The smash burger is the ultimate summer barbecue burger. It’s a thin patty, “smashed” on a hot griddle (with clarified butter) until the edges are crispy. Then it’s topped with American cheese, sliced onions and a special mayo-based sauce. It’s one of those easy-to-eat burgers that’s perfect with an ice-cold (preferably local) beer at the beach. We asked […]
Friday is National National Piña Colada Day, a day to celebrate the sweet cocktail that originated in Puerto Rico and can now be found at just about any beachfront bar. One of the world’s most popular cocktails, the piña colada is made with a mix of rum, cream of coconut or coconut milk and pineapple juice, most
The mai tai is one of those quintessential Hawaiʻi cocktails. It’s that perfect blend of tropical flavors, orgeat and rum that’s best enjoyed on the beach—preferably at sunset. And there’s no better day to celebrate this drink than today, National Mai Tai Day.
Not all honey is created equally. Three times a year, millions of bees from Big Island Bees on Hawaiʻi Island feast on the nectar of a single type of flower that blooms in a particular ecosystem in this part of the island. This results are flavors that are unique to the Islands. Like theʻōhiʻa lehua honey,
Created in New Orleans in 1951, this classic dessert features ripe bananas sautéed in a rum-infused caramel sauce, then flambéed tableside and served over vanilla ice cream. Can it get any better? Well, David Viviano, executive chef at the Fairmont Orchid on Hawaiʻi Island, has reinvented bananas foster with local ingredients. It’s deceptively easy—and even easier to
There are two things Eggs ‘n‘ Things on Oʻahu is known for, even to local diners: pancakes and omelets. The popular Waikikī eatery, which first opened in 1974 on ʻEna Road, has always specialized in classic, local-style breakfast fare, from Hawaiian sweet bread French toast to Spam and eggs. But the pancakes—fluffy and loaded with fresh
Garlic fried chicken is as much a potluck staple in Hawaiʻi as poke and mac salad. Bite-size chicken pieces, fried to golden and drenched in a slightly spicy and very garlicky sauce—it’s one seductive dish! Colin Hazama (@chefcolinhazama), the Oʻahu-born executive chef at The Royal Hawaiian, a Luxury Collection Resort in Waikīkī, shares his take
Jook is a popular rice porridge, or congee, found in many parts of Asia. The humble dish was introduced to Hawaiʻi by Chinese immigrants during the plantation era, and it’s become a local staple, especially after Thanksgiving. (Turkey jook is no joke!) You most often see gai jook, congee made with chicken, which is the
One of the benefits of Hawaiʻi’s multicultural population is the diversity of food you can find in the Islands. Immigrants who came to work on sugar plantations a century ago brought the food they ate in their home countries with them to Hawaiʻi. This explains why you’ll find rice (Japanese), kalbi (Korean), chow mein (Chinese),
The loco moco is about as iconic a Hawaiʻi dish as they come. Invented in Hilo in the late 1940s—reputedly at the old Lincoln Grill at the request of hungry teenagers—the loco moco is one of the simplest local dishes: white rice topped with a hamburger patty and a sunny egg, smothered in brown gravy.
It didn’t take long for the COVID-19 pandemic to get its own cocktail. It’s called the Quarantini, an easy lemon-honey martini with Emergen-C vitamin drink mix. Could this get even better? Of course! Bartender and TikTok superstar Ashley Hupp (@theparadise.bartender) upgraded the right-now cocktail into something vacay-worthy. To see more videos, follow us on Instagram @hawaiimagazine.com. Here’s
Nothing says vacation like a tiki cocktail—preferably poolside in Waikīkī. But you don’t have to be in the Islands to enjoy one. Here are recipes for three iconic Hawaiʻi drinks sure to make you feel like you’re on vacation wherever you are. The Duke’s Mai Tai The mai tai is the iconic cocktail of the
