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While Eating on The Big Island in Hawaii, we encounter a most genius form of marketing. We are reviewing the menu in Ona Loa Grill’s window. There are two, local, older gentlemen, sitting at an outdoor table.
“Are you thinking about eating here?”
“We are. We haven’t had loco moco yet, so we are looking for a place to try it,” I reply
“Oh, they have the best loco moco. The beef is fresh and comes from a local ranch.”
“Yeah, that’s what makes the best loco moco,” the other man interjects. “Do you like fish? Ona Grill has the freshest, best fish, too.”
Their voices heighten with excitement. “You really can’t go wrong with anything here.”
“Their food is the best. You really should eat here.”
“Okay, you’ve convinced us,” we say, opening Ona Loa Grill’s door. Honestly, I don’t want to disappoint the Grandpas.
The gentlemen are gone, when we head back outside to find a table. A couple seated behind us asks the table next to them,
“Did the two old men convince you to eat here?”
“Yes. How could we say no?” They all laugh.
Forget social media, commercials, flyers, your best restaurant marketing, is to sit two friendly, local, seniors, outside your restaurant.
Eating on The Big Island is a delight for our taste buds, but also a delight for our souls.
Liko Lehua Cafe-Hilo
We are fresh off the plane to The Big Island. With a long drive ahead to Captain Cook, we need
sustenance. We turn off the road, and into the small parking lot of Liko Lehua Café, in Hilo.
Shannon orders the chicken from their menu of the day. I choose an item they are famous for, the Passion Fruit Butter Burger.
My burger is topped with sautéed onions, bacon, cream cheese, and Liko Lehua’s homemade passion fruit butter. I’m not sure about the combination, but once I take a bite, I’m confident it works. It’s sweet, but not as sweet as I was expecting. We both get potato salad and hushpuppies as sides.
The only on property seating option, is one picnic table. Fortunately, we are the only visitors looking to stay and eat, so we snag the spot. The café is more of a take-out place.
The portions are hearty, and the food is an enjoyable fusion of Hawaiian cuisine, and cozy favorites. We are well-fueled for all of the adventures The Big Island holds.
Kula Shave Ice-Hilo
Just after settling into our seat, for our helicopter tour, safety briefing, the staff enters and brakes the news that the tour is cancelled due to bad weather. This is the only activity we planned for the day, so we quickly regroup, and choose some activities we thought we wouldn’t have time for.
Though we ate a big breakfast, and don’t need a meal, there is always room for shave ice.
Kula Shave Ice is located within the Hilo Farmers’ Market.
A sign announces that their seasonal flavor is white pineapple. Intrigued, we keep it simple and order a shave ice, half white pineapple and half guava, topped with cream. I appreciate the shave ice places, that poke holes in the ice, to let the juices get down into every icy crevice.
As advertised, because their juices are natural and organic, the ice is fruit-forward and refreshing. It’s not overly sugary and sweet.
Countryside Café-Kea’au
She moves around the dining room, with the bright, bouncy, steps of a ballerina. I’m trying to
guess her age. Maybe 11 or 12. This is a family owned and staffed restaurant. It’s the weekend, so there is no school. She wipes off tables, hands out menus, refills drinks, any task within her capabilities. I imagine other kids her age, whining, dragging their feet, and looking grumpy at having to ask if we’d like our water glasses refilled. Her face is all smiles, especially when the adult women, family members, tell her she is doing a great job. She is excited to be included amongst the big girls. I’m not an advocate for child labor, but I also don’t mind a kid learning skills and helping out a business for a few hours, during non-school time.
While Eating on The Big Island, we stop at this strip-mall café. The goal, grab some breakfast,
before our, soon-to-be-canceled, helicopter tour. I’m normally not a pancake eater, but pancakes are different in Hawaii. They are light, ultra-fluffy, and melt in your mouth. I’m hooked. I’m having difficulty choosing which fruit and carb combo I want at Countryside Café. Lucky for me, they offer a combo platter that includes their banana French toast, passionfruit pancakes, and strawberry waffles.
The fruit is fresh, and none of the carbs are heavy. The waffles have the perfect outside crispiness, with a cloud-like inside.
The family seems to like working together and appear happy, running this popular breakfast spot. It’s a relaxed way, to start a day of activities in Hawaii.
Shaka Tacoz-Captain Cook
It’s uttered many times during our Hawaii trip,
“This is the best view I’ve ever had while eating/drinking…”
This time while Eating on The Big Island, we say it while eating tacos.
We try to keep normal, neutral faces, as we place our order and chat with the guy at the register. He sounds like Spicoli, from Fast Times at Ridgemont High, or for you young kids, Crush, from Finding Nemo. I haven’t even had the tacos, and I’m already thinking, this place is the best.
Fish tacos and chips and salsa in hand, we walk past the indoor seating, to the outdoor bar and stools. The view is inspiring.
I’m not sure if the gorgeous sunset, enhances the taste of the tacos, but they taste like some
of the best fish tacos we have ever had.
Gecko Girlz-Kailua Kona
Unplanned sunset food, becomes a theme, while Eating on The Big Island. Gecko Girlz shave ice, is located in the main tourist hub in Kona. Learning at the beginning of the trip, that shave ice portions are huge, we split Gecko Girlz’s , Kona Sunset. Our mountain of ice consists of passionfruit and lychee syrups, passionfruit puree, coconut cream, and vanilla ice cream.
Eating a Kona Sunset, while watching a Kona sunset is a magical experience.
Ona Loa Grill-Kailua Kona
The food that every visitor to Hawaii must try, is the loco moco. Loco Moco is a hamburger patty, toped with an egg, smothered in gravy, and served over rice. Per the introduction to the post, we are encouraged, by two local gentlement, to try loco moco, at Ona Loa Grill. The restaurant is hidden within an outdoor shopping center. You may have to do a little hunting to locate the store front.
The senior gentleman, did not steer us wrong. The loco moco has more flavor than expected. The burger patty is seasoned well. The meat is crumbly and moist. The gravy has a rich, meaty, flavor, and tastes marvelous, as it soaks into the rice.
Our loco moco comes with a side of mac salad, another Hawaiian staple. Ona Loa Grill, is Hawaiian comfort food at its best.
Punalu’u Bake Shop-Naalehu
After a successful adventure to Hawaii’s Green Sand Beach, we want to reward ourselves with a treat. We stop at the southernmost bakery in the United States, Punalu’u Bake Shop.
They are best known for their passion fruit malasadas.
The malasadas are pillowy and not too sweet. We wash them down with hibiscus iced teas.
Their garden seating is a nice place to take a break, if you are taking the long drive between Kona and Volcanos National Park.
Tin Shack Bakery-Pahoa
It’s been an eventful morning. After picking up and dropping off our first ever hitch-hiker, and
unexpectedly visiting a nude beach, we stop into the Tin Shack Bakery, for some much needed
breakfast.
Shannon is excited for the eggs benedict and an iced coffee. I order the Veggie Pesto Bagel, and an iced latte.
The food is fresh. You can feel the health, running through your veins.
I love this coffee shop so much, I never want to leave. It sings with Bohemian, coffee shop, vibes.
There is this guy.
And a woman behind Shannon, leisurely winding up yarn balls.
The atmosphere is positive and chill. No one seems interested in the usual conversations of news, politics, etc… They appear concerned with each other, with wellness, and community. I want to live forever at this coffee shop.
Tuk Tuk Thai Food Truck –Volcano
Once inside Volcanoes National Park, there are not many places to eat. Just outside the National Park’s confines, sits the Tuk Tuk Thai Food Truck.
After a great chat at the window, getting suggestions for what we should order, we’re told that there are only enough avocados for one more order of avocado curry. I claim the the dish. We also order spring rolls.
The portions size is perfect, especially after a day of National Park exploration and hikes. My curry is loaded with veggies and shrimp. It has a kick, but it is not overwhelmingly spicy. The spring rolls are light and crisp, with fresh veggies.
There is no seating at Tuk Tuk Thai Food Truck. I imagine people take their to-go orders, back to their hotels or house rentals. The rental car is our restaurant seating. It’s fun sitting in the truck’s parking lot, watching the consistent flow of happy customers.
We learn that many of the best meals, come from food trucks. The Thai food at Tuk Tuk Food Truck, is one of the yummiest meals we have in Hawaii.
The Rim-Volcano
Located in Volcanoes National Park Lodge, The Rim is a restaurant that overlooks Kilauea volcano. It’s the most upscale restaurant in the area, but not so upscale that you can’t wear your cargo pants and non-graphic, t-shirt, to dinner.
The food is good, though not the tastiest meal we have while Eating on The Big Island.
You have a meal at The Rim, for the overall experience. There is live music, a dancer, the drinks have umbrellas, and you are looking at a volcano.
Whether or not the volcano is active, it’s still cool. If your expectation is to have the most mind blowing, spectacular dinner of your life, you will be disappointed. If you manage expectations, and enjoy the experience for what it is, dining at The Rim is a memorable, National Park, activity.
Click here to read about our full The Rim dinner
Hawaii in general exceeded our eating expectations. Though it is of course known for being a nature lovers paradise, it is a food paradise as well.
Find a place to stay while Eating on the Big Island
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