't Be High-Priced Or Highfalutin

While many hotels and restaurants offer first-class Hawaii cuisine - often at first-class prices - visitors to the islands also can get hearty portions of local food at low cost, and at some unexpected places.

National fast-food chains, in a bow to local taste buds, have made some additions to their menus - Portuguese sausage, eggs and rice for breakfast at McDonald's, saimin (noodle/meat/vegetable soup) at Jack-In-The-Box and chili and rice at Wendy's.

Costco offerings include sushi, laulaus (steamed meat in taro leaves) and lomi salmon (shredded salmon with onions and tomatoes).

The Pukalani Country Club Restaurant on Maui specializes in local foods. Plate lunches are accompanied with small containers of condiments, including Hawaiian sea salt and chili pepper water, Hawaii's tamer version of hot pepper sauces such as Tabasco.

Farmers' markets and swap meets on Oahu, Maui, Kauai and the Big Island offer fresh local produce at reasonable prices. (Ask the staff at your hotel about the best places to get bargains.)

Here are some restaurants and cafes on each of Hawaii's four main islands to sample local flavors.

OAHU

(Inexpensive to moderate: $3.50 to $20)

-- Gordon Biersch Brewery Restaurant, 101 Ala Moana Blvd., #1123, Honolulu. Phone: (808) 599-4877. Hawaii-born executive chef Kelly Degala is back home after a decade in Seattle. One of his specialties is Kauai Prawns with Garlic-Fried Jasmine Rice and

Mango-Chili Vinaigrette.

-- John Dominis, 43 Ahui St., Honolulu. Phone: (808) 523-0955. The weekly Poi Wednesday Lunch features live Hawaiian music and food favorites such as laulau, kalua pig, poi, lomi salmon, chicken long rice, poke, sweet potato and haupia.

-- Rainbow Drive-In, 3308 Kanaina Ave., Kapahulu. Phone: (808) 737-0177. Mixed plates here can include barbecue steak, mahimahi and chicken. A local favorite for more than 30 years.

(Moderate to expensive: $15-$35)

-- Alan Wong's, 1857 S. King St., Fifth Floor, Honolulu. Phone: (808) 949-2526. A new restaurant for this Hawaii Regional Cuisine member. A specialty is kalua pig wrapped in a taro pancake served with poi vinaigrette and lomi tomato relish.

-- Roy's, 6600 Kalanianaole Highway, Hawaii Kai. Phone: (808) 396-7697. Roy Yamaguchi, another Hawaii Regional Cuisine chef, has hosted two seasons of a PBS cooking show, and has opened other Roy's on Maui and Kauai.

-- Le Mer, Halekulani Hotel, 2199 Kalia Rd., Honolulu. Phone: (808) 923-2311. Also a Hawaii Regional Cuisine member, chef George Mavrothalassitis combines his French cooking skills with the best of island fish and produce at this elegant, expensive restaurant.

MAUI

(Inexpensive to moderate)

-- Sam Sato's, Inc., 1750 Wili Pa Loop, Wailuku. Phone: (808) 244-7124. A small, clean, inexpensive eatery popular with the locals. The best place to enjoy steaming bowls of saimin, the Hawaiian version of noodles and broth with bits of pork and vegetables. Also famous for manju, the Japanese rice cakes filled with sweeted azuki bean or lima bean paste.

-- Chums, 1900 Main St., Wailuku. Phone: (808) 244-1000. Plate lunches of traditional Hawaiian foods, plus such specialties as oxtail soup, teriyaki beef and won ton mein.

-- Ooka Super Market, 1870 Main St., Wailuku. Phone: (808) 244-3931. One of the best places on the island for gathering local foods. Quality fruits and vegetables from local farms, a take-out deli, shelves of specialty foods made on Maui and good prices for leis.

(Moderate to expensive)

-- The Seasons, Four Seasons Resort, Wailea. Phone: (808) 874-8000. Chef Azmin Ghahreman orders fish twice a day, and Big Island lobsters arrive every afternoon for serving in this open-air restaurant. Spectacular beach view: be there for sunset.

-- Mama's Fish House, 799 Poho Place, Kuau Cove. Phone: (808) 579-8488. Mama's has built its reputation serving several varieties of local fish each day with the option of several preparations for each. The setting is a coconut grove only a coconut's throw from Hookipa, a windsurfing beach.

-- Avalon, 844 Front St., Lahaina. Phone: (808) 667-5559. Owner-chef Mark Ellman is a member of Hawaii Regional Cuisine. Specialties include Maui Onion Rings with Tamarind Ketchup and Caramel Miranda, an ice cream dessert.

KAUAI

(Inexpensive to moderate)

-- Bubba's Burgers, Kuhio Highway, Kapaa. Phone: (808) 823-0069. At this casual stand with a few outdoor tables you can order the management's version of a plate lunch, the Hubba Bubba (1 scoop rice, hamburger patty, grilled hot dog, smothered in beer chili and topped with diced onions). You're also likely to get a generous serving of attitude at Bubba's, where the slogan is: "We Cheat Tourists, Drunks & Attorneys." Bubba's has a second location in Hanalei.

-- Ono Family Restaurant, 4-1292 Kuhio Highway, Kapaa. Phone: (808) 822-1710. Specials include Portugese bean soup, buffalo burgers and ribs.

-- Aloha Diner, 971-F Kuhio Highway, Waipouli. Phone: (808) 822-3851. Chicken and taro leaves cooked in coconut milk, lomi salmon, poi and saimin.

(Moderate to expensive)

-- A Pacific Cafe, Kauai Village, Kuhio Highway, Kapaa. Phone: (808) 822-0013. One of the most innovative chefs in the islands, Jean-Marie Josselin was schooled in France, but has taken his new home to heart. This member of Hawaii Regional Cuisine has fishermen working for him who radio their daily catches to the restaurant so the evening menu can be prepared. He grows produce on his own farm. Last year he opened another A Pacific Cafe, in Kihei on Maui.

-- Cafe Hanalei, Princeville Hotel, Princeville. Phone: (808) 826-9644. Try the bamboo steamed mahimahi with a ginger scallion relish and the warm mango tart.

-- The Grove Dining Room at Waimea Plantation Cottages, Waimea. Phone: (808) 338-2300. Freshly baked taro rolls are served with meals. The menu includes a mixed plate of the day, featuring kalbi ribs and chicken.

BIG ISLAND OF HAWAII

(Inexpensive to moderate)

-- Sam Choy's Restaurant, 73-5576 Kauhola St., Kaloko Light Industrial Park, Kailua-Kona. Phone: (808) 326-1545. Choy, a Hawaii Regional Cuisine chef, favors homey, local foods, such as stews, laulaus and plate lunches. He hosts the annual Poke Recipe Contest, with amateurs and professionals entering their versions of this traditional Hawaiian dish made from fresh raw fish marinated in a variety of sauces.

-- Sam Choy's Diner, Frame 10 Bowling Center, 75-5586 Ololi Road, Kailua-Kona. Phone: (808) 329-0101. A gem of an eatery with a door that opens directly to the bowling alleys. Try the noodle and mixed greens salads topped with grilled chicken or ahi (tuna).

-- Tex Drive Inn and Restaurant, Highway 19, Honokaa. Phone: (808) 775-0598. Noted for its malasadas (Portuguse doughnuts).

(Moderate to expensive)

-- The Grille, The Ritz-Carlton, Mauna Lani, Kohala Coast. Phone: (808) 885-2000. Executive chef Amy Ferguson-Ota was born in Texas, but she has made Hawaii her home for enough years to master the local ingredients. A member of Hawaii Regional Cuisine, she hosts the annual Big Island Bounty food event (dates for 1996: May 24-26). Start your day with her Banana-Macadamia Nut Waffles with Rum-Raisin-Maple Syrup.

-- Merriman's, Opelu Plaza, Highway 19, Waimea. Phone: (808) 885-6822. Peter Merriman, another Hawaii Regional Cuisine chef, was among the first to see the need for meeting with local farmers, fishermen and ranchers, encouraging them to produce the best they can, then deliver it to his kitchen doorstep. He recently opened a second restaurant, Hula Grill at Kaanapali Beach on Maui.

-- Jameson's by the Sea, 77-6452 Alii Drive, Kaulua-Kona. Phone: (808) 329-3195. Sunset views of Magic Sands Beach. Fresh fish specialties, including opakapaka (Hawaiian pink snapper) sauteed in fresh basil cream.

Larry Brown, a former Seattle Times reporter and food writer, lives and freelances on the island of Maui.