I've unfortunately returned to reality and I'm here to tell you I had a wonderful trip to the Big Island - a beautiful and magical place and my favorite of the three Hawaiian islands I've visited (Oahu and Mauii being the other two). Fortunately for LTHers, there is also plenty of fantastic food to be found. When you start planning your visit, you'll undoubtedly hear about breakfast at Hawaiian Style Cafe. As it turns out, that's a good thing as it's well worth your time. We visited their location in Waimea, a reasonable drive from the resorts in Waikaloa, less so if you're staying in Kona (unless you find yourself touring the island). There's also a location in Hilo.

Use your gps since HSC is in a small strip of shops and can be slightly difficult to spot from the street. I'm sure you can also find someone to get you pointed in the right direction. Let's take a peak at the interior of Hawaiian Style Cafe, where they offer both counter seating and tables:


Interior of Hawaiian Style Cafe, Waimea


It's a quaint little place that looked to me as if it has been around for decades. The delicious food tells a similar story, suggesting much time to perfect their recipes. So, what to order. Here are the breakfast and lunch menus:






I ordered from the daily specials menu, house-made Portuguese sausage, with hash browns and eggs. It was excellent - perfectly fried sunny side up eggs, a crisp and well seasoned patty of hashed browns and a moist and uniquely flavored sausage not so unlike a very good Linguica.


House-made Portuguese Sausage, Hash Browns and Eggs



Breakfast at HSC also comes with your choice of toast or pancakes, but our waitress highly recommends the pancakes. And you have your choice of 1 or 2 pancakes (same price). I ordered 2, and that proved to be a big mistake. Trust me, order just 1 pancake. As you'll see below, each pancake is really the size of 4-6 normal sized pancakes. Fluffy, served with an ice cream scoop of butter and syrup, there's little to complain about. Well, other than the portion size which left me feeling guilty for wasting food.


HSC's Pancakes - note well the size



My friend had an omelet, supposedly a three-egg omelet but you could have fooled me given its size. Three ostrich eggs? HSC's savory beef based gravy, similar to what you'd find served with the ever popular loco moco, was another highlight.


HSC Three-Egg Omelet



We also made a brief visit to Mamame Bakery near Waimea, but I wouldn't go out of my way for this place. The guava danish was very good, and the sweet bread was fine for what it is. However, I was not a fan of the banana bread - moist, but not enough banana flavor.

But if you crave another great breakfast, you'll also want to find your way to Gramma's Kitchen in Honakaa. There's so much to explore during a visit to the Big Island (the Waipio Valley, Hilo, Volcanoes National Park) and Gramma's Kitchen is not far out of your way when doing much of your sightseeing. And don't sweat the drive to Gramma's, even from Waikaloa. The roads are wide, the air so refreshing, the sights so glorious:







So welcome to Gramma's:




Nothing fancy, relatively small, cute and cheery:





The menu paints a picture of a Portuguese family's kitchen:







Another glorious breakfast for me. I chose the hamburger steak (loco moco sans rice really) and this was the perfect marriage of comfort food, carefully chosen ingredients and perfect execution. There were the nicely charred grass fed beef patties, but the grilled local onions and mushrooms really highlighted the wonders of locally grown produce. Add in a terrific loco moco-style gravy and sunny side up eggs and call it a great day. The hashed browns might not have been quite at the level of HSC's - not crisp enough - but that's a minor quibble. And if you're wondering,


Gramma's Kitchen Hamburger Steak



My friend, showing that he learned from the portion sizes at HSC, opted for the smaller bowl version of the Corned Beef Hash Loco (well, he might have also spied the larger size order at the table next to us). This was a combination of corned beef hash and loco moco, which he had topped with folded, scrambled eggs. This was also delicious, and I was pleased that the delicious chunks of corned beef were not at all lost among the other richly flavored ingredients.


Gramma's Kitchen Corned Beef Hash Loco Bowl



It is definitely worth nothing that breakfasts and lunches on the Big Island seem ridiculously large, so keep that in mind when ordering. We always noticed locals getting half of their meals to go. Staying in a hotel room without a microwave, we didn't have that option.

We visited Gramma's on our way to Volcanoes National Park, but we knew we would need sustenance since we'd be in the Park for hours and would be doing some hiking. I believe numerous food studies have confirmed that malasadas (fried yeast doughnuts brought to Hawaii by the Portugueseare) are the most highly recommended hiking food. Well, perhaps not, but they proved to be quite delicious. Though I heard many suggestions for Tex Drive In's malasadas, I also read many reports of people preferring Baker Tom's malasadas.

So we headed to Baker Tom's . . . only to discover that Baker Tom's had closed. But not all hope was lost. We learned that Baker Tom was still frying his famous malasadas at Uncle Billy's in Hilo (just a few minute drive from the Hilo farmer's market). So we headed over to Uncle Billy's for Baker Tom's malasadas. You're in the right lot when you see the sign, but note that you need to go to the restaurant, across the parking lot, and not the store or the hotel on the same property:





And here is the case of malasadas:


Baker Tom's Malasadas at Uncle Billy's


We ordered a few - haupia (coconut), lilikoi (passionfruit) and Elvis (banana, peanut butter and Nutella glaze) and they were all very good. The fillings were plentiful, but not overly so, and flavorful without being too sweet. Though I'll note the Elvis is insanely rich. I suppose they could have been better if slightly warm, but they were plenty fresh. But I suspect we also missed out on some of the love of these malasadas since we were not able to meet the famous Baker Tom himself (apparently, once a mayoral candidate). Still, a worthwhile little detour that would provide several delicious bites throughout the day. How they compare to Tex's, I can't tell you, at least not until I return to the Big Island one day to complete this investigation.

From malasadas, but before volcanoes, we took in a quick visit to the Hilo farmer's market. I was expecting something much bigger, but I learned that it is only on Wednesdays and Saturdays, with a much smaller number of vendors on other days. But what it was missing in quantity, it more than made up for in quality. So much great produce and local fruit. What amazed me the most was the abundance of fruits I've seen while visiting Southeast Asia which I didn't even know we're grown in Hawaii - soursop, rambutan, longan, etc. There were also local honeys and jams. And of course, there was plenty of fantastic local produce:









Yes, that is cacao. I didn't realize that they grew it on the island, but I learned there is chocolate produced on the island exclusively from beans grown on the island. As for the Maui onions, I assume but don't know for sure that they are actually grown locally.

We continued our voyage to Volcanoes National Park, the highlight of our trip. You really should plan to spend six or more hours in the park (if you enjoy hiking, even longer). Any shorter and you'll be missing so many spectacular sights. And make sure to drive the full chain of craters road and do the easy hike at the end to the "road closed" sign. Here's a glimpse of some of the sights from within the park:









I wanted to sample some bbq on this trip and noticed the references in this thread, but we were never around Kona at lunchtime. But in Hawi, we spotted a place called Sammy D's and the sweet smell of wood burning perfumed the air. So we went, stood in line . . . only to have them run out of the St. Louis ribs just before we got to the front of the line. We decided to just return another day. But we misinterpreted the message. We should have known that Sammy D's running out of ribs was a message from the bbq gods to run and not look back. We ignored the message and returned. What we encountered on our return were ribs and pulled pork that had zero smoke flavor (I don't believe the pork was even smoked), and the ribs had obviously been reheated, being slightly cold in the middle but otherwise fully cooked and obviously cooked too long. At least the baked beans were pretty good. But needless to say, you've now been warned about Sammy D's in Hawi, and you don't even need to attempt to interpret the language of the bbq gods. On the plus side, after lunch I had a delicious ice cream cone at Tropical Dreams just steps away - oreo, fresh strawberry and fresh banana.

But let me continue on with food, dinners in particular, because there's so much more to talk about in that category. Our first dinner was an excellent one at Monstera Noodles & Sushi. At Monstera, I ordered several pieces of nigiri and they were all quite good. The fish was not too cold, perfectly sized for a good bite, and served with well seasoned rice that broke apart at just the right moment. The nigiri was on par with if not better than the best I've experienced in Chicago. I also had tempura udon which was terrific - the tempura was crisp and not at all greasy, the udon good and springy, and the bonito broth was delicious. If you're on the Big Island, this is where you should be heading for Japanese food.

On the other hand, you might want to avoid Sansei. It's not that far from Monstera, and you'll be able to get into Monstera, and that's about all that you need to know. Sansei is very popular, but the nigiri paled in comparison to Monstera's. A couple of pieces featured too sweet glazes, the mackerel was terribly dry and then there was the lesser rice prep. Butterfish marinated and seared in sweet miso and sake was also way too sweet. Add in some bland green tea and an apple tart lacking apples and you've got a restaurant to avoid. At least the miso soup was very respectable.

On our return from Volcanoes National Park, which we did as a full day trip, we broke up the long drive with dinner in Hilo at Hilo Bay Cafe. It's a long drive so many should actually consider spending the night at the park or in Hilo. In any event, we had a pretty light supper. I started with salt and pepper head-on shrimp with Thai chili, a yuzu aioli and a cabbage slaw. This was a great starter, with briny, moist shrimp and just great flavors.


Hilo Bay Cafe Salt and Pepper Shrimp with Thai Chili, Yuzu Aioli and Cabbage Slaw



I also ordered the spicy tuna nachos which were a little less successful. They were served on crispy won ton chips with avocado, and were supposed to feature a wasabi creme fraiche, but I didn't taste any of that dressing and they were a little lacking in salt. I ended up dipping them lightly in soy mixed with wasabi, and they ended up being pretty good, but they should have been seasoned better and prepared as promised.


Hilo Bay Cafe Spicy Tuna Nachos



My friend had some nigiri and maki which he pronounced to be pretty good, much better than Sansei but not nearly as good as Monstera.

Unfortunately closer in quality to Sansei than Monstera was Sam Choy's. We wanted to visit at least a couple of restaurants that are better known for "Hawaiian-style" food, and this was one that certainly came to mind. May I suggest to Sam that he spend a little time at his restaurant and less on Top Chef? The setting is gorgeous and if you arrive early enough you may be treated to a spectacular sunset. Maybe cocktails and appetizers would be fine, but do yourself a favor and cut your losses there.

I started with Sam's famous baby back ribs with a coconut char siu glaze. The ribs were grilled well and had a nice chew, but the glaze skewed too sweet.


Sam Choy's Baby Back Ribs with Coconut Char Siu Glaze


My entree was a grilled shitomi with a passionfruit butter sauce and it was terribly dry, and the sauce again skewed too sweet. On the plus side, it was served with with a delicious, nutty brown rice.


Grilled Shitomi in Passionfruit Butter Sauce with Brown Rice



No doubt that dinner at Merriman's in Waimea will be remembered as the best meal of our trip. This was the tribute to Hawaiian food we so craved on this trip. I recall having an excellent meal at Merriman's in Maui some years back, but I'm sure I'll remember this meal better. I couldn't resist a fun cocktail to start the evening (we won't discuss the several that ended most evenings), and this mai tai was enjoyable as much for its serving glass:


Merriman's Mai Tai



I started the meal with a fantastic salad that featured all local ingredients (lettuce, radish, onion, fennel, cucumber, tomatoes & goat cheese), dressed just perfectly There's not always magic to great food. Start with top quality ingredients and treat them with respect, and that's just what they did with this salad. It was everything and more that I have missed during this crazy hibernation of the 2013-14 winter. I can count on one hand the number of times I've been excited with a salad, and this was one of those rare times.


Merriman's Lettuce Salad



For my entree, I had a special of Opakapaka & head-on prawns in a coconut-green curry and it was also fantastic. I was told that the curry sauce was made from scratch, and it showed as it was exploding with flavor and offered a nice spice kick. I also appreciated that they relied upon the fish and shrimp's natural sweetness rather than sweetening the curry sauce. And the fish and head-on prawns were both perfectly cooked. This will undoubtedly be one of the best things I've eaten in 2014.


Merriman's Opakapaka and Prawns in Coconut-Green Curry Sauce



The meal ended on a perfect note with a coconut creme brulee with macadamia nut shortbread. The custard was so light and barely set, and the shortbread just perfect.


Merriman's Coconut Creme Brulee with Macadamia Nut Shortbread



In addition to the fantastic food, service and pacing were excellent. Our waitress was very passionate about cooking and the Big Island and mentioned how she used to work at a restaurant at the Hilton (where we stayed) but left because she felt nobody really cared about the quality of the food or ingredients used. But she cited that passion as what she loves so much about working at Merriman's. And it really showed in every aspect of the restaurant. But allow me to apologize for some of the pictures - it was a little dark and I avoid using a flash. I guess you'll just have to go and check it out for yourself.

Our trip ended with dinner at ULU at the Four Seasons. As I mentioned in my prior post, ULU is relatively new and I found their reservation policy frustrating. Basically, if you want to dine there during high season, you will have to put all other plans on hold while trying to secure a reservation, which even then isn't easy. But we succeeded.

And ULU turned out to be excellent. While the food was not quite up to the level of Merriman's, it was still very good and the atmosphere (outdoor, under the stars, steps from the ocean) was stunning. Unfortunately, way too dark for pictures.

But as for the food, they start you off with quite the serious bread basket, with a couple terrific breads and then some very thin flatbread crackers. All were excellent. My starter was the ahi poke, mixed table-side with ogo, maui onions, white shoyu and sesame oil, and it was great. Nice big chunks of ahi, very well seasoned, and served with house-made taro chips.

My main course was the charred hapu, served with tatsoi, corn, a kimchee romesco, and a citrus butter sauce. This was also excellent, although the fish was slightly overdone. My friend very much enjoyed his mahi mahi, though he too thought his fish was slightly overcooked. We also shared an insanely good mushroom fried rice, and I loved the fact that it was not the least bit greasy.

Of course, we couldn't leave without dessert, no way (even though I was full). I had the macadamia-chocolate fudge cake, with what I recall being a lilikoi caramel sauce, ice cream (can't recall the flavor) and a Kona coffee brittle. The dessert was great, but the brittle was one of the best things I've ever tasted. I'm not sure I would be able to stop eating that. This is something I'm going to need to try to make myself. My dining companion had the chocolate shake with malasadas, and the passion fruit filling was fantastic, better than the one from Baker Tom's. As a parting gift, they gave us a small takeout container of caramel corn, which I ate the next day - fantastic.

Service and pacing were equally outstanding at ULU. The only reason we slightly preferred Merriman's was because the fish at ULU was a bit overcooked. But really, both meals were outstanding, and Monstera was very close behind. And so ends the brief escape from winter.

Thanks for the report.

Sounds like Sansei is to be avoided throughout Hawaii. It is quite popular on other islands for its happy hour specials, ranging from 25-50% off your entire bill... which is why it's always packed. Very little to do with the ingredient quality or a high level of craft.

I'm a little surprised Da Poke Shack isn't mentioned on this thread. It's supposedly the best poke on the BI, and #1 out of Yelp's Top 100 Restaurants in the US (whatever that means to you).

Thanks Kathryn -

Da Poke Shack and Big Jake's BBQ were on my list for lunch spots. Unfortunately, I was never within 30 minutes of Kona anywhere near lunch time, so we never ended up there. On the plus side, I was able to have a fantastic poke at ULU.