Great American Bites: Fresh fish by the sea at Hawaii's Bite Me
The scene: Honokohau Harbor is an epicenter of sport fishing on The Big Island of Hawaii, where many tourists come to try their luck with rod and reel in pursuit of giant marlin and especially tuna, which have been caught here in record sizes. Between the gravel parking lot and the individual docks for each colorfully named charter fishing boat sits a single large industrial building: the Bite Me Fish Market.
Flanked by cranes and boat lifts on one side and the docks on the other, Bite Me looks every inch the commercial waterfront fish market and it is, with an open-air entryway leading immediately to glass counters full of seafood for sale. In the world of aquatic cuisine there is one golden rule, fresh fish is good fish, and it doesn't get any fresher than this. The same owners operate Bite Me Sport Fishing, with six charter boats docked a few feet from the restaurant, and catch some of their own product. Anglers also bring in their catch straight off the boat for chefs to cook up, and the hostess stand, just beyond the fish counter, doubles as the reservation office for fishing charters aboard the Bite Me 1 and its five similarly named siblings.
The walls are plastered with pictures of trophy catches, and the rest of the decorations consist of fish-shaped signs, fiberglass fish mounts and surfboards. There are a few tables beyond the hostess stand abutting the fish market, but the real action is out back on the open air lanai, where red picnic tables with umbrellas are crowded together between the dock and an open air bar fashioned from the transom of a fishing boat. One wall, behind the bar, is hung with foam beer "koozies," insulated sleeves for keeping bottles cold, while the sides are fences and the back "wall" is just a railing between diners and the fishing dock. Regulars have personalized koozies with their names in magic marker. The atmosphere is very much Ft. Lauderdale spring break, with the waitresses in tight tank tops and kitschy décor. Some diners come for the ambiance, and some come in spite of it, but they all come – including many locals – for the ultra-fresh fish.
Reason to visit: Smoked seafood dip, poke, fish tacos, grilled fresh fish.
The food: Both the menu and signs in the retail market bear the same all important message: "All of our fish are caught exclusively in Hawaiian waters. Our fish have not been imported, gassed, frozen or hormone injected. If it were any fresher, it would still be swimming." For this reason, there are just a few regular items on the menu, mainly the prolific and reliable marlin, while most choices revolve around catch of the day, which varies seasonally but frequently includes mahi mahi, ono and ahi tuna, which was the choice when I visited. The menu is fairly straightforward: there are fish sandwiches, grilled or fried; fish tacos, catch of the day, shrimp or marlin; and fish plates, mostly grilled or steamed, plus a special changing presentation featuring the daily fish – mine was panko-crusted ahi with a macadamia nut pesto.
Appetizers are a highlight here and include ceviche and the very Hawaiian specialty poke, chunks of raw seasoned fish. Poke is similar to seasoned sashimi except that sashimi is all about the slicing and selecting the best cuts, while poke is cruder and more about the seasoning, with more fat and variability in the delicateness of the cube-shaped chunks. In Hawaiian, poke means cut or sliced, and it comes in myriad forms, the most popular being ahi tuna, which I had at Bite Me. These chunks are plentiful and it is a substantial dish, with just a bit of a bite, marinated in a mixture of soy sauce, salt, other spices and chopped chili peppers - very fresh and tasty.
The other signature starter is "Tim's Awesome Smoked Fish Dip." Resembling the whitefish salad you might get at a Jewish-style deli, it is even served in a plastic prepared food container, but is very fresh and very chunky, with no mayo and little binder, just a spreadable smoked fish salad, more like pate than dip, served with Ritz crackers. I would definitely recommend it and preferred the dip to the poke, mainly because it was more unique, but you cannot go wrong with either.
The entrees, served with choice of white rice, beans, potatoes or mixed vegetables, were similarly simple and all about freshness. The panko crust and macadamia pesto were tasty but hardly earthmoving – the fish itself was the reason to come. Same for the tacos, as the tortillas and processed cheese were quite standard, but they were generously filled with fresh fish. Ice cold beer is an indispensable accoutrement at Bite Me, especially the locally made Longboard from Kona Brewing Company, served in bottles – and the koozies are even on the menu. You can add yourself to the wall.
Bite Me Fish Market is not the place to go for nouvelle, fusion or molecular cuisine – the most creative and radical thing on the menu is the "Fish Reuben," grilled catch of the day with cole slaw and 1000 island dressing on a bun. Most items are served in plastic baskets with little emphasis on presentation. The main reason to come is for fish as fresh as you will find anywhere in the world, prepared simply and at very reasonable prices, especially by Hawaiian standards, all with laid-back local flair and as much or little of a party atmosphere as you want to bring with you. It is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner and makes a nice change from the overpriced hotel dining many visitors are faced with. The other big reason to visit would be to go sport fishing and come back and celebrate your success with a dinner you caught yourself.
What regulars say: "Every time I come here I think, 'Hey, I should come here more often,'" said Chris White, longtime Big Island resident and sales manager at a nearby luxury resort.
Pilgrimage-worthy?: No, but good, fun, and an affordable choice for Hawaii's main culinary attraction, fresh fish local fish.
Rating: Mmmm (Scale: Blah, OK, Mmmm, Yum!, OMG!)
Price: $$ ($ cheap, $$ moderate, $$$ expensive)
Details: 74-425 Kealakehe Parkway #17, Kailua-Kona; 808-327-3474; bitemefishmarket.com/
Larry Olmsted has been writing about food and travel for more than 15 years. An avid eater and cook, he has attended cooking classes in Italy, judged a BBQ contest and once dined with Julia Child. Follow him on Twitter, @TravelFoodGuy, and if there's a unique American eatery you think he should visit, send him an e-mail at travel@usatoday.com.