Hawai'i Day Twenty-Two: The Journey Home

This morning, we got up, packed the last of our stuff up, cleaned the house as much as we could, and headed for the airport.

I snacked on one of the last of the muffins while at the Hilo airport, awaiting our flight to Honolulu, while Dan had satiated himself for the time being with one last iced coffee from Sirius.



After a short flight, we roamed the Honolulu airport a bit, then settled in at the Kona Brewing Company - a restaurant and bar that took over the space in the Mainland terminal in which the big Stinger Ray's used to be. Stinger Ray's became a tradition for us when on layovers in the Honolulu airport, and last year we were saddened to see it gone (or at least the big one - the smaller one is still alive and well in the interisland terminal). But we were happy to see that Kona Brewing Co. (which is a favorite spot in Kailua-Kona and a favorite beer of Dan's) was taking over the space.



The interior was a little toned down from before, but the floorplan was unchanged - and they kept the many tanks of tropical fish, which made me happy. We chose a table and were quickly greeted by our friendly and efficient waitress. I decided I wanted my last drink while still in the islands to be the same as my first - a mai tai - while Dan went for a beer. And we were upsold on the larger versions, given that neither of us would be driving for at least another 6 or 7 hours.

To eat, we decided on the nachos - which are piled high with cheese and a variety of toppings, including the now ubiquitous kalua pig. We thought we'd be ordering a pizza later, but the nachos were so big and fulfilling that we weren't left hungry at all. I thought I'd get sick of kalua pig/pork during the trip, but I could still eat it now. Maybe it's the saltiness, or the smokinesss, or the combination, but I can't get enough of it.



On our flight back to the mainland, we got another relatively sad meal - clearly aimed more at getting you to pay $10 for the non-complimentary meal than to actually tantalize the taste buds. Dan had a spinach lasagna that came with a piece of chocolate cake, while I had a smooshed turkey sandwich with nothing on it, paired with a bag of Lay's potato chips and a single chocolate macadamia nut candy. It disappoints me that for the price of a ticket, you get so much less these days (they now charge $15 for every bag you check, plus more if it's over 50 lbs), but hopefully innovative business models (like Ryanair practically giving away the seats on their flights and just charging for everything else) will change the face of air travel in the coming years. To their credit, we did have a great flight attendant named Lehua who let Dan & I share a can of iced tea, rather than just pouring us a 1/4 of the can each.



After getting our bags, we had a great cab ride in a hybrid driven by a friendly guy back to our house, brought everything inside, gave Caesar a bunch of hugs and pets, and then hopped into the car to fulfill our tradition of eating Taco Bell after returning from a trip. It took two tries - the one on 4th Ave S was closed - but the one on Rainier Ave S turned out to be open (even though some hooligans told us it wasn't and we almost drove on by). We got a quesadilla and a couple chicken burritos, went home, and enjoyed them while watching TV, cuddling with Caesar, and washing it down with some Coronas (also a tradition).



(Dan's writing all about our trip over at our other blog, The Dans In Hawai`i, so I'll just stick to writing what I know: food.)

Hawai'i Day Three: Shave Ice & Magnum P.I.

On our way out this morning, we grabbed a couple egg, sausage, and cheese breakfast sandwiches at Mac 24/7 To Go. Then we visited the Waikiki Aquarium - where some of my earliest childhood memories took place on my first visit to Hawai`i back in the 70's. After that, we walked to the Diamond Head Crater, and climbed to the top and back in record-breaking heat. When we got back to the bottom, we rewarded ourselves with a lilikoi shave ice from a snack bus parked in the park. Lilikoi is the Hawaiian word for Passion Fruit - and has become one of my all-time favorite flavors. While here, I want it in everything. If I could figure out how to combine mai tais, kalua pork and lilikoi in a single dish, I will.





Back down in Waikiki, we hit Lu Lu's for lunch - a restaurant we've visited and loved while in Kona on the Big Island. I went for the Magnum P.I. burger - a bacon, avocado cheeseburger, along with spicy 'Volcano' fries. The staff were really friendly and our waitress was wonderful. She introduced me to adding lemon to Stella Artois, which cut the bitterness a bit and made it even better.







After gorging a bit at lunch on our huge burgers and fries, we opted for dinner in the room - a couple chicken Caesar salads.



(Dan's writing all about our trip over at our other blog, The Dans In Hawai`i, so I'll just stick to writing what I know: food.)

Hawai'i Day Two: Portuguese Sausage, Kalua Pork and Sushi

Our hotel includes a 24/7 diner called Mac 24/7, which advertises the Mac Daddy Pancakes - which reminded me of the amazing pancakes I had last year at Ken's in Hilo. Pictures on the walls and in the elevator had me all ready to order them this first morning in Oahu - which I did - then I found out their meant for 4 people. In fact, apparently they'll put your picture on the wall if you can eat them all by yourself in one sitting. I honestly think I'd be up to the challenge (much to Dan's dismay I've recently become convinced I'd be a great competitive eater), but the idea of feeling overly full and probably sick to my stomach while on vacation wasn't a selling point - so I chose again. Instead, I opted for two eggs over-medium, some whole wheat toast, home fries, and Portuguese sausage (plus a slice of bacon Dan traded me for some sausage).







After a trip out to the amazing Bishop Museum, we hopped off TheBus (that's what their bus system is called here) at Royal Hawaiian Ave and headed for the 'Pink Palace' (aka the Royal Hawaiian Hotel). Right on Waikiki Beach, it's a classic hotel and one of the nicest in Oahu - arguably THE nicest. Dan had read that they have a bar right on the beach called, simply, Mai Tai, and it unsurprisingly serves a variety of types of their namesake cocktail.



I chose the garden mai tai, which came with a lychee garnish (among other deviations from the classic recipe), and Dan had the 'scratch' mai tai, which was a traditional version.



As luck would have it, the bar menu also featured exactly the thing we were hoping to devour for lunch today - kalua pork nachos. They were salty and smokey and delicious, and exactly what we needed to replenish our energy midday while watching folks surf and swim and run around on Waikiki Beach.






After a rest at the hotel, we grabbed a beer at Hula's bar & Lei Stand (a gay bar inside a hotel just down the street), then went to the Marriot for some dinner at Sansei Sushi.



We had an interesting, but tasty roll of Ume (pickled plum) and Shiso (an herb), as well as a panko crusted ahi with spinach instead of rice, the Sansei special (which featured crab), and as a gift from our sushi chef, Greg, some spicy tuna rolls (there was some confusion about our order, probably because I don't speak loudly enough when ordering).

















Dan decided we ought to celebrate with some champagne, so we picked up a bottle at the ABC store, and when we got back to the hotel we got a couple of the infamous cupcakes that Mac 24/7 makes. We had hoped for more options, but had to settle with the Devil's Food Cupcake with Peanut Butter filling - which was tasty, but we had our hearts set on the Haupia or Pineapple Upside Down cupcakes. Regardless, the cupcakes were gigantic (we ended up sharing one, and saving the other for a later day). We sat on the balcony and enjoyed the view of Oahu at night before heading to bed.



(Dan's writing all about our trip over at our other blog, The Dans In Hawai`i, so I'll just stick to writing what I know: food.)

Hawai'i Day One: Mai Tai in Oahu

After a breakfast burrito and chocolate muffin on our Hawaiian Airlines flight from Seattle to Honolulu (the cut-back version of an in-flight meal), Dan & I weren't that hungry. But we were craving one thing upon arriving at the Hilton Waikiki Prince Kuhio Hotel: A Mai Tai.



We got checked in to our great room, and headed down to the pool bar. Our NYC transplant bartender, Justin, whipped us up two scratch Mai Tais that definitely hit the spot.



Later, after walking about 4 miles to tour I`olani Palace, we stopped at Cheeseburger Waikiki for dinner. The last time we were in Vegas, we discovered the Cheeseburger franchise - a kitschy burger joint, a la Red Robin, with over-the-top Hawaiiana themed decor. The chain originated here in Oahu, so when we spotted the Cheeseburger Waikiki location, we knew exactly what we wanted for dinner.



I was fighting a headache and some sort of crazy allergy attack, so I stuck with an iced tea & lemonade, but Dan enjoyed his 2nd Mai Tai of our trip.



Burger-wise, Dan went for the "It's All Good" burger, while I took our host Zane's suggestion of the Kobe beef burger with blue cheese, bacon, and avocado - which was as juicy and perfectly cooked as he claimed it would be.



(Dan's writing all about our trip over at our other blog, The Dans In Hawai`i, so I'll just stick to writing what I know: food.)

Hawaii Day 11: The Journey Home

Today we got up, packed the last of our stuff, and headed to the Kona airport for home. At the airport I had some reheated french toast (not worth photographing) for breakfast.

Once we landed in Honolulu, we went looking for the big Stinger Ray's in the main terminal, but discovered it's been closed and is being replaced by a Kona Brewing Company. We were disappointed, but I guess we'll just have to change our tradition a bit. Maybe I'll still be able to get Macadamia Manias at the Brewing company.

They did have a small area set up where you could get a drink, though the mai tai I ordered was a little off. I should have gone with beer.



After our flight back to Seattle, we unloaded our stuff and then headed down to Taco Bell - another of our travel traditions. Whenever we get home late from a flight, we head to Taco Bell and get take out, then devour it with some Coronas.

Hawaii Day 1: Airport Food & Late Night Dining

Drinks and snacks at Stinger Ray's at the Honolulu Airport:



This morning we took off from Seattle with all the Dembiczak family, on our way to Hilo, Hawaii for our wedding. We ended up with a couple hour layover in Honolulu, so we all made our way over to the smaller Stinger Ray's restaurant (in the interisland terminal) to grab some food and drinks. It's become a tradition for Dan & I, and we wanted to share it with his family.



Even though we were fed pasta on the flight, we were still a bit hungry and went for some chicken quesadillas. And I indulged in a delicious Macadamia Mania cocktail - which is a Pina Colada with Macadamia Nut Liqueur added.



The second leg of the trip from Honolulu to Hilo was quick and easy, and we all checked into the Hilo Hawaiian Hotel. While everyone else hung out by the pool, Dan & I decided to grab a cocktail at the hotel bar. I went for the classic Mai Tai, while Dan wanted something lighter - and got a vodka soda.



We regrouped with everyone later for a late dinner at Uncle Billy's - a restaurant in the Hilo Bay Hotel next door to ours. I ordered a Tropical Itch, which comes with a bamboo back scratcher.



Then I had the scallops and pasta for dinner, though I traded some scallops for shrimp with my nephew Blake.

And Dan ordered the surf & turf, which included a mac nut crusted mahi mahi as the 'surf' portion - which he said was good (but not as good as when I make it).