Mmm…Paparoni’s!

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You know, we have been looking for what we consider the “perfect pizza” in the islands for 13 years. I am thankful to say, we finally found it! Paparoni’s is located in Captain Cook on the Big Island of Hawaii. (About 15 minutes south of Kona) It’s tucked in a small side of the road building with a few shops including the place next door which sells Auntie Helen’s Banana Bread. Yum! Paparoni’s pizza is heavenly. The right amount of sauce to cheese to pepperoni ratio which is surprisingly hard to come by these days. The sauce is garlicy without being overpowering and a good blend of herbs. The pepperoni is tasty as is the cheese. All of these things come together to make one heck of a pizza pie! So good we may get it more than once in a week and tell all visitors to make a trip there. Not only is the pizza good but the service is great too. We’ve always been greeted by smiling faces and sassy, attentive service.

We also tried their subs as well and they were pretty good. (We got them cold for a plane ride but I think if they were heated they’d be better. But they’re perfect to pick up on your way to the Volcano or down to Kealakekua Bay.)

The prices are very reasonable given the quality of the food. If you’d like to give Paparoni’s a try while you’re on the Big Island, stop by and see them at:

82-6127 Mamalahoa Highway Ste 4
Captain Cook, HI 96704
808-323-2661

Review: Bubba Gump Shrimp Company Maui

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We’ve been going to Bubba Gumps for years and I thought it was time I finally did a review on it. I have to say that we tend to go more for the atmosphere than the food. We like to go at off peak times for lunch when it’s less crowded and enjoy the water and views of Lanai across the channel. Then you’ve got music, the friendly staff and the Forrest Gump memorabilia that add to the experience. For years we have gotten the same thing and the last few times I started noticing they were really overcooking the fried shrimp and slippery lobsters in my “bucket of boat trash” entree. So we both decided to try something different.

He got the “I’m Stuffed” Shrimp which is quite possibly the most heavenly thing I’ve ever tasted at a seafood place. It’s big shrimp stuffed with crab, baked in garlic butter and topped with Monterey Jack Cheese served on jasmine rice. It was SOOO good and I was so jealous especially after I ate mine. I had the Shrimpers Heaven (which isn’t listed on the website so I don’t know if it was a limited time thing or if it’s just on the local menu.) You have 4 cones of shrimp: peel and eat, fried, coconut and tempura. The tempura shrimp was cooked perfectly but very little flavor which is what the dipping sauces are for. There was cocktail, an asian sauce that was really good (and hubby kept taking) and I think maybe a mustardy kind of sauce, (I didn’t care for it) The peel and eat’s are served cold of course so they were fine. But once again, the fried and coconut shrimp were burned to a crisp which is why they’re dark brown. I was a little upset because it was the first time I was trying coconut shrimp and this could not have been a good representation of it. We both got some good drinks. He got a frozen lemonade and got to keep the flashing hurricane glass. He loved it. I got a mango lemonade which was good but they’re a little liberal on the ice so I’d ask for a small amount of ice so it doesn’t get watered down too quickly. Other than the ice thaw, the lemonade was good.

All in all, Bubba Gumps is hit and miss foodwise but it’s all about the great location. I wouldn’t steer people away from there by any means but I would emplore the Maui branch to stop killing the seafood you’re frying, it’s already dead. I highly recommend the I’m Stuffed Shrimp and you’d be safe with anything that’s not fried.

889 Front St.
Lahaina, HI 96761
Tel:808-661-3111
Hours: Sun-Thur 10AM-12AM, Fri-Sat 10AM-12AM

Sammy’s Beach Bar and Grill review

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When I found out former Van Halen frontman Sammy Hagar opened a restaurant at Kahului Airport on Maui, I knew we’d have to stop in. The hubby is a big fan and we needed to go for no other reason but to say we went. We had some time to kill between flights so we decided to order. I’m not a drinker but I had to order a Waborita so I could say I had one. To say it knocked me on my okole would be an understatement! Not just from the alcohol but also the astronomical price of $15!!! Maybe drinkers are used to paying that much but I don’t remember seeing a price next to it and had I seen that, I wouldn’t have gotten it. I have to say that for the money the effects lasted a long time so I guess that’s getting the most for your dollar.

I ordered the Crispy Pescado Mahi (Fish and Chips) and my hubby ordered the Pork Quesadillas. See that little thing covered up with jicama julienne strips? That’s my fish. While the Mahi was really juicy and flavorful, it was about 2 oz and for what I paid ($17.99) that is just outrageous. It was literally 4 tiny bites. As you can see from the picture there is much more chips than fish. The only upside to that is the delectable avacado cream they serve with it. It is WONDERFUL and I’m not an avacado girl at all. The hubby got the pork quesadillas and they were good and the size of the quesadilla was decent but he said for what he paid ($18.99) there wasn’t enough pork to justify paying extra for it. That black stuff on top is a black bean puree which is a good idea but kind of freaky looking.

Review: Haliimaile General Store & Tavern

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When I was asked where I wanted to eat for my birthday, I piped up and said “Haliimaile General Store!” We’d met the celebrity chef Bev Gannon before but hadn’t been to her restaurant and thought it would be a good time to indulge. I’d been scanning the menu and picked out what I wanted long before we ever arrived. We started with passion fruit lemonade. It was quickly renamed by us as “heaven in a glass.” It was sweet and slightly tart and I nursed it for much longer than normal to make it stretch. It was $4 per glass. I have desperately tried to replicate this drink complete with the suspended look in the glass and haven’t quite got it but hey, we’re enjoying trying! They gave us some sourdough rolls that were SO good. I could’ve made a meal out of those but tried to restrain myself. We got the crab pizza appetizer. ($9) It was really good. Crab with a cream cheese tasting mix on a medium crust. The only thing that would’ve made it perfect? A sourdough crust. Oh yeah.

Review: Kona Brewing Company

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We’d always heard great things about this place and finally got around to going there. We purposely got a plethora of items to try from the Kona crab cake appetizer to the KBC’illa Po’okela pork quesadilla appetizer and the entrees were the Big Wave Shrimp Melt and Porterhouse Dip. The crab cakes were awful, I’ve had better from the grocery store. The cajun aioli they served with it was good but you can’t cover up poor quality crab cakes. (Not a single lump of crabmeat like good cakes should have and it was essentially like paying $6 per crab cake) The pork quesadillas had very little pork and a TON of big jalapeno slices. I took 2 bites of mine and said that was enough. Nowhere near worth the money for either appetizer. (The salsa which appeared to be homemade was good though!)

Then you come to the entrees. The Big Wave shrimp melt was just plain awful. So bad I stopped after 3 bites. The only flavor in it were the occasional roasted garlic cloves you’d encounter. What a colossal disappointment. The description sounded good. The Porterhouse Dip was actually decent, not great but average which at this point we welcomed. The chips were REALLY good though. They’re the only thing they didn’t actually make. They’re those salt and pepper kettle chips and taste exactly like the ones in my pantry. Seriously? You miss the opportunity to make your own signature chips?

One thing that MAJORLY irked us was we got this stuff to go because it was crowded and we were staying a few minutes away and they jipped us our crab cakes. No major deal, it happens with any restaurant from time to time on take out orders which is why you should always check your bag wherever you get take out from. I saw they were missing within 30 seconds of getting the bag since we should’ve had four items, not three. So I gave the hubby the receipt and he goes back and says they didn’t give us the crab cakes. The next thing I know, I see the manager actually walking over to our car!!! Yeah, apparently he didn’t believe the receipt in my husband’s hands and thought within 60 seconds we were trying to do a smooth criminal and swindle them for more crab cakes. (Trust me, if I’d known how horrible they were going to be, I would’ve told him to take it off of the bill and keep them.) Luckily he came to his senses before he got to the car because if he’d had the nerve to open the door, I would’ve ripped him a new one. What, he thought I yanked them out of the bag and put them in the compartment with the spare tire?? Bad move because now not only is your food bad, you’re insulting the customers by essentially calling them thieves and I’m blogging about it. So take that for what it’s worth. Anyway…

I’m sure the beer is great for beer drinkers but don’t boil all of your meats in them, it gives it a funky taste. We should’ve gotten the pizza like everyone raves about but we were pizza’d out at that point and you figure they charge so much and get such rave reviews that they had to be something right. Apparently that something is pizza, beer and condiments.

As with any restaurants, prices are subject to change and always call ahead of time especially if you’re visiting the islands because the restaurant business in the islands is particularly fickle. A restaurant that’s been around for 50 years can and does go out of business in this economy.

Kona Brewing Company
75-5629 Kuakini Highway
Kailua Kona, Hawaii 96740
808-334-BREW (2739)

Sunday to Thursday:
11 am - 9 pm Kitchen/10 pm Bar
Friday and Saturday:
11 am - 10 pm Kitchen/11 pm Bar

Is there good pizza on Maui?

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You know when you’re vacationing on different islands, sometimes you don’t feel like local food or some expensive splurge, you just feel like a good old fashioned pizza. We have found over the years that pizza on Maui is, to us, severely lacking. We tried Pizza Paradiso in the Honokowai area and were unimpressed. We heard really good things about BJ’s Chicago Pizzeria and felt it was a little bland and expensive. Vinny’s Pizza was probably the worst pizza we’ve ever had…anywhere. It said “authentic New York style pizza”…I beg to differ. NY style is thin but not thin as rice paper, barely any sauce and it was SWIMMING in grease. We went through 3 paper towels soaking the grease off of it. Pizza Hut is just awful anymore, it’s certainly not what it was back in the 80’s. It tastes distinctly manufactured over the past 10 years so you can’t even rely on the big chain pizza places for good food anymore.

We’re really not that picky when it comes to pizza, I swear! This year we’re going to try Round Table Pizza in Kihei. It looks good and while we don’t stay in that area, we’re making a special trip because we’re that desperate! I still get sticker shock when I see pizza prices like $25 for their “Maui Zaui” pizza.

We’re beginning to think a good zesty pizza pie just isn’t possible on the Valley Isle but we’d love to be proven wrong! So does anyone have any suggestions?

Restaurant Review: Pele’s Other Garden

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When you go to the small island of Lanai, you’ve got a few choices for grabbing grinds. You’ve got the big resorts where you can pay big prices or you can go into Dole Square and eat where the locals eat and stretch your dollar. (Tip: If the locals eat there, stop in, you’ve found the best eats!)

One of the stops on one of our excursions to Lanai was to a little deli called Pele’s Other Garden. We tried the Italian hoagie, the meatball sub and our friend got the pizza hoagie. I love Italian subs and if a place offers them up, I’m all over them. This was a great hoagie and decent portion size for the money. (If I remember correctly they’re from the Pittsburgh area and they know how to do deli sandwiches right.) My husband liked his meatball sub as well but after a bite of my hoagie he said he knew what he was getting next time. My friend couldn’t finish all of her french bread pizza so she gave it to us. (Research people, research!) I still dream about that pizza. It was GOOD! The sauce, which we all know is key, is perfect. Robust and zesty, I wish they sold it by the jar. Lunch entrees start at $5.99 and hoagies average $7-8 depending on what you get. (Salads start at $4.99)

Now in the evening, this place transforms into a little Italian bistro. I’m not able to vouch for that portion of the dining experience but you can get a good feel for it from these reviews from other patrons. Reservations are strongly recommended for both lunch and dinner because of limited seating (you can make them online) but you can also take it to go which is perfect if you’re getting ready for a big day of exploration on the island. (There are picnic tables in the middle of the square.) Prices for dinner are more expensive with main entrees starting at $16.99. (Salads and pizza a little less) Now this wahine hopes that is some magical spaghetti and meatballs for $16.99 and I don’t think a side salad comes with that so when we go for dinner sometime, I’ll let you know if it was worth the price. If anyone has been there for dinner (or at all), feel free to add your 2 cents to this. All in all, I’d recommend a stop at Pele’s Other Garden if you’re on Lanai and not in the mood for a local dish.

Pele’s Other Garden
811 Houston St
Lanai City, HI 96763
888-764-3354
http://www.pelesothergarden.com/
Cut off time for online dinner reservations 3pm.

The downhill spiral of a great restaurant…

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I never thought I’d have to write these words but it’s a last desperate plea to restore a restaurant that many visitors and locals are quickly warning others to stay away from. When we found Oki Diner in Lihue, we thought we’d struck local food gold. Sure, the rundown location was less than appealing and the snail-like service was a little irritating but you put a plate lunch of teri beef, kalua pig, fried noodles, sticky rice and a scoop of mac salad in front of us and we were happy haoles. When they moved to a new location on Rice Street that looked to be a step up, we were very excited. That excitement was short lived.

We have had nothing but bad luck with Oki Diner ever since they moved there. They no longer give you the cornbread, they refuse substitutions now and charge outrageous prices to sub out one meat for another, when I say the service is slow…I mean the diner has 3 tables of customers and it takes an hour to get your food and it’s overdone like its been sitting and then reheated. Add a rude, lazy and sometimes neurotic wait staff and you have a recipe for disaster for this former favorite. I used to recommend this restaurant to EVERYONE who was going to Kauai. I told them to ignore the hole in the wall feel and call the order in to avoid the slow service but now there’s no way I would send anyone there. I’m not the only person who feels this way, the reviews on TripAdvisor for Oki have never been great but they are now consistently negative.

All is not lost for Oki Diner though. It’s going to take owner Barbie Oki, a beloved staple of the Kauai community, throwing herself into commiting to the kind of quality and quantity she used to be known for. It can be done. I hope it WILL be done because I’ll be the first person to send people back there and would gladly amend this review to rave about its positive change. But in a business that is already fickle in the islands where long time, neighborhood staple mom and pop restaurants seem to fold like a deck of cards after years of consistently good service…how long can the open sign stay lit for the once great Oki Diner?

Remembering one of the last great tiki bars

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While growing up in Columbus, Ohio going out to a really fancy restaurant was a big thing. It was an even bigger thing when you got to go to the Kahiki Polynesian Supper Club. (I encourage you to click on the link and go to the Kahiki Supper Club Video in the bottom right corner to see the inside of this historical building.) Now this tiki bar was in it’s heyday back in the 60’s and 70’s and it never really updated…ever. But the kitschy appeal as time went on made it that much more fun. I remember going there for my birthday once, for prom, for family gatherings and my first really fancy date with my husband. The outside of the building was beautiful and resembled a war canoe. Large Easter Island statues stood on either side of the entrance with their “hair” aflame every night. As you walked in, there was this really cave-like entrance with a black light and the water that ran down the lavaesque walls looked like milk. To the right was the gift shop, which I loved to stroll around as a kid and then the Beachcomber Bar. To the left were the restrooms which had huge clamshell sinks ala old Coco Palms style and portholes. If you walked a little further, there was a staircase leading down to the disco which later became the banquet/party rooms. Man, if you were able to sneak down there it was just the coolest thing as a kid. Right in front of you is this big fountain shaped like a head.

As you enter the restaurant, there are various huts named after the Hawaiian Islands, things like puffer fish lights on the ceiling, high back wicker chairs, heavily varnished tables and booths that sat you either on the aquarium wall or the “rainforest” wall. The centerpiece of it all was a HUGE 80′ tall mask fireplace. It looked downright evil yet entrancing. Now before my honeymoon in 1996, this was my only exposure to “polynesian” culture. Now that we’re more than well versed in many aspects of Hawaii and Polynesian tradition, we know that some things weren’t exactly representative of Hawaii. Like I don’t remember hearing steel drums in Hawaii…ever. But they have a wonderful steel drum band there. The food is more Chinese, American and I suppose a tad of what is now known as Pacific Rim but nowhere were there real Hawaiian dishes like a plate lunch, kalua pig, huli huli chicken or any of the things you’d come to expect on a regular menu at a local restaurant. But there were “tropical” dishes so I suppose that’s close enough as you’re going to find in the midwest! The rainforest side of the restaurant was basically a pipe over the windows that would leak during the “storm” while the “wild birds” (aka-sparrows and robins and a few other birds) flew around. Do I wish they had more authentic representations of the islands? Sure. But whatcha gonna do? Well, if you’ve got big business in the form of Walgreen’s breathing down your neck because you’re sitting next to a CVS pharmacy, then you take your business of 39 years and fold the restaurant. Yes, this beautiful restaurant that lumbered over our city since the 60’s and intrigued everyone to react whether positive or negative, to its closing day was reduced to rubble so Walgreen’s could compete next to CVS. It was an atrocity. We went for our last dinner in it’s final, crowded weeks when everyone came from cities near and far to say their alohas to this central Ohio landmark. The owner was sure they would reopen downtown on the riverfront but this did not match our mayor’s vision for the city and he would not green light the project. It saddens most central Ohioans or anyone whose ever been there because they’re a dying breed and our dreams to seem to be on hold for ever seeing Kahiki restaurant reborn. Kahiki Foods, their frozen food subsidiary, have done incredibly well and can even be seen in Hawaii grocery stores. But for those who crave Kahiki’s restaurant menu, what is a person to do?

Well, you head on up to Hilliard, Ohio (northwest central Ohio) to Tropical Bistro where the chefs and employees of Kahiki, with the blessing of Kahiki bigwigs, now prepare the exact same menu! Some of my personal faves are the crab puff pupu, Hong Kong Steak, Malagasy Chicken, the Tahitian Mermaid *yum!*, Islander Flaming Beef Teriyaki and Teriyaki Chicken. They have a great lunch buffet if you want the basics. My only complaint is the Pina Passion drink is served in a ceramic pineapple and they used to be served in a whole pineapple which was half the fun. One of the highlights of this wonderful restaurant is their ukulele player Francis who lived in Kona and played for Jamesons. He is a delight, filled with aloha spirit and loves to talk story.

Aloha and A hui hou Kahiki. We hope your treasures will one day be unveiled to bring your ambience and menu together again. Mahalo Tropical Bistro for allowing the Kahiki loyalists to have a place to go to reminisce and make new memories as well!

Update: Sadly The Tropical Bistro has closed. It was in a horrible location and we knew it wouldn’t last long there. One can only hope they might choose a new location but I won’t hold my breath. Sigh.

(To see the heartwrenching pictures of Kahiki being dismantled, click here)

Kahiki Restaurant picture courtesy of Kahiki.com

Restaurant Review…Bubba Burger

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If you’ve been to Kauai, chances are you’ve either seen a commercial on KVIC or passed Bubba Burger. There are 2 locations, one in Kapa’a and one in Hanalei across from Ching Young Village. We were anxious to try this place the first time we went back in 1996 because they just touted these burgers like they were the best thing ever! You’ve got your Bubba Burger, Double Bubba, “The Slopper”, Italian Sausage and the like. I have to say…not overly impressed with the burgers. The better half gave them another shot on the burgers and said they were a little overly greasy. It’s one of those places that you really should try because we all have our own ideas of what a great burger should be and since it doesn’t break the bank, I’d encourage you to give it a whirl. But one place we feel they really shine and something we crave is their chili dogs and chili cheese fries. It’s one of a select few places we may rush to hopping off the plane because of them. The chili is the perfect consistency, just the right amount of heat- not too little and not too much. Slather that on with some cheese and onions and you have one of the tastiest gastronomical time bombs on the island. That being said, it would be smart to load up with Beano or Gas-X prior to that much chili…that’s about as far as I’m going with that one and your traveling companions will thank you. (Well, they should thank me!)

Now it has to be said if you go to their website you are in for a time trip back to the days when cheesey graphics, midis and ill conceived websites were king. I believe the copyright on the webpage is 1995 and I’d be willing to be the format hasn’t changed since then. I suppose it has a charm of sorts but we’d really love to see an updated webpage from Bubba’s with the same sassy content…just organized. I did notice however that when the now defunct Kihei, Maui location was removed a few years ago, so was the “Bub Club” program where you could print out this little card and receive 10% off. You could also buy some of their merchandise and receive either a discount or a free drink…can’t remember which. That’s a shame they did away with that, it made it unique and was more of an incentive for visitors to the islands to go there. Maybe we were the only people who used it?

But organized webpage and Bub Club or not, Bubba’s has reasonably priced good food and great locations whether you want to eat in or grab it to go and head across the street to the beach (Kapa’a) or drive a few blocks to the beach (Hanalei). We recommend you swing by Bubba’s and see what item strikes yer fancy!

Bubba Burgers

4-1421 Kuhio Hwy
Kapaa, HI
(808) 823-0069

or

5-5161 Kuhio Hwy
Hanalei, HI
(808) 826-7839

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