I had every intention of taking pictures of every meal & talking about the places we ate & giving thumbs up/down buuuuuut it didn't work out quite as planned. Here are a few of the places/things we ate & why we loved or disliked them.
The Kona brewing company was in a cool little town called Hawaii Kai.
It's tucked away in a shopping center facing a pier off the bay. SO SO SO GOOD! A bar/pub atmosphere, super laid back with most of the seating on the deck. We split a small macadamia nut pesto chicken pizza (gasp...I know sooo not healthy) & a warm spinach salad. We were dying to try this brew called Cocobrown (AH-MAZING) & sampled a few others. Most definitely a must eat place if you are staying anywhere in Oahu.
Yes, that is a picture of a slurpee from 711. It was my "treat" almost everyday. Sugar-free mango in all it's slushy-ness=pure delight.
The culture is HEAVILY influenced by Japanese culture which is evident in the food. There are probably more Asian food places to eat than anything. Sushi, bento boxes, nori wraps...you name it. There was no escaping it. We grabbed sushi in Waikiki at Donaku one night. Very cool atmosphere overlooking the busy strip of Waikiki & the garden of a hotel. We were actually serenaded by a local Hawaiian music legend who was playing in that garden during dinner. The food was excellent. While the plate was a little over dressed with an aioli, our roll was perfectly wrapped with nori, no rice & stuffed with the freshest crab & tuna. It was excellent.
While we were in Hawaii Kai we dropped into a place called Kokonuts, a local shaved ice joint. Shave ice is a big deal in Hawaii. It was average...
I did go sugar-free & opted not to have sweetened condensed milk poured over it.
Fresh coconut milk....yum. Addison LOVED it.
I fell in love with Ito En canned Green Tea. You could find it anywhere & it was a good break from water.
We ate at the Chart House in Waikiki for Dexter's birthday. It was ok, not great but not bad. Dexter's steak came out over cooked & we were almost done with our food by the time the correctly prepared food came out. I ordered shrimp, asked for no hollandaise & it came out smothered in it. I didn't want to be "that person" so I scrapped off as much as I could...I wasn't a happy girl. Philip enjoyed his seared Ahi tuna in a ponzu sauce ( I think it was because it had onion straws on top of it, lol). I wouldn't recommend eating here...although it came highly rated & recommended.
Addison was in fresh fruit heaven...we all were. This girl loves her mango and papaya & we certainly were in the right place for that.
The Grove was my FAVORITE place & it was in Dexter & Amy's town Kailua. Local, fresh, organic with unique gourmet pairings. Not only is the food amazing but the decor is great, even the high chair had an awesome cushioned seat. Oh & they serve your baby poi (a local potato) & pumpkin purée. We had a warm Brussels sprout salad with chèvre, fresh cranberries....oh my goodness it was AMAZING. I am ashamed to admit that I can't remember the name of the local fish we ate but it was out of this world. It was dusted with garlic & a blend of local spices & paired with out of this world grilled veggies.
For breakfast we mostly cooked eggs at home with fresh mango from Dex's & Amy's mango tree but I did occasionally enjoy an Acai bowl with tasty organic bananas.
Another favorite place was Kaka'Ako Kitchen in Ward Center in Honolulu. Again, local/fresh/organic. You order at the counter & they bring the food to you. A variety of choices: Japanese, Hawaiian BBQ or Indian...weird combos but they do them all right. Philip had curried chicken, Addison has a Hawaiian beef stew & I had the BEST ahi tuna salad that I had the entire vacation.
If you are ever in the North Shore you HAVE to eat at a hole in the wall tiny place called the Grass Skirt grill. Fresh fish, burgers & salad are the
only options. We shared an ahi tuna burger & all three of us LOVED it. As we left we saw a sign saying Rachel Ray had eaten there & it jogged my memory. I totally remember that episode on $40.00 a day.
Although there are no pictures we really enjoyed a juice place called Lanikai Juice in Kailua & another place called Aloha salads.
Skip Wahoo tacos if you are in Honolulu, they were decent but we had wayyyyy better fish at other places.
We hit up Whole Foods & went with what we knew quite a few times for lunch.
The Food Company, a local organic cafe, sadly wasn't found until our last day but we REALLY loved our blackened salmon salad from there. So so wish we would have found this place sooner.
One of our dinners was at the luau. Since I don't eat pork I had the mahi mahi...it was a luau & buffet style if that says anything. Paradise Cove was an awesome luau but the food was nothing special.
I think we ate fish every day for lunch/dinner most days & kept it light. Definitely had a pleasant food experience. I wish I kept better track of the places & what we ate.
Kailua was the winner by far for quality, atmosphere & choices.
