I’m writing this from my living room, staring at the rain outside from my living room windows. It’s Tuesday and most of us are working remotely, a move encouraged by our employer to minimize the spread of COVID-19, the fast-spreading respiratory virus that’s already in 50 states. We’re supposed to stay indoors—easy since it’s pouring […]
When people fly out of Kahului Airport on Maui, they usually stop at Krispy Kreme on Kele Street—it’s the only location in Hawai‘i—to snag a box of doughnuts. This Valley Isle tradition is on par with enjoying Ululani’s Shave Ice or Minit Stop fried chicken for most locals. But not for me. Instead, I make
Using chef’s plating tweezers, Brian Hirata leans over a row of black plates that look like discs of basalt, meticulously adds tiny leaves from the Rumex acetosella plant, commonly known as sheep’s sorrel, to the top of a black tuile cookie made from ti ash. He harvested the sheep’s sorrel himself, off the side of
His name is Romeo and I’m in love. This gorgeous umbrella cockatoo locks eyes with me, then saunters over for a closer look. He squawks, I blush. Smitten. “You know he skateboards, too,” says another admirer, clearly a regular to this zoo. I’ve always been a sucker for skateboarders, so this all makes sense. The
“This is so good, it’s dangerous.” I’m intrigued—but since this woman is also handing out shots of alcohol, I’m also concerned. Kalei fills up my small glass with a ready-to-drink cocktail that combines pineapple and passion fruit purée with premium Kōloa Kaua‘i white rum. I consider her first statement as I easily down the cupful.
When Ken Hirata vacationed in Hawai‘i more than 20 years ago, he tried poi, a traditional Hawaiian staple made from mashed taro. Realizing that fermentation was a key process in making both poi and shochu, a beloved distilled spirit made in his home country, Japan, Hirata wondered if he could craft good shochu with Hawai‘i-grown
If you see a shark approaching you, be sure to make eye contact with it.” As someone who’s never once seen a shark in person, this is troubling advice. I have to look at the shark? In the eyes? I have trouble doing that when I’m talking to strangers. My head is racing. I can’t
Maui-based mental health therapist-turned-writer Toby Neal, whose series of Hawai‘i-based crime and romance novels are hugely popular, penned a memoir called “Freckled” about her wild childhood on Kaua‘i. More than 35,000 copies of her self-published book have already been sold since January 2019. Now splitting time between Pukalani and Northern California, Neal is still writing
My husband and I think about food most of the time, so it is only fitting that our vacation itinerary revolves around the next meal. Instead of museums or monuments, you’ll find us at farmers markets, tasting rooms and hole-in-the-wall restaurants. We find more pleasure in collecting edible experiences than tangible souvenirs, which would only
What Kaui Hart Hemmings has accomplished as a Hawai‘i writer is nothing short of impressive: Her first book, “The Descendants,” was a New York Times bestseller, published in 22 countries and turned into an Oscar-winning film directed by Alexander Payne and starring George Clooney. But why stop there? Her next novel, “The Possibilities,” was optioned
When I was 9, I almost drowned at Waimea Bay on O‘ahu’s North Shore. My dad, a seasoned waterman, knew there was a swell on the way, but the bay looked flat and picturesque that morning as I floated in the shorebreak on my bodyboard. But from there, things changed fast: A rip current dragged
Raised on O‘ahu’s North Shore, award-winning photographer Clark Little is best known for capturing the extraordinary beauty of the shorebreak. And it all started because his wife wanted a photo of the ocean to hang on their bedroom wall. That honey-do-list item has turned into a full-on career. In a short time, Little gained critical
