Whether you’re addicted to Double-Stuff Oreos, Chocolate Chip Cookies, or Girl Scout Thin Mints, anyone can turn into a “Cookie Monster” after only one taste of these exclusive Japanese delicacies. BSBC, or more commonly known as Bite-Sized Banzai Cookies, are addictive. Ask my husband…..he’ll tell you. We brought home five containers of them. Yes, FIVE. Made with all-natural ingredients, these cookies boast a crackling sweet taste combination of Sake, arare, and furikake. (That translates to wine, rice, and seaweed.). Don’t roll your eyes! The crispy crunch is unbelievable! The Kauai Kookie website explains how they arrived at this unusual name. “Rumor has it that the inventor of this peculiar cookie flavor was so pleased with the taste that he privately paid homage by shouting a deep-bellied ‘BANZAI’, a common alcoholic toasting expression used in Japan (or maybe he was mildly intoxicated by the traces of sake!). Regardless of how the name was established, it has stuck ever since.”

While vacationing on Kauai, my husband and I discovered this unique little bakery in Hanapepe called Kauai Kookie. From the parking lot, the aromas were enough to make our stomachs growl. Never mind that as soon as we walked through the door, the hostess offered us a toasty warm butter cookie to munch on while we perused the shelves. She even offered us samples of their wide assortment just for the asking. One bite and we were hooked. The pink Guava Macadamia cookies and the Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip concoctions were a great afternoon snack, in my opinion. After all, you can’t go wrong with island macadamias. But the Banzai says it all. Cheers!

Every once in awhile, when traveling, you have to take a break from exotic hearty fare and hone in on comfort food. “To thine own self be true.” There’s nothing quite like it. That’s when we set the GPS for Pizza Parlors. Thank goodness for cell phone navigation. Never mind the fact that we practically attacked the tall lanky guy in the hotel parking lot when we saw him strolling toward the elevator with a pizza box in hand. But we wanted to find out where to get true Italian pizza. Oh sure, we asked around. Between the staff and the locals, no one pretty much had an opinion. And if they did, it was the same response. “You can’t”, they echoed. “There aren’t any on the island.” Essentially they couldn’t understand why anyone would fly over fourteen hours to get to a tropical island and then desire to eat, of all things……….pizza.

The guy at the burger hut asked if we were going to get fish or shrimp on it if he told us where to find his favorite pizzeria. “Think about Snapper, Ono, Tuna, or Mahi Mahi if you do”, he offered. “It’s so fresh, you’ll think you died and went to Heaven.” We were getting desperate, so I agreed to anything. “Okay, sure,” I ventured, “as long as I can get a crispy thin crust and a smattering of mozzarella-provolone mix.” In the end, our trusty GPS put us in the parking lot of a Brick Oven Pizza Parlor in Wailua. Inside our waitress, Shana, shook her head and smiled when I ordered the Bay Shrimp & Fresh Garlic combination. I could tell she was pleased that a tourist had listened to someone from the area. After dinner I sent a quick text to our Italian friend, Steven. “You could make a killing on Kauai with your Italian pizza culinary skills.” Since Steven learned how to make pizza dough at the age of five, tied to his mother’s apron strings, he promptly replied, “I am on my way!” Grazie, grazie molto!