kauai: good eats

there were some culinary hits and misses on this trip.  some beautiful food and some food that was just ok.  i photographed a lot of what we ate and want to share.

we rented a house and wanted to eat at home as often as possible to save money.  we went to the local market to get eggs, bacon and coffee and then later to costco to get chicken sausages with pineapple, maui potato chips, bread, turkey and fruit.  it really was cheaper to do it that way.  and that pineapple was the best one we had all trip.

we got recommendations of places to eat from friends and used yelp to find something while we were out and about.  keiko's paradise in koloa looked like a nice spot for lunch.  the open seating area gave us the opportunity to enjoy the tropical weather.

nachos and mini burgers - kahlua pork and cole slaw on hawaiian bread (loved) and a crab cake on taro bread (not so much).

we also headed to the farmer's market for more fruits and vegetables.

this one was fun because the crowd stood at the open until they sounded a horn and then everyone ran to the booths.  kind of hectic but we got what we needed.

pineapple, lychee, mangoes, papaya, lettuce, avocado, and one cold coconut.

the lychee became our favorite snack.  they look pretty scary but they are sweet and juicy.  the lady recommended putting them in the fridge and eating them cold - that was the way to go.

we made a stop for some shaved ice but we all kind of thought it was ok.  ice and syrup?! a little too sweet for me.  i got the strawberry and lemon lime.  pretty, but we prefer ice cream.

we went to breakfast at country kitchen for their enormous macadamia nut pancake and coconut syrup.  good, but way too much pancake.

 we had dinner at brick oven pizza in kalaheo one night.  love the garlic crust.  we ordered a pepperoni and a bbq chicken pizza.

we had to try the snickers pizza.  dough, cream cheese, peanuts, caramel and chocolate chips.  interesting.

one of our favorite places was bubba's burgers.  a burger joint in the town of kapaa.  bobby and i cut out red meat from our diet about 4 years ago. so we were nervous about trying a burger.  but their marketing worked on us and we were convinced that high quality, grass fed beef would make a difference.

 and we were not disappointed.  in fact we went back to the bubba's in poipu the day before we left.

the kauai burger was a teriyaki burger with pineapple.  great food, fun atmosphere and fast service.

 there was a market by our house with a great deli counter.  we were never early enough for the fresh sushi but we did get the ahi poke with wasabi, and the shrimp in sriracha sauce, both were excellent.

 we ordered bean and cheese burritos for the kids and ahi tacos for us from this neighborhood place.

their tacos were very generous and their chips and salsa were excellent.

on most beach days we packed our lunches. turkey and cheese sandwiches, salad, lots of fruit, or leftovers from past meals.

while spending the afternoon in hanalei we decided to try a puka dog.  the menu has four steps; 1. pick a dog - veggie or polish sausage, 2. pick a sauce mild to lava hot, 3. pick a relish - pineapple, lilikoi, coconut,etc, 4. add mustard, ketchup or pickle relish.  

 the hot dog comes inside the bun with all of the toppings.  and they were delicious!  so was the fresh squeezed lemonade.

a huge highlight of our stay was taking the steelgrass farm tour.  it was recommended by friends who were there just the week before us.  at first we weren't sure it was worth the $60 per person price tag but they said it was a must - and the kids were free.  so we went for it.

 we're so glad we did it.  our tour guides, melissa and nancy, were like a comedy duo.  they played off each other and made us laugh. we enjoyed the tour and learned so much.

the most important thing being: chocolate is good for you.  not m&m's or hershey's kisses but 60 - 70% cacao or higher, minimally processed, dark chocolate.  it has many health benefits that we couldn't resist.  at $6 - $12 a bar we don't think we'll run the risk of overdoing it with our chocolate consumption.  steelgrass produces a chocolate bar made from their cacao and vanilla that runs a hefty $20 a bar!  

 we didn't buy one.  but we bought their vanilla beans and bobby is excited about making liquid vanilla at home.

loved seeing sofia's tasting notes.  and her teacher was proud of her for writing in complete sentences.

the other part of the tour was getting to taste fruit right off the tree.

 lilikoi - or passion fruit.

 sugar cane rubbed with lemon - oh this was good.

and cacao bean right off the pod.  actually kind of gross and the cacao is very bitter and chalky.

another culinary highlight was brunch at gaylord's on sunday.  it is an old sugar plantation that was converted to a museum, restaurant, and shops.

 the brunch included one entree.  ahi benedict was my choice.  (yes, we ate a lot of ahi this trip.) o.m.g. this was fantastic.  every single bite.

the fried rice was outstanding as well as that yummy scone.  it was all good. and we ate way too much.

what did we drink?

a lot of water.  even the bottles are beautiful in hawaii.

coffee on the lanai.

lattes at breakfast.

lilikoi beer at the brewery.

 blue hawaii and guava lava at the luau.

and a pina colada on the beach.

we brought home pineapple jam, almonds from the roasting company, coffee, red hawaiian alaea salt, and hawaiian seasoning, some rum, and chocolate of course.  hoping to recreate some of the things we loved.  we will lay off ahi for a while.

so much good food tied to so many great memories.