Sandwiched between Huntington Beach's Main Street breakfast staples the Sugar Shack and Longboard is the tastier, less-crowded and slightly pricier No Ka Oi, whose name says it all, translating from Hawaiian to “unparalleled” or “the best.” It's a crime the Islands-inspired restaurant and watering hole is not as popular for the most important meal of the day as are the joints on either side. Ah, well, as those places' lines to enter stretch into Fountain Valley, you'll slide right into a seat at No Ka Oi. Wet your whistle with the Bloody Mary, which is worth an entry by itself. A generous pour of vodka and the owner's homemade mix are garnished with a pepper and two plump green olives stuffed with bleu cheese. You can then move on to eggs over easy, wheat toast and jam just like you can at the other places, and leave just as satisfied. But much, much better is a platter of pancakes filled with macadamia nuts and sprinkled with powdered sugar, the Kilauea Benedict that ditches Canadian bacon for fresh lump crabmeat, or the breakfast Hawaiians are most used to (other than McGriddles, of course): Loco Moco. Two scoops of white rice, an Angus beef patty and an egg over easy are drenched in a homemade gravy that's as tasty as any served in the American South, which is actually farther north than the Hawaiian Islands. If your order does not include breakfast potatoes, do yourself a favor and order them on the side. Golden brown, slightly crunchy on the outside and soft and chewy on the inside, they make a damn good meal on their own. $$$
