Markʻs Place

Recently I discovered perhaps the best plate lunch on Kauaʻi at Mark's Place, located west of the Lihue shopping mall in Puhi. Food is always well prepared and fresh, portions are plentiful, and service is friendly. They take orders at the register and food is prepared to go but there are a few picnic benches outside if you want to eat there. This place is clearly a favorite with the locals and it is so popular you should expect it to be crowded so parking is tight and you will have to wait a few minutes in line to order but it works out just fine - you might meet someone while everyone is standing around and waiting. If you are in a hurry check out the menu as well as daily specials first, then call to place your order in advance.

In addition to the regular menu they have daily specials as well as a selection of baked goods. Today I had the Furikake crusted ahi, wasabi butter sauce ($10.75) - it was well prepared, generous portion, and quite tasty. I you like spicy food I recommend adding (to taste) some Sriracha sauce (available there) to the mac salad to give it a little kick.

Getting there: Mark's Place is tucked away in an industrial area a ways from the main highway so it's a little tricky to find the first time. From Highway 50 at the Puhi intersection (opposite Kauaʻi Community College) go makai (South) a half mile; turn right at Hanalima Street; turn right at Haleukana Street and immediately turn right into the parking lot.

Details: (for latest see the web site)

1610 Haleukana Street  Lihue, HI 96766

(808) 245-2522

Monday thru Friday:  10:00 AM to 8:00 PM, closed weekends and holidays

32 hours

Just back from showing off the island to a friend making a short visit here - 32 hours - from mid-morning yesterday to evening departure tonight. I definitely raised an eyebrow when the New York Times wrote about a "36 hour" visit to Kauaʻi a few months ago, but did my best to give a complete tour while keeping it from becoming work.


Day 1 --- 10:30am (flight arrives early) pick up at Lihue airport, drive up Rice street and head west. First stop: Hanapepe. Little Fish was closed for construction. Walked the downtown, visit Talk Story bookstore, cross the river and back on the highway heading west. Stopped in Waimea for lunch at Island Tacos (seared ahi wasabi tacos) -- instead of ordering 2 tacos, get 2 orders of 1 taco (1$ extra) and we each get a serving of tortilla chips and salsa on the side. Turn right and head up the mountain. (The West Kauai Visitor Center was closed but had it been open would have stopped by while in town.)

Stopped up above town for good view of Niihau island and first views of the lower canyon. Stopped at the first canyon lookout and could see Waipoʻo falls flowing nicely across the canyon. Drove up to Kokeʻe and right to the Puu o Kila lookout at the end of the road. Despite it being somewhat overcast had a clear view of Kalalau. Back to the lodge and then headed back down the hill.

Back to the east on the highway we went makai to Koloa to get pupus at the Koloa fish market. Drove out to Spouting Horn and then back home to Kalaheo for dinner and to prepare for an early start in the morning.

Day 2 --- an early start it was --- gassed up at the Hanamaulu Shell by 6am and were headed north around the east side of the island as dawn broke over the eastern shore. Stopped by Hanalei Coffee Roasters for coffee then out past Haena to Keʻe beach at the end of the road. Plenty of parking at 7:30am but it filled quickly soon after.

We explored up the beach back toward Haena far enough to see the Na Pali coastline looking back to the west. There was one seal relaxing on the sand that disappeared once more people showed up. Went up the Kalalau trail just a short ways: at 1/4 there is a view back over Keʻe beach; at 1/2 mile, the first overlook with a view of the Na Pali coast about as far as Hanakapiai. It was clear enough to see Lehua (see below, the little island near Niihau) in the distance. For today that was far enough.

Lunch at Neide's (Mexican and Brazilian) in Hanalei - itʻs in the shopping center in town on mauka side. My first time to have Panqueca - roasted vegetables (or there are meat options) rolled in a crepe topped with a savory sauce and cheese. Food was good, large serving, around $15. (I was very disappointed to see that Hanalei Pizza across the street is no more, replaced by Puka Dog.)

Slowly worked our way back toward Lihue with a stop in Kapaʻa and enjoyed beers on the lanai at JJ's in Nawiliwili before heading to the airport.

Given short time to see the island I think it worked out splendidly.

La Spezia

Last year a nice new Italian restaurant opened in Koloa that has become a reliable favorite. La Spezia is across from the Koloa post office one block down from the Koloa shops near Sueoka market, right next to the Big Save. The atmosphere is a little more island-style casual - it isn't unusual to see T-shirts and shorts - but the food is very high quality, nothing casual about the preparation. Recently it has been crowded but last night we were lucky to get a table without waiting.

The hours are a little unusual: they serve breakfast and dinner but are closed lunchtime, with the exception of brunch on Sunday, and closed Mondays. They have a full bar and a wide selection of wine. In addition to the regular menu they usually have some daily dinner specials worth asking about. Portions are reasonable size but not enormous. We have yet to try the desserts.

Parking lot is next to the restaurant adjacent to Big Save parking lot directly across from the post office (warning: the dirt parking lot can be rather muddy).

Tahiti Nui

Three and a half years ago* on my first visit to this island I happened to walk into the Tahiti Nui on a Friday night. I had heard of it as an institution on the north shore as a Kauaʻi-style night spot. To my very pleasant surprise, that night Keli'i Kāneali'i played two great sets. I knew his music from the days when he was the Hawaiian half of the group Hapa (very big in the islands), now solo Keliʻi lives here and often plays local gigs. You can find his performance schedule here.

I have mentioned the Nui previously as recommended Local Grinds but it deserves more than just a mention. The staff are great - they are quite a diverse group and rotate frequently but always friendly. The Nui is a bar, renowned for their Mai Tai (which I have never had), but the food is quite good, too. The Caesar salad is excellent and generous proportioned so almost always this is my meal, with a beer (they have several Hawaiian brands on tap).

Also highly recommended (but I have not had yet) is their Wednesday night Luau. One of the staff described the full course menu to me and it was impressive, including an imu-roasted pig.

On the north shore for good food, good music, good times, check out the Tahiti Nui, it's on the right as you just before you get to the heart of Hanalei.

* April 2, 2010 to be exact
** imu is a traditional fire pit oven

Grinds misc.

MCS Grill

The MCS Grill in Hanapepe is a new resurrection of Da Imu Hut.
The atmosphere and menu has suddenly been updated 40 or 50 years from old-style rural Hawaiian to modern. Da Imu Hut was one of my favorite really strong local feeling place, so I was skeptical of the new look at first, but from my first visit I am completely turned around and think this is all for the best. Especially because I learned that Da Imu Hut will be reopening before long up the hill in the Eleele shopping center (between the Big Save and the Kauai Credit Union) but doing on catering I understand, not as a restaurant.

"MCS" is the three initials of the new proprietors; I met one of them, a young lady who was my waitress. I wanted a quick light lunch and they had a special that was just right, a "Crabacado" (crab and avocado wrap, $10) that was very good. Fresh ingredients, the flavoring had a little kick to it, prepared quickly. The menu is very veggie-friendly, about half the fare is meatless (Da Imu Hut, not so much).

1-3529 Kaumualii Hwy, Hanapepe -- Closed Saturdays. Cash only.

 Lilikoi

A friend provided fresh lilikoi from his garden. It's an unfamiliar fruit not often seen on the mainland so it's worth explaining a bit about it. Lilikoi is round fruit roughly twice the size of a ping pong ball. It grows on a vine and ripe fruit simply falls off when ready. The fruit is said to be best when it is fairly wrinkly but I had some good ones that were smooth and firm.

The taste is wonderful: tropical sweet and very tart. You cut the fruit in half (a little juice will inevitably leak out) and then eat the pulp and seeds, discarding the white pithy outside. Use a fork to separate out the pulp, and save all the juice that you can in the process.

I like it straight but there are many ways to eat it, for example:

• with papaya, put lilikoi pulp in the hollow of a half of papaya (get a little of it in each bite)
• mixed with yogurt
• in salad dressing

The seeds are fine to eat, I just swallow them after savoring the flavor; with the pulp surrounding them you can't even feel them at all. If you don't like the idea of eating seeds I have heard that you can put the pulp and seeds into a blender and quickly pulse it to separate the seeds a bit, then filter out the seeds with a sieve if you want to go to the effort.

Now available: the best pineapple

I have raved about Sugarloaf pineapple more than once here, and shared it with friends every chance I get, and have yet to get anything but a very positive agreement that it is worth making a fuss over. Until now it was only been available locally and intermittently at that thanks to a lot of hard work at Hole in the Mountain farm it is now available for sale online to anywhere in the US and they expect to have fruit available nearly year round.

Order at kauaisugarloaf.com.

We visited the farm recently and they have a big crop coming in, including some absolutely monster-sized beauties nearing perfect ripeness.

If you try some, please leave a comment here as to how you liked it.

Mangosteen

I recently found mangosteen (Garcinia mangostana) in a Kapaʻa natural foods market and indeed it is a treat, often called The Queen of Fruit. Mostly grown in Southeast Asia they do well here and are grown at small scale on the island - I donʻt think there are any orchards here, just a few trees here and there. Mangosteen trees take twelve years to begin to produce fruit which is a natural deterrent to commercial farming - imagine applying for a farm loan to run the farm with your business model showing first income in 2025.

The skin is somewhat hard and covers a spongy outer layer that you break open, revealing the edible aril (a fruity covering of a seed, e.g. pomegranate) inside that is segmented and looks quite a bit like tangerine only white. These segments are the fruit - the covering tastes unpleasant. The taste is indescribable: tropical scented but unique, lightly sweet, with an almost creamy. One larger segment was a little pithier and contained an underdeveloped seed surrounded by stringy fibers much like in a mango (do not crunch up and eat the seed).

Note: fresh mangosteen is hard to find outside of Southeast Asia and canned it can be found in oriental food stores ... However, it is said that the flavor is largely lost by the canning process.

Saturday

Saturday was an eclectic but interesting day of hiking, sushi, and a music concert. Originally I had more ambitious hiking plans (Powerline trail to be specific, going for the big views) but the sky looked more clouded than anticipated so I scaled back and did Nounou mountain (Sleeping Giant), from the ocean side trail head.

Sleeping Giant is the popular hike to do around Wailua, both locals and visitors. I met a lady on the trail who climbs it regularly three times a week. It's a good workout but not a big deal, just four miles round-trip and less than 1000 feet of altitude. The trail is a little tricky to follow and junctions are not signed but no worries getting too lost up there.

I have done this hike before, but not recently, and it was both shorter than I recalled (I must be in better shape now) as well as the views more spectacular than expected. From the east trail head, a few switchbacks take you up through forested level and the trail opens up and becomes more rocky. Further up the trail joins with those of other approaches and leads to a picnic area.

It was already a hot morning for the climb, but from here on the ridge there was a little breeze making it quite pleasant. The photo above right shows the trail leading to the summit. As I was taking this photo people up there (you can just make out a speck of the little girl's bright yellow shirt to the right side of the dark rock forming the peak, a ways down from the very top) started waving and shouting to take their picture. I met them up the trail, took a better shot at close range, and emailed it to them last night.

At the top it's fairly exposed and requires caution and getting there is a little rocky section best climbed using hands but not difficult at all. I felt rather foolish having taken numerous shots of the view on the way up that were nice but nothing like the view from the summit.

Panorama, to the east

Panorama, to the north

On the way back I stopped at the picnic tables for water and a snack and already there as if waiting for me was a fellow from the National Tropical Botanical Garden (NTBG) I had met at the Limahuli garden. Already I am starting to just get used to things like this on the island and stop being surprised how well things somehow just work out. He was hiking with his mother and we shared snacks and I learned that he already had plans to work with me as a volunteer on an upcoming new project. He manages the "reserve" - a large undeveloped area above the garden proper. The NTBG owns the entire Limahuli ahupua'a - a roughly pie shaped area from the mountain top down to the ocean - so its an extensive wild area they have been working for years to restore to native plans. Most of Kaua'i is overgrown extensively with invasive plants, including the many plants the original settlers brought with them. In brief, the volunteer work would be maintenance of these areas being restored, and a core challenge is correctly identifying the weeds from the native (some very rare) plants.

* * *

I had dinner at "Katsu" - the Tip Top Motel cafe transformed into a sushi restaurant - and had heard that it was the best sushi on the island. I haven't done a thorough survey to judge that but I can say it was good. The ambience of the cafe is a little jarring to the sushi aesthetic (the green tea comes in coffee mugs) and there is a little Hawaiian hybridizing (the miso soup comes with a Chinese soup spoon).

The sushi was very good, fresh and well prepared. The Sushi Combination A ($24.95) was a large meal: 7 pieces of sushi, all with good sized tane (piece of fish or what have you); tekka maki (tuna roll) and California roll; with miso soup and green tea.

* * *

I attended a fun concert of hula and Hawaiian music, An Evening with Na Kaholokula at the Kaua'i Community College. Na Kaholokula has been playing music on the local scene for many years, founded by the father of the two front men, Robbie and Kimo Kaholokula, and one son is now in the band. The music they played spanned from early days of the band up to new songs, all very Hawaiian style (hard to define that). Most music with lyrics was accompanied by hula, either individual or group performances. Several guest performances were interwoven throughout:  Mike Young (slack key guitar), kumu hula Doric Yaris, and a group of west side kupuna (elders) performed hula seated on stage.

The entire show was filled with aloha spirit and evoked a strong feeling of community. As just one example, after opening with a couple of songs, Mike Young got such an ovation (hana ho) he did another song but in changing the tuning of his guitar one of the strings (new ones, he said) snapped. "Anybody have a guitar I can borrow?" he asked without missing a beat.  Kimo Kaholokula marched right out and handed him one of his. Mike said he would play with the standard tuning already set up rather than risk breaking someone else's strings. Robbie, the younger of the Kaholokula brothers served as emcee and announcer throughout and was cleary having a wonderful time. As the kupuna were assembling on stage, clearly some of them needed assistance walking. Robbie offered, "You just take your time getting set, we have the room booked until ten."

Monico's

Monico's Taqueria is one of those rare restaurants that you walk in and right away you know that everything on the menu is going to be good. And everything I had was. The place is very clean, the staff is friendly in a genuine way, even the cooks say hello from the kitchen.

Naturally, the meal begins with chips and salsa. The chips are almost potato-chip-thin and crispy without being oily. You get two kinds of salsa: a chunky mild tomato pico de gallo and a green chili sauce.

The fresh fish today was ahi so I had the fish tacos. Each taco is two steamed small corn tortillas with a well grilled piece of fish covered in shredded cabbage, a little sliced bell pepper, and drizzled with a creamy jalapeño sauce. On the side: rice and stewed beans. As I said, everything was great.

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.

Kauai Sugarloaf Pineapple

UPDATE: Now you can buy it online.

When not in Kauai the next best thing is fresh Sugarloaf Pineapple from Kauai. And the very best is from my good friends' farm there which occasionally they generously send me.

In a nutshell, this is a variety of pineapple unlike the yellow kind: sweeter, low acid, and the core so tender it's fine eating. Much more detail at the link above.

Incidentally, last week there was a rather comical dispute in The Garden Island (Kauai's local paper) setting the record straight that Sugarloaf Pineapple is not GMO. Recently a very confused gentleman felt obliged to write a letter to the editor saying the by virtue of being a different variety of pineapple it was therefore GMO. The pineapple farmers who actually know something about the subject wrote in response correcting this misinformation. Then on April Fool's day (I'm not making this up) the same fellow writes back admitting he was wrong but somehow concluded that he was right anyway.

According to The Non-GMO Project who we think should know, GMOs (or “genetically modified organisms”) are organisms that have been created through the gene-splicing techniques of biotechnology (also called genetic engineering, or GE). This relatively new science allows DNA from one species to be injected into another species in a laboratory, creating combinations of plant, animal, bacteria, and viral genes that do not occur in nature or through traditional crossbreeding methods." If you prefer Wikipedia it concurs: "A genetically modified organism (GMO) is an organism whose genetic material has been altered using genetic engineering techniques."

Several decades ago Sugarloaf pineapple was discovered naturally occurring in the pineapple fields of Lanai. I think we can all agree that nobody was doing any genetic engineering that long ago, and if anyone was, how likely was it that they were working in a pineapple field in Lanai?

Seriously though, the important point about GMO is that it creates organisms by human tinkering that are impossible to achieve by hybridizing or as natural variations. Sugarloaf Pineapple is anything but that, it's perfectly natural, and as we all agree, quite delicious pineapple.

Aholehole

Tonight's dinner was a treat: aholehole.

Uncle Palani and I got the leftover fish after we put a couple of lehua under the hale posts today.

The local guys caught some of these highly prized fish this morning for the hale and of course we couldn't let the rest of the catch go to waste. Said to be difficult to catch these are a special treat.

Fried in a pan with oil and Hawaiian salt the made good eating: I had three of them myself. Instead of rice we had steamed taro from the garden paddies (lo'i) on site here.

I'm hoping some of the taro gets made into poi tomorrow...

My Kauai: West

When I first visited Kauai I stayed mostly on the west side and have continued to feel most at home there. Of the two ends of the road that I like, the west side is the drier in terms of both weather and personality.

Here are some highlights of the Kauai West Side, working from east to the end of the road to the west. The tour begins in Ele'ele which is just before Hanapepe on the main highway going west toward Waimea.

Kauai Island Brewery [link] is the westernmost beer brewery in the country as well as this side of the International Date Line (there is a lot of that out here in the westernmost island, excepting Ni'ihau, which is private and off limits, of the westermost state). Dave opened the place a year or so ago featuring ten different brews ranging from pale to porter. Often I will swing by after working in the garden and lately the place has been doing a brisk business. Try the sampler to get a taste of several beers to see what you like. I like the Cane Red. There's a full bar for non-beer drinkers and grinds from the kitchen as well.

Hanapepe is on the highway just down the hill from Ele'ele. The old town main street is just off and parallel to the highway, and some businesses also line the highway. The Hanapepe River splits the town (the old bridge is one lane wide), flowing down out of the Hanapepe Valley to the north. Hanapepe Friday Art nights are the time to visit - all other times it's a very sleepy little town. On Friday you will see several restaurants, food stalls, and over a dozen art galleries all open roughly 6 to 9pm. The galleries and restaurants are open at other times but not late and hours may be spotty.

• Taro Ko makes thinly sliced crispy fried chips from taro (kalo), breadfruit (ulu), & potatoes, too. The whole operation from slicing to frying to packaging to sales runs out of a little old house on the east end of the main street off the highway. Every morning they cook until ingredients run out. If he's there, tell Stanley I sent you.
• Little Fish Cafe is a tiny place just around the corner on the main street on the east end of town, open early mornings through lunchtime. Best coffee in Hanapepe hands-down and great bagel creations (I like The Hippie and The Veggie) and the rest of the menu of light fare looks promising. One a nice day eat out in the back patio area.
• Talk Story Bookstore (the westernmost independent bookstore) is a nice, funky local book store, mostly used books run by a friendly fellow who knows his books. Often on Friday nights they feature local authors.
• Kauai Kookie is a local baked goods factory specializing in cookies, of course. The factory store has quite a variety of their non-cookie goods as well and offers free tastes. 
• Da Imu Hut is a funky local grinds place right on the highway that does very good lau lau. Their Chicken Lau Lau plate is the one thing that tempts me to go back to eating meat: chicken wrapped in taro leaves baked until tender, lomi lomi salmon (salmon with tomato and onion), macaroni salad, and two scoops of rice. The non-meat selection is very limited. This place is hard to spot (the name is written on the window perpendicular to the road, very hard to spot and only visible from one direction): it's right along the highway in front of Kauai Kookie, across the street from Wong's chinese.

Salt Pond Park is a short drive from the highway, turn makai just outside of town to the west and follow the signs. This is a beach many locals visit: plenty of parking, grass lawn with tables and benches, sandy beach around a well protected curved bay with rocky reefs around much of the outside. Safe to snorkel inside but not so much to see unless you venture out (where you really need to know what you are doing).

Waimea eating options in Waimea are good but limited.

• For early breakfast Obsessions Cafe (no idea about the name) is open from 6am: good asparagus-mushroom omelet, good macadamia-nut pancakes, and decent coffee (Black Mountain brand).
• Good home-cooked breakfast, lunch, and goodies at Yumi's (for more see Local Grinds).
• And for lunch I like Island Tacos (for more see Local Grinds).
• Ishihara Market has the best fish and makes lots of prepared dishes and lunches: bento, poke, etc.

Waimea walking tour [most Mondays: link] is a must if you are interested in the history of the west side.

Koke'e State Park and Waimea Canyon are both prime hiking destinations. Probably half of the hikes mentioned here are up here. On the west side of Waimea turn mauka onto the 550 just before the West Kauai Technology and Visitor Center. A prominent highway sign tells you to go several miles out of your way to the long way around via Kekaha: ignore that unless you want to also swing by anything listed below on the way. (I assume the local neighborhood prefers fewer visitors driving through the 25 MPH road.)

PMRF (Pacific Missile Range Facility) at Barking Sands (PMRF) is just beyond Kekaha, the last actual city on the west side before the end of the road. This military facility is a significant Department of Defense installation, "the world's largest instrumented multi-environmental range capable of supported surface, subsurface, air, and space operations simultaneously" protecting our western flank. PMRF is a major driver of the local economy and also occupies several miles of prime beach out before the plentiful Kekaha beach that lines the highway beyond town.

Polihale is the end of the road here. Take the highway all the way west, driving past the PMRF gates on the makai side, then turn left on a nondescript dirt road (that I hear is in decent shape these days; previously it was notoriously potholed). Several miles of sand beach run west and right up to a pile of boulders at the foot of an first impassable cliff. Swimming here can be dangerous - strong currents, and if you get in trouble out here there is nothing west of you out to sea for several thousand miles. Polihale is popular but it's a fair drive to get out there. Camping is permitted.

Beyond Polihale, further west and then curving north with the coast the Na Pali cliffs dominate the terrain. You can kayak out there in summer when the sea is calm but this time of year it's difficult. I sure haven't been around the bend or even out to Polihale though I hope to next week or so. The photo to the left gives you an idea of the terrain: it's shot from above the cliffs - I hiked down from Koke'e - showing Miloli'i Beach (look for the white surf just left of center) some 2000 feet below.

Kava

Today I tried kava here at Limahuli. A gentleman brought the bowl and we have kava from Fiji I believe.

The preparation from what I could tell is done from shredded, dried kava root. It looks like a dried herb and someone said it is related to pepper. The dry kava goes into a cheesecloth bag that is "kneaded" by hand in a large bowl called a tonoa (not Hawaiian, but from the South Pacific) of water. This produces what looks much like muddy water which is then scooped up (in the hand-made cups shown in the bowl) and repeatedly poured back into the bowl, I presume to dissolve any sediment.

Starting with the eldest (kupuna) and working down to youngest in order, the kava is served by the cup. Before receiving a cup you clap once, and after drinking clap twice and the server claps a few times - these rules I deduced from observation; I don't really know at all the proper etiquette. The drinking cups are made from coconut shells, hand carved, and between drinks the cups go into a water dish.

Kava has a delicate taste with a peppery touch and afterward your mouth may feel a little numb. It was pretty good, certainly compared to how it looked. I had 7 or 8 cups of about a half measuring cup each over a couple of hours as we nibbled on pupus (appetizers).

Kava is said to relax you and to loosen your joints. I am getting sleepy - not surprising at 10pm after a full work day - but do not note any particular effects.

It was great to sit around and talk story (chat) while drinking together with zero alcohol involved.

Kilauea

Today went out to Kilauea for the day with friends from Hanapepe. We had ideal weather and easy traffic (it's almost 100 miles roundtrip, believe it or not, on this small island).

Excellent breakfast at Common Ground Garden Cafe - vegetable omelette with potatoes  and good coffee. Directions: turn mauka* a short ways south of Kilauea. Proceed down the road through gate at the end opening into the large fields of Common Ground.

Walked along Quarry Beach which was relatively crowded (the small parking area was full). It's a beautiful beach along an enclosed bay a few hundred yards across. Several surfers were out there as well as people relaxing on the beach or jogging along the sand. We saw a few seabirds flying overhead as this is just south of the lighthouse where they congregate. Directions: turn off the highway makai* a couple miles south of Kilauea on Wailapa Rd, down about a mile take a dirt road to the left (was in good condition today) down to the beach.

View from the Kilauea Lighthouse

Headed out to the lighthouse and say many many birds, crashing waves, and a lot of people. Directions: go to Kilauea town and follow signs to lighthouse. It's a national park with $5 entrance fee.

* see Hawaiian glossary

My Kauai: Local Grinds

"Grinds" is a local term for food, as in, "Want to get some grinds?" I have heard it used as a verb as well, "Go ahead and grind." (encouraging one to eat) In this piece, "Local" is a euphemism for "inexpensive" or the opposite of "fancy".

Nonetheless, these are places I really like for authentic food and good vibes - recommended no less than the fancy places I've listed, just don't expect white table cloths and shiny silverware. For most, don't expect table service at all.  You will get a unique Kauai experience and tasty food.

I'm omitting a couple of "standards" because I find them off-putting; you know those places that are institutions so while the food is indeed good, the staff doesn't try to be friendly, a little conceited by the fame of the place?

CLOSED: Hanalei Pizza (Hanalei) - good homemade pizza from the crust up, good combos, vaguely hippie-style ambiance, and they usually have ready-to-eat slices. The crust is tasty, containing a bunch of things like hemp meal and chia seeds (all written on the blackboard) and I learned from the chef that yesterday's unused dough goes into the mix recycled into tomorrows dough.

Tahiti Nui (Hanalei) - this bar restaurant has been around a long time and has live music several nights a week. I like to go from the music, sit at the bar, and have a Caesar Salad which is very good and a good sized portion. I haven't explored the menu much beyond that but it looks like the kitchen knows what they are doing. Also untried by myself but promising is their Wednesday night luau dinner.

Mermaids Cafe (Kapaa) - a little hole-in-the-wall next door to Java Kai consisting of just a kitchen, you eat on tables out front or on the counter along the side. Menu is mostly wraps: I like the Cilantro Ahi and the Ahi Nori Wrap. A little pricey considering how un-fancy the place looks, but its a good portion well prepared,

Pono Market (Kapaa) - not a restaurant but a fish market counter, I mention them for excellent poke in many varieties and an assortment of other local foods to go.

Tip Top (Lihue) - a new find I've only been there once for breakfast: the macadamia pancakes were excellent. The restaurant is in the middle of what looks like very inexpensive motel in downtown. It's a big place, and was full of mostly locals on a weekend morning. They have a sushi bar which I hear (from a Japanese person) is best on the island (which may not be saying much, haven't tried it). Recommending just on faith that it's worth further visits.

Koloa Fish Market (Koloa) - tiny place just beyond (going makai) the Koloa Old Town shops, it's hard to find -- look for it exactly opposite the Koloa Post Office. Fresh fish, poke, lunch plates, and some desserts. I like the ahi (or other fish, as available) wasabi (there are a few options for preparation) lunch plate: two good sized pieces of fish cooked just right, two scoops of rice, macaroni salad. The sweet potato haupia pie is excellent, too. Essentially no place to eat there (there was one small stool on the porch) so get it to go and head to the beach or a park to grind.

Little Fish Cafe (Hanapepe) - a new place for coffee and light food along the old town main street with a decidedly hippie style and really good coffee. I like the house coffee which they make fresh by the cup. For a great light breakfast I get their open-faced bagel sandwiches which come with a number of toppings; both the Hippie and the Veggie are very good. Menu covers a lot of blackboard space plus they have soups, banana bread, and more. Breakfast and lunch only.

Da Imu Hut (Hanapepe) - I don't think they have a sign: park in the Kauai Kookie parking lot and they are the place right alongside the highway. Hours can be variable, close early, possibly dinner only. The lau lau (pork, chicken) lunch plate is excellent and comes with lomi-lomi salmon. Very much not a fancy place but good food. Non-meat selection is extremely limited.

Obsessions (Waimea) - Another similar breakfast/lunch place in town that opens early so good to stop by on the way up to hike Koke'e. Surprisingly good Black Mountain brand (Hawaii) coffee for that kind of place where you get paper plates and plastic utensils.

Yumi's (Waimea) - Local home cooking by Yumi herself, breakfast and lunch (maybe some dinner hours). Outright the most friendly service on the island. Yumi also makes "goodies" - apple and coconut pies, pumpkin crunch bars, brownies - that a good size, delicious, and sell out quickly.

Island Tacos (Waimea) - I've become a regular here usually ordering Seared Wasabi Ahi fish tacos. The fish is raw but seared on the grill briefly, served with a wasabi mayonnaise sauce, purple and green cabbage, and white rice. They make their own tortilla for the soft fish tacos (and larger burritos) as well as fry them for chips. If you order just one taco you get chips on the side (two or more you have to buy the chips). I always get the hot sauce and in addition sprinkle some of the Hawaiian Habanero Heat really hot hot sauce they provide on as well for good measure. Limited hours are from lunchtime to five, seven days.

My Kauai: Nice Grinds

Today I met a couple on a hike who mentioned that they hadn't found any food on the island yet that impressed them (they were happily subsisting on papaya instead). Here is my list of some nice places to eat that still make the demanding "My Kauai" criteria. Alternatively, if you prefer, this omits the transplanted fancy restaurants that I'm sure are fine but are just like one finds in the up-scale parts of almost any large American city.

Generally these places are pricey by any standard. It isn't hard to spend forty or fifty dollars per person (or more with drinks) for a full meal. Kauai is expensive overall, it's a tourism-driven economy, and at the upper end of the food chain prices go up quickly. But I've felt at these places that you get what you pay for: your mileage my vary. As at any restaurant, breakfast and lunch are considerably less money but proportionally on the high side.

Postcards (Hanalei) is a very nice dinner-only reservation-recommended (or be prepared to wait) place suitable for a special occasion. Wait staff is always great. Kitchen can be on the slow side. Plenty of local ingredients, largely vegetarian but including fish, with a creative changing menu. Dine in a converted house with a nice garden (no ocean view).

Common Ground Garden Cafe (Kilauea) is a very good very organic place to eat. Off the highway perhaps a mile on the mauka side, the restaurant is located in a large spread where they grow a lot of the ingredients right there. Formerly a guava farm, Common Ground has several ventures, seeking to integrate with the local community in a wide variety of activities, the restaurant being just one. Had a terrific breakfast with good service and will be back soon.

Kalaheo Cafe (Kalaheo) is a cut above, especially at dinner. I almost always have the fish special dinner which varies. Breakfast menu everything is good. If you like sweet rolls try the "Knuckles" and usually a good array of desserts. The coffee is good: usually "Kauai Estate" and a rotating selection.

That's my short list: I haven't spent a lot of time exploring the high end, but these three places I can solidly endorse for a nice meal which I like to get every once in a while.

Runners up are fairly nice places and good alternatives, but they don't quite have my unqualified recommendation for one reason or another, often nearly complete lack of local influence (i.e. the restaurant could be anywhere).

Kalaheo Steak & Ribs (Kalaheo) - had a good meal there, they do often have fish. Very popular most nights. Full bar adjacent.

Tortilla Republic (Poipu) - up-scale Mexican with full bar, quite popular evenings.

Dolphin (Hanalei) - good fish-centric restaurant with sushi bar (I haven't tried the sushi, am skeptical) and a bar, located on the right coming into town next to the Hanalei River. They have a fish market behind the restaurant selling fresh fish where I have had good poke.
 

Sugarloaf

UPDATE: Now you can buy it online.

In the nineteenth century when Sanford Dole was developing the pineapple market he needed a variety of pineapple that would hold up to the canning process - fibrous and high in acid. That's what the world now knows as "pineapple" thanks to his industrious efforts. Today pineapples are jetted to market all over the world and there are varieties sold at a premium like Maui Gold, but Sugarloaf is in a whole league by itself.

Sugarloaf pineapples are sweet, low in acid, and not as fibrous. Most people discard the core of a fresh pineapple but with Sugarloaf you will want to eat it all - everything but the outside skin.

Sugarloaf pineapple is only available in the Hawaiian islands and I haven't seen it in the supermarket - just in the local farmer "sunshine markets" and usually only in summertime. Sugarloaf is best picked ripe and eaten soon after so it doesn't ship as easily as your garden variety pineapple.

A local Kauai farm [ http://tokauai.blogspot.com/2012/12/hole-in-mountain-farm.html ] is specializing in Sugarloaf and working on bringing them to ripen year round. I highly recommend it (purchase at the link below the photo).

When your box of Sugarloaf pineapples arrives, it's shipped ready-to-eat ripe so don't wait. Ripe Sugarloaf is often green skinned and people mistakenly let it sit around too long. Don't make this mistake: trust the farmers to send it ripe. Remember it won't last long. We have cut it up and it's fine 2 or 3 days later refrigerated. Be prepared to experience pineapple at its best.

Making bread & chutney

Saturday was filled with cooking with friends in Waimea. We met at Puna's for a nice breakfast followed by a bread-making session. Two ladies were interested in learning how to bake bread so I brought extra starter for them, and we prepared the bread together so they could learn.

While waiting for the bread to rise, we prepared mango chutney together -- another cooking process that takes a long time -- so we kept pleasantly busy all day long.

The bread came out great and we had an afternoon snack of fresh-baked bread together. The chutney took considerably longer so Puna finished it up herself that evening. And she baked bread herself as well; it came out "perfect" she says.

Today I picked up a pint and a half of the chutney and had a taste: it also came out "perfect".

Island Breadmaking

My grandmother Alice baked bread from a "starter" - a yeast culture that is increased and some saved - reconstituted from a small amount brought over. Slowly growing it back up as I moved around, transporting it in closed container for the car trip, and after not having a working oven the last two places, I am baking with it today.

I heard from Evan that Ursa baked with the starter and liked the result, and also learned that they live very nearby the place I am in now, right around the corner. It will be interesting to see what a pro can do with the starter in the coming weeks.

The kitchen here is minimal and the selection of equipment sparse but good enough. The countertop here is not suitable for kneading which is a special challenge and ensures the bread will be poorly shaped, not that I was expert at that anyway. The intermediate risings have been very promising in the warm humid climate here, expanding 3 to 4 times with lots of nice big bubbles in the dough.

The bread came out fine but stuck terribly to the unfamiliar pans. The climate here seems to be great for it so I'm looking forward to baking more soon. I got a local bread pudding recipe I will try with the leftovers as one batch is more than I can eat and I only managed to give away one loaf.