Road Tips

Kountry Kitchen - Kapa'a, HI

During our stay on the east side of Kauai, we noticed a restaurant that seemed to be pretty popular during the breakfast hours with lines of people waiting to get in and have breakfast.  So, one morning we decided to go early to beat the crowds and have breakfast at Kountry Kitchen in Kapa'a.  

Kountry Kitchen has been around since 1972, but for the last 21 years it has been owned and operated by Susana Espinosa whose family came from Cuba.  While traditional breakfast items are found on the menu at Kountry Kitchen, there's also a number of Hispanic dishes that will make the "specials" list.  The day we were there, they had a pork tamale with chile verde sauce as a breakfast special.  

On the first Saturday in each month, Kountry Kitchen serves a strictly Cuban-only menu from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. Cuban food is much different than Mexican food with influences from Africa, Spain and the Caribbean.  The Cuban night menu changes regularly from month-to-month so that Susana Espinosa can source the freshest ingredients for that evening's menu. 

Pictured right - Susana Espinosa.  Photo courtesy For Kauai Online.

Last year, Susana Espinosa and her brother Rolando opened a second Kountry Kitchen location in Ewa Beach, a suburb of Honolulu that's located just west of Honolulu International Airport.  Rolando Espinosa had been a car mechanic, but had experience in the kitchen.  The Espinosa's opened the Oahu Kountry Kitchen location in July of 2015 using many of the same recipes and sourcing farm fresh foods from local growers.  

We were able to find a parking spot just down Kuhio Highway from Kountry Kitchen.  (see map)  It was just after 8 a.m., so the long lines had yet to form to get into the restaurant.   We were shown to a booth toward the middle of the restaurant and given menus to look over.   Breakfast featured your typical American fare with an island or Hispanic twist to some of the dishes.  Pancakes the size of hub caps were a staple at Kountry Kitchen (as they are at many other Hawaiian breakfast spots we've been to), as well as the local favorite Loco Moco which consists of a bed of white rice topped with two hamburger patties, two fried eggs and finished off with a ladle full of brown gravy.  I've had the Loco Moco at a couple places before and it's actually pretty good.  It's great for a hangover food at breakfast. 

The decor of the restaurant was a combination of rustic and island furnishings.  A barn board wall was on the back side of the restaurant, while bamboo was the prominent feature of the other walls.  Large windows that let in the natural light were on the north and east side of the building.    

On the walls of the restaurant were a number of whimsical paintings from Kauai artist Fanny Bilodeau.  Bilodeau was born in Zaire to artist parents and grew up in Belgium.  She spent significant time traveling in Africa before coming to Hawaii.  She has an art studio on Kauai and many of her paintings can be see on her Bilodeau Studios web site.

Bilodeau is locally famous for her use of chickens in her paintings.  And wild chickens are found everywhere on Kauai. The painting above left is of a couple roosters who are having a tough time getting up in the morning, while the one above right was the one we liked the best.  It depicted four or five chickens riding on the belly of a cow using it as a surfboard.  Bilodeau also specializes in floral paintings, as well as local scenery around Kauai.  

For breakfast that morning, Cindy didn't really know if she was all that hungry having had a big dinner the night before.  She was interested in the eggs Florentine, but she wasn't certain she wanted a full order.  She asked our waitress if she could get a half-order of eggs Florentine and she said that she could do that.  A side of fruit comes with each breakfast and today's fruit was fresh pineapple.  The eggs Florentine were huge and she's glad she just got a half order.  On the thick English muffin were a large poached egg, fresh spinach and Canadian bacon topped with a generous helping of béarnaise sauce.  Paprika was sprinkled on top of the eggs Florentine.  She thought it was very good.  

I went big for breakfast - not as big as I could have, it turns out - as I got a sausage, mushroom and cheese omelet.  And since I was in Hawaii, I had to go with a side of the unofficial state food of Hawaii - Spam.   Hash browns and fresh pineapple also came with the omelet along with some toasted bread.  The sausage in the omelet was ground and had a nice spicy sage taste.  The mushrooms were also fresh and not out of a can.  I concentrated on the omelet and the Spam - the Spam was overly salty and I can't eat it any more than maybe twice a year.  But when in Hawaii...

The breakfast we had at Kountry Kitchen was very good.  The portions - like at most Hawaiian breakfast places we've visited on our travels to the islands - were huge and the foods we had were fresh and flavorful.  We had good service and the atmosphere was laid back and inviting.  It's very easy to see why lines form outside the restaurant on most mornings.   Kountry Kitchen would be a "must-visit" for breakfast if you're staying on the east side of Kauai.  

Art Cafe Hemingway - Kapa'a, HI

During our time on Kauai earlier this year, my wife had read about a place that was a combination cafe and art gallery.  She's into that kind of stuff - the combo places that feature both culinary and cultural arts - so we decided to go to Art Cafe Hemingway  for breakfast on our last morning on Kauai.  

Markus Boemer grew up in Germany and was in the advertising field as an art director.  His wife, Jana, was a Czech native who was an educator and a cultural manager.  Shortly after the couple met in the late 1980's, they traveled to Hawaii and the island of Kauai.  They immediately fell in love with the place eventually getting married on Kauai in 1992.  

The couple's love for art had taken them to Switzerland, Italy and France for jobs in advertising and education before Jana Boemer became a curator for a leading photographic gallery in Prague.  The Boemer's wanted to run their own photo gallery and they opened a small gallery in a space that wasn't much larger than a regular business office in the center of Prague.  

One of the first photographers the couple showcased was a somewhat unknown Brazilian by the name of Sebastião Salgado.  His series of photos - "Migrations - Humanity in Transition" - focused on war refugees and peasant workers on the move to find a better life elsewhere.  Almost as soon as the exhibit opened in their small space in September of 2002, the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon happened.  Immediately, some art critics in Czechoslovakia compared the tragedy in the United States to Salgado's photography.

The Boemer's small gallery soon swelled with visitors and they relocated the exhibit to Prague's Manes Gallery.  The exhibit was an immediate "must see" in Prague.  One month, over 47,000 people visited the exhibit to view Salgado's stirring and provocative photographs that of refugees primarily in Asia, Eastern Europe, and Latin America he took over a six year period.

Pictured right - Markus and Jana Boemer.  Picture courtesy TripAdvisor.

From the popularity of the Salgado exhibit, the Boemer's were then granted space inside the Prague Castle - Supreme Burgrave, a castle that was built in the 9th century.  The castle housed a number of art exhibitions and is the home of a large toy museum.  The Boemer's were able to showcase photographic works from the likes of Wim Wenders, Rene Burri, Helmet Newton and Salgado.  Connected to the gallery was a small cafe that served food while the gallery was open.  

A change in government priorities in the Czech Republic in 2005 caused the Boemer's to lose their space inside the Prague Castle.  Faced without a space to exhibit the photographic art they had in their possession, they commissioned train cars to travel around the Czech Republic and Slovakia, basically taking photographic art to the people.  For three years, the Boemer's "Gallery on a Train" moved to nearly 2 dozen cities annually where over 150,000 people viewed works from Winders, Salgado and Antonin Kratochvil.  After they finished with the train galleries, they exhibited works of photographic art at a large tent in Wenceslas Square in Prague.  One month during the exhibit, over 100,000 people visited the tent.  The Boemer's also exhibited photographic art at universities, hotels and other public spaces.  

By 2010, the Boemer's were tired and looking to do something else with their lives.  Food was also very important to them and the art of food was something that was always on their mind.  Remembering how great life was on Kauai, they sold everything they had in Prague and moved to Kauai in 2010.  They found a two story building along the Kuhio Highway in Kapa'a and renovated it into a restaurant on the first floor with an art gallery on the second floor.  They named the cafe partly after Ernest Hemingway, a world traveler who also shared a gusto for wine and food.  Art Cafe Hemingway opened in September of 2011.   

We pulled into a lot across the street from Art Cafe Hemingway, a big blue two-story building on the west side of the Kuhio Highway.  (see map)   Actually, Art Cafe Hemingway was literally next door to a restaurant that we ate at the day before and Cindy walked over there to get a brochure on the place.  I promised that we'd eat breakfast there the next day so she could satisfy her cultural needs during our trip to Kauai.  

There was a small patio out front of the place.  A woman seated at a table with her husband was wearing an Iowa t-shirt and I said, "Go Hawks!" as we entered the restaurant.  It turned out the couple was from Cedar Rapids.  I had worn my Iowa shirt at Hanalei Bay a couple days earlier and we were stopped by a couple who had lived in Pella, but had retired and moved to Arizona.  Iowans are everywhere.  

Entering the restaurant, we found a rustic and cozy space with a number of small to large tables.  Electronica music was playing throughout the dining area.  All the smaller tables of 4 or 2 seats were filled up, so we were shown to a large table near the entrance to the second floor art gallery.  Three people were seated at one end and we were asked if we wanted to sit at the far end of the table.  We had no problem with that.  

Near where we sat we saw a sign that the art/photo gallery upstairs was "Closed for Renovations".  This disappointed Cindy tremendously who thought it would be cool to eat breakfast, then while away some time in the gallery upstairs.   But there was enough interesting art work on the walls of the dining room that we were able to take a closer look at after we finished our breakfast.  

Art Cafe Hemingway has two menus - a breakfast/brunch/lunch menu that is served from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m., and a dinner menu that is served from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.  For the first nearly five years of business, the Boemer's were open Wednesday thru Sunday.  This summer, they partnered with Jeremiah "Miah" Merriman - a South Dakota native who had moved to Hawaii and ended up working in small restaurants that specialized in locally-raised and vegetarian cuisines - to open the restaurant seven days a week.  Merriman (who doesn't seem to be related to famed Hawaiian restaurateur Peter Merriman) runs the restaurant Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, while the Boemer's are back in the kitchen on Thursday thru Sunday.  

The European-style menu features a number of locally raised and sourced foods.  They try to make everything from scratch in the kitchen including their own mayonnaise, relish, sauces, and desserts.  They also are pretty proud of their espresso at Art Cafe Hemingway - they had a full printed page explaining everything from the type of espresso beans they used (Filicori Zecchini specially roasted beans from Italy) to the type of machine they use (a machine by La Marzocco, an Italian company that has been making handmade coffee and espresso makers for nearly 90 years).   I've turned into somewhat of an espresso-snob over the past few years - thanks to my Euro-centric co-workers from Montreal - and I had to try a double espresso.  And it was damned good.  So good that I had to have another.

You're not probably going to find a big hearty breakfast if you go to Art Cafe Hemingway - most of the items are light and healthy on the menu.  I went with a basic breakfast croissant sandwich that featured locally-raised smoked ham and scrambled organic eggs topped with gouda cheese, lettuce and chopped tomatoes.  I also got some fresh-squeezed orange juice to go along with the croissant breakfast sandwich.  It was fine - nothing special.  I've had similar sandwiches in the past, but everything tasted fine.  

Cindy ordered up a platter called "The Sun Also Rises" after Hemingway's 1920's novel.  It featured two scrambled organic eggs with smoked ham, Parmigiana Reggiano and Camembert cheese slices, with sliced baguette and whole-grained bread.  She, too, got a fresh squeezed orange juice and a coffee - the low-octane .  She said her breakfast was good, although she wasn't enamored much with the cheese.  It was light and put something in her stomach that would hold her until lunch.  

While the breakfast we had at Art Cafe Hemingway was sort of expensive, we've found that everything is somewhat expensive on Hawaii.  The young server that took care of us did a good job and it was a nice place to have a meal.  The food was fresh, but the portions were pretty small for what we paid.  And the fresh-squeezed orange juice and the espresso I had were very good.  It was a nice simple breakfast in a nice simple setting.  

Kintaro Japanese Restaurant - Kapa'a, HI

On our last night on Kauai, we decided to go find a sushi place for dinner.  It turned out there was a Japanese restaurant just down the road from our hotel - Kintaro Japanese Restaurant - that we had passed many times during our trips up and down the Kuhio Highway.  It appeared to be a very popular place during the evenings and we found out why it was so popular while we were there.  

The restaurant is named after a Japanese folklore hero - Kintarō - which roughly translates into "Golden Boy".  Popular in kabuki dramas in Japan, legend has it that as a boy Kintarō was raised on a mountain and he became friendly with the animals that inhabited the mountain around him.  He had superhuman strength, catching a notorious man who terrorized the citizens on and around the mountain.  Kintarō may have been based on the life of a real man who lived sometime during the 9th to 11th century and his legend has grown with generations who have told his story for years.  It is customary for Japanese households to display a Kintarō doll on Children's Day (May 5) with the hope that boys living in the house will garner the strength of Kintarō.  

Kintaro Japanese Restaurant in Kapa'a has been in business for nearly 20 years and is run by the Kim family. It's located along the Kuhio Highway on a little triangle of land that is bordered by Lanakai St. and Papaloa Rd.  (see map)  It was less than a mile from our hotel to Kintaro and while we could have walked the distance, we decided to make the short drive to try the place out.  

When we pulled into the parking lot, it was full.  We contemplated going somewhere else, but then Cindy saw a car pulling out on the far side of the lot.  We pulled in there and went in.  

We were met at the front hostess stand and we were told that it was a 45 minute wait for a table.  We told her that we preferred sitting at the sushi bar and she said, "Oh!  I can get you seated there much more quickly!"  She has us sit in the bar area while we waited for a couple spots to open at the sushi bar.  

The majority of the bar was packed with 20-somethings having fun on a Friday night.  We took a couple seats at the bar and ordered up a couple of mai tai's.  It took awhile for the drinks to get to us - the bartenders were overwhelmed that evening.  

The dining room just off the bar area had an oriental decor throughout.  There were teppanyaki grills located in the back of the restaurant.  There was also a traditional Japanese dining room in the back for private dining. The dining area was cozy and the atmosphere was laid back.  It was certainly packed the whole time we were there. 

It was less than 20 minutes when the hostess came over to let us know that two spots were open at the sushi bar.  We took our drinks and were shown to two seats at the end of the bar.  It wasn't a large sushi bar and there was only one sushi chef working.  Usually, there's at least two, if not three guys working behind the sushi bar at most sushi restaurants we've been to.  

Now, I have to say something about this sushi chef.  When we realized he was the only one behind the counter making sushi, we thought, "Well, it's going to be awhile until we get our sushi."  But it turned out he was the FASTEST sushi chef I've ever seen work a knife.  He looked to be in his late 40's or early 50's and he was slicing fish, packing rice and rolling sushi out at a feverish pace.  It was evident that he'd been making sushi for years and years.  We were just amazed watching the guy do his work.  

We ordered up some spicy tuna rolls.  Less than 5 minutes after we ordered the rolls, he handed them across the top of the cooler to us.  The pieces of the roll were plump and filled with dark-reddish/purple pieces of tuna. 

The tuna in the spicy tuna rolls was ultra fresh and delicious.  The spiciness in the roll wasn't overpowering, and that was a good thing as the taste of the tuna was absolutely outstanding.  We made short work of the rolls and went on to order some regular sushi.

We ordered up a couple pieces each of the tuna, salmon and smoked salmon sushi.  He gave us the salmon and tuna first, the smoked salmon came a little later.  Both the tuna and salmon were outstanding.  They were generous cuts of fresh fish.  The equally generous cut smoked salmon made it over the cooler moments later and while it was good, we thought the fresh salmon was better.  

When we were at Sansei on Maui earlier during our trip (click here to read about our trip to Sansei in Kihei), the couple seated next to us at the bar were eating something cooked.  Cindy asked them what it was and they told her it was kama.  That roughly means "fish collar".  It's something I've seen a colleague order before at a sushi restaurant and it consists of the cheek of the fish.  Cindy asked our sushi chef if they had kama and he said that they had smoked salmon kama that evening.  She wanted to order some of that and that influenced how much sushi we ordered earlier in the evening.  

The cheek of a fish can be the most desired part.  The cheek meat is usually the most tender and less "fishy" tasting of the fish.   The smoked salmon kama was grilled lightly and served with a soy-based sauce.  At first, Cindy was frustrated because she didn't know how to attack the kama.  She didn't know if she needed a fork or if she could use her chopsticks.  I took the kama and stuck my chopsticks in and pulled the fish from the cheek bone.  It was very tender and flavorful with sort of a charred taste from the grill.  Cindy said that she liked the kama, once she got the hang of figuring out how to eat it.  I liked the kama, but I thought the sushi was better. 

The best thing about Kintaro Japanese Restaurant was that we thought it was super cheap.  With the kama, the spicy tuna rolls and the six pieces of the sushi - along with drinks - it was just under $60 bucks for the meal.  Kintaro is called the most popular sushi place on Kauai and we could see why.   The sushi was delicious, the kama was very good and interesting, and we thought it was a killer value.  We noticed there were a lot of locals in the place, but they were welcoming to the tourists like us.  We're happy we tried Kintaro before we left Kauai the next day. 

Kauai Pasta - Kapa'a, HI

In the mood for something different for dinner one evening when we were on Kauai, someone at the front desk of our hotel made a suggestion of a little out-of-the-way Italian restaurant that wasn't far from our hotel.  We thought Italian would be a nice diversion from the seafood we'd been eating seemingly almost every meal while we were on the island.  We set out to find Kauai Pasta in Kapa'a.

Russell Stokes was born in Oregon and moved to Kauai when he was 8 years old.  His maternal grandmother was Sicilian and he learned a number of great Italian recipes from her and his mother while he was growing up.  After graduating high school in Kapa'a Stokes got a job working in the kitchen at Roy's Poipu Bar & Grill, part of the empire of Roy's Restaurants run by noted Hawaii Regional Cuisine chef Roy Yamaguchi.  (Roy's Poipu Bar has since been transformed into another Roy's concept restaurant, Eating House 1849.)  It was at Roy's Poipu Bar & Grill that he met Karolyn Heller, a double graduate of the California School of Culinary Arts and Le Cordon Blue Academy in France who had moved to Kauai to work at Roy's Poipu.  Heller was also an Oregon native and the two ended up getting married.  

Russell Stokes eventually became the executive chef at Roy's Poipu with Karolyn as the sous chef.  However after working at Roy's for 9 years, he saw a need for an Italian restaurant on the island, a place that was more for the natives and not the tourists.  In 2003, Russell and Karolyn Stokes left the restaurant to open their new place - Kauai Pasta in Kapa'a - using recipes that were handed down by Russell's grandmother.   

Karolyn Stokes' father, Jon, worked as for food and restaurant supply wholesaler in the Portland, OR area before he decided to retire after 27 years.  Along with Karolyn's mom, Rondi, the Heller's moved to Kauai to be closer to their daughter's family.  It wasn't long before Jon Heller was working in the restaurant and he eventually became a partner in the business.

Stokes and Heller opened a second Kauai Pasta location in Lihue in 2006.  Eventually, Stokes and Heller split their two businesses - Stokes taking the Lihue Kauai Pasta location and Heller taking over the Kapa'a Kauai Pasta.  To run the kitchen at the Kapa'a location, Heller brought in Jeffrey Aguinaldo, a Filipino native who - ironically - was the sous chef at Roy's Poipu.  

Kauai Pasta in Kapa'a was immensely popular and the small space was routinely filled with diners and more people waiting outside to get a table.  After Jon Heller took over, he took over another space in the small strip mall and put in the KP Lounge, a bar area that handled overflow and allowed those waiting for a table to have a drink or two.  The KP Lounge quickly became a popular place for locals to hang out.  

Kauai Pasta is located along the Kuhio Highway in Kapa'a, less than a 5 minute drive from our hotel.  (see map)  Coming from the south on the Kuhio Highway into Kapa'a, Kauai Pasta is difficult to see because it's recessed off the road and sort of behind a Taco Bell.  We went by the place once and had to double back to go there.  We found it in a sandstone-colored nondescript small strip mall back off the highway.  Parking in the strip mall was sparse and it was tough to find a parking space.  Eventually, a couple were walking out of the restaurant and getting into their car as we were maneuvering around the parking lot.

There are two doors into Kauai Pasta - the dining room and the lounge.  We took the entry into the dining room and we found a long and narrow room that was dimly lit and cozy.  The place was less than half-full and we were seated immediately at a small table for two along the wall.  The table was very wobbly and we knew we would have to get that fixed or get moved.  Our server for the evening, an even-tempered young lady by the name of Katie, came over to greet us and I showed her that the table at which we were seated was unstable.  She sort of sighed and looked behind us at another table.  She grabbed our silverware and said, "Let's just move you here."  That table was much better.  

The menu at Kauai Pasta was truly Italian-centric with a number of entrees such chicken parm, veal marsala, lasagna and, of course, pasta dishes.  Salads, appetizers - including anti-pasta plates - and pizza made in-house were also available.  There was also a list of dinner specials that evening that included house-made pork sausage with Hawaiian peppers, a penne pasta bake with chicken and broccoli, and a Hawaiian-salted ribeye steak.  

I saw that they had Kona Big Wave Golden Ale on the beer menu and I ordered up a bottle of that.  It was the 22-ounce variety and it was brought out with a small loaf of fresh baked focaccia bread with oil and aged-vinegar. The bread was served warm and was very fresh in taste. 

We ordered up a caprese salad to start out with.  Hawaiian tomatoes are the best in the world and these were absolutely no exception.  The presentation alone was worth getting the caprese salad.  It featured four thick slices of Hawaiian tomatoes with a like number of thick cuts of fresh mozzarella cheese toward the center with four large basil leaves pointing in all four directions on top.  Aged balsamic vinegar was drizzled over the plate.  The caprese salad was outstanding.  

I was deeply in the mood for pasta that evening and I got something on the menu simply called the House Pasta - spaghetti noodles mixed in with a sauce consisting of ground locally-raised beef, ground Italian sausage and chopped mushrooms.  For good measure, I asked Katie if she could add some meatballs to the dish.  I also got a glass of the Joel Gott cabernet to go along with the dinner.  

The dish was fine, not outstanding.  The sauce had a bit of a spicy bite from the Italian sausage, but I wouldn't call it scintillating.  The meatballs were sort of pasty and dry in taste.  I mean, it was all fine and exactly what I was looking for, but it didn't knock my socks off.  

Cindy got a dish that was simply called Pasta Marinara.  It consisted of Kauai Pasta's house-made marinara sauce - the same recipe that was handed down from Russell Stokes' grandmother - along with spaghetti, chopped fresh basil, roasted garlic and parmesan cheese.  It also came with a skewer of grilled shrimp.  She also got a glass of the Joel Gott cabernet to go along with her meal.  She thought her meal, too, was fine - not outstanding, but good.  

We like to engage our server in conversation when we're in Hawaii, but we were having a bit of trouble getting Katie to talk with us.  She was efficient with her service, but her demeanor was very neutral, almost dour.  It wasn't that she was busy - the place didn't get much more than half full while we were there.  She just didn't want to take the time to talk with a couple of tourists from Iowa.  

When we got back to the hotel, we stopped at the bar to have a nightcap at the bar.  We told the bartender that we just went to the Kauai Pasta in Kapa'a for dinner and she asked how we liked it.  Cindy and I sort of looked at one another and I finally said, "It was was fine.  Just all right.  Nothing outstanding."  The bartender told us that she thought the place wasn't the same since Russell Stokes split the two places leaving the Kapa'a location to Jon Heller.  "I like going to Russell's place in Lihue more than the one in Kapa'a."  OK, that may have been good to know before we went.  

Quite honestly, Kauai Pasta wasn't all that bad.  It was a nice and cozy place.  The service was efficient even though our server was sort of neutral to cold in her attitude all evening.  The food was good - not outstanding - but the spaghetti with the meat and mushroom sauce and meatballs was a spot-hitter for me who had nothing but fish tacos and seafood since we'd been on Kauai.  My wife seemed to enjoy the pasta marinara and shrimp dish she had.  The highlight had to be the wonderful caprese salad that we shared before our dinner.  Kauai Pasta was a nice diversion from the seafood diet we seemed to be on while we were on Kauai.  

Hukilau Lanai - Kapa'a, HI

During our trip to Kauai earlier this year, we were looking for a good place to go out for a nice seafood in the area.  We were staying just south of Kapa'a along the eastern shore of the island and one of the bartenders at our hotel was telling us about a place that was at a resort just up the road - Hukilau Lanai.  We made reservations to have dinner there that evening.  

Hukilau is the term for a style of fishing ancient Hawaiians did from the shore.  "Huki" means "pull" in the Hawaiian language, while "lau" means "leaves".  Ancient Hawaiian fishermen would weave leaves from banana and coconut trees together to form a type of net that they would then swim with out into the ocean and pull back toward the beach to catch fish.  Similar types of fishing celebrations occur around Hawaii today.  And the term "lanai" is the Hawaiian word for "patio" and the Hukilau Lanai is an indoor/outdoor upscale seafood restaurant located in the Kauai Coast Resort At The Beachboy, a Shell Hospitality property in Kapa'a.  

The Hukilau Lanai dates back to 2002 when the Kauai Coast Resort opened up.   Alaskan transplants Wally and Roberta Wallace were the original owners of Gaylord's, a restaurant at the upscale Kilohana Plantation resort near Lihue that opened in 1986.  When the Kauai Coast Resort was in the planning stages, the Wallaces were contacted about running the restaurant there.  However, before the resort and restaurant opened, Wally Wallace passed away.  When the restaurant opened, they named the bar area Wally's Lobby Bar in memory of Wally Wallace.

Roberta Wallace, along with her daughter Paige and Paige's husband, Russ Talvi continued to run both the Hukilai Lanai and Gaylord's (changing the name to 22 North in the early 2000's as the 22 north parallel latitude runs through Kauai).  Working with them in running the kitchen and front of house at Hukilai Lanai was their talented chef Ron Miller and his wife, Krissi.  

Ron Miller grew up in Pennsylvania and got his first job washing dishes and bussing tables at The Sun Porch, a popular buffet restaurant in Hopwood, a small town near the West Virginia/Pennsylvania border.  Miller was a free-spirit and enjoyed the relationships he developed with people at the restaurant.  He eventually became a cook at The Sun Porch and moved on to the Allen Room (now the Allen Street Grill) in State College, PA.  

At the Allen Room, Miller was able to spread his culinary wings and offer foods made from scratch with a menu that sometimes changed daily.  The menus were all handwritten with what Miller was making that particular day from fresh foods he got from local food purveyors and markets.  

The Allen Room was small - it sat 35 people - so going from there to a large 400 seat restaurant in Northern Virginia was quite the stretch.  But he found that his acumen in running a restaurant was exactly what the struggling restaurant needed and business turned around while Miller was in charge of the place.  

It was at the Virginia restaurant that Miller met his wife, Krissi.  Married in the mid-90's, the Millers saw an opportunity to move to Hawaii and they ended up on Oahu in 1997 with Ron Miller assisting the famous Hawaiian chef/restaurateur Roy Yamaguchi at the original Roy's Hawaii Kai.  Roy Yamaguchi was one of the original 12 Hawaiian chefs who championed the Hawaii Regional Cuisine movement of using locally raised foods and fresh caught fish from the Pacific Ocean.

After a couple of years at Roy's, the Millers moved to Kauai to work at Gaylord's partnering up with the Wallace family before the untimely passing of Wally Wallace.  When Hilukai Lanai opened in 2002, Ron and Krissi Miller made the transition to the new restaurant.   

Roberta Wallace, now Roberta Cline, was wanting to divest herself of the two restaurants on Kauai, and Paige and Russ Talvi were looking to move back to Alaska to open a summer lodge - they eventually opened the Port Ashton Lodge on Prince William Sound.  They sold their interest in the Hilukai Lanai to Ron and Krissi Miller who returned in 2010, then sold 22 North to another party who renamed it Gaylord's.

Pictured right - Ron and Krissi Miller.  Photo courtesy MidWeek Kauai.  

Along with the Millers, three of the four other chefs in the kitchen started at Hilukai Lanai when it opened in 2002.  Executive sous chef Bobby Krause and sous chefs Regie Anical and Adam Phelps have all been in the kitchen since day one.  Sous chef Eliza Vicoy is the "newby" having started at the restaurant in 2006.  In an industry where kitchen turnover is a problem, the kitchen at Hulikai Lanai is pretty stable.  

Initially, I tried to make reservations at Hulikai Lanai via Open Table, but it said that the earliest we could get in would be 8:30 p.m.  That's a little too late for my wife and we really wanted to eat there.  I've found that Open Table can sometimes be a little off with their reservation times and I ended up calling the restaurant to see if we could get in earlier.  Since the restaurant didn't open until 5 p.m., I got the answering machine.  I left a message that we would be interested in seating for two at 7:30, but would take 8:00 p.m. if 7:30 wasn't available.  Around 4 p.m. I got a call back from someone at the restaurant that 7:30 for 2 would be fine.  It was another instance where Open Table didn't help with requested times, but calling the restaurant got us in when we wanted.  

We pulled into the Kauai Coast Resort around 7:20 p.m., located just off the Kuhio Highway on the Aleka Loop.  (see map)  The next door Coconut Marketplace was undergoing some extensive renovations and many of the stores were closed due to construction.  We were hoping to visit the Lappert's Ice Cream shop after dinner, but those were one of the places that were closed.  

Coming into the resort, we found the small Wally's Lobby Bar next to the hostess stand.  We gave her our name and we were told it would be a short wait.  We sat at the bar and were getting ready to order a couple drinks when the hostess came back and said she was ready to seat us.  

The dining room had two levels on the inside and then the lanai past that.  The lanai was full and there were tables available on the two levels of the inside part of the restaurant.  (Open Table failed me again.)  We were seated along a wall looking out over the lower level and out into the lanai.  It was rather breezy outside with the trade winds coming off the ocean and we were more than happy to be inside than out that evening.   

After getting our menus from the hostess, our server for the evening - a young woman with the interesting name of Vannghi (Vonnie) - came over to great us.  From the moment she greeted us to the final part of setting down the check later in the evening we felt nothing but hurried by her.  She was nice, but she seemed pushy to get us to order drinks right away, to order our food long before we were ready, to take our plates long before we were done, and to push us into desserts at the end of the meal.  This was a nice place and we were going to savor the meal.  

They had live entertainment that evening in the form of a duo that called themselves Easy Living Jazz.   Helen Turner was on flute and acoustic guitarist Jeff Iglesia played a number of laid back classic jazz tunes.  All I could think about when she was playing the flute was the scene from the Will Ferrell movie "Anchorman" where his character Ron Burgundy was playing "yazz flute" in the jazz club.   But the music was enjoyable enough during our time at Hukilau Lanai.  We got a couple of mai tai's to drink (or in my case, sling back) while we perused the menu.  

Ron Miller completely believes in using sustainable, locally grown foods and fresh-catch seafood from the ocean.  He's a champion of the Hawaii Regional Cuisine movement that was started by his mentor Roy Yamaguchi (and others) and it's reflected on the menu at Hukilau Lanai.  The list of local farms, ranches and fishermen Hukilau Lanai uses on a daily basis is long and varied.   And since they opened in 2002, Hukilau Lanai follows a green initiative plan that recycles vegetable oil, coffee grounds, even crayons used for the kids to color with at the table.  They've also reduced the amount of energy and water they use in the restaurant, as well as reusing or composting paper products while offering non-styrofoam, biodegradable  containers for take-out orders.  

There were many interesting items on the menu including seafood, steaks, chicken dishes, pork tenderloin medallions, and something called Wally's Steak Crown Royal named after Wally Wallace and his penchant for Crown Royal Canadian whisky.  They were pan-seared peppercorn tenderloin medallions that were cooked in a Crown Royal demi-glace.  Those actually sounded pretty good.  But I was looking for fresh seafood that evening.  

We started off with one of the many appetizers - or pupus - on the menu at Hukilau Lanai, some poke nachos that were developed by sous chef Adam Phelps.  They consisted of ahi poke, locally grown sliced tomatoes and avocados, tobiko (flying fish roe), inamona (a Hawaiian relish-type condiment made from roasted kukui nuts), a wasabi cream sauce and placed on top of crispy wonton chips.  The fresh ahi poke was wonderful and all the taste sensations going on with the appetizer was almost mind-boggling.  This was a great opening for what promised to be a great meal.  

We shared a salad before dinner consisting of fresh greens from Kailani Farms, a sustainable organic farm on Kauai's north coast.  With the greens were fresh pickled beets, sweet corn off the cob and drizzled with a fresh vinaigrette.  For good measure - and $3 bucks more - I got some Maytag Blue Cheese on top of the salad.  At least, I asked if it was Maytag Blue as the dairy had been closed since February and a blanket recall of their cheese dating back to November of last year was in effect.  Vannghi went back to ask the chef if it was truly Maytag Blue and she came back moments later assuring us that it was, indeed, Maytag Blue Cheese.  It had been a significant time since the cheese had been recalled and I was a tad incredulous that this was real Maytag Blue Cheese.  Nonetheless, the salad greens were crisp, the beets had that sweet, yet earthy taste, and the blue cheese with the aged balsamic vinegar was pungent and forward in taste.  

For our main entrees, I looked long and hard at the Wally's Crown Royal Steak.  They also had an interesting meat loaf dish on the menu that was tempting me, as well.  But I ended up getting the Cajun-spiced Kajiki (the Hawaiian term for Blue Marlin).  It came on a bed of mashed potatoes with an onion brown sauce .  Sautéed spinach with a tropical flower perched on top of the marlin.  The fish was fresh, but it was a tad overcooked for me.  And I didn't get much of a spicy Cajun taste with the fish.  

Cindy looked long and hard at getting the Cajun-spiced Kajiki, too, and she almost went with the Hukilau mixed grill - various grilled seafood items with sugar cane-skewered shrimp.  It was served with an orzo (Italian barley) pasta in a cream sauce and topped with a Thai coconut-chile sauce.  Surprisingly though, she ended up ordering the macadamia nut-encrusted chicken breast.   It was served on top of locally grown veggies, then topped with cilantro, micro-greens and a yellow curry sauce.  She thought it was fabulous.  

Once again, we sort of felt rushed throughout the meal.  While I appreciate an attentive server versus one that just disappears, our server seemed to be pushing us to finish up so she could give us the dessert menu.  Twice she came by to clear plates when it was still evident that we were still eating as we were taking time to savor the meal between bites.  

When we were finally finished with our main entrees, well, of course we had to have dessert and I saw that they had a Hawaiian Vanilla Bean Creme Brûlée.  I'm a sucker for all that.  They also had a coconut lilikoi tart that my wife wanted to try.  We decided to get both.  

Oh!  Did I mention that it was also my birthday?  And a significant one, at that.  With the coconut lilikoi tart was a thin chocolate wafer with "Happy Birthday" spelled out on it.  My wife had evidently told the server at some point that it was my birthday (probably when I went to use the restroom).  A small box with a bow on top containing chocolates was also delivered by our server.  The creme brûlée had a nice charred crust to the top with a delicate and tasty custard underneath.  The taste of the vanilla was very prevalent.  However, the coconut lilikoi tart was out of sight.  It had a lilikoi coulis on the plate that went well with the tart taste of the pie.  We were both very happy with the desserts we got that evening.  

While we did feel hurried at times by our server, our overall experience at Hukilau Lanai was very favorable.  My Cajun marlin was a tad overcooked and I would have liked to have had some more spicy seasoning on it, but it was fine for what it was.  My wife loved her macadamia nut-encrusted chicken breast served on a bed of local vegetables with a Thai coconut-chile sauce.  The atmosphere at Hukilau Lanai was elegant, yet laid back with that Hawaii "aloha" vibe.   For being close to our hotel, Hukilau Lanai was a nice choice for a well-above average dinner that evening.  

Island Taco - Waimea (Kauai), HI

On our day trip to the south and west sides of Kauai during our recent Hawaiian vacation (click here to read about that day), we ended up in the small village of Waimea.  It featured a number of little shops and even had a farmers market going on in the shadow of an abandoned sugar processing plant.  We were told about a place to have lunch there, but another place just across the street caught our eye and we decided to go there.  Here's the story of Island Taco and the lunch we had there that afternoon.

Kirk Marois was a native of Oahu who has been in the restaurant industry for over 25 years.  In August of 1998 along with his wife Christine, the Marois' opened Grinds, a full service cafe serving breakfast, lunch and dinner in Hanapepe on Kauai.  

It took Kirk Marois 12 years to come up with a concept for a new restaurant that he was planning to open in nearby Waimea.  He wanted to have a restaurant that had a Mexican influence by having house-made tacos filled with locally grown meats and fresh-catch seafood, serving them with house-made salsas and sauces.   But he didn't want to be pigeon-holed as a Mexican restaurant, but more of an island taco stand.   Along with their two daughters, the Marois' came up with the different types of tacos and chimichangas they would serve at their new restaurant.  The couple found an open-air place along the main highway in Waimea and opened Island Taco in 2010.  Just under a year ago, the couple opened a second Island Taco in the Poipu Shopping Village in the resort city of Poipu on Kauai's south side.  

Waimea is a sleepy little village along the Kamualii Highway that takes you to the west side of the island.  It has a black sand beach and a long pier that stretches out into the Pacific Ocean.  On the town's east side is Russian Fort Elizabeth State Historical Park which was once home to the first fort built by Russians in Hawaii in the early 19th century.  Inside the fort was also the first Russian Orthodox church built in Hawaii as well as living quarters for 30 troops, and storage for ammunition and weapons.   The red dirt landscape of the park had a number of boulders that outlined the original fort with a Russian flag flying in the breeze coming off the ocean.  

We parked just down the street from a farmers market that was going on in an open space near an abandoned sugar mill.  We walked down the street to take a look at some of the shops that sold clothing, fruit, and knick-knacks.  Now, I was told about a place called the Shrimp Station that has locations in both Kapa'a and Waimea on Kauai as a good place to get some delicious shrimp.  But just across from the Shrimp Station in Waimea was Island Taco.  I'm a sucker for good fish tacos, so we went there.   (see map) 

There's not much to the interior of Island Taco - just an ordering counter with the menu on boards next to the counter.  There's seating under an awning as well as seating on picnic tables under umbrellas outside.  

For not wanting to be known as a Mexican restaurant, it's tough to distinguish between the Mexican influence and the island influence with the food at Island Taco.  They feature, of course, tacos, as well as burritos, enchiladas, quesadillas, and taco salads served in formed taco shells.  The stuff they put into the food is definitely Hawaiian from kalua pork, to fresh caught ahi tuna, to teriyaki grilled chicken, to locally sourced beef.  They also make their own chips at Island Taco.  

The seared wasabi ahi tuna tacos caught my eye right off the bat as did the kalua pork tacos.  Cindy was gearing more toward the wasabi ahi tacos, but wanted to have a bite or two of the kalua pork tacos if I got those.  We decided to get a couple of the seared wasabi ahi tuna tacos and a kalua pork taco to try.  We took a seat at a counter under the awning of the building and waited for our tacos.  Cindy had picked up a couple of cinnamon chip samples that were on the counter near the register and she was noshing on those while we waited.  Nearly everything is made from scratch at Island Taco and it was a good 15 minutes before our tacos showed up in front of us.

The seared wasabi ahi tuna tacos were filled with chunks of the seared tuna and mixed with cabbage, chopped tomatoes and finished with a wasabi aioli sauce.  Cheese normally comes with the tacos, as well, but I told them to hold the cheese on the fish tacos.  The tacos were big - somewhat justifying their $12.50 per taco price.  I got a side of ranch dressing with the tacos - that I didn't use - and a side of mild salsa that I did use, but only to eat with a side of chips Cindy got with her taco.

The pork taco featured smoked kalua pork mixed with lettuce and tomatoes, but we also decided against cheese on the kalua pork taco.  While we both had one of the seared wasabi ahi tacos, we shared the kalua pork taco.  All the tacos were served on a freshly made flour tortilla shell.  

And the tacos were, well, good.  Not great, but not bad.  I don't know if they were worth the price we paid for them ($11.50 for the kalua pork taco).  But it was something different that we don't usually get on the Mainland.  The wasabi ahi tuna tacos had a nice little spicy bite from the wasabi aioli and the tuna tasted fresh and not fishy at all.  The cabbage slaw helped balance the taste out between the fish and spicy bite.  The kalua pork had that great kalua taste that I like so much, but they were a little salty in their overall taste.  

The tacos we had at Island Taco were expensive - it was a $40 plus lunch after getting some chips to go along with some water with our tacos.  But everything is expensive in Hawaii so we weren't so taken aback by the sticker shock of the price of the tacos.  It's tough - to nearly impossible - to find good seared ahi tuna tacos in the Midwest and I don't think I've ever had kalua pork tacos before this.  Island Taco was emblematic of the laid-back aloha lifestyle that personifies the island of Kauai.  Were the tacos worth the price?  To some, probably not.   But it was a nice little place to have a good lunch in Waimea.   

Hanalei Gourmet - Hanalei, HI

Our new "Heaven-on-Earth" place is the small Hawaiian village of Hanalei on the north side of the island of Kauai.  We spent a good portion of two days in Hanalei during our visit to Kauai earlier this year and we really fell in love with the place - from the laid-back feeling of the shops and restaurants to the beautiful half-moon shaped bay where we spent hours just walking along the beach.  When I get in a funk, I switch on this video that takes me back to my mind's happy place.  As we were walking among the shops of Hanalei, we came across a little restaurant that was housed in the Old Hanalei School, an interesting little place called The Hanalei Gourmet.  After taking a look at the lunch menu posted outside the door, we decided to try the place for lunch.  (see map) 

Tim Kerlin grew up primarily in Virginia, the son of a career man for the United States Department of Defense.  Along with his wife, Andi, they moved to Hawaii in the mid-1980's.  Just after their two children were born in the late 80's, the Kerlin's were ooking for a place to open up as a delicatessen.  However, they were rebuffed at every turn from banks who wouldn't finance them in their endeavor.  Tim Kerlin then met Gaylord Wilcox, a developer whose family was at one time one of the largest land owners in Hawaii with sugar and pineapple plantations on four islands.  Wilcox had taken over ownership of the former Hanalei school and was looking to put in shops and eateries in the old classrooms.  

Kerlin had a 90 page business plan that was detailed down to the last penny of expenses he was expecting to incur and he showed it to Wilcox.  Wilcox was so impressed with Kerlin's business plan that he got in touch with his personal banker, arranged for Kerlin's business loan and co-signed on the loan.   The Hanalei Gourmet opened in March of 1990.  

Over time, the little deli was transformed into a formal sit down restaurant complete with a bar area.  The menu expanded and it garnered a reputation for interesting locally sourced foods in a laid-back atmosphere.  While Tim Kerlin oversees the restaurant, Andi Kerlin handles the books.  Tim has publicly credited Andi for keeping the business going all these years.

The space that houses The Hanalei Gourmet is a well-lit room that features artwork from local artists hanging on the wall.  The windows that look out behind the bar area frame the mountains that ring the small village.  While it was laid-back, it was also somewhat of a vibrant atmosphere.  An NBA game was playing on the televisions that hung above the bar area.  With a five hour time zone difference between Iowa and Kauai, it was sort of weird to see an NBA game on TV at 2 p.m. in the afternoon in Hawaii.  

Off to the side of the dining room was the deli part of Hanalei Gourmet.  The deli is the original part of Hanalei Gourmet before they expanded their menu a number of years ago.  The deli opens at 8 a.m. for people who are looking for sandwiches to take to nearby beaches or when they go hiking in the mountains along the Na Poli Coast.  Lox and bagels are also available from the deli all day long.   

Our server for our visit, Rachel, came over to greet us, drop off a couple of menus and to take our drink order. Cindy got a glass of pinot grigio and I saw that they had Kona Brewing Co. Big Wave Golden Ale on tap at the bar.  Big Wave is my favorite beer dating back to our first visit to Hawaii over six years.  

Lunch begins at 11 a.m. and goes through 5:30 p.m. when they switch over to the dinner menu at The Hanalei Gourmet.  Lunch is primarily sandwiches, burgers, salads, and appetizers - known as pupus in Hawaii.  For dinner, they take away the sandwiches, but add pasta dishes as well as main entrees such as seafood, steaks, chicken dishes and a charbroiled pork loin.  

I wasn't quite sure what I wanted for lunch that day.  They had peel & eat shrimp on the appetizer menu that I came close to getting.  A pastrami and Swiss on dark rye bread was also a thought.   They had a specialty reuben sandwich called The Hanalei Sailor that caught my eye which featured a double portion of corned beef topped with Swiss cheese and sauerkraut on dark rye, then grilled.  Any of those would have been fine for lunch.

But I ended up going the burger route and ordered one of the three burgers they had featured on their menu - Moe's Ultimate Burger.  The basic burger on the menu is called Big Tim's burger which is a 6 ounce local beef patty topped with lettuce, tomato, onions and pickles.  Moe's Ultimate burger takes the Big Tim's burger and adds pepper jack cheese, an avocado slice, and bacon.  It's served on a toasted sesame seed bun.   A side of fries came with the burger.  

The burger was thick and juicy.  It was chargrilled and while I like a flat-grilled burger better, the taste of this burger was delicious.  It was cooked to what I would call a perfect medium with a hint of pink in the middle.  The "toasted" bun wasn't all that toasted, but it was fine.  It was a four napkin burger with everything that was piled high on top of the patty.

Cindy went with the fish and chips - beer-battered fresh catch of the day fish, deep fried and served with fries, Asian coleslaw and a soy wasabi sauce.   The fish appeared to be light and flaky with a nice batter on the outside.  Cindy thought it was simply delicious.  

We lingered for awhile after finishing up our lunches enjoying the atmosphere at The Hanalei Gourmet.  Rachel tried to tempt us with some dessert or an after-lunch drink such as one of their house mai tai's.  We put a significant dent in the mai tai supply while we were in Hawaii, but we decided to go out and take a look at some of the shops that were down the way from The Hanalei Gourmet in the Old Hanalei School.   The slow pace and laid-back feel of the place was refreshing and relaxing.  

The Hanalei Gourmet was one of those memorable places where the food was good, the service was excellent, and the atmosphere was relaxing, cozy and comfortable.  I enjoyed my burger very much while my wife was more than happy with her beer-battered fresh catch fish.  Had we had more time in Hanalei we probably would have gone back just to have a mai tai at the bar while looking out the old school windows to the mountains beyond.  The Hanalei Gourmet is a "can't miss" if you go to Hanalei. 

Verde - Kapa'a, HI

During our first night on Kauai earlier this year, we were sort of looking around for places to eat.  Fish tacos sounded good to me and we were told of a place in Kapa'a just up the road from where we were staying that supposedly had great fish tacos with a Southwestern style.  We looked up the address for Verde and went there for dinner that evening.  

Josh Stevens grew up in Albuquerque and his mother was a prolific cook.  She made her signature stacked enchiladas on a weekly basis for the family, as well as her own Hatch chile salsa.  Josh eventually went to culinary school, ending up as the poissonnier (fish chef) at La Mer on Oahu, before becoming the sous chef at Black Rock Kitchen at the Sheraton hotel on Maui.  It was a hectic restaurant and Stevens felt that he needed to get away from the pressures of a high-profile restaurant that did millions of dollars in revenue annually.

Stevens wanted to get back to his New Mexican roots and make foods that he grew up with.  In late 2007, he and his wife, Maris Manzano-Stevens, decided to move to Kauai to open a Mexican/Hawaiian/Southwestern restaurant in Kapa'a.  They opened Verde in March of 2008.  Stevens sourced the chiles for his sauces from New Mexico, coming up with a red salsa and a green salsa that they now have commercially distributed in stores on Kauai.  

Josh Stevens and Maris Manzano split about five years ago with Stevens eventually moving to Panama and Maris keeping Verde.  Along with her brother Carlo, who worked with Josh Stevens in the kitchen learning the intricacies of Southwestern cooking, Maris Manzano continues to work with local growers and fishermen to provide Verde with the freshest ingredients while continuing to source chiles from New Mexico.  

Verde is located in the Kapa'a Shopping Center along Kuhio Highway just as you come into the southern side of Kapa'a.  (see map)  It's actually back off the main road a bit in the strip mall, hidden by a gas station along the highway.

It was around 7:30 when we got in there and the place was about half-full.  Verde is not that large of a place - it seats 28 inside with the possibility of 8 or 12 more in tables in front of the place.  Verde underwent a renovation a couple years ago complete with a granite-topped bar, new wooden walls to give it a rustic feel, new tables and chairs, as well as new lighting fixtures.  It used to be a counter-style place, but they went to full-service along with a full bar at the time of the renovation.  While Verde wasn't large, we didn't have the feeling of being cramped in the place.

We were greeted by one of the servers, Doug, who said that we could sit anywhere inside, but if we wanted to sit outside we couldn't get alcohol served to us.  We wanted margaritas so we took a table inside the small space.  

Doug brought us out some fresh-made chips as well as a couple of margaritas served in Ball glass jars.  He also brought out some of the red salsa that they make at Verde. It had a bit of a bite on the back end that gave it a little zip.  I asked Doug if we could get some of the chile verde sauce.  "It's a little hotter than the red," he warned us when he brought it to our table.  While the first bite of the green salsa did get my attention, I didn't think it was much more hot than the red salsa.  Either way, they were both tasty and helped the delicious margaritas flow down rather easily.

40% of the menu at Verde is vegetarian and they source much of the food the serve from nearly a dozen different organic farms on Kauai.  Hormone-free grass-fed beef comes from the Makaweli Beef Company on Kauai, while local fishermen provide fresh catch fish for the daily menu.  

The fresh catch that day was mahi mahi and that's what Cindy got - blackened mahi mahi tacos served in a crispy taco shell.  They came with cabbage, guacamole, pico de gallo, an aioli sauce and crispy corn strips.  Cindy got the refried beans and rice on the side as she is wont to do with Mexican food.  She thought the mahi mahi tacos were just excellent.  "Every bite, it's so fresh," she exclaimed after finishing the first of her two tacos.

I was leaning toward getting the rare-seared ahi tuna tacos, but I was sort of intrigued with the stacked enchiladas, something that original chef Josh Stevens got from his mother.  They were three tortilla shells layered with cheese, a choice of either the red sauce or green chile sauce with a choice of a marinated adovada pork, Makaweli beef, or the day's fresh catch.  I asked Doug if there was a possibility of getting the stacked enchiladas with just one of the seared ahi tuna tacos.  He said it would be absolutely no problem.  I ordered the pork for my enchiladas along with the green sauce.  

The enchiladas were covered in the Hatch chile sauce, shredded cheese and topped off with fresh cilantro and tomatoes.  It came with a side of rice and a some refried beans.  

Looking at the make-up of the stacked enchiladas, there was a liberal amount of the adovado marinated shredded pork on three layers.  Adovado marinated pork is something that you'll find more in New Mexico than in Mexico with the marinade consisting of red chiles, oregano and vinegar.  It's similar to al pastor only the pork is fermented in a crock pot for hours before it is served.  Honestly, I didn't care how they prepared it because it was simply delicious.  

The stacked pork enchiladas were so good that I had to stop and concentrate on the ahi tuna taco or I wouldn't have the appetite left for it if I had eaten all of the enchiladas.  It was similar to the ones Cindy had with the chopped cabbage, fresh cilantro, pico de gallo, and the corn crisps on top.  The slightly-seared ahi tuna was extremely fresh without a hint of a "fishy" taste.  The overall taste of the taco was outstanding.

But I was more than happy with the pork adovado enchiladas that I got as my main meal.  The green Hatch chile sauce they had on the enchiladas was fresh and had a nice little kick to the taste.  I couldn't finish what I had, but I made a significant dent on the big plate of food I was served.  

Doug came over to see if we wanted another margarita.  I told him that we were fine.  Then he tried to tempt us with one of the many desserts they have at Verde.  He was explaining the spiced chocolate dulce de leche cake that was made exclusively for Verde by the Kō Bakery located down in Lihue.  While it did sound tempting, I was so full from my stacked enchiladas and ahi tuna taco that I couldn't have even thought about getting anything else to eat that evening.   Plus the place had gotten full by around 8:30 (they closed at 9 p.m.) and we thought we'd give up our seats to some people who were waiting to eat.  

We were thoroughly happy with our meal at Verde that evening.  The fish tacos and the stacked pork enchiladas were fresh, flavorful and delicious.  Both the house-made red and green salsas were superb, as was the laid-back and hip service that we received.  While it wasn't fancy, this was one of the better meals we had while we were in Hawaii on this trip.  And quite simply, this was one of the better Mexican-style dinners I'd ever had. 

The Dolphin - Hanalei, HI

While visiting the north shore of Kauai during our recent trip to Hawaii, it was lunch time and we were getting kind of hungry.  Plus I wanted a mai tai pretty bad.  We had passed back through Hanalei and saw a handful of restaurants along the highway through town, but for some reason we didn't stop.  We decided to go up the hill to Princeville, but didn't see anything that looked all that appealing along the highway.  My wife remembered a place on the east side of Hanalei that looked interesting to her called The Dolphin.  We turned around and headed back to Hanalei to have lunch at The Dolphin.  

Since opening in 1970, the Dolphin has been serving fresh-off-the-boat seafood to locals and tourists in both their restaurant and in their fishmarket located behind the restaurant.  In 2009, owners Douglas and Beatrice Allen opened a sushi lounge offering fresh sushi to go along with a bevy of specialty drinks.   In late 2012, the Allen's opened a second location of The Dolphin on the south shore of Kauai in Poipu.  

Allen is a fanatic when it comes to the fish he gets for his restaurant/fishmarket/sushi bar.  He only works with fishermen who share his view that proper handling and storage during the first 20 minutes after the fish is caught is the most critical time that will determine how good a fish tastes on land.  Allen stays in touch with local fishermen via satellite telephone placing orders on the spot depending upon what they're catching that particular moment.  

The Dolphin is located on Kuhio Highway next to the meandering Hanalei Heritage River.  (see map)  It is virtually the first building in Hanalei when you come from the east, not far from the taro fields that stretch across the valley just east of the town.  The river was very calm and every once in a while we'd spy a standing paddle boarder slowly making their way up river.   

There's an outdoor eating area as well as a small patio area that looked out over the river.  The weather featured off and on rain during a good portion of the day, so we decided to eat inside the restaurant.

Here's a look at what the weather was like at the beautiful Hanalei Bay, not far from The Dolphin.  It was raining near the coastline, but calm out on the bay with blue skies further out north of the island.  Hanalei Bay is now my "happy place" that I have in my head when I close my eyes and need to mellow out during a busy day.  

We found a seat at a table along the side of the restaurant.  The window was open and there was a slight breeze coming in.  Wooden planks held a tin roof in place and the dining area was decorated with bright Japanese lanterns, wood paneling, and stuffed fish.  The building has survived two hurricanes - Iwa in 1982 and Iniki in 1992.  Through rebuilding, remodeling and expansion, the Allen's have held the same philosophy of serving only the freshest locally caught seafood at The Dolphin.  

We were greeted by our server, William, who dropped off a couple of lunch menus and ran off to get us a couple of mai tai's that we craved so much.   Their top shelf mai tai's were outstanding and I made quick work of the first one while we looked through the menu.  

The lunch menu at The Dolphin was pretty short and it included fish sandwiches, a burger, a steak sandwich, a chicken breast sandwich, a handful of salads, a tuna and shrimp poké, and sashimi offerings.  The dinner menu at The Dolphin is much more extensive with entrees featuring an ever changing variety of fresh fish caught off the Kauai coast.  Beer-battered fish, steaks, and the house specialty teriyaki ahi tuna are also featured on the dinner menu.  

We went with the fresh ono grilled tacos.  It came with a garlic aioli, fresh locally grown greens, a house-made salsa and fresh guacamole.  The ono - also known as wahoo - was firm, yet flaky with a mild seafood taste.  This was a great light lunch and it more than satisfied our appetites.  

I like to find out the story of our servers when we go to restaurants on Hawaii.  It always seems there's a good back story how they ended up on one of the islands.  It turned out that our server William was a native of Kauai who went off to the mainland to go to school in South Dakota.  He met a girl from Rapid City, married her and they lived there for five years before he convinced her to move to Kauai to raise their family.  "The winters there are just brutal," he said.  He didn't have to convince the two Iowans sitting at his table about the harsh Midwestern winters, especially up in South Dakota.  

The Dolphin was one of those great little places that we like to run across when we're in Hawaii.   The fish was very fresh and very flavorful, the mai tai's were outstanding, the service was friendly and efficient, and the overall atmosphere was that laid-back island kind of vibe.  I wish we would have been able to go back for dinner at some point given how particular they are about the locally caught fish they serve.  This will give us a goal for our next visit to Kauai, whenever that will be.  The Dolphin will be at the top or near the top of our list of places to eat at when we go back to Kauai.  

 

The South Shore and West Side of Kauai

There is one main highway around the perimeter of Kauai - north of Lihue, it is known as the Kuhio Highway; west of Lihue, it becomes the Kaumualii Highway.  Our first day on Kauai, we had taken a right out of our hotel to head up to the North shore of Kauai.  Our second day, we went left toward Lihue and the south shore and the west side of the island.  

There's not much to Lihue.  It's a nondescript small Hawaiian town that has a handful of resorts, vacation condos, with a few shops and places to eat.  We spent little time in Lihue, opting to go further west along the Kaumualii Highway to visit the small villages and head up toward the Waimea Canyon.  

Kauai is the oldest of the Hawaiian Islands, first formed over 5 million years ago from a volcano rising from the floor of the Pacific Ocean.  The volcano erupted continuously for over a million years before part of the island collapsed forming the core of the Waimea Canyon from the lava flows.  After the volcano quit erupting, erosion from rain falling on the upward slopes of Kauai carved out more of the features on the west side of the canyon with the east side of the canyon a deep red color from the basalt rock that has weathered over the centuries.  Much of Kauai is covered with the deep red dirt - it's sort of the official color of Kauai.  

The lookout over the canyon is an 11 mile drive up the side of the mountain from the small village of Kekaha. (see map)  While it is called the Grand Canyon of the Pacific, the view of the ocean on the drive back down toward Kekaha is nearly equally as breathtaking as the colorful scenery of the canyon.  There is an expansive view of the ocean looking out toward the small island of Niihau, also known as the Forbidden Island.  Privately owned, Niihau is one of only three places on earth where most modern technology is eschewed in favor of natural living.  Solar power is the only power available on the island, there is no running water as rain catchment systems provide fresh water, there are no paved roads, and there are no stores, restaurants or hotels on the island.   Nearly all of the 130 residents on the island speak the native Hawaiian language and rely upon boats to bring products from nearby Kauai.  And by seeing Niihau off Kauai's coast, this was the last of the main Hawaiian Islands that we've either visited or have seen in the distance.  

We tried to go to the western part of the island - we had read that Polihale State Park had the longest beach on all of the Hawaiian Islands, but it turned out that the road that took you to the beach was pock-marked and bumpy.  We had also read at the Hertz rental place that rental cars were forbidden to use the road to Polihale.  Well, we had to go see for ourselves.  Sure enough, the old sugar cane hauling road was bumpy and slow going.  We decided to bag the trip to the beach - a four-wheel drive vehicle would have been the preferred way to travel the road.

Along the west side of roads of Kauai were military installations and some mysterious farms.  It turns out that the farms are owned by large bio-tech firms such as Dow AgroSciences, Monsanto, BASF and DuPont - all of which are engaging in the experimentation of growing Genetically Modified crops on the island.  "No GMO's" signs were all over the island and we didn't really understand what was going on until we found the farms along backroads on the west side.  Many residents of the island - especially on the west side - have been resisting the GMO farms, primarily due to the excessive amount of pesticides they use in the process of growing the genetically modified organisms.  However, there are other island residents who recognize the economic benefits the big bio-tech companies bring to the party.  The GMO farms are a polarizing topic for the residents of Kauai.

Just past the small town of Kekaha is the village of Waimea.  Waimea literally means "red dirt" in the Hawaiian language and there was a lot of red dirt on Kauai, especially on the west side of the island.  The orange/copper color was sort of the unofficial color of Kauai - lots of shirts, hats and other articles of clothing were available in the deep red color.  There was a black sand beach at Waimea and we found it as we were driving around the area.

There's a nice pier at the beach at Waimea.  We walked out to the end of the pier and hung out for awhile taking pictures and taking in the beautiful scenery.  The weather along the South shore of Kauai was sunny and hot.  The winds coming off the ocean made it tolerable, however.  

Waimea can best be described as a lazy little town.  NO ONE was in a hurry on what was a beautiful mid-week day.  This town was the personification of a laid back lifestyle. 

There were a number of shops along the main highway through town.  Most of them were touristy-type places, but there were small markets that featured island grown fruits and vegetables.  It was kind of fun to look through the different types of food they had to offer.

Also along the main road was what appeared to be a farmers market going on.  It was on the grounds of an abandoned sugar mill and it featured primarily arts and crafts.  A man was singing Hawaiian songs accompanying himself on a guitar.  

We hung around for a bit looking at things before we got back in the car to head down the road.  Our next stop  was to the beach at Salt Pond Beach Park near the small town of Hanapepe.  (see map)  There are a handful of salt ponds where sea salt is harvested in ancient traditional Hawaiian ways that date back centuries.  Of all the islands in the Hawaiian Archipelago, Kauai is the only one that has ponds where sea salt is harvested by hand - much of it very labor intensive.  (Read more on the harvesting of Kauai sea salt by clicking here.)   

The beach at Salt Pond Beach Park was of a crescent shape with some rock reefs just off shore.  This beach is also a haven for monk seals, an endangered mammal that makes Hawaii their home.  Signs along the beach warned people not to go further toward the water as not to disturb the monk seals.  A solitary monk seal was lying on the rocks near the shore and we wondered if this was the monk seal that was viciously attacked by a young Hawaiian man days earlier.  Fortunately, the attack was caught on camera and the young man was arrested.  We were told that some islanders have a hatred of the monk seals because authorities have closed off long-time fishing and surfing areas for secure places for the seals.  

We drove through Hanapepe, a small art community that were told had a great Friday night artist's night with displays, music and food (we didn't go).  And then we drove to the south and east of the small town to the home of the largest coffee plantation in Hawaii - the Kauai Coffee Estate.  

Kauai was the first island to product coffee beginning back in 1836.  As sugar plantations closed down, coffee trees were planted in many of the plantations including the Mcbryde plot which had over 3000 acres of land.  Today, the Kauai Coffee Estates produce more than half of the coffee beans grown in Hawaii.  They had a little visitors center where you could buy coffee and sample some of the coffee they had, and they had both guided and self-guided tours of areas of the plantation to show how coffee beans were harvested before the advent of modern harvesting methods.  We took the self-guided tour - it lasted about 15 to 20 minutes - and then got some coffee in the visitor's center before we decided to get the hell out of there since two tour buses pulled up while we were there.  

We ended up heading over toward Poipu and a natural geyser that we'd read about - the Spouting Horn at Spouting Horn Beach Park.  (see map)  When waves crash underneath the lava rock, a spout of water is forced up through a blowhole and creates a geyser.  Depending upon how big the waves are and how high the tide is, the spray can reach up to 50 feet in height.  It was actually pretty cool to see.  With the crashing waves under the rock, it made an interesting "whooshing" sound before the spray geyser came up out of the hole.  

I did a video of the Spouting Horn geyser.  Click on "play" below if you'd like to see the short video of what it was like - 

 

On the opposite side of the viewing area was an area of black lava rock where the waves were crashing hard.  Here's a short video of that - 

 

From there, we drove over to Popui Beach, the main part of a number of upscale resorts and condos in the area.  We didn't get out to walk along the beach mainly because of the number of people that were there and lack of parking in the immediate area.  That was fine with us - you see one beach, you've seen them all.  Well, not really...

North of Koloa going back toward the Kaumualii Highway is a stretch of eucalyptus trees that forms a natural tunnel - the Kauai Tree Tunnel.  We tried to get a good picture of the trees, but it was sort of difficult when you're traveling 40 miles an hour down the road in a line of cars.  I got this picture from National Geographic.  But I have to tell you, this picture wasn't quite indicative of the stretch of eucalyptus trees that we saw.  When Hurricane Iniki hit Kauai 26 years ago, it stripped most of the branches from the trees - at least the ones that weren't blown down.  There were some sparse looking areas along the road.  Local guide books oversold the Kauai Tree Tunnel.  

We stopped in Lihue at the Kalapaki Beach which was the main beach for the Kauai Beach Marriott Resort and the Nawiliwili Harbor.  The Harbor is home to a number of small boats and can handle large cargo ships and cruise ships.  To the west of the harbor is Niumalu Beach Park, a small beach primarily used by kayakers and made famous as the backdrop for opening scenes from the movie Raiders of the Lost Ark.  

We were told by a friend of mine that when we were in Lihue we needed to stop into a place by the name of Hamura Saimin and get a piece of their lilikoi chiffon pie.  It turns out that their lilikoi (passion fruit) chiffon pie is pretty famous.  It was a little difficult to find the place - it was off the main street going into the heart of Lihue and I'm not certain I would have found it if it weren't for our GPS.  (see map)

The place isn't all that big - it featured three low counters with a big window looking into the kitchen.  Their specialty is saimin, a Japanese/Hawaiian noodle soup that is served in a broth.  Shrimp, won tons, and barbecued beef or chicken can be added to the saimin.  Even late in the afternoon they had a good crowd of people in there eating saimin.  

But the pie was, well, out of this world.  Cindy and I shared a piece ($3.25 per piece - $3.50 if you go it to go).  The meringue on top of the pie was light and fluffy, but the heart of the lilikoi chiffon was heavenly.  I love the taste of lilikoi in just about anything - it's especially good in margaritas, I've found.  But this pie was simply wonderful.  And it was very rich.  We contemplated getting a second piece of pie, but it was getting late in the day and we didn't want to spoil our dinner plans we had a couple hours later.

Finally, just north of Lihue was another somewhat famous landmark - Wailua Falls.  Off the main highway and a three mile drive up into the hills above Lihue, the overlook to the falls is easily accessible.  (see map)    

The falls drop 80 feet into a pool of water that feeds the last three miles of the Wailua River.  The falls are also famous as the backdrop for part of the the opening segment of the late 70's/early 80's television program Fantasy Island.   ("Da plane! Da Plane!")  I never really watched that show, so I had to go back to YouTube to find the opening segment to see the falls.  (Click here to see the original show introduction.)  

Here's a short video of the falls that I took - 

 

We were told that normally three flows come over the falls, but with the drought they've been having on the island the water levels in the streams from the mountains feeding the falls have been abnormally low.  Had I not known that, I still would have thought the falls were spectacular.  

The Western part of Maui was interesting to visit.  We liked our time in Waimea and enjoyed the vistas of the Waimea Canyon and the beautiful view down to the ocean.  The sunny south side of the island had a different feel than the north shore, but it was still laid back and welcoming.  Over toward Poipu and Lihue, it got to be a little more commercial and touristy, but it was still nice.  We think we saw everything we wanted to see on the south shore and the west side of the island, but I'm sure we'll read about something that we missed and want to go back to Kauai.  And that won't be that bad of a thing...

The North Shore of Kauai

On our first full day on Kauai, we set out to discover the north shore area of the island.  We really didn't know what to expect other than just to follow the Kohui Highway until you couldn't go any further.  It turns out that the north shore of Kauai was probably the highlight of our visit to Hawaii.

We stayed at the Hilton Garden Inn near Kapaa and just up the way from the hotel off of Kohui Highway were the Opaekaa Falls.  (see map)  Opaekaa literally means "rolling shrimp" in Hawaiian and the waterfalls were named after the thousands of shrimp that were found in the stream that feeds the falls.  The 150 foot waterfall feeds a hidden pool below and the small stream eventually flows into the Wailea River.  On the other side of the road from the observation point for the falls was the green and lush Wailua River Valley.  

 
Continuing up the Kohui Highway past Kapaa, we drove about 20 minutes to the small village of Kilauea.  Just north of Kilauea is the Kilauea Lighthouse and Wildlife Refuge area.  (see map)  The lighthouse area was closed that day, as it had been since early January.  There was a turnaround point that allowed people to get pictures of the lighthouse in the distance and to watch the Red-footed Booby birds (that's their name - click on the link to look it up) that were nesting in the rocky crevices above the small bay.  The park ranger stationed at the fence line was telling us that the lighthouse area was closed to shore up walking trails and for general maintenance.  Of course, it was going to open the following Sunday just after we left Kauai.  

 
Speaking of Kilauea, we stopped in the small village to get a coffee.  We found a small place in the historic Kong Lung market area called Kilauea Bakery and Pau Hana Pizza.  (see map)  Nestled back in the courtyard of the open air market, this little bakery had an amazing array of baked goods including some off-the-hook lemon bars and lilikoi-filled pastries.  The espresso they made was some of the best I've ever had.  We had to come back one more time to get coffee and pastries at this great little place.  

The market place - which was the original plantation market for the Kilauea Sugar Plantation dating back 100 years - had an art gallery, a women's boutique, a soap and candle store, and a bistro-style restaurant in addition to the bakery/coffee shop. Cindy bought a couple things in the art studio and took a brief look through the boutique.  I wanted to come back and have a meal at The Lighthouse Bistro at some point, but we never had the chance.  Next time...

We drove to the very end of the road past Hanalei to the Ke'e Beach.  It is just to the east of the famous Na Pali Coast line on the north side of Kauai.  (see map)  Scenes from the movie Jurassic Park were filmed in the somewhat forbidding landscape of the Na Pali Coast.  (Na Pali in Hawaiian means "high cliffs".  Some of the cliffs go straight up 4000 feet from the ocean.)  Cindy wanted to either take a helicopter ride to see the full Na Pali Coast (too expensive - $300 per person), or take a boat ride along the coast (it was a minimum 3 hour trip and included snorkeling, of which I wasn't interested in at all).  So this was the closest we got to the coast.  

Just up from Ke'e Beach was the Limahuli National Botanical Garden.  It is one of a handful of botanical gardens found on Kauai.  It's nestled between the ocean and Makana Mountain, an important landmark to the ancient Hawaiians and the inspiration for a number of local legends.  We decided to stop in to walk around the place for awhile.  It cost $20 bucks per person to get in - a bargain compared to others we found on the island that wanted as much as $50 per person to walk around their botanical gardens.  

 
The garden featured a number of tropical plants and flowers, fruit trees and exotic bushes.  There was a walkway with markings on the trail to point out different species of plants they had on display in the garden.  Before we set out on the trail, we were given a guide book to use along the way.

A stream coming down out of the mountains trickled by on the one side of the garden.  We were told by the lady at the welcome station that they were in the midst of a drought - although we couldn't tell by the green grass and colorful flowers on display.  It was slightly raining - more of a mist - when we were on our little hike through the botanical garden.  The lady told us, "We'll take all we can get at this point."  It certainly wasn't like our last trip to Hawaii six years ago when streams and ponds were literally dried up.  

 
Makana Mountain towered over the Limahuli valley.  This mountain played a key role in what were called 'ōahi ceremonies in ancient Hawaiian culture.  When a celebration was called for, men known as fire throwers would climb the mountain, set logs on fire and hurl them out toward the Pacific Ocean after the sun would set, sort of like ancient fireworks.  The embers of these logs would drift in the winds coming off the ocean and would sail up to a mile off shore.  To make this seem even more crazy - it was considered a badge of honor for ancient Hawaiians to CATCH the embers in their canoes.  Sharp ridges that rise out of the mountain are said to depict people who climbed the mountain but didn't come back down.  

Makana Mountain is famous as the mountain that is called Bali Hai in the 1958 movie adaptation of South Pacific.  Much of the movie was filmed at nearby beaches with Makana Mountain as the backdrop for the mystical island of Bali Hai.  The mountain is referred to by its movie name by many to this day.  You'll also find a number of businesses on Kauai with Bali Hai incorporated in the name.  

The view down to the ocean from the back of the botanical center was a beautiful sight.  The clouds literally ended at the ocean front with a beautiful deep blue sea contrasting with the light blue sky.   It took us a little over an hour to traverse through the botanical garden.  

From the botanical garden, we made it back to Hanalei to do a little looking around.  The small village features a number of small shops, restaurants and bars, all with a laid back feeling.  This was one of the most chill places I've ever been to.  I immediately loved the place.  

 

In Hanalei along the main road in the town was the Wai'oli Hui'ia Church, a place of worship for the outgrowth of Christian ministries that started with missionaries William and Mary Alexander coming to Kauai in a double canoe in the early 1830's.  The church was built in 1912 in an American Gothic style by three brothers, Sam, George and Albert Wilcox, sons of former missionary Abner Wilcox.  Just after World War II ended, three churches in the area combined to make what is now the present day Wai'oli Hui'ia congregation.  

 
Inside the church was a quaint country-style interior with a number of beautiful stained glass windows.  It had withstood two hurricanes before it was extensively damaged during Hurricane Iniki in 1992.  The church and the nearby mission hall were both rebuilt and today both structures are on the National Register of Historic Places.  

Walking around the little village, we came upon a little tiki bar/restaurant by the name of Tahiti Nui.  This little place has been in business since 1963 when Bruce and Louise Marston opened a little cafe in Hanalei.  They had met when Bruce was stationed in the United States Air Force in Tahiti in the late 50's.  After Bruce retired as a Lt. Colonel, the two were married (Louise had Tahitian royalty in her family lineage) and they moved to Kauai to open the small eatery.   Over the years, the Marston family added on to the little place and today it is run by their son, Christian.  While tourists were mainly the only ones in the place, it didn't seem to be a tourist trap at all.  

 
Tahiti Nui iasn't all that large and they had a couple guys entertaining the small late afternoon crowd.  One man played a slack key guitar (he told the crowd how a slack key guitar worked and I knowingly nodded toward him when he said Keith Richards of The Rolling Stones had made millions of dollars playing open-tuned guitars on their songs) and the other guy was playing a Hawaiian lap-steel guitar.  The music was fabulous.  

 
Mai Tai's are their signature drink - naturally - at Tahiti Nui.  They had something that was called the "Man Tai" that was served in a pint glass.  These were especially yummy - I had two and they were going down pretty smoothly.  That's the problem with mai tai's - they taste great, but they really sneak up on you.

Tahiti Nui is also somewhat famous for a scene from the movie The Descendants that was filmed in the place.  It featured George Clooney's character running into his cousin, played by Beau Bridges, in the Tahiti Nui.  (Photo below left courtesy Orange County Register.)  

  
We sat just across from where Clooney and Bridges sat when they filmed the scene.  On the wall behind the other side of the bar was the picture above left of the two conversing during the movie.  

But the shops and laid back style in Hanalei pale in comparison to the magnificent bay and beach on the north side of the village.  We loved the bay, beach and the pier so much that we went back for a second day at Hanalei Bay before we left Kauai to come home.  The panoramic photo at the top of this blog entry is Hanalei Bay with the pier on the right.  

Here is a video of the beach and bay that I took if you'd like to see how beautiful the place is -  

This place was just gorgeous.  There were a number of homes that were on the beach and we found a couple that we really liked - such as this one.  But this was also - quite probably - a $5 million dollar home.  Or more...

Once again, The Descendants had scenes filmed on Hanalei Bay, as did South Pacific in the late 50's.  It's no wonder they used this as a back drop, the scenery is simply breathtaking.  

Depending upon what you read on numerous web sites or publications, Hanalei Bay was the inspiration for the magical place "Honalee" where Puff, the Magic Dragon lived.  Or it wasn't.  We read some tourist rags on Kauai that said the crescent-shaped bay was the inspiration for the Peter, Paul and Mary hit song from the early 60's, while other things we read said that lyricist Lenny Lipton (the co-writer of the song along with Peter Yarrow) maintained it just happened to be a "serendipitous coincidence" that Hana-LAY Bay was similar in name to Honalee.  All I know is that the place had a magical hold on me.  

Before we left the north shore of Kauai, we had to stop into the planned community of Princeville.  Princeville is home to the St. Regis Resort, one of the most exclusive places to stay in Hawaii (and also featured on The Descendants).  Formerly a sugar plantation that was turned into a ranch, the area was sold in 1968 to developers who installed the resort and golf courses.  We drove around Princeville for a bit one afternoon to take a look at what we would call modest middle-to-upper middle class homes in the town.  

One of the things that we had to try while we were on Kauai was some ice cream from Lappert's.  There was a Lappert's in a small market area in Princeville and we stopped in to try some of their ice cream before heading back to the hotel. (see map)  The Lappert's in Hawaii - we were told - are not part of the Lappert's ice cream shops that are found on the Mainland.  The Lappert's that are found on the Hawaiian Islands were founded in the early 80's by the worldly Walter Lappert.  Lappert - an Austrian by birth - grew up in Czechoslovakia.  He joined the French Army at the start of World War II at the age of 17 and eventually became a lieutenant.  He was wounded in battle and recovered to move to South America to become a liquor distiller.  After several years in Ecuador and Venezuela, he moved to Northern California to run two successful restaurants in the Bay Area.  It was said that Lappert was fluent in eight different languages.    

At the age of 61, Lappert turned the restaurants over to his son and he and his second wife, Mary Pratt, moved to the small Kauai town of Hanapepe, a small art community on the south shore of the island.  It was there that Lappert decided to invest the family's life savings - over $150,000 dollars - into making ice cream, mainly because he couldn't find any good ice cream on the island.  The ice cream was an immediate hit with islanders and tourists.  Within years, Lappert's was available in dozens of stores across Hawaii and in six Western mainland states.  

Lappert and Mary Pratt divorced in 1991, but remained business partners up to Walter's death in 2003.  Mary Pratt took over the Hawaiian operations of the Lappert's while the Mainland Lappert's were willed to Walter Lappert's son, Michael.  Mary Pratt continues to run the Hawaiian operations of Lappert's Gourmet Ice Cream and Coffee. 

It was late in the day when we stopped in Lappert's in Princeville to try their ice cream.  We both decided to get one scoop cups of their ice cream - I got the mint chip and Cindy tried the Kona coffee flavored ice cream.  While we thought it was good, we felt that the ice cream we get at Whitey's back home in the Quad Cities was on par, if even better, than the Lappert's gourmet ice cream.  But that's just us.  

We had one last stop on one of the days we were coming back from the north shore.  We stopped at Kealia Beach just north of Kapaa to watch the surfers at dusk.  (see map)  The winds from the easterly trade winds gave surfers three to five foot high waves to ride.  We walked along the beach and watched the surfers until they started to come out of the water just before it got too dark for them to see.  I'm mesmerized by surfers.  I'm mesmerized by the ocean.  I could watch both for hours.  

The north shore of Kauai was truly magnificent.  We spent most of our time on Kauai on the north shore - Hanalei to be more precise.  It was everything that I look for in Hawaii - a laid-back paradise with beautiful vistas, pristine beaches, and rum-packed mai tai's.  Look for an upcoming entry on our visits to the south shore and western interiors of Kauai.  But in the meantime, enjoy one last video from the beach on Hanalei Bay with a quick view of the home we fell in love with on the beach, as well as an editorial comment by yours truly at the end. 

Kauai

When we decided a few months ago that we were going to go back to Hawaii in April, we were looking to stay in Hilton properties to take advantage of the points I've accumulated through the Hilton Honors program.  However, when we were looking up the Grand Wailea in Maui, it was clearly evident that just three nights at that property would have bled me dry in terms of points.  My wife was determined to get back to Hawaii, so she was looking up all the different Hilton properties in Hawaii.  One evening in January she was looking at Hilton hotels on the Internet and she yelled out to me, "Hey, where's Kauai in conjunction to Maui?"  This perked up my ears when she said, "Kauai" as I've been told by those who have gone there that Hawaii's Garden Island is - in many cases - even more beautiful than Maui.  It turned out that a Hilton Garden Inn was getting ready to open on Kauai and they were taking reservations for stays after April 1.  I booked four nights there using Hilton Honors points and suddenly our trip to Hawaii was on the front burner.  

After 3 days on Maui getting to places that we hadn't discovered or been to on our previous visit (click here to see the overview of our return trip to Maui), we took a Hawaiian Airlines flight from Kahului to Lihue on Kauai.  Now, Hawaiian Air is still one of the better airlines on the planet - they're always on time and the prices aren't too bad.  The inter-island planes are clean, but rather spartan.  The flights usually aren't more than 45 minutes - tops - so the seat backs don't recline, there's a small table on the back of the seats and the seat padding isn't quite conducive to comfort as you'd find on long distant Hawaiian Air flights to and from the mainland.  About the time our butts were starting to feel like they were falling asleep, we swooped down to the Lihue airport.

If you remember our ordeal at the Kahului airport when we arrived on Maui, it took us about an hour to get our bags and almost an hour to get our rental car that turned out to be sort of nicked up and dirty.  When we got to the baggage area of the Lihue airport, our bags were already waiting for us.  We walked out of the terminal, across the access road and walked right up to the Hertz shuttle.  We were the only people on the shuttle as we were whisked less than two minutes away to get our rental car.  This one we had to pay for (but I did present coupons at the return of the rental car where we were able to get three of the four days for free) and it turned out that this one was a clean and newish Hyundai Elantra waiting for me in stall number 34 - the Hertz Gold member board telling me where it was when we got off the shuttle.  Less than 20 minutes after we had gotten off the plane, we were in our rental car heading to our hotel.  

The Hilton Garden Inn on Kauai is located north of Lihue and just south of Kapaa along the Kuhio Highway (see map).  It is located next to the mouth of the Wailua River, one of the more well-known rivers in the State of Hawaii.  It is one of the newest properties for Hilton - the only problem was that it wasn't a true "new" hotel.  Hilton had taken over the former Aston Aloha Beach Hotel and closed the property for about six months for a complete overhaul of the premises.  It turned out that it was still a work in progress in terms of the renovation.  Our building was pretty much updated - the rooms were nice and we had a sort of a lanai (patio) that looked out on the pool and the ocean beyond.  But to the dismay of my wife the hot tub was not functional and they were still working on walkways around the pool area.  Another large building next to the main lobby was still under construction, as were some cottages on the back side of the property.   There used to be a tennis court toward the front of the building, but that had been neglected.  Parts of the property looked like it was in a third world country.  

The lobby area was open and breezy with a nice bar/restaurant area toward the back side.  There was a good sized meeting room off the bar restaurant with a nice patio that would have had a great babbling brook had there been any water in it.  They were filling it with water on our third day there - Cindy and I were the first ones to throw pennies in the water pool.  My wish on one of the pennies was to make it back to that particular spot sometime in the future to see our pennies in the water.  But by that time, the pennies would be indistinguishable with the other pennies in the water, or someone will have waded in to snatch all the coins that people had thrown in.  

They had a $22 daily amenity fee that is assessed to each room that included coolers and mats to take to the nearby beach, Internet service that was pretty bad, two daily 2 hour bike rentals, and two mai tais (or soft drinks) at the bar each day.  These mai tai's were pretty small - a couple of gulps and you were done.  Thankfully, they had adult-sized mai tai's that you could buy after you finished the free ones.  The good thing about all of this is that the $22 daily amenity fee was waived for me - I'm now a Hilton Lifetime Diamond member because I've been staying at Hilton properties for so long.  None of the amenities we used at the hotel added up to $22 daily.  

The Hilton Garden Inn on Kauai was next to an ancient Hawaiian place of refuge known as the city of Hauola that overlooked the mouth of the Wailua River . This was a place where Hawaiians would seek refuge if they somehow made royalty upset centuries ago - such as walking in the shadows of royal family members, which was punishable by death.  People could live within the brick walls of the compound and chill out while the royals got over whatever it was that pissed them off.  (How's that for a 21st century explanation of the refuge?)   

The area is sacred to Hawaiian people and there were signs all over the place to not go into the area surrounded by a series of boulders - the remnants of the ancient city of refuge.  We were reading up on the place on one of the many information boards that lined the perimeter of the area.  It turned out that after the refuge had been abandoned over a hundred years ago, the government came in and took many of the boulders to use for road projects in the 1920's.  However, once historians figured out that the site used to be a human refuge, excavations were halted and the area was deemed to be a sacred site.  Three days a week the hotel offers a traditional Hawaiian sunrise service near the site of Hauola.  That's also included in the $22 daily fee the hotel charges some people, whether they participate in the service or not.  

One thing that we noticed right from the start of our visit to Kauai were the number of wild chickens that were scurrying about.  They were in the parking lot of the rental car place, they were in the lobby of the hotel, they were picking around on beaches and grassy areas, and they were just a part of the rural, laid-back life on Kauai.  And the bastards were loud in the morning, too - we had some trees outside our hotel room where the chickens would roost at night.  The roosters would began to crow around 4:45 a.m., easily waking us up.  I suppose after awhile, one would get used to the early morning wake-up calls from the wild roosters.

We were talking with one of the bartenders at the hotel who grew up on Kauai.  He said that as a little kid he and his friends would shoot the chickens with their B-B guns.  We asked if they ate them and he said, "Yeah, but the meat is really tough.  They're not eating chicken feed, they're scavengers.  They'll eat anything."  Even other chickens, he told us.  It didn't matter where we went - there were chickens on Kauai.  

The beach area near the hotel wasn't quite that nice - large sea-weathered tree trunks and branches lined the beach near the mouth of the Wailua River.  Years of mountain floods on the east side of Kauai brought these trees and branches down the river and deposited them in the surf and were subsequently washed up on shore.  There was a man-made swimming lagoon at the state park that was next to the mouth of the Wailua River, but walking on the beach around that lagoon was treacherous at best.

Just up the road less than a half mile from our hotel was an abandoned hotel property - the former Coco Palms - that was in the middle of what was an old coconut plantation.  The Coco Palms was THE place to stay on Kauai from the 50's thru the 80's hosting movie stars, royalty and socialites.  It was also the main filming location for the movie Blue Hawaii starring Elvis Presley.  However, when Hurricane Iniki hit Kauai with full force in 1992 the Coco Palms was severely damaged.  It has never reopened even with the property changing hands numerous times over the past 20 plus years.  We were told that the Hyatt corporation had bought the property a couple years ago with the promise of reopening the hotel to its former glory.  But there was still chain-link fencing and "No Trespassing" signs that lined the perimeter of the property.   

We found some great places to go on Kauai - fantastic beaches, botanical gardens, quaint little villages, and ate at some very good restaurants while we were there.  We also attempted to drink the island out of every last mai tai that they had.  Look for a couple of upcoming posts on trips to the north shore of Kauai, as well as a trip to the south shore and Upcountry areas on the western end of the island.  When we left Kauai, it was truly difficult to do so.