It’s easy to brand the popular and pervasive North Shore O‘ahu shrimp shacks and trucks as tourist traps. On most days near lunchtime, it’s not uncommon to find dozens of packed tour vans parked outside shrimp purveyors between the North Shore towns of Hale‘iwa and Kahuku, their passengers scarfing down plates of shrimp. Catch us […]
We thought we were early for lunch. It was 9 a.m., after all. But by the time we walked up to the entrance of Sam Sato’s, an unpretentious, old-time restaurant in Wailuku’s industrial area, a crowd of hungry patrons were already gathered, names written on a little yellow pad at the takeout window. Waiting to
There’s no shortage of bakeries across Hawaii, serving everything from exotic Japanese cake rolls to old-fashioned apple pies to extravagant modern desserts. There are old-time neighborhood bakeries like Kamehameha Bakery in Kalihi on Oahu that sells some of the best—and inexpensive—glazed donuts around. Or donut shops like Regal Bakery—three locations on Oahu—with its creative donuts,
The phone in Mike Hirao’s office is ringing off the hook. He doesn’t answer it. “I bet this person wants chichi dango,” he says, eyeing the noisy phone. It’s 3 p.m. on a Thursday. Nisshodo Candy Store has been open since 7 a.m. The shop is an hour from closing. And the Japanese mochi dessert
Elmer Guzman was so desperate for a poke bowl while working in New Orleans for Emeril Lagasse he came up with a version using Louisiana ingredients. Instead of Hawaiian ahi, he used escolar (a deepwater fish similar to tuna). With no kukui nuts, he resorted to grinding pecans to give the poke its signature nutty flavor. Some sea
Jim Gusukuma sits at a picnic table near Rainbow Drive-In, his board shorts still damp from his morning surf in nearby Waikiki. A line of customers is already at the takeout window, ordering plates of fried rice, loco mocos and buttermilk pancakes. This is Thursday ritual for Gusukuma, owner of the iconic comfort food haven,
A sugar-blanketed deep-fried Portuguese doughnut. A bowl of chili that leaves aficionados of the traditionally spicy side dish scratching their heads. A canned luncheon meat with an annual festival in its honor. Love ’em or not, this collection of Hawaii foods represents the eats we feel everyone must try at least once to boast that
It’s raining, as it has been for the past few days on Kauaʻi. Cars swerve to avoid potholes and people are armed with hooded sweatshirts, umbrellas and newspapers held over their heads. The scene in Līhuʻe looks more like Seattle in the summer than Kauaʻi in January. Still, while the bus stops and parking lots
Trust us. You haven’t truly sampled everything Hawaii residents love to eat until you’ve had a Spam musubi. It’s the perfectly portable Hawaii snack—a slice of fried Spam over a compacted block of sticky white rice, and all of it wrapped with a ribbon of dried nori (seaweed). There are dozens of versions of this
