Merchant Street Market

Due to the opening of Ahi Lovers and La Tour Café in the Davies Pacific Center in downtown Honolulu, it is very sad to note the permanent end of the Merchant Street Market. So fellow Unilocalers looks like the Merchant Street Market will not be returning at all in the near future. :(

Sad to say that they discontinued this event that occured every 2^nd and 4^th Tuesday, so there’s now less eating places in the downtown business area. :(
Hopefully they’ll bring it back sometime in the near future.

I loooveee working in downtown. There are so many food options! This one, we mark on our office calendars. Every 2^nd and 4^th tuesday = merchant street market. Its like a mini-​Eat the Street with Grandma Gs, Da Spot, Soul, Hawaiian Grill (i think thats what theyre called) and Stacys being regulars. Theres also usually a salad company, sometimes (but not lately) Baja Style will come, a kettle corn place, and the other day had a place selling kulolo, poi, and haupia. — fyi, the kulolo was superrrr wet, not hard at all and we ended up throwing it away.
My faves are Grandma Gs kalbi (they ALWAYS have a line so go early! By 12:30, u can expect to wait 30 min just to order!), and i love Soul! Their cornbread is delicious and so is their mac and cheese.
Merchant street market, thanks for giving us all just one more option for lunch! Our office loves taking «merchant street market field trips» together. And the results are usually very yummy!
P.s theres no place to sit so expect to buy your food and vacate! Lol. We have a breakroom in our office so for the downtown workers its no big deal. ;)

My office calendar is marked so that I remember which Tuesdays the market will be there. It’s every 2^nd and 4^th Tuesday of the month, on the corner of Merchant and Bishop.
I tend to always get the same thing. and I don’t want to say what because I don’t want it being sold out before I get there. Hehehe. Let’s just say, it’s THAT good. There’s a lot of good food there, so you should check it out anyway. And if you pick right, you’ll know what my personal fave is. ;)

You know it is a second or fourth Tuesday when you are walking downtown and the smells of a grill are wafting through the air. The smell immediately takes you to a place where it is Saturday and you are just chilling in the backyard with some steaks on the grill and a cold beer in your hand. Then… you wake up and realize it is only Tuesday and you are stuck at work downtown.
When the lunchtime rut hits you, check out the Merchant Street Market for a welcome change to your lunchtime options. With a plethora of merchants that dot the perimeter of the corner of Bishop and Merchant streets, the selection is far reaching and will certainly please your waiting taste buds.
Beware, the lines can get long during peak lunch times so plan accordingly. Also, plan to end up smell a little bit like charcoal when you finally are able to make your way back to the office. Some call it a disgusting smell, I personally call it the smell of freedom!

Merchant Street Market
It’s a bunch of local eateries gathered on the corner of bishop and Merchant Street every 2^nd and 4^th Tuesdays of the month. Sort of like eat the street but on a smaller scale. Features all sorts of ethnic foods. I try to make it every so often if I remember.
I love how it’s very diversified, they have a mixture of Hawaiian, Mediterranean, Korean, Local, vegetarian/​vegan, etc. Whenever I get a chance I usually order the dynamite Korean chicken or the Seared Ahi. I don’t bother to look at the name of the vendors I just know where they are… sorry but its NOOMMM…
What I don’t like are the long lines! Event is so popular it attracts everyone who works in downtown especially when these vendors cook or grill the food it smells soo ONO! Price is a bit expensive considering its street vendors and you know they don’t have rent expense. (opinion… blame the day job!)

ever since Lori I made her way downtown for garlic chicken at Fort St Café, she has been inching her way around the downtown perimeter each week! so she suggested we try Grandma G’s at MSM, based on a recommendation from Traci H. I got there a little early, and perused the 6 or so food tents that occupy the space the 2^nd and 4^th Tuesdays of the month. what do they say about idle hands? we were supposed to be there for Grandma G’s by I was swayed by the delicious looking fried chicken at Stacey’s Laulau. i am from new orleans, so i am always up for fried chicken. (i am still waiting to try Ray’s!) though Soul Patrol was also there, i had already tried their honey goodness chicken and i was in the mood for some «dyno-​mite!» chicken drizzled with sweet chili sauce and sprinkled with furikake. along came Val, and he wandered off to the Honolulu Gourmet to peruse their salads. I am thinking plate lunch! plate lunch! but he no listen.
Lori and Traci joined us and we all scattered to get the lunches that would satisfy our cravings. the tents had some really great options. we were able to grab a table on the second floor lanai. i have been working downtown forever, and for some reason, i never realized this dining area existed. such a convenient place to have lunch with your Unilocaler buddies after grabbing goodies at merchant street market.
next time, i have to try grandma g’s. Traci seemed to love her kalbi plate!

I feel compelled to write a review for this, even though my real loyalty lies with Grandma G’s (unless someone else can pull me away…).
If hearing «Davies Pacific Center» makes you draw a total blank like me, just think it’s ocean-​side on Merchant Street, hovering in the shadows of the First Hawaiian Bank Tower.
I can’t exactly say that I’m a trailblazer as I know I’m late to the game here but hey, sharing the love is the name of the game… When I think back, I do remember seeing tents on the corner of Bishop and Merchant before but had no urge to walk all the way across the street. And to be fair, in these work heels, even an extra 12 steps feels like it breaks the back.
There’s a good selection of food tents that come to the Davies Pacific Center on what I think are the 2^nd and 4^th Tuesdays of the month. My favorite, Grandma Gs, along with some others: Honolulu Gourmet, the Chili company with the red and blue sign, Soul Patrol, Stacey’s Laulau and I’m sure a few others.
I was surprised at how early and how fast the long lines start to form. Grandma G’s said come by 11:20, and they weren’t kidding. Be there by like 11:12 and 43 seconds. To be fair, the lines do move, but man do people come out of their offices for some good food. I guess the choices in downtown seem to get old sometimes, so it’s almost a refreshing change to eat something other than Subway, Sushi Kahuna, and Mandalay.
Rather than do the normal lunch dash to grab food and get back, I got out and had a nice lunch thanks to Lori I., Val Y., and Theresa S. And we even got to explore the upstairs seating area complete with chairs and umbrellas. It was like our own little UYE. Maybe you can join in next time. BYO-​boneless kalbi.
If you aren’t an office monkey in the concrete jungle that is downtown, one of the easiest and cheapest parking is probably Ali’i place (Alakea, right after you cross up King St).
In summary
1) Come early. I think most are open 11 – 1:30pm, but I wouldn’t chance it on the later side.
2) Bring cash. All dishes seem to be in the $ 9 – 10 range. Don’t try to swipe it. It will not work. You will not get yummy food. You will be sad.
3) Don’t wear any clothes that you don’t mind smelling like you just rolled around on a smokey BBQ grill.
See you in 2 weeks… You know where to find me.

OK. You are at home, so take off your shoes…
Now take off your socks…
Grab your big toe and rock it back and forth. Let’s begin…
This little Yeepie went to market,
This little Yeepie stayed at home,
This little Yeepie had Kalbi,
This little Yeepie had another one.
And this old Yeepie went…
«Wee wee» on his way home.
So how many Yeepie’s went to the Merchant Street Market on October 25^th?
The old Yeepie joined Lori I., Traci H. and Theresa S. for lunch at the Merchant Street Market. They were kind of like the three little piggies with the big bad wolf.
I never heard of the Merchant Street Market until I kind of sort of invited myself to lunch with the three little Yeepies.
When I got there, I was surprised to see the many food booths that were setup in the plaza. We originally were all going to order food from Grandma G’s; but we ended up ordering different lunches from different places.
One little Yeepie (Theresa) fell in love with the looks of the Dynamite Chicken/​Guava Chicken plate at Stacey’s Lau Lau.
It did look good but the salad wasn’t fresh and I think that kind of sort of ruined her appetite. She ended up leaving two big pieces of chicken on her plate.
One little Yeepie (Traci) has been to this market many times before and ordered the boneless Kalbi Plate from Grandma G’s. This little Yeepie was very happy with her lunch and oinked everything down.
One little Yeepie that is also a Piggy (Lori) ordered Grandma G’s Boneless Kalbi; AND Soul Patrol Honey buttermilk Fried Chicken AND Stacey’s Lau Lau: Dynamite Chicken/​Guava Chicken. She did seem to enjoy the buttermilk fried chicken and all of what she ordered. But then piggy’s do eat anything … and everything. OinK! OinK!
I saw these gorgeous looking salads on the table of Honolulu Gourmet Foods. Being the wolf [1] that I am, I was attracted by the beauty of these salads.
[1] At my age, I still think I’m Playa cool! ;)
The Grilled Steak Salad with chipotle ranch dressing looked so inviting. There was a Special of the Day which was a salad and small poke bowl for $ 10.50 so I ordered that. The poke bowl I got was the Spicy Dynamite Ahi.
The salad was definitely healthy. It was an overly generous amount of fresh spring greens topped with slices of steak. The steak was on the tougher side and there was not much chipotle ranch dressing for the amount of greens in the dish. The dynamite ahi was more like a firecracker to me. Overall I thought what was missing in the dish was OINK!!! All this dish did was make me want to eat the left over chicken on Theresa’s plate!!! Yes! That is why I kept staring at the chickens on your plate Theresa… I wanted them!
What I like about the Merchant Street Market is that they are nice comfortable eating areas. You sit around the planter walls of the courtyard or climb the stairs, that are located to the right of Granny G’s; and dine under umbrella covered tables of the second floor lanai.
Overall I think the Merchant Street Market is a great place to have lunch. The bonus that day was that I crashed Lori’s party and met two new friendly Yeepies.
After lunch the Yeepie that is also a piggy wanted to go to Otto Cakes for dessert. So the two other little Yeepies turned into little piggies and went and ordered a small cheesecake at Otto Cakes.
Wow!!! What a lunch!!!
… and the old Yeepie said goodbye cause he wanted to go wee wee on his way home.
P. S. We ran into Justin U. at the Market. I think there were many other Yeepies there.
P. P. S. Turns out the one little Yeepie that I thought was a piggy is really just a thoughtful Yeepie. One of the lunches she bought was for her sister that has an office near Otto Cakes. Her sister was starving and was eating her lunch as they walked to Otto Cakes. Oink! Oink! .runs in the family!
P.P.P.S. This is Men are from Mars; Women are from Venus 2. Check out Lori I. review describing her Venusian experience.
P.P.P.P.S. Oh… I forgot to mention that I had to go to Ailana for some ice cold shave ice to cool down after that HOT date with the three little Yeepies… one of which is a little piggy.

Since our initial blind «meeting», Val Y. has been begging me to meet him for another dining experience. (After our last disastrous outing, I can’t believe he would want to do this again!) In order to avoid another potentially embarassing situation for him, and to make him look PLAYA COOL, instead of just UnilocalER COOL, I thought it would be best if I brought along a small posse with me (Traci H., and Theresa S.) to check out the boneless kalbi plate from Grandma G’s at the Merchant Street Market. Val must have been nervous because he was sweating when he met the three of us there. So, go read Val Y.‘s review of this same experience, and click «COOL» and send him lots of «HOT STUFF» compliments because TODAY is VAL Y’s BIRTHDAY (10/​26/​11!).
WHEN/​WHERE: 2^nd and 4^th TUESDAYS 11am-​2pm at the corner of Bishop and Merchant Street, in the Davies Pacific courtyard:
COME EARLY! I got there at 11:10 exactly, and there were no lines. By 11:12 there were 8 people in line at Grandma G’s and 6 at Stacey’s Lau Lau. (where did they all come from in 2 minutes? We don’t know.)
DIVIDE AND CONQUER: Similar to Eat the Street, the more the merrier. Traci stood in line at Grandma G’s, Theresa stood in line at Stacy’s and I walked over to Chef Sean at Soul to get my fried chicken. We were 3 women on a mission. But where did Val go? He bailed on us and was checking out the healthier alternatives at Honolulu Gourmet Foods. Just a tip for you GUYS… when your women are ordering things with names like Kalbi, buttermilk fried chicken, Dynamite chicken and guava chicken, DO NOT ORDER A SALAD! It will make us feel like complete gluttons.
BRING $$: Looks like everyone’s price point is around $ 9-​$ 10 so it’s not exactly cheap plate lunches, but you get a ton of food!
There are more vendors than this, but we ordered:
Grandma G’s Boneless Kalbi plate $ 9 (HIGHLY RECOMMEND! This is absolutely fantastic! And the honey mustard dressing is delicious). You know when you see Justin U. standing in line for this, it’s gotta be good:
Stacy’s Lau Lau Co: Dynamite Chicken/​Guava Chicken $ 9
Soul: buttermilk fried chicken $ 3 each (of course, this one ranks up there on my favorite fried chicken list… He even offers a «smothered chicken» but I showed some restraint, and just got it plain, which is anything but):
Honolulu Gourmet Foods: Grilled steak SALAD w/​mini spicy dynamite ahi bowl combo $ 10.50:
SEATING: Secret rooftop open patio seating at the Davies Pacific Center. Thanks Traci for the tip!
Looks like everyone in downtown already knows about this bi-​monthly event, but if you are like me and haven’t been to it yet, this is a great one-​stop place to try a bunch of different local plate lunches.

the review I am posting here is mainly for Da Spot vendor. I have had bad experiences before with Da Spot (read my other review). I have however, forgiven that incident and am willing to try them out again, especially since they moved to a cleaner location. This stand left me walking away with a WTF!?! going through my head.
I ordered just a single baklava so the guy who gave it to me says that day, he forgot the foil wrap and would just give it to me on a napkin. This proved to be one of the most moronic dumbshit ideas ever. At the time, I did not think this through. I thought that was ok, then I walked down the block holding a baklava on a napkin in my hand. I feel oozing oil dripping out of my hand through the napkin. then it occured to me, why is the baklava so oily that there is oil coming out? I have never had baklava that had oil coming from it, quite gross. the baklava itself was ok tasting but was very different than most other baklava I have tasted, not in a good way though. Almost felt like i was eating a big piece of rock candy with filo pastry. It felt very unlike what most real, authentic baklava taste like.

My nose directed me to this venue as I was strolling through downtown during lunch.
geeezoweez…if u can bear to spend almost $ 10 for a plate lunch on Tuesdays, this is the place to go! Various food booths to choose from and you get generous portions for what you pay for. My favorites are the boneless kalbi plate and watercrest soup (from different venues of course).
Get there early ’cause there can be long lines!

Get there early or you’ll get stuck in long lines, lots of variety to choose from.

The corner of Merchant and Bishop is the place to be for lunch on Tuesday. The number of amazing food choices in such a small place is enough to make this food lover nearly giddy.
There are choices like India Café, Da Spot, and soul food from Chef Sean. It’s like the best of the best all in one place.
Tuesdays just got a lot happier for me!

This Market is lunch time from 10am-​2pm on Tuesdays only.
Numerous booths set up for lunch with a variety of local foods — «Fresh Island Cuisine» — anything from BBQ and plate lunch to baked goods. Live music is also usually on offer. It’s get’s pretty crowded around noon time, with lines extending out from the more popular places.
I usually forget every Tuesday that this thing is happening, although it’s easy to see just walking down the street from a block away.
This review is for Hawaiian Style Chili Co.‘s booth — had the Kalua pig and the garlic sauteed shrimp plate — both really good. They also make some nice little taro mochi’s 4 for $ 2 or 1 doz. for $ 5.