There is no excuse to eat poorly on vacation, and even less of an excuse if you are in the cultural melting pot of Kauai, known for its broad spectrum of various cuisines to local food options. Catch the aloha spirit at the tried-and-true poke spot on the south shore,
Koloa Fish Market, where the daily fresh poke comes in a variety of flavorful options such as wasabi poke and kimchee poke to spicy mayo and avocado. In addition to the poke, they serve a delicious traditional pork lau lau lunch plate with traditional kalua pork, salmon lomi lomi, and chicken long rice.
Tip:: It's cash-only, so have your dollar bills ready. And while shave ice is a dime a dozen in Hawaii, I had the tough job of trying tons of various types of shave ice and narrowed it down to Loco Coco Shave Ice, a food truck vendor I stumbled upon while driving along the coast. Not only does Loco Coco make all their syrups from actual fresh fruit purees, which means no artificial flavors, but it is topped with additional fresh fruit, homemade coconut creme if you wish, and placed into a real coconut shell. Not only is it perfect for the 'gram, but deserves a Michelin star for shave ice excellence.
Tip:: Loco Coco is not a storefront, but rather a food truck located in a parking lot: so it isn't terribly easy to find. But once you do, its well worth it. The one other shave ice truck that struck my fancy is The Fresh Shave, again, another gem I stumbled upon that I can't seem to get out of my mind. Their signature logo of mustaches is served up everywhere, along with your straw. What I found most unique about The Fresh Shave was its unique menu concoctions like the Dirt McGirt, comprised of flavors such as Oreo cookie crumble, and cold brew shave ice made with local coffee. They are closed Sundays and Mondays, and have a secret menu. Ask and you shall receive.
Friday nights in Hanapepe is a local party with live music, street vendors, and plenty of delicious food options. Bobbie's does an excellent open-air BBQ huli huli chicken plate. Be sure to order early as they can run out pretty quickly. Porky's food truck is a guaranteed crowd-pleaser, so get in line early and order up a grilled pineapple pork sausage that will remain in your food dreams forever. For a sit down date night type of dinner, scoot over to RumFire in Poipu, where the sunset views are epic and the dining is delicious enough to write home about. Chef Michael Young locally sources all his ingredients for a global taste with island flair. Table 53 is truly something special in which RumFire has raised over 200K for local charities.
Tip: Pre-request Table 53 (where 100 percent of the net proceeds go to a local charity) and order the venison tar tar and the coconut lemongrass soup. For a truly unique farm to table dinner, check out the He 'Aina Ola at the Westin Princeville. Start with a tour of a working farm (where your food will come from!) and then sit down with about 25 others for a top notch chef prepared meal using fresh local fish and greens along with wine pairings. Clear eyes, full bellies, can't lose.
