Downbeat Lounge and Diner, Chinatown, Honolulu, Hawaii

If you come to visit Oahu, you'll likely be staying in Waikiki. That's great, there's lots to do there from the world famous to beach to all the restaurants and bars that cater to tourists.

But, if you find yourself looking for something more gritty and real, check out Chinatown. Here there's outdoor fruit and flower markets, Chinese herbalist stores, antique shops, and bars. Lots and lots of bars.

These aren't your paper umbrella in a plastic tiki god mug type place. These are places that are frequented by locals. Some are dive bars, but more upscale places have started to gentrify the area as well.

The Downbeat Lounge and Diner occupies a spot, actually two spots, for local hipsters to congregate. The lounge is bar with a few beers on tap, full cocktail menu and a tiny stage that hosts punk rock, reggae, hip-hop, and Americana bands a few nights a week. 

Right next door is the Downbeat Diner. The booths are covered in fabric that any inked up surf bum would love. A collage of the famous and near famous from the last hundred years include Frida Kahlo, Joey Ramone, Charlie Chaplin, Tom Waits, Mark Twain, Siouxsie Sioux, and, of course, Bill Murray.

How many celebs can you name?

This is the kind of place where your server is in either a surfer or in a rockabilly band, preferably both. And you might spot a customer at the bar with a large gauze pad covering an infected tattoo. In other words, the ambiance is top notch.

Another booth with a few other celebs

The menu is why we came. Walking by recently, I noticed the menu in the window boasted "vegan wings." I told Karen we had to return soon to give them a try. When we told our fully tatted out waiter that we were having trouble deciding because of all the great vegetarian options, he immediately recommended the wings. Sold! We got the buffalo wings, and although Karen liked them, as did I, they were a little hot for her, so we might try the BBQ vegan wings next time. We split a Greek salad wrap and it's a good thing too. After the wings, each of us getting a sandwich would have been way too much. Oh, and kudos to the waiter for asking if we wanted the wrap "fully vegan." Of course, Greek salad usually has feta cheese and it's such a treat to have a server aware of the difference between vegan and vegetarian. We're vegetarian, by the way,  so cheese is okay, but it is great to be asked!

As a final note, I gotta say that the prices are great for Honolulu. The wings were $9 as was the wrap. For happy hour, beers are a dollar off so you can get a good beer for $4, unheard of in Honolulu where $8 pints are starting to become the norm.
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