food

Dining Outside the Home: Duke’s Canoe Club and Barefoot Bar in Lihue, Kauai 

Dining Outside the Home: Duke’s Canoe Club and Barefoot Bar in Lihue, Kauai. Remember when I said I needed to return here for dessert? Well, I did. Words of wisdom: If you stop by for a meal, save room for dessert and get an extra signature spork to share this fabulous specialty of the house. I found it served best with a generous shot of coffee-infused liqueur. Here is the best description I can give you about Duke’s infamous HULA PIE:
“Hula Pie is made with Kimo’s favorite macadamia nut ice cream piled high on a chocolate cookie crust and topped with chocolate fudge, whipped cream, and more macadamia nuts. It is sized for sharing, but rarely goes unfinished!”

Dining Outside the Home: Café Portofino in Lihue, Kauai 

Dining Outside the Home: Café Portofino in Lihue, Kauai. The strings of a harp gently lure Italian-lovers to the private patio where the stunning view of a rugged coastline transports you to northern Italy. White linens further create an intimate setting amid candlelit lanterns and skilled European servers. As you savor this fabulous meal with a sip of bubbly moscato and olive oil-laden focaccia, gaze into each other’s eyes, linger awhile, and absorb the romance. 

Dining Outside the Home: Monico’s Taqueria in Wailua, Kauai 

Freshly squeezed lime juice margaritas practically greet you at the door. To the right the chef, Monico Martinez, and his kitchen staff are hard at work grilling up piping hot pork carnitas, fresh fish tacos, stuffed burritos, cheesy enchiladas, and towering nachos. Every dish is served with flair, like an art form on a plate. Before that first bite, the aroma of herbs and spices tempt the palate. The quality is high, the staff is friendly, and the portions are generous. With reviews like that, word gets around. 

Dining Outside the Home: Brick Oven Pizza in Wailua, Kauai 

Dining Outside the Home: Brick Oven Pizza in Wailua, Kauai. When you get that craving for a taste of the mainland, head to this popular pizzeria because they’re hard to find on a tropical island. The buttery crust is soft and chewy with just a hint of garlic. Whether you go Traditional Pepperoni, Hawaiian BBQ Chicken, or Specialty Bay Shrimp and Fresh Garlic, the experience is worth the stop. Mix up the ingredients by choosing pineapple, anchovy, or zucchini extras. The menu features a list of endless opportunities. The UtiMEAT Specialty Pizza boasts seven kinds of meat toppings including Portuguese sausage and bacon. It fulfills the meat-lovers’ addiction until you crave something else. 

Dining Outside the Home: Olympic Café in Kapaa, Kauai 

Dining Outside the Home: Olympic Café in Kapaa, Kauai. Six miles up the coast, along a paved bike trail, sits a casual open-air second story restaurant with a view of the ocean on one side, and the center of activity on the other. It has become a favorite vantage point for people-watching while tropical drinks are chilling, popular music is playing, and generous portions are filling. Cushioned bamboo seating over wooden plank flooring is as inviting for beach lovers as it is for the feathered friends who occasionally drop by to nibble on floor crumbs recently fallen. 

Dining Outside the Home: Tortilla Republic in Kōloa, Kauai 

Dining Outside the Home: Tortilla Republic in Koloa, Kauai. Located in the center of activity at Kukui’ula Village Shopping Center with a perfect vantage point for dining al fresco, is a Mexican restaurant serving classic dishes using the freshest local ingredients. The cantina atmosphere sets the mood with handmade wicker furniture and authentic Mexican art before you ever take that first swipe of salty chips and chunky salsa. Enjoy margaritas and live music while savoring food grilled to perfection. 

Dining Outside the Home: Duke’s Canoe Club and Barefoot Bar in Lihue, Kauai 

Dining Outside the Home: Duke’s Canoe Club and Barefoot Bar in Lihue, Kauai! Put the lime in the coconut and eat it all up. Crispy Coconut Shrimp covered in spicy lilikoi sauce is an ALOHA favorite from the pupu menu at Duke’s. This casual restaurant sits at the edge of Kalipaki Bay with an oceanfront view in honor of the native Hawaiian, Duke Kahanamoku. He was a six-time Olympic champion who made the sport of surfing real at the age of 21. Nowadays people flock to the restaurant for food, spirits, music, and the infamous Hula Pie! 

Dining Outside the Home: Hukilau Lanai in Kapaa, Kauai 

Dining Outside the Home: Hukilau Lanai in Kapaa, Kauai. A table for two was nestled against the nontraditional Hawaiian pine tree whose vivid boughs were as feathery as ringlets on a toddler’s head. Golden pineapple ornaments dangled in scattered formation among exotic hula dancers and bamboo ukuleles while background music played softly overhead. The master chef’s menu for the night before Christmas presented itself with a culinary experience long remembered.

Water Spouts on the Horizon 

“The whales are out! I’ll bring some binoculars to your table,” exclaimed the casually dressed blue-eyed waiter in flip-flops as he offered us two menus. It was “Happy Hour” at the Beachwalk Restaurant and Grill on the east side of the island and Markus wasn’t referring to the side effects of their signature Bloody Mary cocktails. He was all-Kauaiian native with his ivory-carved octopus medallion choker and long dark hair tied back into a knot at the nape of his neck. 
Humpback whales can be seen from shore at any number of locations around Kauai, but peak season is during the winter months of January and February when most of the calving occurs for them to mate and birth their young in the warm, tropical waters. It was a little premature for their inaugural appearance, but we still caught a glimpse of their water spouts on the horizon. 
Presently, we had a nice balcony front-row seat for watching seaside activities. When the humpback whales refused to make another appearance, we simply observed a class of elementary schoolchildren participating in Field Day activities as tag-team cheers exploded from the sidelines. 
Roosters with bright red combs and plumed tail feathers strutted back and forth demanding attention until an ambitious tourist tried to capture their images on film. Only then would they kick up their taloned feet and strut away crowing a “cock-a-doodle doo” in defiance. 
By now the famed fish and chips entree had appeared and we both sunk our teeth into the depths of pinnacle exclamatory utterance, practically rolling our eyes back in culmination. If this wasn’t a taste of Heaven, then we had no idea what was.   
We sat there until the afternoon delivery of sweet onions, fresh garlic, and garden produce arrived and our appetite had long been sated. Five bamboo swizzle sticks scattered topsy-turvey on the signature cocktail napkins were all the evidence left remaining of an afternoon spent in open-air tropical bliss and latter day delight.