There’s plenty of food Hawaii is known for: saimin, kalua pig, pineapple, poke. Barbecue isn’t usually one of them. Which is why, as I walk through the doors of Sunset Smokehouse in the Central Oahu town of Wahiawa, I’m not sure what to expect. Originally started as a food truck parked in Sunset Beach in […]
It’s been a few years since chef Vikram Garg, best known for overseeing the award-winning restaurants at the luxe Halekulani in Waikiki, has been back in the kitchen. And, honestly, foodies have missed him. Garg left the hotel in 2016 and joined the MacNaughton Group, a Honolulu-based real estate investment and development firm. (After all,
I got the last cranberry cream cheese scones, and I actually felt horrible about it. The couple at the table next to me started sneaking looks at my plate, crowded with four hefty cranberry-studded disks, shimmering with a sugary glaze. I overheard that they were hoping to snag one—or two—before they left. They had met
The original Liliha Bakery has been an institution in Hawaii since the Takakuwa family opened it in 1950, serving freshly baked cakes and pastries and operating a counter-only coffee shop with comforting local dishes. Growing up on Oahu—a mere 2 miles from this bakery—this has long been the go-to spot for my family. (My grandparents
A fish what? I had to read my email again. When I heard about the world’s first fish sommelier at Mina’s Fish House, a line-to-table restaurant at the Four Seasons Resort Oahu at Ko Olina, I needed to know what that meant. I knew what a sommelier was: a highly trained and knowledgeable wine professional who
Nestled amid old monkeypod trees and lush greenery in Manoa Valley on Oahu, the historic Waioli Tea Room, which opened in 1922, had been serving finger sandwiches and fragrant teas in pretty china until it closed four years ago. The beautiful restaurant, with its lava-rock fireplace and garden views, sat empty. But, late last November,
If you’ve driven through Windward Oahu, you’ve probably seen the rustic fixture that is the Waiahole Poi Factory, surrounded by greenery with the stunning Koolau mountains in the background and Mokolii (aka Chinaman’s Hat) just off the coast. But have you stopped there for lunch? The spot, which sells fresh poi in bulk and by the
Helena’s Hawaiian Food doesn’t open for another hour, but the kitchen, at 9 a.m., is already bustling with activity. Just beneath 250 pounds of its famous pipikaula (salted dried beef), hanging in long strips above the stoves, a pair of chefs stir massive aluminum stockpots filled with bubbling beef stew, squid lū‘au, chicken long rice
Don’t worry, the taste and quality of Matsumoto Shave Ice’s popular icy treat haven’t changed and it’s located in the same area—just bigger and better. The expansion resulted from the construction of the Haleiwa Store Lots, a cluster of recently-built storefronts in the surrounding area, which includes Matsumoto’s. And, we are happy to report that
