Ah, food stops. It’s hard to pick where and when you should stop for your next meal because of the evergrowing list of factors: what activity will I be doing then, should I plan my activity by my meal or vice versa? Will I want that food then? And the ever lingering question – why is everything open between 10 AM and 1 PM on odd days of the week?
We’ve sorted that out for you, somewhat. We like to pick a bunch of different spots all over the map when we travel and hone in on whatever is closest to our activity that day. Below are our four picks for some must-stops on your trip to Oahu.
Dinner Stop: Piggy Smalls
Address: 3458 Waialae Ave, Honolulu, HI 96816
The Order: The Smoked brisket pho-french dip and the Laotian Style Fried Chicken
The “What”: Piggy Smalls is the sister restaurant to The Pig and the Lady which is where Ben had made my birthday dinner reservation but with the shelter in place back in San Francisco, we had to cancel the reservation and it wasn’t open sadly the night we were there. The Pig and the Lady remains on my “must try list”.
“Snack” Stop: Giovanni’s Shrimp Truck
Address: 3458 Waialae Ave, Honolulu, HI 96816
The Order: The Shrimp Scampi Plate
The “What”: Sitting in a very well organized food truck lot, the Shrimp Truck is the main attraction. However, if you’re like my husband and can’t eat shellfish, there are a lot of other great options. He had a Kalua Pork Plate and there were some great other little trucks around that I would have sampled if I wasn’t so focused on the shrimp.
Brunch Stop: Koko Head Cafe
Address: 1145 12th Ave C, Honolulu, HI 96816
The Order: A lot of people ordered the Cornflake French Toast but I would say go for the Breakfast Congee. Ben had the Reuben Frittata but we both agree I won on the ordering front.
The “What”: Our biggest draw was the fusion food and chef Lee Anne Kwong of Top Chef. predictably, Ben and I are huge Top Chef fans and so we couldn’t pass up the opportunity. In an Asian American food fusion, the mash up was perfectly Hawaiian in the best way.
Lunch Stop : Kaimuki Superette
Address: 3458 Waialae Ave, Honolulu, HI 96816
The Order: Believe it or not, the Philly Pork Sandwich – everything can be made into a salad which I did, we also wish we’d come for breakfast to try the Hapa Fried Rice
The “What”: This is one of the most over recommended tips we’ve gotten. From Bon Appetit to personal recommendations. For us this is a big shared recommendation on our list because it was a chance to have super fresh and light food which was a nice break from the pounds of musubi I had eaten that week.
Kaimuki Superette was an adorable stop in Kaimuki. Just down the street if you’re interested is The Public Pet where we overspent on our doggo and couldn’t choose between a shave ice toy or a shrimp/ebi tempura toy.
