A trip to Honolulu is an opportunity to prove your mettle as an off-the-beaten-path traveler. You could certainly laze away in the glitzy towers, stylish boutiques, and enduring waves of Waikiki Beach, but resisting inertia has its rewards. Better food at more interesting restaurants is one of them.

On Waikiki Beach, where dozens of hotels clog a stretch of waterfront several blocks deep, the Chanel-shopping, boogie board-wielding set can find within walking distance a Cheesecake Factory, a self-serve Wolfgang Puck Express, and a McDonald’s. Other than the occasional hotel-organized luau, diners might as well have taken themselves to any mid-sized suburban town. It’s as though the scenery is so beautiful that no one thought the tourists would notice the subpar food offerings. A willingness to explore away from Waikiki Beach by car, trolley, or bus leads to a number of more appetizing options.

Kapahulu Avenue, a busy road that splits off from the south end of Waikiki Beach, is home to a number of interesting spots for food, most notably celebrity chef Sam Choy’s first restaurant, Diamond Head Lae’ahi (449 Kapahulu Ave., 808-732-8645), which opened in 1995. It is located on the second floor of a building that could just as well be the office of an insurance company, except for the tiki torches lit out front at night. This is where Mr. Choy films his TV show, “Sam Choy’s Kitchen,” and offers his version of Hawaiian cuisine, characterized by an unpretentious, uninhibited approach. He says on his Web site, “Everyone has different tastes and should feel free to mix things the way they like.” The results at one of his locations include dishes such as banana and macadamia nut pancakes and the “BLC” sandwich made with bacon, lettuce, and crab.

Mr. Choy’s other Honolulu location, Sam Choy’s Breakfast, Lunch & Crab (580 N. Nimitz Highway, 808-545-7979), offers a louder, more casual atmosphere. Customers can order among other things the Mauna Kea beer tower ($23.95), a thick plastic cylinder carrying 100 ounces of beer brewed right on the premises. They can also sit within feet of the life-sized boat that has been dropped in the middle of the dining room. Lovers of sushi will find that one of the best things on the menu is the fried poke plate ($8.95). Poke usually consists of cubes of seasoned raw fish; this particular version most closely resembles seared ahi tuna. The fish is browned on the outside, warm but still raw on the inside, and cooked in a soy sauce compote with sesame seeds. The menu is extensive, with five kinds of crab, four kinds of lobster, and even a tripe stew. The restaurant’s lively decor and keiki (or children’s) menu make it the better stop for families with children.

The island’s other reigning celebrity chef is Alan Wong, who has two Honolulu locations. The first is called Alan Wong’s (1857 South King St., 808-949-2526). The second, the Pineapple Room, is inside a Macy’s department store at the area’s massive shopping center, the Ala Moana. From their tables, diners can actually see the bathing suits on display at Macy’s.

If you don’t mind the shopping traffic, the food at the Pineapple Room is worth it. The pineapple theme is taken to the hilt here, with the drink menu offering a pineapple martini and a tasty pineapple iced tea flavored with a bit of almond extract. A prix fixe sampling dinner was available for $60 the night I went, but

I opted to create my own sampling by gently nudging my three dinner companions toward certain dishes. Between the four of us we tried appetizers of seafood bouillabaisse ($7.50) and crusted salmon with a miso vinaigrette ($12.50), entrees of steamed mahi mahi served with shrimp and a Chinese-inspired black bean sauce ($26.50), and the waiter’s recommendation: sweet chili-glazed red snapper ($27.50). The snapper did turn out to be the best dish, as promised. Taking a bite of the snapper, you would swear that it was actually melting in your mouth. As for the best dessert, our table agreed it was a toss-up between the warm chocolate cake and the haupia, or coconut, portion of a cake-shaped slice of three kinds of sorbet.

Rainbow Drive In (3308 Kanaina Ave., 808-737-0177) is Honolulu’s version of Gray’s Papaya or a Ray’s Pizza – it’s where the locals go when they’re hungry for a cheap meal. The plate lunch is the most blue-collar dish you’ll find among Hawaiian fare. Most restaurants serve the plate lunch as a scoop or two (think ice-cream scoop size) of rice, some meat (fish, beef, or chicken) that is usually fried, and a scoop of macaroni salad or cole slaw. Rainbow Drive In’s plate lunch ($4.50 to $5.75) comes with a variety of meat choices. Among them: BBQ ahi, roast pork with gravy, beef or curry stew, spaghetti with weiner, and a local favorite – spam. Gourmet cuisine it’s not, but the prices draw crowds, especially at night. The saimin, or ramen noodles, are just as average here: a broth with green onions, noodles, and pieces of ham ($1.90).

Just up the street from Rainbow Drive In is Leonard’s Bakery (933 Kapahulu Avenue, 808-737-5591), a required stop for foodies and, in particular, dessert addicts. The Honolulu institution is known for its malasadas (66 cents). Think of an ultralight, airy, plain-style donut that the baker forgot to put a hole in, and you wouldn’t be far from imagining the Portuguese dessert. The original malasadas are sprinkled with white sugar or cinnamon. So popular is the place that on my visit I spied a touristy-looking couple outside the bakery with a digital video camera. As the woman filmed, the man lifted a malasada to his mouth for his first bite. Well aware of its tourist appeal, the bakery sells beanie babies of anthropomorphized malasadas and bumper stickers with the motto, “Got Malasadas?” And if you find yourself too far from Leonard’s, you can visit one of their half-dozen Malasadamobiles parked throughout the city.

Nearby on Kapahulu Avenue there is a place looking so unfabulous that any self-respecting foodie would feel the need to stop. Ono Hawaiian Foods (726 Kapahulu Avenue, 808-737-2275), which basically means Tasty Hawaiian Foods, easily delivers on the simple promise of its name. This entire restaurant emanates a sense of gentle hospitality. The menu is comprised mainly of dishes of meat and fish prepared simply and offered for reasonable prices. A beef stew, or pipikaula, is $5.40, while special combination plates of meat, rice or raw fish and dessert cost between $9.15 and $12. Vegetable specialties on the menu include dishes of taro leaves and watercress.

We had an especially friendly experience at a Chinese restaurant in Honolulu, where we ordered a second helping of dessert, but found that we hadn’t been charged for it. When we alerted the restaurant’s owner to the mistake, he said simply, “What extra you get, don’t worry about it” – perfectly capturing Hawaii’s aloha spirit.