It’s no accident that chef Nico Chaize ended up opening Nico’s Pier 38 where he did in 2004. Sure, the Lyon native secured a space next to his stepfather’s fishing store that had room to grow (and grow it did). But that also placed him next to the Honolulu Fish Auction, which harvests 3% of the Pacific catch and supplies him with a steady stream of fresh-as-can-be fish.

Nico Chaize shops at the adjacent auction daily at 5:45 a.m., feeding seasonal specials.

Nico’s is incredibly popular, routinely serving 700-800 plates per day at lunch. Breakfast was more basic, with vac pot coffee and customers ordering at the counter from wall mounted menu.

My smoky fried rice ($5.10) arrived in a massive heap, studded with ham, Portuguese sausage, bacon, kamaboko (fish cake) and scallions, seasoned and flavored with savory soy sauce and topped with a single fried egg.

Most containers come with compartments of fresh fruit salad – in this case, melon and grapes – but that barely matters when facing myriad meats.

One of my tablemates ordered Fish & Eggs ($7), featuring two over-easy fried eggs, a healthy scoop of steamed white rice and a juicy, meaty white albacore filet.

Loco moco is basically the Big Island equivalent to Salisbury steak with hamburger patties, gravy, fried eggs and rice. My introduction to this dish was days earlier at a restaurant in Hilo called Cafe 100 that has a claim to its creation.

Nico’s loco moco ($7.95) was exceptional, starring juicy ground beef patties, a rich, flavorful gravy lightly sweetened with onion and a scallion sprinkling.

It was good to receive good versions of Local Favorites, but looking at the “Fresh From the Sea” portion of the lunch menu brought about meal envy, with options like fried ahi belly and furikake pan seared ahi with ginger garlic cilantro dip. During our visit, Chaize was on the verge of moving to new building that will feature more dinner and a fish market. That means it will no longer require an early bird wake-up call or patience when facing a line to enjoy Nico’s food. Even better.

Note: This meal was complimentary as part of a media tour sponsored by the Oahu Convention & Visitors Bureau