What's Good Hawaii?

[jmgrub]

In keeping with the Hawaiian #BiL movement: I brought home a bottle of Lanikai's Mahina barrel aged barleywine against my better judgement. Beer Lab was great (those crowler prices tho, yikes) and Inu was good but not amazing.

Lilikoi Hi-Chew was legit.

I think the Lanikai stuff tends to be pretty good. FWIW, the best Hawaiian-brewed beer I've had was a Lanikai beer (Momona - Coconut Cacao Bourbon Barrel stout).

 

[diesehrl]

Looks like I will be visiting the big island for a week in Dec with my wife and 1yr old. Any recommendations on family-friendly touristy stuff and restaurants? Hopefully i will be able to fit in a day trip to big island brewhaus. Any places I should pop by to stock up on beers during my stay?

 

[jmgrub]

Looks like I will be visiting the big island for a week in Dec with my wife and 1yr old. Any recommendations on family-friendly touristy stuff and restaurants? Hopefully i will be able to fit in a day trip to big island brewhaus. Any places I should pop by to stock up on beers during my stay?

Where will you be staying?

Big Island Brewhaus and Kona Brewing are both relatively kid-friendly (I would say Big Island Brewhaus maybe a little moreso). Ola, not so much (tends to be a bit loud in there).

Kona Wine Market (near Costco) is the undisputed best place to stock up on beers. Kamuela Liquor Store (up in Waimea - a minute from Big Island Brewhaus) has a decent selection as well, but nowhere close to as good as Kona Wine Market.

If you give me some time, I can give you a list of kid-friendly restaurants/attractions/beaches. I would also recommend picking up "Hawaii - The Big Island Revealed." It's sort of the authoritative travel guide for the Big Island.

 

[diesehrl]

Where will you be staying?

Big Island Brewhaus and Kona Brewing are both relatively kid-friendly (I would say Big Island Brewhaus maybe a little moreso). Ola, not so much (tends to be a bit loud in there).

Kona Wine Market (near Costco) is the undisputed best place to stock up on beers. Kamuela Liquor Store (up in Waimea - a minute from Big Island Brewhaus) has a decent selection as well, but nowhere close to as good as Kona Wine Market.

If you give me some time, I can give you a list of kid-friendly restaurants/attractions/beaches. I would also recommend picking up "Hawaii - The Big Island Revealed." It's sort of the authoritative travel guide for the Big Island.

Thanks jmgrub . We haven't booked our place yet, but likely staying in 'downtown kona'(?) Have no idea how your neighborhoods work, but prob going to stay close to the water, likely along Ali'i Dr.

Forgot to ask, would you have recommendations for coffee spots? We'll have a car, so getting around shouldn't be too hard I imagine.

 

[jmgrub]

Thanks jmgrub . We haven't booked our place yet, but likely staying in 'downtown kona'(?) Have no idea how your neighborhoods work, but prob going to stay close to the water, likely along Ali'i Dr.

Forgot to ask, would you have recommendations for coffee spots? We'll have a car, so getting around shouldn't be too hard I imagine.

Gotcha. Ali'i Drive is where the bulk of the vacation rentals are (starting just south of the "main drag" and continuing south for 5 miles or so). The beaches in town are not going to knock your socks off and tend to be pretty crowded, but may be good with the little one. The "really nice" beaches start about 20-25 minutes north of town.

Getting around will not be hard (just don't get caught going south on Queen Ka'ahumanu Highway from the Kohala Coast at afternoon rush hour during the week, or you could be sitting for a while).

For coffee spots, are you talking about coffee farms that you can visit or coffee shops? For coffee shops, I always go to Kona Coffee and Tea, but I'm sure there are some other good spots as well. For coffee farm tours, Greenwell Farms is probably the most popular.

 

[rcubed1]

Definitely check out Humpy's off of Ali'i Drive. Best tap list on the island and some good food.

Other than that I recommend everyone else's recommendations so far. Biggest surprise last trip was how much we liked The Fish & The Hog in Waimea for BBQ. A good alternative if BIB is packed.

For food and drinks on the beach, check out Lava Lava Beach Club in Waikoloa after going for a swim or snorkel in A Bay.

 

[jmgrub]

Definitely check out Humpy's off of Ali'i Drive. Best tap list on the island and some good food.

Other than that I recommend everyone else's recommendations so far. Biggest surprise last trip was how much we liked The Fish & The Hog in Waimea for BBQ. A good alternative if BIB is packed.

For food and drinks on the beach, check out Lava Lava Beach Club in Waikoloa after going for a swim or snorkel in A Bay.

Fish & The Hog is seconded. Waimea probably has the best food on the island (at least in terms of what we like). We like to go to the Saturday farmers markets in Waimea - lots of local food and crafts vendors. We go to the one at Parker School and the one at the Paniolo Heritage Center. You can grab brunch/lunch at the farmers markets before going over to Big Island Brewhaus.

Our visitors tend to like this Saturday plan (though not sure how it would work with the little one): Drive from Kona to Waimea (about 1 hour) --> Farmers Markets --> Grab a beer at Big Island Brewhaus --> Drive over Kohala Mountain Road to Hawi and then up to Pololu Valley Lookout (sometimes hike down) [about a 45 - 1 hour drive] --> Drive back down the coast to South Kohala beaches (Spencer Beach Park, Mauna Kea, Hapuna, Waialea Bay [Beach 69], Puako, Kukio, Kua Bay - from north to south) [about 45 minutes to 1 hour drive depending on which beach] --> back to Kona for dinner.

In any event, diesehrl I will just PM you a list of places and activities. Remind me if I forget - lots going on this week.

 

[diesehrl]

rcubed and jmgrub. thanks for all the advice so far. greatly appreciated.

 

[user 304985]

Any snap judgements on maui vs Kauai for 3 days later this month? The ladyfriend and I can't decide which to go to. I've been to the big island and kinda want to go to another

 

[lambandtunaphish]

Any snap judgements on maui vs Kauai for 3 days later this month? The ladyfriend and I can't decide which to go to. I've been to the big island and kinda want to go to another

Just did 6 nights on Maui and 5 on Kauai for my honeymoon in June. I'd probably lean Kauai for a short stay, since you can see more of the island quickly and put off Maui until you have more time to do "everything". If you're just trying to sit on the beach for a few days, my opinion might change though.

I'll try to post what we did at some point for all you future honeymooners.

 

[yabu]

Any snap judgements on maui vs Kauai for 3 days later this month? The ladyfriend and I can't decide which to go to. I've been to the big island and kinda want to go to another

Kauai, all the way! Especially since you've been on the big island.
but only 3 days? That's a super short trip .

 

[danbanana]

Kauai, all the way! Especially since you've been on the big island.
but only 3 days? That's a super short trip .

Kauai is the nicest place I've ever been by a long shot and have already begun making plans with my wife to go back for our 5 year anniversary... in 2020. If you're there, Princeville Wine Market had a small but well-curated beer section with Logsdon and Big Island bottles (White Mountain Porter was particularly good) were there in 2015, which were new and fun to me then.

Also seconding Humpy's on the Big Island, though a quick browse of their menu seems to indicate that they don't have their pulled pork calzone thing anymore, which my wife insisted was the best thing she ever ate.

 

[rcubed1]

Also seconding Humpy's on the Big Island, though a quick browse of their menu seems to indicate that they don't have their pulled pork calzone thing anymore, which my wife insisted was the best thing she ever ate.

They did as of late May. Hope they didn't get rid of it since. It might also be under a different name then before but the dish is the same.

 

[FoudreGuy]

Kauai is the nicest place I've ever been by a long shot and have already begun making plans with my wife to go back for our 5 year anniversary... in 2020. If you're there, Princeville Wine Market had a small but well-curated beer section with Logsdon and Big Island bottles (White Mountain Porter was particularly good) were there in 2015, which were new and fun to me then.

The Foodland in that same shopping center has a good beer selection.

Also, get reservations for dinner at Kauai Ono:
http://www.kauaiono.com

 

[danbanana]

The Foodland in that same shopping center has a good beer selection.

Also, get reservations for dinner at Kauai Ono:
http://www.kauaiono.com

I will note this for the future.

 

[user 304985]

Just did 6 nights on Maui and 5 on Kauai for my honeymoon in June. I'd probably lean Kauai for a short stay, since you can see more of the island quickly and put off Maui until you have more time to do "everything". If you're just trying to sit on the beach for a few days, my opinion might change though.

I'll try to post what we did at some point for all you future honeymooners.

Kauai, all the way! Especially since you've been on the big island.
but only 3 days? That's a super short trip .

Thanks for the opinions folks! This is why this weird place is great.
We totally didn't listen to your suggestion about Kauai though, the flight options to Maui were just much better since the trip will be so short. This is the last free weekend either of us will have for a while, hence the quick trip. Now I just need to figure out where to stay and what to do besides drink on the beach.

 

[reverseapachemaster1]

Thanks for the opinions folks! This is why this weird place is great.
We totally didn't listen to your suggestion about Kauai though, the flight options to Maui were just much better since the trip will be so short. This is the last free weekend either of us will have for a while, hence the quick trip. Now I just need to figure out where to stay and what to do besides drink on the beach.

Staying in Lahaina or north along that coast will give you access to a lot of things to do but traffic was really bad getting in and out if you plan to visit any other part of the island. Wailea has a lot of great resorts and some good restaurants tucked away in them but it's more generic touristy feeling. There's less to do right around there unless you want to hike around the volcano or drink at Maui Brewing in Kihei. However, it was a lot quieter because there's less to do outside of the resorts, unlike Lahaina.

I didn't spend much time on the north or east side of the island aside from the airport and eating at Mama's Fish House in Paia. Can't say much about staying on that side except it's windier.

 

[lambandtunaphish]

Thanks for the opinions folks! This is why this weird place is great.
We totally didn't listen to your suggestion about Kauai though, the flight options to Maui were just much better since the trip will be so short. This is the last free weekend either of us will have for a while, hence the quick trip. Now I just need to figure out where to stay and what to do besides drink on the beach.

I stayed at the Westin Hotel in Ka'anapali. It's a big resort w/ a lot of families. Nice place, but we basically just used it for the room and pool. We never really had too much traffic getting there or driving away from the hotel (though we seemed to avoid rush hour for the most part).

Staying a bit farther north in Kapalua could also be cool for a short stay. Merriman's up there is solid for drinks/sunset on the patio and/or dinner.

Other places we had dinner on Maui
-Mama's Fish house was great, but $$$$$. Worth going, but depending on where you stay, the drive might be too far for a short trip. Check for reservations now if you'd even consider going.
-Monkeypod in Whalers Village (there's also one down in Wailea). Good food, decent beer selection, but I think we just got their Mai Tais w/ the foam
-Star Noodle in Lahaina - very good as a less expensive option
-Paia Fish Market - casual, stopped in after doing the Road to Hana
-We did the Old Lahaina Luau. Food was kinda meh. We got stuck at a table with a bunch of kids and a couple that didn't drink, which super lame.

 

[FoudreGuy]

I was in Maui this past April. We stayed at the Royal Kahana near Lahaina (a couple blocks from the Maui Brewpub). Traffic was fine for the most part, but absolutely terrible getting to Kihei on our last day there.

Happy hour at Merriman's is highly recommended. We ate at Star Noodle, Down the Hatch, Maui Brewing (Kihei), Honokowai Okazuya, Kula Bistro, 808 Grindz and got poke at Tamuras. I don't like Luaus.

We also really enjoyed the Upcountry Farmer's Market in Pukalani and thought Makawao was a cool little town.

We had a good time, but I think I prefer Kauai.

 

[jmgrub]

They did as of late May. Hope they didn't get rid of it since. It might also be under a different name then before but the dish is the same.

I like Humpy's and go there fairly often, but I don't think the food is great. Was that sandwich the exception?

I love how much action this thread is getting. Anyone coming out to the Big Island and wanting to share beers or get beach/restaurant/activity recs, hit me up.

 

[FoudreGuy]

I've been Oahu multiple times, Kauai twice and Maui once. I need to get to the Big Island, I've actually got (slightly wacky religious) family that lives there.

 

[jmgrub]

I've been Oahu multiple times, Kauai twice and Maui once. I need to get to the Big Island, I've actually got (slightly wacky religious) family that lives there.

Religion is huge here. Must be pretty high number of churches per capita. Kona town is a ghosttown when I head down on Sunday mornings to grab coffee/tea. It's nice for me because there is no line.

But yeah, come to the Big Island.

 

[rcubed1]

I like Humpy's and go there fairly often, but I don't think the food is great. Was that sandwich the exception?

I love how much action this thread is getting. Anyone coming out to the Big Island and wanting to share beers or get beach/restaurant/activity recs, hit me up.

Yeah it's the only thing I get there. Certainly better food out there but the view upstairs and the taplist make it the first stop when I get into town.

 

[jmgrub]

Yeah it's the only thing I get there. Certainly better food out there but the view upstairs and the taplist make it the first stop when I get into town.

Can't argue with the view. The taplist is meh compared to a good beer bar on the mainland, but is certainly good for here (probably the best, though it's possible that A Bay's in Waikoloa has them beat). I also like to watch people play volleyball on the court right there. Certainly not trying to dissuade anyone from going, but don't expect bombass food (other than apparently the pulled pork calzone, to the extent they still serve that).

 

[FoudreGuy]

I never complain about tap lists in Hawaii (unless it's Oauhu cause they get way better stuff due to Shelton Brothers), I just happily drink whatever they have.

Religion is huge here. Must be pretty high number of churches per capita. Kona town is a ghosttown when I head down on Sunday mornings to grab coffee/tea. It's nice for me because there is no line.

But yeah, come to the Big Island.

They moved there from California for some religious college on the Big Island. They're really nice people but her husband is a bit out there with his views on "God providing" while his rich parents pay for everything.

 

[jmgrub]

I never complain about tap lists in Hawaii (unless it's Oauhu cause they get way better stuff due to Shelton Brothers), I just happily drink whatever they have.

Agreed. Was just trying to manage expectations. If I was going to pick any place in Kona town strictly for draft beers, it would probably be Kona Brewing. The vibe is obviously a little bit corporate, but the beer list is pretty well rounded, and the pub beers tend to be solid IMO (and they have one barrel aged option on most of the time).

If we are talking the whole island, I would probably go with Big Island Brewhaus. Ola's ciders are fantastic as well.

 

[TheFarmBoy3]

jmgrub what are your thoughts on Umekes?

 

[jmgrub]

jmgrub what are your thoughts on Umekes?

I'm a vegetarian so I don't have many thoughts. My wife thinks it's great. She also loves Da Poke Shack and thinks that Kona Brewing is a sleeper for best poke in town.

 

[jmgrub]

They did as of late May. Hope they didn't get rid of it since. It might also be under a different name then before but the dish is the same.

Went to Humpy's for a late lunch yesterday. Did not spot the calzone on the menu, but may have missed it.

 

[danbanana]

Went to Humpy's for a late lunch yesterday. Did not spot the calzone on the menu, but may have missed it.

They called it a pulled pork sandwich or something but it was closer to a calzone made with a flaky, almost croissant-like bread. It was damn good. I would post the picture of my wife chowing down on it but she'd probably be pissed I let it into the public.