Tuesday, April 24, 2012

Porcupines Take on Hawaii - The Eats

I could sit here and write a play-by-play of our days in Hawaii, but that would be boring and go on for something like 102 postings. So I thought I would break down our honeymoon recaps into the three most important parts of any vacation: food, fun, and relaxation.

I’m going to start with the best part of any vacation – in my eyes at least- the FOOD. I love to eat everything in sight on vacation and partake in absolutely no exercise (besides for the occasional doggy paddle in the pool). Mr. P and I love to try new food and go to restaurants, so we did a lot of eating. I tried to touch on the highlights of what and where we ate in Kona.

I could go on about everything we ate in Hawaii. They have great food! Everything tastes so much fresher there. And many restaurants aim to use ingredients produced on the Island. The only thing that surprised me was how much salt they use. Apparently, traditional Hawaiian cuisine is a lot saltier than it is on the mainland.

 Yummy, but salty! (Seriously, our fingers were so bloated that we
 could barely put on our wedding bands!) P.S. I miss that green drink.

At our hotel we had a breakfast buffet included every morning. We attempted to fill up on breakfast and try for cheaper, smaller lunches (this didn’t always pan out because there is something in the Hawaiian air that makes you want to eat gobs of pulled pork).


Mr. P enjoying his daily omelet from the omelet station


Kona Coffee is amazing


Fresh fruits daily at the buffet

Our favorite spot- we even went back a second time in our short week-long stay – was the Kona Pub & Brewery. If you are staying on the Big Island, you MUST check it out. First off, their beers are delicious. I liked almost every single one I tried (and they are available almost everywhere on the Islands). And, the food is really good. They make all types of fun pizzas (New Yorker approved) and really delicious sandwiches. We unfortunately missed the brewery tour both times though. So, get there early to sign up, and let me know what we missed.


Mr. P was really excited about his discovery (he gets full credit for finding the spot)


 Beer sampler

 
 Cajun Shrimp Pizza


We look extremely excited to be back the second time

My  favorite “fancy” night of the trip was at the Canoe House- the restaurant on our hotel’s property. The food was really good. I had the lamb chops, which were really yummy, and Mr. P had tuna. They even had their wine list on an iPad app so that you could read all about the different wines, how they taste, where they’re from, and what they pair best with. This was perfect for us since we are wine idiots no matter how many classes we take.


Searching for wines on the Ipad

 Lambchops



Congratulations times two!

Our fanciest night was at Puhu i'a at the Four Seasons hotel. The place was beautifully set-up. The view of the ocean while you ate and the presentation of the food were awesome.


Mr. P loved the wild boar sweet bun appetizer


Sort of impossible to get a shot of the ocean all around us

And, of course, nothing beats a lazy evening watching the sunset from our balcony with room service. The Mauna Lani staff is amazing, and they pull out all the stops for “in-room dining.” Definitely different than the typical room service food you find.

 Asian grilled chicken salad for me and seared tuna for Mr. P


My lack of photography skills failed to take a really good sunset shot

Most importantly, do not forget to pick up a bag of chocolate covered macadamia nuts before you leave (or 10, like we did). Hershey Kisses with macadamia nuts was the souvenir of choice for friends and family back home. I’m sure there are places to find it SOMEWHERE, but they claim it can only be found on the Islands (and truthfully after an Amazon and Google search I really couldn’t find a bag for a reasonable price so I am hoarding the remainder).

Are you looking forward to the food stops on your honeymoon?

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