Hawaii - Jeff Campbell [41]
Festivals & Events
Food festivals often showcase island crops, such as the Kona Coffee Cultural Festival (Click here), East Maui Taro Festival (Click here), Maui Onion Festival (Click here), Wahiawa Pineapple Festival (www.hawaiipineapplefestival.com) and the biennial (even-numbered years) Hanalei Taro Festival (Click here). Beer drinkers should mark their calendars for the Kona Brewers Festival (Click here). Only in Hawaii will you find the Aloha Festivals Poke Contest (Click here) and the Waikiki Spam Jam (Click here).
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Hawaii’s homegrown cornucopia comes to life in The Hawai′i Farmers Market Cookbook (Hawaii Farm Bureau), which features handy tips and recipes from top local farmers and chefs.
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Gourmet culinary events are all the rage across the islands; they vary in price and formality. On O′ahu, Restaurant Week Hawaii (Click here) is a great chance to check out the gamut of venues offering special menus and deals. Maui boasts a spate of such events, including the Kapalua Wine & Food Festival (Click here). Kaua′i’s Spring Gourmet Gala (Click here) and Taste of Hawaii (Click here) bring top chefs to the island, while the Big Island’s A Taste of the Hawaiian Range (Click here) is an affordable treat for the carnivorous. Search for others at www.calendar.gohawaii.com.
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WHERE TO EAT & DRINK
The dining scene is like night and day between Honolulu and the Neighbor Islands due to restaurant quantity and variety. On Kaua′i, we can count the number of established Japanese restaurants on one hand, while O′ahu’s selection will number in the hundreds, from impeccable sushi bars to noodle shops to trendy izakaya (which by and large have not reached the Neighbor Islands yet). That said, the Big Island and especially Maui are closer to O′ahu as trendsetters, whether they be boutique farms or four-star dining rooms.
Still across the islands you’ll find similar types of restaurants. For sit-down meals, there is a big divide between highbrow restaurants that could rival mainland counterparts and lowbrow diner-type, family restaurants that serve classic, plantation-style cookery, loved for familiar flavors and generous portions. In either category, there are gems and duds. If you want to splurge on a meal, pick the foodie darlings rather than any oceanfront resort restaurant (for which you’re paying mainly for the view).
Find fantastic prices on fresh fish at indie fish markets, which typically sell poke, seared ahi and fish plates. If calories are no concern, go for true local grinds at ’70s-style drive-ins (for plate lunches and loco moco). Ideal for picnics are okazu-ya (Japanese takeout) lunch shops, mainly in Hilo and Honolulu.
While all-night eateries are readily found in Honolulu, Neighbor Island restaurants typically open and close (by 10pm) early. For late-night dining, you’ll have to seek out bars or the rare 24-hour coffee shop. In general, locals tip slightly less than mainlanders do, but still up to 20% for good service and at least 15% for the basics.
Local produce is surprisingly pricey and hard to find except at farmers markets, fruit stands and some locally owned supermarkets (see the boxed text, below). Both residents and tourists cannot resist the deals at Costco (which actually has an impressive deli serving poke that garners raves from locals).
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HABITS & CUSTOMS
In traditional households, home cooking is integral to daily life, perhaps owing to the slower pace, backyard gardens and obsession with food. Meals are early and on the dot: typically 6am breakfast, noon lunch and 6pm dinner.
At home, locals rarely serve formal sit-down meals with individual courses. Even when entertaining, meals are typically served potluck style with a spread of flavorful dishes that to the unfamiliar palate will seem ridiculously clashing. If you’re invited to a local home, show up on time, bring dessert, and remove your shoes at the door. Locals are generous with leftovers and might insist that you take a plate (along with homegrown