The point of a "hidden gem" is to let you, Fine Reader, know about cool places to go and dine in Hawaii that you might otherwise overlook because it's not on the Main Tourist Drag. But even I didn't know about Bruno's Forno and it's two blocks from where I live.

[Insert nervous clearing of throat here.] Mea culpa, and thanks to local foodies Catherine Toth and Mari Taketa for ID'ing this gem.

When you visit Chinatown, either on First Friday or any other time of the month, and you feel like Italian instead of noodles or dim sum (it happens), definitely hit up this place.

My friends and I happened to go on First Friday last week, and given the high-traffic mania of that event, Bruno's was nearly cleared out –– but they still had lasagna. Enormous individual portions baked in their own aluminum trays and served in a cardboard box, but with utensils and plates you've got a family-style meal in seconds. We ordered up three with sausage and another three with mushrooms and among the eight of us we still had food left over. The sauce was creamy but not heavy, the mushrooms were tender, everything was perfectly cheesy but the noodles were my favorite: just a little chewy, or "al dente." How they do that working with the "forno," or oven, is a mystery to me –– a delicious mystery I don't need to solve.

Unusual salads: They come in a plastic bag that you pour into a cardboard box and drizzle dressing over. I'd stick with the panini and lasagna myself. I'll have to go back and see what their breakfast is like.

And even better! You can bring you own wine. Which means we now have, in addition to Little Village, another place to feast after wine tastings at HASR Wine Co.

Bruno's Forno, 1120 Maunakea St., Honolulu, HI 96817 | (808) 585-2845. Open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily, later for dinner most nights.See Bruno's Forno in 3D »