Hawaiian cuisine, with emphasis on fresh fish, bright flavors and tropical attitudes, is a growing part of the food landscape. Two new outposts feature a taste of the islands and make for fine casual eating.
Make Fish Market, a grab-and-go restaurant, focuses on Hawaii’s most recognizable culinary export, poke. Unlike most poke places, Make Fish features more traditional Hawaiian preparations that need a little time to marinate and come together.
Make Fish delivers poke bowls and something novel: the sushi burrito. Imagine a sushi roll with all the ingredients on the inside and about four times the size of your standard sushi roll. It’s stuffed with rice and poke and sauce and marinated seaweed salad and more.
The sushi burrito is a classic American mashup. Take a Mexican preparation, run it through a Japanese blender, and serve with a helping of Hawaiian vibes. It’s a dish made for California.
Ahi tuna, yellowtail, shrimp, salmon and more are blended in creative and surprising ways. Most days you’ll find a dozen types of poke available on rice, salad or stuffed into that crazy burrito.
In addition to bowls and burritos, the menu has poke nachos served over wonton chips or loaded fries. For those who like their fare fried, karaage Japanese-style fried chicken and other treats can be yours.
The bright, airy counter at Make Fish is inviting. Summer is the perfect time to enjoy alfresco seating on L Street.
Hanai Shave Ice & Island Grindz keeps popping up all over town, a moveable feast. The Hawaiian plates, malasadas, shave ice, Spam musubi and other treats go fast whenever they pop up.
Thanks to a partnership with Urban Roots restaurants, Hanai has found a permanent home. Urban Roots’s new restaurant, Good Neighbor at 17th and R streets, has a takeout window with its own name, Side Hustle. The spot is a semi-permanent home for Hanai.
For now, the fare is simple: shave ice, smoothies and various musubi.
Some wonder about Hawaii’s love affair with Spam, but it makes sense. The salty, spongy pork loaf has no rival in Hawaii. It’s been an integral part of the island scene since World War II.
Musubi, a mashup of Japanese onigiri and Spam, is a classic Hawaiian grab-and-go snack. Made with rice wrapped in seaweed, musubi can be simple or elevated with some serious cheffing.
Hanai does a spectacular job at elevating. Their standard includes a soy glaze, Kewpie mayo and green onions. The “J Town” steps up a notch, adding Japanese curry to the rice, using honey glaze and tricking out the Japanese mayo for even more flavor.
Fresh fruit smoothies, sweet and tangy and perfect for a hot day, highlight the menu. As does Hawaiian shave ice, that brain-freeze combination of lighter-than-air ice shavings doused in sugar syrup.
The patio and to-go window almost feel as if you’re standing on the North Shore of Oahu, settled next to a shave ice truck. Sitting on the wood deck at 17th Street, you’re more likely to see a light rail train than an outrigger canoe.
Whether it’s Make Fish, Hanai or other island-tinged Asian eateries in town, Hawaiian cuisine is making its presence felt. Go and get some.
Make Fish Market is at 1801 L St., No. 70; makefishmarket.com; (916) 701-5670. Hanai Shave Ice & Island Grindz is at 1701 R St.
Greg Sabin can be reached at saceats@gmail.com. Follow us on Facebook, X and Instagram: @insidesacramento.
