Lana's, Waipouli Wine & Spirits and J02 in Kapa'a

One of the great pleasures in food is eating seasonally and locally, especially when the local place is Kaua'i and the local food is tropical fruit! 

I saw Lana's while driving through Kapa'a and made a mental note to pick up some fruit during my stay. I was so very happy that the woman behind the stand asked me when I wanted to eat the fruit so she could chose the perfect ripeness. 

The fruit on the bottom right of the picture is called an egg fruit, and since I've never tried one before I got one! The interior has seeds that are inedible and the flesh tastes like cooked pumpkin. I didn't enjoy it raw, but I could see making a delicious dessert or custard pie with it. There are so many varieties of natively grown bananas in Hawaii, that I wanted to try them all, but the small sampling I did was a reminder that even a fruit as common as bananas all taste different when they don't have to be shipped or trucked long distances to market.

The mango was the best I've ever tasted :) 

While at the stand I got their coconut smoothie, a rich delicious dessert in a cup!

Just down the road is the small air conditioned wine store called Waipouli Wine & Spirits. I was so impressed by their selection and prices that I bought a lovely bottle to take back to the condo to support the business and to savor a fine wine outside of a restaurant.

One of the best meals I ate was at J02 . They offer a prix fixe $45 3 course menu from 5-6pm, but I opted to order a la carte. Their refreshing unsweetened hibiscus iced tea was a welcome respite from all the fruity and sweet drinks found all over the island.

The crispy duck confit salad for $25 could have been a meal by itself, and the perfectly ripe star fruit added a nice tart accent to the rich duck confit.

I don't remember the filling in the ravioli, but this dish was delicious. The ravioli were perfectly and lightly handled.

The best dish of the night was definitely the slow braised beef cheek for $45. It was so tender and such a generous helping that I took most of it back to the condo to enjoy later. Served with vegetables and soft dumplings, this is the meal you want to eat if you love beef and are very hungry for some upscale comfort food. They have a handy parking lot in front, and lovely professional service. If you are staying in the middle part of the island this is an easy spot to access for a comfortable high quality meal. I made my reservation about 1 month in advance, so if you want to be sure to get a table, plan ahead.

Anatta's Thai Food Truck in Kauai

I ate some of the best Thai food at Anatta's Thai food truck in Lihue, Kauai (the Ace Hardware Store location). Their location at the end of the parking lot has a few plastic picnic tables, plenty of parking, and lots of locals (human and feathered) enjoying the food.

The menu has something for everyone, and you can customize with your choice of proteins, veggies, or tofu.

I chose the pad see ew with veggies for $15.95, a very generous portion loaded with beautiful fresh vegetables.

The red curry with beef for $16.95 was beautifully aromatic with tender slices of beef and plenty of bamboo shoots and cabbage.

A chicken thigh skewer for $4.75 was succulent, perfectly seared and a must!

Three tender skewers of chicken satay for $7.95 with the best Thai peanut sauce I've ever tasted.

I got 2 veggie summer rolls for the plane ride back to the mainland, which were the perfect red eye food packed with fresh veggies and with a sweet chili sauce side.

Any return trips to Kauai will definitely include a stop at Anatta's :)

Kaua'i Breakfast at Java Kai & Lunch at Kenji Burger

I spent a week on Kaua'i for a wedding celebration and found some wonderful spots, so several of my upcoming posts will all be about places on the island :)

I stayed in Lihue, so Kapa'a was only 3 miles up the road and a great place to shop, eat and walk around. A frequent stop during my stay was Java Kai.

Their oat milk latte $6 was the best I tasted on the island and the same price as the ones in Los Angeles.

Their sunrise brekkie for $15 was a perfect papaya with greek yogurt, granola, a generous portion of delicious bacon, and a toasted bagel served with cinnamon butter.It was such a large portion that I took the bagel back to my condo to eat later. There is nothing like eating local fruit; the papaya and pineapple were the best I've ever tasted!

Portuguese sausage (home made) and egg sandwich with machego and romesco for $16 was a heartier breakfast choice and the home made sausage elevated it to a preferred choice if you like breakfast sandwiches.

Their turkey club comes with a side salad that was good on its own

and the sandwich itself was well balanced portions of all the ingredients for $16.

Kaua'i has cattle on the island and one of the few places where you can find their local beef is at Kenji Burger. The best sign of how good this place is was driving up to see an entire construction crew in line waiting for their order :)

I went to the Kapa'a location, but they have 4 in total all over the island. Of course I had to taste the Kenji burger with teriyaki, ponzu aioli, caramelized onions, cheddar, tomato and arugula for $13

I resisted the fries, which looked amazing, because I wanted to try their Misoyaki fish bowl with miso glazed black cod, arugula salad, and rice for $18. The fish was incredibly tender and fresh, some of the best I ate during my entire stay on the island.