THE most important question to ask when you get off any plane is, "Where are the good places to eat?" Four for the road
showcase Kauai’s bounty from
simple to sensationalHopefully, you would have done your homework and planned your culinary itinerary, but restaurants come and go, guidebooks become outdated, and generally, locals know best anyway. I was prepared to improvise.
The only trouble is, when I got off the plane in Lihue, the people I asked kept directing me to Lihue restaurants. What about Poipu? Kilauea?
For someone who lives on the small island, the 12 manini miles from Lihue to Poipu is probably the mental equivalent of Oahuans driving from Honolulu to Haleiwa for dinner. It can be done, but certainly not on a regular basis.
As I tourist, however, I had no qualms about driving from Poipu to Hanapepe, Hanapepe to Kilauea, Kilauea to Kalaheo, and Kalaheo to Poipu, all in one day.
I also drove to a land called Hanalei, only to find the North Shore inundated with tacky boutiques and one-lane bridges infested with rental Fords. Losing my appetite, I turned and left as soon as I got there. Here are some of the other places where I ate during a four-day tour of duty. Wish they were here:
THOSE who live in Oahu's suburbs are lucky if they can find an all-night, fast-food restaurant. Maybe Lihue is not the sleepy town we think it is, if it can support what is nearly a 24-hour operation. Most of the week Oki Diner closes only between 3 and 5 a.m. for cleanup and stays open 'round the clock Fridays and Saturdays.
There was no hostess to greet me when I walked in, so I asked if I could sit in the back room.
"Whereevah," came the reply.
I didn't know what time it was either, so I asked, "What are you serving now, breakfast or lunch?"
"Whatever."
It sounds terse, but was offered in typical "anything goes" local style. The little diner that serves all of Lihue doesn't expect much tourist biz, and as far as they're concerned, they don't need a hostess to direct locals where to go or tell them what to do. They'll do their best to accommodate you, whatever you want.
At 10 a.m., what I wanted was lunch. From the taste of things, it seems that what the people of Lihue want is lots of sugar, from a sweetened Thousand Island dressing that accompanied a tossed green salad to the Pumpkin Crunch dessert -- pumpkin pie filling atop a walnut cookie crust with the whole works painted in white frosting.
"Local Favorites" entrees are named after the Kauai ex-mayors who loved them best, so every time a Lihue resident sees Beef Stew ($5.95), they'll think Tony Kunimura. And BBQ Ribs ($6.95), Eduardo Malapit.
Ex-Mayor JoAnn Yukimura's Chicken Tofu ($7.95) was a soup bowl of won bok, onions, tofu, long rice and tender chicken, steeped in shoyu-sugar water. It came with a soup spoon so you could drink more of it, or pour it over your two scoops rice.
This is one place that rivals KFC's colonel in offering three kinds of fried chicken. There is "Mom's" plain old Deep Fried Chicken ($6.95), Teriyaki Deep-Fried Chicken ($6.95) and prison warden Neal Wagatsuma's Special Fried Chicken ($6.95), described as "spicy." Instead, it was crunchy and candied.
One good thing for those with small appetites is that you don't have to be under 12 years old to get a $3.99 mini meal with your choice of one out of nine about entrees, one scoop of rice, tossed greens or macaroni salad.If you've got an all-day, sightseeing excursion planned, Oki Diner can pack your lunch, requesting only that large groups place orders in advance. Box lunches are available 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. and you can place a custom order of 30- to 60-cent a la carte items, or choose from two standard box lunches.
The $1.99 box includes two scoops rice, a piece of shrimp tempura, a teriyaki meat strip, a fried chicken wing, egg, corned beef hash, luncheon meat and koko (pickled vegetables). The offerings are doubled in a $5.99 box that also comes with fried noodles.
Touristas will also be interested in omiyage items from the bakery. There are pies, apple turnovers and manju, the latter broad and flat like Chinese cookies, and available in seven-piece bags for $5.95. After waiting to get home to taste the oatmeal cookies, I immediately regretted not buying more. I could have eaten the whole bag of the exceptionally crisp cookies by myself. Alas, I can't just drive to Oki Diner when I get a craving.
Oki Diner
Where: 3125 Kuhio Highway (next to McDonald's)
LIKE a dessert bandito on the lam, you'll find sweet refuge in this cool, comfy casa painted with south-of-the-border imagery, and floor strewn with sand. Unusual? Even with Hawaii's sense-o-round beach clime, it isn't every day we have to shake the sand from our shoes when leaving a restaurant.
The door closest to the Roadrunner Bakery sign opens to a bakery window, where you can order the most wonderful pastries you'll ever have. Unlike typical baked goods that get cold, stiff and greasy, Roadrunner's goods withstood the trunk test, sitting in the car all day while I ran about as tourists tend to do. When I finally bit into one a good five hours after I left the bakery -- probably long after its prime -- the Coconut Roll was unbelievably good, thanks to its 33 percent butter content. I don't even like coconut, but I ate the whole thing.
The door closest to the Roadrunner parking lot will lead you to the mural-filled, Mexico-inspired dining room, done up in ochre and mustard colors, decked in green patio furnishings and palms.
Cool off first with a restorative tonic of homemade Agua Fresca ($2), pulpy fruit juices blended with filtered water.
Lunch features several salads that start with tender Kilauea greens. The Ahi-Ahi-Ahi Salad ($7.25) features a three-ounce ahi steak atop a bed of greens dominated by nutty-flavored arugula, crisp jicama and deep-fried red onion rings. The salad was to be "masked" in lime vinaigrette, but dressing was nil, the better to taste the natural flavor of the greens.
Burras are the menu's main attraction. These are giant burritos shaped from handmade flour tortillas that are so fresh they flex and fold, rather than crack like the dry brittle ones served by most restaurants.
The burras start with pinto beans, salsa fresca and Mexican rice, lots of it. You choose from one of 10 entree fillings that range from Tofu ($5.75) to Major Grinds ($6.75) of roasted chicken or pork.
I settled on the Black Dog Burra ($6.75) with roasted pork, grilled Hanalei taro and black beans. This was topped with two salsas, a delicate salsa verde and a more fiery one of red chiles and tomatoes. The burra was heavy on rice, and I preferred the purple taro to the pork.There are also Chile Relleno combinations, running $11.95 to $12.95, or all-American single ($3.25) or double ($4.25) burgers for those not in the mood for Mexican.
Breakfasts, served from 7 to 11 a.m., might includes homemade bagels for $1.75, or $2.25 with cream cheese. Pastries of the above-mentioned coconut or cinnamon rolls are $1.44 each.
The Local Boy ($6.25) is a breakfast of steamed rice and fish with scrambled eggs and green onion. A short stack of three pancakes runs $4.75, $5.75 for a full stack.
Mexican specialties include Huevos Rancheros ($6.45), a crisp corn tortilla topped with eggs poached in a fresh tomatillo sauce, beans, cheese, salsa fresca and guacamole. It's served with rice and tortilla chips. Huevos Mexicana ($5.95) are eggs scrambled with onion and tomato.
Like most of Roadrunner's produce, its chiles are locally grown and freshly ground, rather than poured from a bottle. Chef-owner Denis Johnston says with pride that there is no can opener or freezer on the premises. That is quite a feat and I hope this never changes.
Roadrunner Cafe
THE idea of light eating is relative to what you normally eat, and you know Camp House Grill has got to be a heavy-duty kind of place when Grant's Weight Watcher ($4.95) breakfast consists of two eggs prepared your way, corned beef hash and a biscuit with gravy.
In spite of a menu that seems to offer one heart-attack special after another, I didn't mind it a bit, and neither did my companion, who praised Camp House's cookin' as being "just like they make at home in Texas."
In a wooden building that was once a plantation chow house, display cases reflect camp stores from a half century ago. The decor includes an axis deer head, stuffed chickens and roosters. You'll most likely end up here en route to Waimea Canyon and a day's worth of exploration, when hearty sustenance comes in handy.
A Biscuit and Gravy breakfast ($5.95) features two biscuits with gravy, two eggs prepared your way and rice or Camp House hash browns, not the frozen kind, but a homemade dice of pan-fried potatoes. Ask to have it topped with cheddar cheese if you like, for an extra $1.
Three pancakes with syrup and butter are $3.95. The price is boosted to $4.95 when you ask for toppings of mac nuts, coconut, chocolate chips, bananas or blueberries. The shortstack, with two pancakes, runs $2.95.
French Toast made with six thick, fluffy pieces of Portuguese Sweet Bread, also runs $3.95, $4.95 with any of the toppings above.
The French Toast, BBQ Pork Ribs ($14.95) and fresh catch purchased from neighborhood fishermen are favorites with Kauai diners. Camp House Huli Chicken is also worth a try at $7.95. This half bird is seasoned with a blend of dry Hawaiian, Chinese and Cajun spices, then huli'd until the meat is tender and the skin takes on a crisp, mellow gold tone.
If you want to sample both the chicken and ribs, the Camp House Combo is $14.95. All entrees come with a choice of soup or salad and choice of rice, potato salad, fries or cucumber kim chee. The restaurant is also known for its one-third pound ground chuck burgers, cooked to a perfect medium unless you request otherwise.
Gourmet magazine once tried to get the restaurant's recipe for Pineapple-Mac Nut-Cream Cheese Pie, but Grandma's recipe remains a Camp House secret. It didn't seem too hard to figure out: Crushed pineapple lining an unobtrusive crust, filled to the top of the pastry shell with a cream cheese and sugar mixture, sprinkled with chopped macadamia nuts, then baked. Easy. The result tasted more refreshing than heavy, a dangerous deception.The Chewy Chocolate Chip Macadamia Nut Pie is also built by layers, with chocolate chips melted between crust and butter, brown sugar, pecan pie filling.
All pies are about $9 or $10 except for sour cream apple which is $12. Slices are priced at $1.95 or $2. Sour cream apple slices run $2.50.
Camp House Grill
IT'S easy to see why Zagat readers were seduced in Piatti's gardens of delight. It's set in a plantation home dating to the 1930s -- obviously the boss' home -- with floors of Brazilian cherry wood, koa trim and large, shady lanais. Few restaurants can pull off the balancing act between opulence and comfort as well as Piatti's.
We had a little bit of trouble finding the restaurant entrance, surrounded as it is by lush gardens, a small banana grove and koi ponds. Although the primary gardens are ornamental in nature, the real prize is the herb and salad garden in back of the restaurant, lovingly tended by Cheri Cambridge, the wife of general manager William Cambridge.
There, she says, "Whatever I want I could plant, but of course I ask the chef what he wants because I want the garden to be useful."
She has transformed patches of rocky, weedy soil, into a wonderland of 83 different kinds of edibles, medicinal plants and garnishes. As befitting the restaurant's menu, she has planted the Italian beet, chiogga, and four kinds of oregano, including the thick-leafed velvet oregano. Small sunflowers dress up plates, and because the restaurant is open air, citronella is grown to ward off mosquitoes.
Although the Zagat Survey awarded Piatti's a four-plus rating for new restaurants in 1997 -- the highest ranking on the three islands surveyed -- they had no way of knowing before publication that the best was yet to come. Chef David Abell, formerly of The Beach House, joined the staff just three months ago and is busily adding his signature to the menu, with dishes that put Kauai's produce and livestock on parade.
Varied "Kaua'ian Favorites" are featured each evening. These might include Abell's Filetto di Manzo al Caffe ($27.95), filet mignon smoked with coffee beans; Pesca a Vela con Avocadi ($24.50), grilled, marinated sailfish topped with unobtrusive Kauai lime butter and avocado sauce; and Veal ($20.50) with capers, Marsala and oyster mushrooms from Kapaa.
Of course, pastas are always available. These are made simply, with a few well chosen ingredients such as portobello mushrooms, garlic, arugula, chili peppers from the garden and Pecorino cheese in a dish of Tagliolini con Funghi Arrabbiato ($14.95). Deflated Ravioli ($12.95) could have used more of the ricotta and spinach filling.A Porcupine Shrimp ($9.95) appetizer is enveloped in thin strips of phyllo that does little for flavor, but adds a whole lot of texture and crumbs.
If your kid hates vegetables, try this restaurant as a last resort. The basic salad topped by the lightest of thyme vinaigrettes, might win junior over. Supermarket vegetables can't match the tender texture and fresh flavors.
I was surprised when a Ice Cream Sundae ($6.25) was offered as a dessert specialty. How pedestrian, I thought. But you must taste this one, with velvety Kona coffee ice cream seguing into vanilla bean seguing into chocolate ice cream, layered atop homemade caramel. Homemade fudge of Valrhona chocolate and roasted macadamia nuts topped this smooth, creamy confection.
Piatti's
Nadine Kam's restaurant reviews run on Thursdays. Reviews are conducted anonymously and paid for by the Star-Bulletin. Star ratings are based on comparisons of similar restaurants:
To recommend a restaurant, write: The Weekly Eater, P.O. Box 3080, Honolulu, Hawaii 96802. Or send e-mail to features@starbulletin.com-- excellent;
