Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
You won't go hungry on Oahu. The full range of choices here includes glamorous chef-owned
restaurants, neighborhood cafes, fast-food joints, ethnic spots, and shopping-mall food courts
and eateries.
The culinary scene seems to change each year, and the current trends in Hawaii center on
emphasizing organic and locally grown produce (with some restaurants actually naming the
farms that grew the lettuce); small plates, sample tastings, and even bite-size desserts; inter-
esting and unusual specialty sandwiches on a variety of breads (from spelt to wraps); and
exotic salt (in a range of colors and flavors). Hawaii regional cuisine (HRC) and Pacific region-
al cuisine still reign supreme in Hawaii, as well as Pan-Asian and Mediterranean.
Whatever you have a hankering for, you'll find it on Oahu. Our advice is to be adventurous,
try new and different cuisines, and sample foods you've never heard of. It's moments like
these that create great memories.
The recommendations below are organized by location, beginning with Waikiki, proceed-
ing to neighborhoods west and east of Waikiki, and ending with the Windward Coast and the
North Shore.
Hey, No Smoking in Hawaii
Well, not totally no smoking, but Hawaii has one of the toughest laws against smoking in the
U.S. It's against the law to smoke in public buildings, including airports, shopping malls, gro-
cery stores, retail shops, buses, movie theaters, banks, convention facilities, and all govern-
ment buildings and facilities. There is no smoking in restaurants, bars, and nightclubs. Most
bed-and-breakfasts prohibit smoking indoors; more and more hotels and resorts are becom-
ing nonsmoking, even in public areas. Also, there is no smoking within 20 feet of a doorway,
window, or ventilation intake (no hanging around outside a bar to smoke, you must go 20 ft.
away). Even some beaches have no-smoking policies (and on those that allow smoking, you
face stiff fines for littering cigarette butts). In Hawaii, breathing fresh clean air is “in” and
smoking is “out.”
WAIKIKI
Very Expensive
