Shows

Living Foods Gourmet Market and Cafe, situated in Poipu, Kauai, Hawaii, reimagined its operation upon reopening in September, holding fast to its original name but layering it with a contemporary culinary twist, according to Chef Mark in a conversation with Kauai TV host, Amanda Smith. It serves dual functions: as a market featuring a gamut of both international and local products, and a cafe plating a menu deeply rooted in local sources, which has recently undergone a rejuvenation under the aegis of Chef Mark and his team.

Upon reopening, Chef Mark spoke about his intentions for the space, saying, “We kind of wanted to keep the name and add our own little twist to some of the food and things like that.” The cafe pursues a commitment to employing local produce, underscored by Chef Mark’s relationships with “local farmers, ranchers, fishermen,” aiming to provide a platform to “showcase all that stuff, from locally grown beef to whole fish and everything else.” The team does not perceive their daily tasks as mere jobs; instead, Chef Mark emphasizes, “It’s not a job; it’s a place where I get to have fun with some of my friends. We’re making killer food.”

Navigating through both gourmet market and cafe, the establishment threads a focus on locally-sourced ingredients across its operations. With an approach that melds a “mellow and casual” ambiance with a commitment to handcrafting components – “baking all of our breads, making all of our sauces, we cure all of our meats” – Living Foods aims to create a space that patrons will frequent, not just visit once as “that one destination spot when they’re vacationing,” according to Chef Mark.

The chef outlined the meticulous preparation underlying seemingly simple offerings, explaining, “The process is a seven-day process to make a turkey sandwich,” and highlighted the Provision Salad as a personal favorite because “it’s so ingredient-based.” The salad eschews a traditional dressing, instead relying on “lemon juice and olive oil, but you have feta cheese and a ton of fresh herbs, avocado, and all these things that kind of turn this into a salad that tastes like you have a garden in your mouth.” This ingredient-focused, fresh philosophy extends to their breakfast offerings, such as the chilaquiles — “corn tortillas softened in a chili verde” — and their avocado toast, which is made with “fresh-baked sourdough bread, crushed avocado to order, tomato jam, some arugula, and a little everything bagel spice over the top of it.”

Interestingly, despite the casual tone, the ethos driving Living Foods’ culinary practices remains clear: sourcing superior ingredients and ensuring they shine on the plate, or in Chef Mark’s words, “Part of being a chef is getting really good ingredients and don’t screw it up.” Even the beverages at Living Foods bear the signature of considered, simple preparation, with Amanda noting the straightforward yet tantalizing flavors of one drink: “What does that one taste like? Tastes like beets and vodka.”

Living Foods, through its market and cafe, merges an approachable, everyday dining experience with a fastidious attention to ingredient quality, preparation processes, and local sourcing, crafting a space where Kauai’s residents and visitors alike can regularly engage with and savor the island’s culinary offerings.

Living Foods Market Website | Facebook | Instagram

Fish Bar Deli, nestled in Old Kapa’a Town, serves as a casual dining space, a welcoming bar, and a comprehensive market, offering an array of dishes, seafood options, salads, sandwiches, and a variety of market goods. The dishes, such as the Double Decker Diner Burger and the OG Fried Chicken Sammie, showcase a breadth of culinary offerings that explore various dietary inclinations. Fish Bar Deli also takes part in special events, such as a pop-up dinner event and participation in Kapa’a Art Night, enriching the community’s culinary and cultural experiences.

In a discussion with Erin Keller, the owner and chef of Fish Bar Deli, during a Kauai TV episode hosted by Amanda Smith, she highlighted the restaurant’s commitment to fresh and simple culinary processes, stating, “It’s organic butter, non-GMO oil,” to describe the foundational ingredients used to sear ahi for their ahi bruschetta, and noted that they “like to keep things pretty simple here and just nice and fresh, let the ingredients speak for themselves.” Amanda, after tasting the dish, commented on the balanced flavors and various textures: “There’s a little bit of a bite from the arugula aioli that’s really well-balanced with the cheese, and then you have the pickled shallots to make it kind of crisp and bright.”

Seafood, a central element in Fish Bar Deli’s offerings, adheres to a strict freshness principle, with Erin affirming, “We never use any frozen fish here at Fish Bar Deli.” Furthermore, the establishment’s fish and chips is characterized by Amanda as having a “crispy” exterior while maintaining a “nice and moist” interior. She drew attention to its “thick flakiness” and unequivocally endorsed it, assuring viewers “you can’t go wrong when it comes to fish and chips here.”

Fish Bar Deli’s bar offerings include cocktails crafted with freshly squeezed juice and local ingredients, as illustrated in their “bikini wax” cocktail. Amanda’s enthusiastic description of the drink reflected its balanced yet complex flavor profile: “A little bit of salty, a little bit of tang. I could taste a little bit of that bite of that chili in there too, which is really good.” The bar cocktail, according to Amanda, is not only one of her favorites but also showcases their dedication to using “local ingredients.”

In the market component, Erin drew a clear line connecting the name of the establishment with its offerings, explaining, “All of the inspiration came literally from those three words: Fish, Bar, and Deli.” This indicates that the array of products available in the market — from pantry staples to specialty cheeses, gourmet snacks, and beverages — adhere to a thematic cohesion inherent in the establishment’s identity.

Erin’s commitment to her culinary establishment and its role within the community becomes evident through her open invitation to visitors, asserting, “Come on down, and I will talk story with you any day of the week.” This transparency and willingness to engage with patrons further characterize Fish Bar Deli as an establishment deeply entwined with its locale and community.

In this manner, Fish Bar Deli, through its myriad of offerings and adherence to fresh, locally sourced ingredients, stakes its place in Old Kapa’a Town, not merely as a dining establishment but as a community hub that welcomes a diverse clientele to experience its array of culinary delights and market offerings.

Fish Bar Deli Website | Facebook | Instagram

Nestled in Lihue Town, Kauai, Hawaii, Orly Patisserie has earned a reputation for merging traditional French pastry techniques with the rich and diverse flavors of the island, with Orly himself being a pivotal creative force behind the operation. The patisserie has seen its share of national attention, with Orly noting, “I’ve been on the Food Network four times: one competition and three times on ‘Holiday Wars.'” This attention isn’t unwarranted, as the array of pastries offered, from croissants to cakes, encapsulate a delicate balance between skilled craftsmanship and utilization of fresh, locally sourced ingredients.

Amanda Smith, in an episode for Kauai TV, explored the acclaimed offerings of Orly Patisserie, drawing attention to several pastries that embody the shop’s dedication to culinary excellence and innovative flavor profiles. A standout, the Lilikoi Ube Cheesecake, is layered and visually striking, characterized as “light, fluffy, and airy” by Orly, and not only is it a visual delight but also one of their “top sellers.” A similar attention to delicate flavor and texture is seen in the Lilikoi Souffle, described by Smith as “creamy, fluffy, light, decadent,” with just a subtle, melting hint of lilikoi (passion fruit).

Further exploring the patisserie’s offerings, the decadently layered “Death by Chocolate” is illuminated, featuring “a chocolate ganache and over the chocolate ganache is a rich chocolate cake,” followed by “a chocolate mousse and a chocolate shiny glaze over.” Smith’s sampling of the pastry led her to note, “this is really rich,” suggesting it might pair well with “a glass of wine.” These creations, layered and intricate, provide a silent testament to the meticulous and expertly developed skills of Orly and his team, crafting pastries that are not only flavorful but visually stunning.

Orly’s journey into the artistry of pastry-making is rooted in hands-on experience and learning from renowned professionals, sharing, “When I decided to make it a career, I just took classes here and there and worked with some of the best chefs in the nation in Las Vegas.” His creations subtly echo her learned expertise and honed skills, intertwining them with the vibrant and fresh ingredients available in Kauai, producing not just pastries but a tasteful exploration into the harmonious melding of French pastry artistry and vibrant Hawaiian flavors.

Each visit to Orly Patisserie offers not only a palate of vibrant and meticulously crafted pastries but also a glimpse into the art and precision that Orly injects into each creation. As Amanda Smith quietly appreciated the “cool little details of the chocolate, the colors,” and the dedicated and precise artistry that goes into making each item “really special,” Orly Patisserie stood solidified as an establishment where every pastry is a testament to a journey where traditional French pastry meets the effervescent flavors and vibrant colors of Kauai.

Orly’s Patisserie Website | Facebook | Instagram

D Green’s BBQ, situated in Old Koloa Town, Koloa, Hawaii, presents itself as a venue for southern-style BBQ, integrated with the unique flavors imparted by local lychee wood. Chef Darren Green, with over three decades in the culinary industry, offers a menu that includes brisket, ribs, and pulled pork among other staple BBQ items, and emphasizes a distinctive, Hawaiian-influenced BBQ approach through a signature slow-and-low lychee wood smoking technique.

In a segment hosted by Amanda Smith on Kaua‘i TV, Chef Darren Green delineated the offerings and practices of D Green’s BBQ. The chef succinctly summed up his menu, stating, “We serve brisket, pulled pork, ribs, chicken, sausage, potato salad, macaroni and cheese, baked beans, coleslaw, all the staples.” His culinary approach provides a canvas to explore the confluence of traditional BBQ with local ingredients. A particular emphasis is placed on the establishment’s BBQ sauce, which is available in three heat variants and, according to Green, is an amalgamation of “all the regions of barbecue in a bottle” with “the predominant flavor [being] pineapple juice.”

One highlight of the BBQ menu, the brisket, undergoes a 20-hour cooking process and employs a spice rub consisting of around “40 different spices.” Green details the care taken to achieve a specific outcome with the brisket, noting, “you get the best of both worlds, you get a little bit of lean and you get a little bit of fatty. This will turn into like almost bacon when it’s done cooking for another two and a half hours.”

Chef Green also shared his practice of utilizing lychee wood in his smoking technique, acknowledging that it imparts a “sweet smoke” to the meats. The meticulous preparation and cooking processes culminate in dishes that Smith described as having a bacon flavor, being “definitely smoky,” and meat that “melts in my mouth, literally.”

The sauces, which notably incorporate Trinidad Scorpion peppers grown by Green himself, are formulated to deliver recognizable but manageable heat. Describing the spiciest variant, Green said, “It’s insanely hot, so I only use a small amount, just enough so that you know there’s some heat there but not enough so that it’s like, ‘Oh my god, I gotta go get a glass of milk.’”

D Green’s BBQ finds its ethos rooted in a harmonization of traditional Louisiana and southern comfort food with Hawaiian culinary innovation, providing a gastronomic exploration of both familiarity and novelty. Smith noted the establishment’s atmosphere as a “barbecue oasis” and encapsulated the perceptible aroma, suggesting, “we should bottle that bacon, just sell it as perfume.” This suggestion, while ostensibly lighthearted, underscores the deeply ingrained nature of sensory experiences in memory and familiarity, an element inherently tied to the act of dining.

While the segment on Kaua‘i TV concludes with a palpable enthusiasm for the dishes sampled and a spirited endorsement from the host, it nonetheless provides an unscripted and firsthand account of the offerings at D Green’s BBQ, illuminating the culinary philosophies and practices therein. The establishment, through a careful marriage of traditional and innovative practices, seeks to carve out a distinctive space within the culinary tapestry of Hawaii.

D-Green’s BBQ Website | Facebook | Instagram

Nestled in Kapa’a town, the Musubi Truck has garnered attention for its unique spin on a longstanding Hawaiian staple: the musubi. SPAM, a protein that found its way into the diets of Hawaiians during the 1940s wartime, evolved into a culinary mainstay, and by the 1980s, it was being crafted into SPAM musubi by local innovators like Barbara of Jonihana, after whom the Musubi Truck is affectionately named. As Nicolette, one of the craftspeople behind the Musubi Truck, shared with Amanda Smith, host of Kauai TV, “Spam came to Hawaii in the 1940s during wartime, and it quickly became the main staple protein for locals.” Nicolette illustrated how the truck has shifted from the classical SPAM, rice, and nori composition towards something more gourmet, yet still anchored in tradition.

While the Musubi Truck pays homage to the traditional SPAM musubi, known colloquially as the OG Spam musubi, its offerings veer into innovative territories. An example of this innovation is the Ahi Katsu Musubi. Nicolette detailed the process, stating, “We got fresh fish from local fishermen. We have a slew of them that keep in touch with us. It’s panko’d and fried and then tucked into the rice and wrapped with the nori with a little furikake again on top and a katsu sauce.” The meticulous crafting of each musubi, from careful rice pressing to adroit nori wrapping, yields a harmonious blend of crunchy and soft textures, warmly enfolding the palate.

Contrastingly, their Ahi poke bowl, which Nicolette described as having “cold, crisp Ahi on the warm rice with the furikake, Hawaiian salt, just a touch of it so that you taste it every other bite,” is a different kind of culinary experience yet still revered by both tourists and locals. The juxtaposition of the cool Ahi with the warmth of the rice provides a notable variation, establishing the Musubi Truck not just as a one-note wonder but a place where tradition and innovation harmoniously reside side by side.

The truck, while primarily a food service entity, extends its influence beyond the culinary realm through community involvement, particularly via their “Feed Our Keiki” program. Nicolette shared with Smith, “Since we’re close to the skatepark and the middle school, they all come flowing through here, and we’ve really become a place for them that’s safe.” Through the program, children in the vicinity, either from the skatepark or the school, are provided with a nourishing meal, comprising of the original Spam musubi, chips, and a drink. The initiative is not just about feeding the youth but also about providing a safe and welcoming space, weaving a tapestry where sustenance and community converge.

In a realm where food, tradition, and community interfuse, the Musubi Truck finds its niche, offering not merely a meal but an experience, a connection to the roots and evolution of Hawaiian culinary arts, and a warm embrace to the community it serves. This synthesis of culinary innovation, respect for tradition, and community integration delineates a unique path in which the Musubi Truck navigates, meandering through the tastes and spirits of Kaua’i, crafting not just food, but narratives enveloped in nori, sprinkled with furikake, and imbued with the essence of aloha.

Musubi Truck Facebook | Instagram

In Kaua’i, Hawaii, Cozy Bowl Noodles garners attention with its distinctive approach to noodle-making, particularly through the unconventional use of ‘ulu (breadfruit) as a primary ingredient. Spearheaded by Dominique Chambers, a former pastry chef turned entrepreneur, Cozy Bowl Noodles not only provides a varied selection of distinct noodle types such as Rigatoni, Lumache, and Mafaldine but also ventures into home goods and special offerings like ‘Ulu Ramen and options for customers to donate an ‘Ulu Tree.

“Ulu is so versatile,” shared Chambers during a feature by Kauai TV, hosted by Amanda Smith. Elaborating on the choice of using ulu as a staple in her pasta creations, she explained that depending on whether the breadfruit is “really starchy or very ripe,” it can be utilized variably to “alter the recipe of [her] pasta dough to achieve a different consistency,” thereby providing opportunities to craft noodles that could range from “more stretchy” to “more chewy.”

A compelling transition from her pastry chef days, where Chambers confessed she fed people “copious amounts of sugar,” her venture into nutritious, sustainable food production through Cozy Bowl Noodles reflects a conscientious effort toward healthier culinary offerings. Chambers appreciates the nutrient-dense profile of ulu, stating it is “filled with all the vitamins and minerals that a person needs to survive.” She sees merit in producing a product that not only serves as a culinary delight but also as a potential sustenance in times of scarcity.

Her offerings during the TV feature included not only the classic rigatoni but also adventurous blends such as “moringa and Okinawa spinach trigatone” and “ulu rigatoni with a kabuka squash dressing,” accompanied by a colorful array of ingredients like eggfruits, napa cabbage, kale, Ali’i mushrooms from the Big Island, daikon, and a touch of pickled onion as well as fennel. The resultant product, as tasted by host Amanda Smith, is described as “very fresh” and “easy to eat,” with a note of appreciation for the “lots of flavor” and a subtle “hint of that squash” towards the end.

While the culinary efforts and innovative approaches toward sustainable and nutrient-conscious food production by Cozy Bowl Noodles is worth noting, particularly with its use of a local staple like ulu. This niche approach to noodle-making, marrying tradition with innovation, not only underscores a potential avenue for the utilization of local ingredients in varied culinary preparations but also implicitly champions a move toward conscious, sustainable culinary practices within the locale.

Cozy Bowl Website | Facebook | Instagram

For nearly 12 years, Koloa Mill Ice Cream & Coffee, located in the quaint setting of Old Koloa Town, Kauai, Hawaii, has quietly offered a myriad of sweet and savory offerings to its patrons, an approach that gives a nod to both local flavors and locally-produced ingredients. The establishment serves not merely as an ice cream and coffee shop but evolves into a space providing a wide assortment of culinary delights.

In a discussion with Amanda Smith of Kauai TV, Martin, a representative of Koloa Mill, said succinctly, “we serve ice cream, shave ice, coffee, and breakfast sandwiches.” He also noted the specific intent behind the selection of their ice cream brand, “The ice cream we serve is Roselani brand, made on Maui since 1932, and it was really important for us to have a Hawaii product here to serve.”

This emphasis on local produce also permeates through to their coffee offerings, steadfastly utilizing Kauai Coffee, known for its distinct and flavorful profile, embodying the essence of the locale from where it originates.

Regarding their ice cream, Martin noted the particular popularity of one flavor, stating, “Our number one flavor, four times more popular than the next, is Kona Mud Pie.” The inclusiveness in their dessert menu is also seen in the availability of Dole Whip, a non-dairy soft serve, that, while most recognized in its pineapple iteration, is available in several other flavors.

The shave ice at Koloa Mill, well-appreciated for its fine and fluffy texture, is crafted meticulously from a frozen block, shaved to create a light and enjoyable consistency. Martin provided an amusing observation regarding the younger clientele, sharing, “It’s funny because with the ice cream and with the shave ice, when the young kids come to order, they order by color, not by flavor. ‘Mom, can I have blue? Mom, I’d like to have red.'”

Koloa Mill’s endeavor to provide hearty breakfast options, such as breakfast sandwiches, contributes to offering a well-rounded start to the day for locals and visitors alike. Regarding their relatively new breakfast offering, which has only been a part of their menu for roughly a year, Martin emphasized its freshness and depth of flavor, stating that each sandwich is “made fresh to order” and available in variants such as ham, turkey, bacon, or Hawaiian pineapple sausage.

When asked about the breakfast sandwich, Amanda Smith commented on the flavors, identifying, “maple and sage in there,” further affirming the depth and complexity brought to seemingly simple menu items.

Undoubtedly, Koloa Mill Ice Cream & Coffee’s subtle commitment to providing high-quality, locally-sourced products, from the premium Roselani Ice Cream to the savory breakfast sandwiches, stands out. Their offerings extend from the classically sweet to the robustly savory, ensuring a comprehensive palate experience without ostentation, but with a quiet dedication to quality and the community they serve.

Kōloa Mill Ice Cream Website | Facebook | Instagram