Ahh, Kauai 2012...

when i was in college, i would always go visit my friends on Kauai. my former boss used to ask why i would always go there since it's for the "newlyweds or nearly deads". crazy! kauai is super fun, it's just that a lotta things close early, except Safeway in Kapaa. haha. in those days our favorite grinds on kauai were from Duane's Ono Char Burger or Brick Oven Pizza. KCL & Hanalei Pizza were not bad too.

15 years later, my mom wants to start visit kauai annually but i can't convince her to try Ono Char Burger! boo! i sadly peer out the passenger window as we drive thru Anahola at the red shack that i'm being deprived of for two years. finally, she gives in & we stop there for lunch.

yay! blue cheese burger on the left is my favorite!! still delicious. i'm sure the one on the right is some sort of teri burger. pretty good along with the fries & onion rings.

we tried quite a few new places last year. one of them was again from the Honolulu magazine. it's a small pie shop called The Right Slice. the selection changes seasonally but they always have their chicken pot pie & shepherds pie along with several sweet pies like mango lilikoi & caramel apple pecan. we just couldn't decide what to try & what to take home to Honolulu.

first pic is the menu for the day & explains our decision dilemma. we decided to take some slices to sample then we would place our order for pick up before our flight home. second pic is of our sample slices: blueberry pina colada, caramel apple pecan & island lime. who would think to do a double crust on a lime pie? but that was the best one in my eyes. the third pic is of the shepherds pie. the savory pies are available refrigerated at the shop & they can bake it for you while you wait for 35 minutes or so. we took it cold & baked it for breakfast. OMG! so good!!! it made our decision on what we were bringing home much more complicated. we brought home the chicken pot pie & kalua pig & cabbage pot pie. we froze them in the condo so we could transport them home. the shop can also freeze them for you if you let them know in advance. the owner also posts the menu of the day on their facebook page & takes phone orders. some pies, like the island lime were not so great to freeze, so just ask & they will be able to advise you well.

another new place we tried was Kalaheo Cafe & Coffee Company. it's right across the street from my beloved Brick Oven Pizza. we were heading out to Waimea early in the morning, so i looked on Yelp for a good breakfast place. My mom & I are not egg lovers, so i had to find somewhere that offered non-egg options & the reviews were good.

the top pic is an apple streusel muffin. yummy! the next pic is a coffee shake, i think it was mocha. looked yummy!!!

my choice was the berry cobbler from the showcase which they heated & added whipped cream. yay!!! my sister & our family friend, Lorna, shared the benedict. no eggs for me, but the potatoes were delish. both egg eaters said it was good. i'll take their word on it. we had a nice start to our day. some advice on this restaurant. it's counter service for breakfast & it's usually crowded! grab a table before placing your order! they have a few tables outside, but most are inside.

another new restaurant for us was Kauai Pasta. they have two locations & although we see it in Lihue or Kapaa, we've never eaten there. my kauai friends say that it's good, so this time we went to the Kapaa location since we were staying near Coconut Plantation. we were seated in the first dining section closest to the hostess stand & OMG it was so hot & stuffy. the AC unit which should've been blowing right on us must not have been working. it really put a damper on our whole meal.

for starters we had the crab cakes, spinach salad & calamari. all were delicious!! i really liked the spinach salad which came with fresh pears, blue cheese, candied pecans & raspberry vinaigrette. 

first pic is my sister's entree which i think was the special of the day. steak, asparagus on mac & cheese. she loved it. second pic is Lorna's house pasta. she ate it all. third pic is my mom's pesto pasta. very tasty! i like to try pesto because everyone makes their own version of it. my sis doesn't enjoy it usually, but really liked this one. fourth pic is my pesto grilled chicken. very yummy!!! i mixed the pesto into the alfredo sauce & it was a winner! we chose to have dessert at our new find, Tropical Dreams.

actually, my friend from Kilauea told me about Tropical Dreams when it was in Kilauea. i tried to go there in 2011, but they were closed in that location. last year i saw their shop opened in the mall where safeway & longs are in kapaa. yay!!! another new place to try! reviews on yelp were 50/50. hmmm, pics may not do it justice.

top picture is peanut butter oreo. i'm a sucker for peanut butter, but sometimes it can taste weird. this version was great!!! i can't remember what was in the cup of ice cream, but i know the top mini-scoop is a sample of his strawberry ice cream. it was SO good!!!! all four of us loved everything we had. of course we all had different flavors. it was our afternoon snack. AFTER DINNER at Kauai Pasta, we went back for more! and the owner remembered us! he loved that we came twice in one day. i think we all tried different flavors from the first visit. i must return there when we visit kauai in october.

another new place we tried since it was recommended by a few locals was the breakfast brunch at the St Regis in Princeville. very nice hotel!

two pics of the interior then two pics of the view into hanalei bay. you can sit out there on lounge chairs too. very pretty!!! the last pic is a water feature overlooking the buffet. i just love fountains, waterfalls etc.

i had high expectations of this buffet. sadly, there were only a few things i would return for & doesn't justify the price.

top two pics are two serving stations. first is an asian station with potstickers & other similar foods. the second is the dessert station. what's funny is that they had a lot of cool glasses their desserts were served in, but the spoons provided didn't fit in the glasses all the way to the bottom. third pic is my first plate. i love lox & bagels, so that was a winner. prime rib was meh. but the fourth pic was my most favorite part of the buffet: charcuterie!!! cured meats & cheeses! yay!!! my sis complains that i only like the inexpensive parts of the buffets so i never get my money's worth. oh well, i like what i like & i'm not going to get full on prime rib if it's not yummy. i'd rather be happy eating lox, bagels, cream cheese, capers or charcuterie goodies. our overall opinion was meh for the price.


our best meal on kauai for this trip was The Tavern at Princeville Clubhouse. it's by Roy Yamaguchi, but not at all like his Roy's restaurants. this is supposed to be his idea of comfort food. in 2011 we went for lunch & it was so good! we were told his dinners are even better. OMG! we had to try it last year & we were not disappointed! it was a beautiful sunset view to go along with the awesome food!

his menu changes seasonally, but he does keep the buttermilk fried chicken for sure. everyone talked about it on yelp.

we had the calamari & hibachi salmon salad for appetizers. wow! so good!!! there was a lot of calamari packed into the little bowl & the salmon was seasoned well with a delicious vinaigrette. yum!

Lorna had the special: meatloaf on mashed potatoes. unbelievably good! it's not any meatloaf i've made at home. must've had a trio of ground meats. mmmmm!

mom had the pork ribs. she loves her ribs & fries. she was very happy with her entree. it was very tasty!

i had the buttermilk fried chicken. many reviews about it. the chicken wasn't dried out, but there was no coating on it. boo! i think my entree choice was the loser that night.

sis had the shortribs with cheesy grits. OMG! we love grits!!! it was so good. i thought the portion was tiny but she was satisfied AND we could fit in dessert. haha!

yes, we had to buy the side of mac & cheese. i must try everyone's version. this must've been meh, cuz i don't remember my opinion.

but the crowning glory was the dessert!! ooooh my! i believe it's called the Tavern Sundae, but whatever it is called, it was delicious!!! at least 4 scoops of vanilla ice cream with homemade hot fudge & caramel sauces, coconut blondie chunks, butter browned pineapple pieces & a brulee banana. we shared it & were so happy with it!!! we could barely finish it.

here's a bonus story on that dessert. we like to watch other diners. see what they're eating, see if it looks good & if they enjoyed it. we saw a couple each have the same entree (fish) which we thought was odd because we always try to get different entrees so we can try as much as possible. THEN they each get the tavern sundae. ONE EACH. they both finished it. omg! i couldn't believe it. it took 4 of us to finish our sundae & they could eat it alone. still weird that they don't share tho. it still boggles my mind when i look at this pic. even if i didn't have dinner, i couldn't finish that sundae by myself. well, at least i don't think i could. 

we always go to Kauai Chocolate Company for treats to bring home. their chocolate "opihi" is a favorite. shortbread cookie, mac nut dipped in caramel then chocolate. i love their "crabs" which are pretzels dipped in caramel then chocolate. they also have wonderful fudge in many different flavors. my fave is the peanut butter one. my mom & sis like their truffles also. they always get a small selection to take home.

we also love Sweet Marie's. it used to be across from Waipolu Center, but she's since moved to Lihue near Kauai Pasta. we have not been to her new location. it seems a lot bigger & i hope the quality of her baked goods are the same. when we visited her the first time, we just thought she was a regular bakery, but she's gluten free. wow! she worked hard to develop her recipes & they're awesome!!! if i didn't know her story, i would never thought her goodies were gluten free. we've had her cheesecake, brownies & whatever else she has available. what's nice is that she remembered us. i love that kind of customer service.

we've visited the Hanalei Farmers Market on saturday. sometimes there's good stuff. and we've also dined at Red Salt & Josselin's Tapas Bar & Grill. both are fabulous! the difficult part about Josselin's is that his menu is always changing. if they're something that you liked on the menu, it may not be there when you go back a few months later. other locals recommended Merriman's in Poipu. i'm still hesitant since my experience at Merriman's Waikoloa was underwhelming. i guess i should remember my previous Merriman experience with his Monkeypod Kitchen restaurants. we tried the Wailea location first & was again underwhelmed. when he opened the Ko'olina location, i wasn't planning to go until our friend really really wanted to. we were pleasantly surprised, so maybe each location is not consistent with their foods. oh, one constant was their cream pie desserts aren't so great at either location.

last year's trip was a lot of new experiences. most will be repeated in october! we're staying in Princeville, so we're going to the Tavern twice, at least!!