Shrimp Cake & Hamburger Steak @ Nicos

Dad and I were in the Iwelei area during lunchtime today and we thought about paying a visit to the newly opened Uncle's Fish Market. Nico's at Pier 38, located right next door, is a family favorite for plate lunches, but we were eager to see what Uncle's had to offer...until we saw the massive line out front. And I mean, massive line! Under normal circumstances we wouldn't mind waiting in line, but we had to pick up mom soon cause she just dropped off her car to the auto shop (I knocked off the bumper last week and it needed to be fixed :()

So we trucked on over to Nicos where dad decided to satisfy his cravings for hamburger steak. More restaurants are starting to offer the option of making your plate lunch �healthier�, and this was the route dad took, opting for a mixed salad in place of mac salad, and brown rice in favor of white. I don't know if he chose the brown rice and salad because that prefers or it...or because he was just at the doctor's last week! The gloriously meaty hamburger steak came smothered in a mushroom onion gravy that was, "really good over rice, but too salty poured over the hamburger steak."

I was debating between furikake ahi or double cheeseburger, but ended up with the special for the day, a deep fried shrimp cake salad. I figure if I'm going to eat my greens, may as well get something hot, fried, and crunchy to go with it! They don't cheat when they say "shrimp cake" - this was the biggest shrimp cake I've eaten, and best of all it was simple, tightly packed shrimp with a bit of black pepper to taste. Just lightly battered and fried with not the least bit of greasy residue, it was topped with garlic mayo. They really got me with the mayo. I love mayo, even though it�s so bad for you. You know how people eat butter and toast? My grandpa served me mayo and toast growing up...until my grandma introduced me to pate and toast...then mayo went out the window, replaced by cans of pate sent from relatives in France. But back to the mayo, yes this was a very good aioli, complete with minced garlic and dabbles of mustard. The plum vinaigrette in the little container over to the right was a disappointment, tasting nothing of plum and a lot like unflavored oil.

I've got to get to Nico's for breakfast one day, I hear they do any awesome french toast (with sweet bread from Kaneohe Bakery!) and fish and eggs. Or maybe I'll stop by Uncle's next time. I don't know...I have to go or else I'll be late for dinner at grandmas!! See you later :)

Nico's at Pier 38
1133 N. Nimitz Highway
Honolulu, HI 96817
(808) 540-1377