Once just a neighborhood store, Tanabe's Superette (934 Ke'eaumoku St.), is now beach grinds central with shelves of musubi, cold cases of salads, desserts and poi bowls, fish and veggie dishes under hot lamps, and two made-to- order plate lunch counters offering meals under $7.

For the best selection, go between 9 and 10 a.m. because, according to the aunty who's worked there 22 years, regulars come in early for breakfast and lunch.

So when the nice aunty told us we were lucky to see the deep-fried chicken skin because on weekdays it's gone by 9 a.m., we weren't exactly jumping for joy. However, we're big enough to admit we were wrong. First, these things weigh as much as air, and when you take a piece and bend it between your fingers, it snaps with a delicate crisp, like a potato chip. We went through this tray ($2.50 for a small tray) snapping piece after piece. Too scary — we had to push the tray away or we would have scarfed the whole thing.