Eating At Giovanni's Shrimp Truck-North Shore-Oahu, Hawaii

Eating At Giovanni’s Shrimp Truck-North Shore-Oahu, Hawaii

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We pause. It’s no secret that Giovanni’s Shrimp Truck is popular, but this is the longest line for a food truck we’ve seen. Bodies start at the window, wrap around the tables, and then spread along the parking lot’s perimeter. This is one of the top things-to-do on Oahu’s, North Shore, and we are in desperate need of lunch. We jump in line. It’s all part of the experience.

As a foodie, I fall in love with Hawaii’s food truck courts. Food truck courts are a piece of land, that contains multiple, permanent, food trucks. The trucks offer a variety of themes and cuisines. You can eat from one truck, or get a dish from multiple trucks. We discover as we travel through the islands, each food truck court has its own personality.
One of the most widely found food trucks, in Hawaii, are shrimp trucks. You will likely find at least one, if not several, in every food truck court. Giovanni’s Shrimp Truck, is the most famous.

Parking

Giovanni’s Shrimp Truck has multiple locations on Oahu. On our one-day road-trip to Oahu’s North Shore, we start our morning in Waimea Valley, then work our way back to Waikiki. At lunch-time, finding ourselves in the town of Haleiwa, we visit the Giovanni Shrimp Truck, on Kamehameha Hwy. This food truck court is known as, “The One Across from McDonald’s.” Parking in this area is tricky. To make parking stress-free, we park in the food court’s private parking lot. There is a minimum fee to park (cash-only), but since the traffic is crazy, parking in the lot is worth it.

How You can Help a long line Move Quickly

The line is long, but Giovanni’s organization is meticulous. They move the crowd through the line as quickly as possible. There are ways you can help with line movement.

–While you are waiting in line, decide what item (s) you want to order. Giovanni’s menu has four items to choose from. Don’t wait until you are at the order window, then take ten minutes to figure out what you’d like to eat.

–When you are close to the window, put down your phone, keep your eyes focused on the window, and be alert and ready to approach when called. Don’t be the person who is not paying attention and makes the staff call, “next“, numerous times.

–If you wait in a long line at a food truck, you can assume there are many orders ahead of you. Don’t stand directly in front of the pick-up window. At Giovanni’s Shrimp Truck, there is space to stand off to the side of the pick-up window. Don’t make people, who hear their finished order called, reach around you. Most customers have several plates of shrimp to juggle. Help make their task easier. Don’t crowd the pick-up window.

What if You’re Short on Time?

If you have a packed schedule and are short on time, there are other shrimp trucks, with shorter lines, in the same food court, or in food truck areas, nearby.

Seating

The seating situation in Hawaii’s food truck courts, vary per court. In Haleiwa, there are designated seating areas for each food truck (at other food truck courts, there is one, large, common seating area). There are more shrimp eaters, than seats, at Giovanni’s Shrimp Truck. Large groups of friends, family, and strangers, squeeze together at picnic tables. As soon as someone begins to pick up their empty plates, visitors, arms laden with shrimp, swoop in to claim the yet-to-be-fully vacated spots.

It’s chaos. The other food trucks in the court, are ready to shoo away Giovanni customers, trying to use their tables. We find a loop-hole. Some (though not all) of the trucks in the food court, will allow you to eat your Giovanni shrimp, at their tables, if you purchase something from their truck. We order homemade, hibiscus iced teas, from North Shore Crepe Café.

We have an entire picnic table to ourselves.

The Shrimp

Giovanni’s Shrimp Truck is known for their Shrimp Scampi, aka, the garlic shrimp. It is the most ordered menu item. They also have Hot and Spicy Shrimp, Lemon Butter Shrimp (the garlic shrimp, minus the garlic), and, if you aren’t into shellfish, a Jumbo Garlic Hot Dog. Each order comes with two scoops of white rice. Since we are here at The Truck, I feel I must order The Thing. I get the Shrimp Scampi.

I’m concerned that the sauce will be the spicy, burning, kind of garlic. Will I repel vampires and burp up garlic for the rest of the day? Thankfully, though my shrimp is enveloped with chopped garlic, the garlic strength is medium. It’s a well-balanced, garlic level, and doesn’t overpower the flavor of the shrimp. White rice, is generally uninspiring, soaked in the Scampi sauce, however, there is no piece of Giovanni rice, left behind.

I understand the hype. The shrimp is delicious. The Hibiscus Iced Tea from North Shore Crepe Café, is delightfully cold and refreshing. The hibiscus gives the tea a touch of flavor. It’s not too sweet or overly floral.

Our plan for the day, try food around Oahu’s, North Shore. Since we still have Dole Whip and Shave Ice to sample, the plate of a dozen shrimp and two scoops of rice, makes a satisfying lunch. If this is your only meal/food for the day, you may want to grab an additional bite, from one of the other food trucks.

There are a myriad of shrimp trucks, across the island of Oahu. The shrimp competition is fierce. Per pre-trip research, Big Wave and Jenny’s are the two trucks that often de-thrown Giovanni’s Shrimp Truck as king. Having a “Shrimp Truck Challenge,” is a common activity in Hawaii. People taste shrimp from three or more shrimp trucks, then rank them.