Phil's Quickie Hawaiian Adventure Reviews

This is just a place to throw down some thoughts on the places I visit on my month-long stay on the Big Island.

Some notes on my scale:

• 10/10 Denalis: among the best I’ve ever had. I will plan entire days (or entire trips) around going to this place and doing the thing there. [very few things end up in this category.]
• 8-9/10 Denalis: really, really good, generally no notes, but not truly exceptional. These are places I will go if I’m nearby or traveling through.
• 6-7 Denalis: solid, but nothing to write home about. Would go back only if it were super convenient, or as an alternative if something better nearby is closed and I don’t have time/inclination to find another option.
• 4-5/10 Denalis: Just fine, or at least wildly inconsistent. I’d mostly avoid these places unless I’m desperate, or someone else really wants to go.
• 1-3/10 Denalis: I won’t write about these unless there’s a really compelling reason. Not here to yuck anyone else’s yum, unless there’s something that folks need to know before going to a place.

Restaurants:

• Willie’s Hot Chicken (Kona). This was recommended to me by three or four different people (one of whom lives here, and one of whom used to live here). First night here, I just wanted something familiar and easy so I decided to check it out. I’m a sucker for a good chicken waffle so I ordered a thigh/leg combo “Nashville hot.” It was really good, juicy, crispy chicken, and the waffle was nicely sweet especially combined with the honey butter. I wasn’t blown away by the heat, but a well-made dish all around. I also ordered a tender on the side for giggles, and ordered it “white hot.” The ‘tender’ was really good; it was an actual piece of chicken with a nice, minimal crust, but I was not impressed by the “white hot.” Tasty, but not particularly hot.  I’d imagine I’ll run down for a sandwich for lunch a couple more times while I’m here. 7/10 Denalis.

[Update: The lava hot chicken is actually hot; not prank hot, but pleasantly hot food hot. Highly recommend.]

Nashville hot leg/thigh combo & waffle, with extra tender (white hot)

• Ken’s House of Pancakes (Hilo). I didn’t realize that Paul’s Place Café in Hilo required reservations, so my day one breakfast ended up being here. I went in sort of expecting a local spin on IHOP, and that wasn’t ENTIRELY wrong. Fun local décor, nice space with a decent breeze, and a wall dedicated to local celebrities (including the Rock). I had the meat lover’s omelet with hashbrowns and buttermilk pancakes. The portion was … excessive, and the pancakes a little undercooked in the middle, but overall a great diner breakfast. I’d be curious to try out their macadamia nut pancakes, so I might stop by at some point this month when I’m over for the farmer’s market. 6/10 Denalis.

Meat-lover's omelet w/crispy hashbrowns

• Keei Café (Kealakekua, north of Kona, en route to coffee farms): my first real dinner on the island this time around. Eclectic décor, super friendly staff, and a chef who came out to talk to a couple of groups of locals while I was there. I went for the catch of the day (choice of ahi or swordfish, I chose ahi), with a choice of four preparations (I chose the daily special sauce, which was a mango, butter, and white wine reduction). Probably the single best preparation of ahi I’ve ever had; it was perfectly seasoned and cooked, and came with a nice, mellow mashed potato, sauteed asparagus, and a lovely vegetable medley. I finished my meal with a bread pudding made with local sweet bread, pineapple, and bananas, topped with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and caramel and chocolate sauces. I’ll definitely be going back this trip. Based on how good this meal was, I’m excited to try one of their steaks or maybe another special (the other thing they had on special that night was a stuffed rabbit). For dinner, dessert, and a local beer, it ran me around $50. 9/10 Denalis. [This was pretty close to Mainini Beach; I had an hour to kill between finishing my coffee tasting and Keei Café opening, so I ducked down the hill to the “beach” and walked around.]

[Went back this week with friends and had another delightful meal; I had the massive ribeye in a pan sauce, and my dining companions had a tempura ahi appetizer (delicious!), a nice cippino, and the ahi dish I had last week.]

Ahi in a mango/butter/white white sauce

Bread pudding made with sweet bread, pineapple and bananas

• Chubby’s Diner (Kona). On my second morning, I tried to go to 808 Grindz for breakfast, only to find that they were closed. I googled breakfast in the area, and Chubby’s came up and it was nearby, so I decided to give it a shot. Turns out, it’s inside KBXtreme, a bowling alley/arcade/Dave & Busters-style entertainment center. I was … very confused, but saw a bunch of folks who looked like locals eating so I decided to give it a shot. It was a really quite nice diner-style breakfast. I ordered a portugese sausage omelet that came with sourdough toast and two scoops of char siu fried rice. The omelet was maybe a little too cheesy (and definitely way too much food), but the fried rice was REALLY good and perfectly paired with the eggs and cheese. I would definitely go back in a pinch, but it’s so close to 808 Grindz and that place is so good … and it’s a little disconcerting to eat breakfast while listening to a zombie blasting video game and people bowling. 6/10 Denalis. [This actually reminded me a lot of the bowling alley near my house in Olympia, which at least pre-pandemic had a weirdly good breakfast menu too. Maybe this is a thing I just don’t know about?]
• Waikaloa Shrimp Company (Waikaloa, in the shopping complex food court). I have very fond memories of garlic shrimp from the trucks on the North Shore of Oahu (thanks, Robin!) so when this popped up with good reviews on Google as I was leaving 49 Black Sands beach, I decided to give it a shot. The shrimp are good, large, and taste fresh, and the garlic butter sauce is really well seasoned. The shrimp are a little larger than I’m used to for this preparation, and I really needed to shell them before I could eat them which was a challenge given how hot they were. Served with sesame-seed rice and the best mac salad I’ve had recently for ~$22. 6/10 Denalis.

• 808 Grindz Café (Kona, a few blocks from main street). CASH ONLY. Perfect breakfast joint for me. French toast made with rainbow bread, three scrambled eggs, and three sausage links for $12. Just good grub. I ordered a side of their seasoned potatoes which were loaded with onions and green onions and I would 100% recommend to anyone. Also the guava juice; no idea if it just comes out of a jug but it was a delightful breakfast drink. 9/10 Denalis. [If I lived here, this would be one of my regular breakfast joints.] 

Went back and had the 808 Grindz Breakfast (meat-lovers omelet, three mini-pancakes with mac-nilla sauce, and starch side) and it was also fabulous. Maybe the best pancakes I've ever had, with super crusty edges, fluffy but fully cooked interior, and the MAC-NILLA SAUCE. IT'S MACADAMIA NUT AND VANILLA SAUCE. FOR SERIOUS.

[Update: I've been to this place five times in a month, and twice it was randomly closed on a day when it was supposed to be open. This is a super common thing in Hawaii, so just be aware and have a backup plan.] 

• Kona Coffee & Tea. Nice little coffee shop I've stopped in a couple of times. The coffee is nicely balanced and they have a variety of options. They're not the most efficient coffee shop I've been in (today I ordered a cold brew because I figured it would be quick and easy, and the five people behind me all got their orders before they got around to adding ice and handing the cold brew to me, but everyone has a bad day from time to time). Also there was a nice, mellow golden retreiver hanging out on the patio waiting for her mom which was sweet. 7/10 Denalis for the coffee, plus a bonus Denali for the golden friend, so 8/10 Denalis.

[Update: the blended mocha is pretty damned delicious. It should be, it's basically a coffee milkshake. The actual coffee milkshake is also really good, though I think I prefer the blended coffee drinks.]

• The Fish and the Hog (Waimea). A barbecue joint blasting country. I hadn't really thought about the overlap between barbecue and Hawaiian food, honestly, but it kind of makes sense that this would be a great combination. After a 20-30 minute wait (for a late-ish lunch), we opted to order the fried Brussels sprouts appetizer, a barbecue combination platter (with bonus grilled shrimp) and the pulled pork nachos. The sprouts were exceptional; one of those dishes that you finish and fight an internal battle about ordering another one. The individual leaves that had fallen off into the fryer were particularly delicious. The combo platter was great: really nice pulled pork, delicious brisket (tender, moist, and with a flavorful crust even if the crust was soft by the time it was served), the house-made pork sausage had a delicious, porky and not too hot flavor, and the shrimp were nicely seasoned and cooked. It also came with a little, very nice, kimchi and pickled vegetables. The two sauces (lilikoi aka passionfruit, and paniolo barbecue) were both super tasty if not quite as hot as I might have liked it. The pulled pork nachos weren't anything to write home about, but the pork was nice, the chips crispy, and more or less exactly what I expect from pulled pork nachos. On the way out I grabbed a slice of their coconut cake to go, and it was delicious; moist, light, and not TOO sweet. Service was really good, though they did forget our nachos for a few minutes so they came out after we'd finished almost everything else. Not unexpected, given how busy they were, and the waitstaff was charming. 9/10 Denalis. I'll be back on this trip.
• 

  

  Delicious, delicious deep-fried Brussels' sprouts.

  
  

  

  Combination platter FTW.

• Patissiere Nanako (Waimea). A nice little patissiere up in Waimea near The Fish & the Hog and the Crack Seed, Etc. store that was on a friend's list. Really nice desserts, mostly like and not overly sweet. The cream cake was really good, the little tartlets quite nice (with the short crust on the passionfruit tart really exceptional), and the strawberry shortcake a little bland but well-made. The flavor on the madeleines was nice, but I'm guessing they'd been sitting a couple of days based on the texture/dryness. The cream pan (sweet bread stuffed with creme patissiere) was nicely done, just not my favorite dessert. Overall I'd give them 7/10 Denalis, and I'll update after I try the raspberry ladybug cake tonight.
• Cafe Florian (Kealakekua). Nice little sandwich shop on the way back from the major coffee area. Went in because apparently Wednesdays are the days the Coffee Shack is closed. Pretty good breakfast sandwiches (I had the breakfat panini with bacon instead of ham), with a good garlic aioli, spinach or lettuce, and a nicely fried egg. Food isn't anything super special, but the view is killer and the iced mac nut mocha really good. 6/10 Denalis. 
• Paul's Place Cafe (Hilo). Paul’s Place Cafe gets rave reviews all over the internet, but it only has three tables and reservations are strictly required. It’s also in Hilo, so getting over for breakfast isn’t trivial coming from Kona. I walked in on my first day here and got a card so I could get a reservation. When I sat down Paul came over and walked me through the menu (because in his words, nothing is done the regular way. Every item is special in its own way). It all sounded (and smelled) delicious, but he told me (and the next few tables) that his favorite dish to cook is Pasta al Marco. When a chef tells you their favorite dish … you order it. It’s a nest of angel’s hair pasta, tossed with an egg for cohesion sautéed in olive oil until it develops a crust and turns into a pasta patty, served over a nut-free pesto and topped with crispy bacon, two kinds of cheese, a little salmon, olives, capers, and a salad. It … shouldn’t work. It really shouldn't. It totally does anyway. Spectacularly weird, and just plain spectacular. I also have to go back for the Belgium waffle; it smelled so. damned. good. 10/10 Denalis, absolutely no notes. 

Literally three tables, any two of which could probably be a 3-top if needed.

This shouldn't work, but instead is spectacular.

Isn't this WEIRD? But so delicious.

• Puna Chocolate Co. (Hilo). I got to Hilo thirty minutes early for my breakfast at Paul's, so I decided to walk over here for a cup of coffee while I waited. It's a chocolate shop, so you get your choice of three or four different kinds of mochas. I opted for a rich dark mocha, which was excellent, and while I drank it I chatted with the staff about their chocolate selections. In particular, their collection of dark single-origin region chocolates caught my eye, and they let me know they do a flight of six of those chocolates. I ran out of time to try them before my breakfast reservation, so I went back after eating to do the tasting. I had wondered how much regional variation there could be on one island ... which turns out to be kind of a dumb question. The answer is a lot. If you've got time in Hilo, try it. Some of the chocolates are theirs, and some are sourced from other small chocolate producers on the big island. All of them were good, but I definitely figured out which ones I liked the most (Hamakua and Kau). I also had a frozen hot chocolate to drink on my way up to Volcano National Park, and it was really good and surprisingly fruity/maybe a hint malty. A strong 8/10 Denalis experience. 
• Peaberry & Galette (Keauhou). This is a delightful spot in a strip mall near one of the resorts (there's also a decent farmers' market there on Saturdays, at least). I had a sausage and asparagus crepe, which was well made and tasty (even if a little heavy on bell peppers). The crepes are delicious and fluffy, and it's fun to watch a pro use the crepe spreader. I'm sure I'll go back. Seating is limited though, so either hang out and wait for a seat before ordering, or be prepared to eat standing or in your car. 7/10 Denalis.

Sausage and asparagus crepe

Nice little shop. Order at the counter and hope for an open table!

• Broke da Mouth Grindz (Kona). This one gets recommended by everyone and their brother, and was a particular shout out by my friend Chris. Everyone recommends the garlic furikake chicken, so I ordere a mixed plate of spicy garlic furikake chicken and braised shortribs. I upgraded to adobo pork fried rice, but they forgot and gave me regular white rice. The wait here is appartenlty always long, and it took almost 45 minutes from when I ordered to when I got my food ... but I honestly didn't care. That's how good it was. The chicken was crispy and flavorful and damned near perfect, the short ribs were fall-apart delicious and perfectly seasoned, and even the rice was perfectly cooked. The chicken skin had been fried separetly and was crispy like a cracker. 9/10 Denalis, will go back next time I'm here (I'll just go earlier, so I can get food in time to go watch the sunset at Wawaloli Beach Park).

• Hawaiian Style Cafe (Hilo). The classic Hilo breakfast, apparently. I didn't have much of a wait, but I was pretty early in the morning. I went with the classing Kalua hash, which is basically a patty of mixed mashed potatoes and kalua pork. It's amazingly smoky and really, really good. The hashbrowns weren't amazing, the eggs were fine, and the pancake was ENORMOUS and a little cludgey in the middle, but a throwback to the days when I used to use Country Crock on pancakes. 6/10 Denalis, would take people here who haven't been, but I think I prefered the food at Ken's House of Pancakes (and I definitely prefer Paul's Place if you can get a reservation).

• Lava Lava Beach Club (Waikoloa). My rule when I travel solo is that I have one nice dinner out, where I mostly try to stay off my phone and do some quality people watching. This was my choice for this trip, on the strength of recommendations from a couple of friends including my boss. This restauarant is in a stellar location next to the resorts, and the people watching was excellent. I started with a Sandy Toes cocktail (swapped gin for bourbon at the recommendation of the bartender); had their fresh catch special, mahi mahi in a delicious spicy passionfruit sauce; the finished with a kona mocha cheesecake paried with a sage mojito for dessert. The mahi was perfectly cooked, the sauce actually spicy, and the cheesecake had a strong but not overwhelming coffee flavor. Genuinely excellent meal with a spectacular sunset view. Seems like a lot of people had pretty long waits, but one advantage of dining solo is there's often a bar or rail spot available for one. Fun live music and hula dancing, too. 9/10 Denalis.

Sandy Toes, subbing bourbon for gin

Fresh mahi mahi in a spicy mango and passionfruit sauce

Mojito. They were out of mint so subbed sage. Really nice; will make at home

Sunset is the perfect time to eat here.

Really nice kona mocha cheesecake

• Huggo's (Kona). This restaurant is literally on the rocks on the shore, and my table was located on pylons over the crashing waves. It was pretty amazing, but did require a wait of almost an hour (when they thought it would be 25 minutes). I ended up having a delicious passionfruit and vodka cocktail (with fresh pineapple juice), then their signature Hook, Line, and Sinker; in this case, fresh seared ono (wahoo) with an ube beurre blanc and sautéed asparagus. The dinner was really, really good, the cocktail perfectly balanced, and the views were epic (pretty sure there was a dolphin out playing in the bay while I ate). 9/10 Denalis, would recommend, particularly if you're staying in one of the resorts in Kailua-Kona. This appears to be owned by the same person as the Lava Lava Beach Club, and there's a (slightly downscale?) version of Huggo's directly adjacent to this one that looks like more normal bar fare instead of more fine-dining.

• Original Big Island Shave Ice Company (OBISIC) (Waikoloa). This apparently used to be a food truck, but has since relocated to the schmancy King's Shops in Waikoloa. Their signature is a scoop of super premium ice cream covered with shave ice, syrup, and then toppings. It's also easily a 60-90 minute wait, half of which will be outside in the sun. I started setting limits on how long I would wait, and then kept seeing people walking out with magical-looking desserts and kept extending how long I was willing to give it, and then at some point I was pretty much pot-committed. And honestly ... it was 100% worth it. Recommend going with a friend so you can trade off in line and send someone to get sustenance at some point (like the family in front of me), but it's really, really good. I went with the Mana's Chantilly which is a scoop of mac nut icecream, shave ice with condensed milk, chocolate syrup, a Chantilly drizzle, whipped cream, and crushed mac nuts. 10/10 Denalis, hit the spot perfectly after a day running around and then body surfing.

Mana's Chantilly

The line that never ends

The specialities

• Foster's Kitchen (Waikoloa, also a location in Kona on the water). Nice little spot for sandwiches in the King's Shop. Stopped by after golfing because the clubhouse restaurant had closed. I had a great barbecue sauce and pulled pork cheeseburger. The host was also a fellow Duck from Parkedale, which always cracks me up. 7/10 Denalis; they had a couple of other burgers that I'd definitely go back to try.
• Fish Hopper (Kona). Basic breakfast joint near the resorts in Kailua-Kona. Decent breakfast, great view. Particularly recommend the breakfast potatoes cooked with onions and peppers; I'm a sucker for a good breakfast potato and this was an excellent example. 6/10 Denalis.
• Island Lava Java (Kona). Another basic breakfast joint near the resorts in Kailua-Kona. Similar to the Fish Hopper, decent breakfast with a great view. The espresso machine was broken when I was in, but the cold brew was good, and the kalua pork and pineapple scramble was pretty good. 6/10 Denalis.

A nice pork & pineapple scramble

• Papa Kona (Kona). Went here twice; once early in the trip for dinner (when the wait at Huggo's was 90+ minutes). Had a good cheeseburger in a guava barbecue sauce; the burger was really well seared and had a great crust, and the mai tai was ... a mai tai. Not my favorite cocktail, but figured I should have one in Hawaii. Went back for breakfast a few weeks later and the breakfast was genuinely really good. Delicious kalua pork and pineapple hash, great, well-fried breakfast potatoes, and an incredible view. 8/10 Denalis. 

Attractions

• Hala Tree Coffee. This is a bit of a drive from Kona, but to me totally worth it. It’s a lovely, working coffee farm and roaster. I didn’t know when the tours were (I was just wandering around that part of the island) so I didn’t get to experience that, though I think I’ll go back for it. I did get to do a coffee tasting where I got to pick three of their eight or ten options and get a half mini-french press of each to experience sitting in their lovely environs. The young woman behind the counter was incredibly knowledgeable about coffee in general and their offerings, specifically, and helped me figure out which of the offerings I wanted to try.  All of the coffees I tried were exceptional, and I ended up getting their espresso roasted SL28 varietal. It was … VERY expensive but I’ve really been enjoying making espresso with it the last couple of mornings. OH, and they have five farm dogs (aka the welcoming committee), none of which I stole while I was there. Personal growth! 8/10 Denalis. I’ll definitely go back for the tour, and probably to buy some more coffee in a couple of weeks to tide me through the rest of my stay.

Hard to argue with the view. The was a lovely seating area, but it was occupied while I was there.

This is a "half-flight" of coffees.

[Update: Went back today with friends to do the actual tour as well as additional tasting. The tour was not as long or complex as the one at Heavenly, and Sally, the guide, was only in her second month of workstay so hadn't yet accumulated the range of knowledge as the other tour guide, but she was charming and reasonably knowledgeable and enthusiastic about her subject. Also got more detail about the different types of coffee they make. In particular, the "natural" coffees are made by drying out the coffee inside the coffee cherry and then dry-milling and roasting (as opposed to most coffee, where it's wet-milled, washed, dried, roasted), and it adds a really interesting note that Robin described as "funk, not in a bad way." Overall, I think the tour at Heavenly is better, but both the coffee and the tasting experience are better at Hala (and it was recommended by a couple of other coffee businesses in the area that I asked).
The five dogs (the welcoming committee) were much more awake an active this morning than last week, but are a little nervous and skittish and mostly not much interested in associating with or being pet by guests. They are very cute, and were very barky as we parked (though they were wagging their tails the whole time; they're not aggressive or angry.]

• Mainini Beach. Really lovely little bay, but no sand and no easy water access. It looked like there may have been a better way to access it or some kind of local park, but honestly all of the property owners around it have their property so heavily marked that I was a little reluctant to do much wandering right around sunset. 4/10 Denalis.

The walk down to Manini

It's quite a view

• 49 Black Sands Beach. Close your eyes and picture a idealized black sand beach; congratulations, you’ve pictured 49 Black Sands Beach! Semi-private, adjacent to some really nice houses and what looked like either a private community center or maybe part of a resort? They have a small number of parking passes available for the public, so you need to drive to the gate and see if they have any available. It’s a beautiful black sand beach with limited traffic; at least on the day I was there, there were maybe 20 people at any given time. Limited shade so if you’re going to spend the day there I’d think about bringing some. The sand in the water is also a bit rocky and the surf a little rough; probably not a great place for small kiddos, and I’d 100% wear water shoes rather than going barefoot. I was also there on an absolutely whippingly windy day, and it felt a little like standing in a sand blaster (and my ears, hair, etc. were all full of sand by the time I left), but it’s absolutely worth it and I think I'll go back several times. 9/10 Denalis, with an option to upgrade to a 10/10 at some point.

• Heavenly Hawaiian Farms. This was another coffee tour and tasting. We did the tour here, and it was lovely. The tour guide, Rick, is a relatively recent transplant to the island from the midwest buti clearly really loves being here and giving the tours. He gave us a lot of good information about how coffee grows on Hawaii, why this particular belt is good for it, and the ways that the climate and geography affect the coffee Kona produces. We got to explore the coffee trees, the production process, and the roasting process, and to try five or six of their coffee blends. The roaster on site is actually not owned or run by the farm (it belongs to Hawaiian Goat Coffee) and we got to have a great, extended conversation with Liz, half of the husband-and-wife duo that own and operate the roaster (and are standing up their own farm, as well as doing contract roasting for a number of folks around the island). Generally, I would say that the tour was great, but the coffee tasting was ... fine. Four of the blends that were available are just sitting in samovars and were not super interesting. At the end of the tour they offer you a sample of premium coffee, and that day's happened to be a medium roast peaberry (a mutation where only one seed forms inside a coffee cherry), which was very nice. Overall, I'd give it 7/10 Denalis for coffee, 9/10 Denalis for the tour, 9/10 Denalis for the roasting conversation, and a solid 12/10 for Charlie, the coffee golden retriever who spent the whole time we were there walking up to groups, flopping on their feet, and requiring belly rubs. [edit: Charlie doesn't work Saturdays, just fyi.]

[Update 3/16/24: went back today for the "brew your best cup" class ($60, three times daily, online reservations recommended). Today it was led by the manager of the coffee shop on-site. The class is taught at the little work area under cover next to the roaster. The roaster wasn't operating today, but I'm going to guess if you do the class on a roasting day you get to appreciate a lot of roasting coffee smells. As part of the class, the instructor walks you through the entire coffee making process from bean selection to drinking, and you get to make both a mini-french press and a V60 pour over cup of the coffee of the day. Today, it was a medium roast big berry coffee which was really quite nice. 

 

I've done a lot of "research" (aka reading) on making good quality pour-over ever since I caught the Chemex bug in 2021 or 2022, so most of the class was a good confirmation about the things I've already been doing, but I did learn a few things: 1) I've been using water that's a little too hot for the darker roasts I tend to favor, 2) darker roasts tend to burn away some of the coffee complexity and flavor (a confirmation of something we heard from Liz last week), 3) I'm grinding a little too fine for pour-over, 4) I should give the beans a quick spritz before grinding (both to cut down on static and apparently also to increase flavor development?!?!), and 5) I definitely prefer pour-over to french press, a nice confirmation.

Also Charlie doesn't work Saturdays. If you can, visit on a non-Saturday.]

Charlie the coffee dog.

Rick, the midwestern tour guide, telling us about coffee varietals 

Robin, smelling the coffee flowers (aka Kona snow)

Drying sheds

Liz, the roaster

More Charlie the coffee dog

The "brew your best cup" class instructor, the manager of the on-site coffee shop

The deets!

Coffee carnage, and the pour over coffee

Forgot to get the shot facing the opposite direction, but the roaster is to the left, and the pool & tables are behind the camera.

• Hilo Farmer's Market (Hilo). Go to this, but bring cash. Big market days are Wednesdays and Saturdays, which means a lot more crafts and local goods, as well as a third row of foodstuffs in the produce market (mostly appeared to be prepared foods like baked goods and mac nuts/granola/etc.). The tents on the south side of the street (next to the open-air restaraunt/shaved ice place) are mostly goods and crafts (ranging from hand made to regularly touristy stuff), and at least the first day I was there, pretty good hand-crafted coffee and cold brew. The large covered space on the north side of the street was the produce market. Great fruit and veggies, good looking baked goods, a stand selling a variety of macademia nuts and granolas (the granola isn't super crisp, but the flavor is nice, and the chili macademia nuts are EXCELLENT). I spent $100 here before I realized it, but got to try a handful of fruits I'd never heard of or tried before (ice cream bean, longan, rambutan, milky fruit/star apple), as well as some of my favorites (pineapple, apple banana, etc.). No fish or meat at this market, unfortunately, and not a lot of prepared food for meals except for the permanent building. Next time I want to try one of the fresh fruit juice stands. 10/10 Denalis, exactly what I want from a Hawaiian farmers' market, and I'll be driving over to Hilo more to get more fruit.
• Volcano National Park. I mean, there's not a lot to say here. It's an amazing, starkly beautiful place that you'll either love (in which case you'll already know everything about it) or isn't for you (in which case I'm not going to change your mind). So far I've just done the Kīlauea Iki crater hike (4 miles) and then the Nāhuku (formerly Thurston) lava tube (.5 miles round trip from that parking lot). I plan on going back at least a couple of times, though hopefully not in the middle of a heavy downpour and maybe even on a day when you see across the caldera. It's changed a lot since I was there in 2015, but I couldn't really see enough to tell that without looking at the exhibits. Went to a great talk at Uēkahuna about the history of eruptions in the caldera. 10/10 Denalis; this is one of the most spectacular natural environments I've ever been able to explore, and I'm delighted that it's a national park open to everyone.

Retired mining engineer volunteer giving a talk about the park.

So many hikes.

Kīlauea Iki crater.

Hiking out of the crater.

Entrance to Nāhuku, a lava tube.

• Kona Farmer's Market (Kailua-Kona). This farmer's market is in one of the (paid) "public" parking lots in Kailua-Kona. It's $15/hour for parking, so I'd recommend either making it quick (it's not easy to do, but you can actually just pay for 15 minutes of parking) or try to find actual public parking on the street or in the city lot a few blocks away. The selection was ... fine. It's not as big or extensive as the Hilo market, and it seems to primarily focus on knick-knacks and touristy goods/clothing rather than fruits/produce, though there are two pretty good-sized produce stands anchoring either side of the market. Prices seem pretty comparable ($6 for a pineapple, $2 for a bundle of green onions, etc.). I will continue to go over to Hilo for most of my big produce runs, but it's nice to know it's there if I'm desperate for some fruit. 6/10 Denalis.

• Keauhou Farmer's Market. This market is in the parking lot of a shopping center and happens to be right across the lot from Peaberry & Galette. It's much smaller than either Kona or Hilo's farmers' markets, and seems to focus more on prepared foods than prodcue or touristy goods. The chocolate guy had some samples and I liked his chocolates, and there are a few things that I would have tried if I'd not just finished breakfast. I'll probably go back at some point, especially if I'm going back to P&G or visiting the movie theater next door. 6/10 Denalis.