Hanalei Pizza

After the hike yesterday had great pizza at Hanalei Pizza in the Hanalei shopping center on the makai side. The web site is very thin but does show the regular menu, plus there are specials. This place is very Hanalei (laid back) and the pizza really is delicious by any standard, if a little unconventional. Prices are fairly high but the Large is quite large. The chalk board tells you what you need to know about this place.

Our Crust is made with Coconut Water, Hemp oil, Hemp seed, Flax oil, Flax seed, Flax flour, Flax bran, Poppy seed, Chia seed, Whole wheat flour, High protein flour.
We are Not known for our SPEED!
If you are Not Happy LET US KNOW.

UPDATE: Hanalei Pizza is now closed.

Hours 11:30am to 8:30pm every day

Phone 808-826-1300 or 808-826-9494

Dining

They make pizzas to order and also do a good business selling slices that they warm in the oven if you can't wait, are eating solo, or want to try many kinds. They will do half-and-half or even four-quarters as different kinds if you have a large party and want diversity. They will top your pizza with feta cheese and chopped basil as an option which I recommend. There is an assortment of beverages in the frig, or pick up beer or wine at the Big Save while your pizza bakes (no corkage fee), or have water to drink.

Pizza making

Shawn is almost always cooking when I show up through there are other chefs, and I learned a lot of neat tricks for my own pizza making. They have a nice professional pizza oven (the electric bill must rival the cost of ingredients, power is very expensive on the island) and the crust is nicely cooked to a firm but moist crisp.

The recipe for the dough is above from the chalk board, and they recycle old dough into the mix each time so there's no waste. To prevent the crust from over-rising a spiked roller is run over it to puncture the dough. Rolling out the dough on the working surface, flour and corn meal are used alternately so you get one corn meal side that will bake down to prevent sticking to the bottom of the oven.

The sauce is a chunky tomato and roasted garlic mix - a nice technique is using a plastic measuring cup to scoop out the sauce, pour it on the crust, and then use the bottom of the cup to spread it evenly. Garlic butter is brushed around the outside edge, toppings go on, and it bakes.