North Shore Bound

Eddie wouldn't tow.. Haliewa cafe

2007-12-21T10:20:00.000-08:00

I'd heard about this place a few times as being a regular place for surf rats to hit up for great food after long day of paddling..
So that leads you to assume good food and plenty of it, right? I started with a cup of coffee and was ready to order when she put it in front of me. I started off and was distracted by my peripheral vision when there was a large bright red lipstick print on my stark white cup. As I trailed off the waitress realized what I was looking at and got me a new cup (or wiped that one off). I finished ordering and drank the suspect coffee. Apparently in the scurrying for a new cup tortilla was confused with white toast. I had an omelette with Mexican seasoned ground beef, jack, peppers and sour cream with rice. The compulsory rice was the only edible part. The ground meat had gristle. The egg wasn't fully cooked. So if you're tempted by Cafe Haleiwa, do yourself a favor, and go to the McDonald's across the street. At least that looks cool whereas in the cafe you'll have the distinct feeling you're eating in someone's grandmother's run down kitchen. And she'd have the decency to wash your cup I bet. Oh yeah, my coffee wasn't even comped.

Buzz's Lanikai

2007-09-04T13:58:00.000-07:00

For Labor day we had a late dinner at Buzz's in Lanikai. For appetizers last night they had Alaskan crabcakes with fried onions. My husband, being from Alaska, claims it's just not the same when you aren't in Alaska and "it's probably imported from Thailand anyway." Yeah, that's what he said until he tried it. It wasn't the Baltimore crabcakes that I grew up with & love but the crab was really great and the other ingrediants weren't overpowering so you couldn't appreciate the Alaskan crab. It was really great.

Our waitress sadly left a lot to be desired on her recommendations for wine, after recommending me three wines with little insight she apparently lacked the faith in those recommendations enough that she brought me the shiraz I was originally going to order. The Milton park, which is hiding at the bottom of the wine menu, is a great pick and considering the price well worth it.

The salad bar, which is $10.95 per person, has a seaweed salad, a red bean salad, and the basics. The spinach was a little wilty and the dressing looked like it had been there for a minute so I stuck to basics with lettuce, tomatoes, avocado, sprouts and some cottage cheese. My husband, again, with the food snobbery skipped the salad bar.

Due to my being a light eater we opted for the NY steak with two plates of mashed potatoes & broccoli. The steak was cooked perfectly for a medium. This made up for an iffy salad bar & a waitress who hadn't the foggiest about wine.

The dessert tray was pretty much enough for you to want to be a fat kid for life. We split a piece of chocolate peanut butter cheesecake. It was brilliant.

Will definitely go back again, and I can't wait for another piece of that peanut butter pie.

Kailua & Lanikai

2007-09-03T20:11:00.000-07:00

While North Shore is my favorite I realized another great part of Oahu is right out my back door. Literally, right out the back gate of MCBH. Kailua & Lanikai are barely 5 minutes away.

One of the best parts is Foodland Kailua. I know you're like who cares about a grocery store but hear me out. Foodland is host to R. Field & The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf.

R. Field has fine tobaccos, hobnobs, Ribena (been to the UK anybody?), pates, 3 varieties of couscous, a host of hard to find condiments including my favorite harissa, and items from Mustapha Moroccan.. It is small, yes, but the selection is incredible condsidering. The wine selection isn't vast but it's the quality in this case that counts and they have that part down pat.

The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf are unique in that they are certified green by the GRA. They take pride in "Energy and Water Efficient Spray Valves and High Efficiency Lighting and has implemented a reuse policy to cut down on paper cup use. In addition, all their paper products such as paper towels, bathroom tissues and napkins all use at least 10-percent post consumer recycled non-bleached paper." That being said the coffee & treats are great also. Their selection beats Starbucks hands down with things like salmon & linguine, egg salad on whole grain, and miniature coconut cakes. They knock out the coffee stop classics with ease as well with great blueberry muffins, scones and Einstein Bros. bagels.

Back to School

2007-07-16T22:07:00.000-07:00

I aspire to hurdle through the air going more than 300 miles per hour in a tin can, much like you see in this video. In order to do this I'm starting my next semester of school. Math and science! At least it isn't anthropology and I will never have to tell anyone how f(x) = ax2 + bx + c makes me feel.

Mokuleia Polo Field

2007-07-15T21:49:00.000-07:00

Today the girls and I went to Cholo's for a couple drinks before we headed out towards Skydive Hawaii to Mokuleia Polo Field. We missed the first chukka since we didn't realize the field actually opens at 11:00 and they're set up way ahead of time. If you're active duty military it's only $8/2 people to tailgate. We tailgated at the far end of the field, right by the beach. They have two matches on Sunday. Next time we'll come better prepared to BBQ on the beach a little early and then catch the match. The best part is that they have lessons and games for the people just learning, "princess polo." I can't wait!

This little horsie went to market...

2007-06-30T22:46:00.000-07:00

I started today with a stop at Malama Market to grab some ice for my cooler and remarkably the little bakery next door was open. I tried their Beachcomber for a happy but probably not healthy breakfast. It was an oatmeal, chocolate chunk, coconut, raisin cookie and so good. Has anyone asked why they don't serve milk? That would be money.

I stopped at the North Shore Farmer's Market before I hit the beach and was surprised to see a brown horse standing at the gate behind the school the market is held at. Things you don't expect in Hawaii! I assume it had gotten loose from one of the horse farms on north shore like Dillingham Ranch (which would have been a hike) or Happy Trails Hawaii.. Anyway, I fed him some tasty organic carrots I bought at the market so I hope he was satisfied with his market outing. I also tried Aloha Mama's bar cookies which reminded me of my Mother's apricot bars but I don't remember Mom ever using the catchall "dakine" or any other island-centric slang when describing the contents of her cooking.

Afterwards I hit the beach at Waimea Bay, my favorite, for its lack of shore breaks (I wasn't trying to surf or lose my bathing suit today) and how few people there are in comparison to the other beaches that have few strong shore breaks like in Waikiki. I parked at Sts Peter & Paul Catholic church which lets you park for $5 as long as you'd like and the funds go to send their youth group to Australia. They also have mass at 7:30 and 9:30, should you be so inclined.. or just want free parking.