Kauai-the food and the cemeteries

Kauai January 2015

The essence of Kauai

Over on Oahu some of the best food can be found at Zippy's chili, so we asked our rental car person about the equivalent on Kauai and she said Puka Dogs so off we went.

They have nice outdoor seating at the site in Poipu.  Okay, pretty much EVERY place has nice outdoor seating on Kauai.

The bun isn't cut open, the dog is more shoved inside.  With fun tropical sauces.  It's not as good as Zippy's but definitely local.

These little guys get everywhere! (Shout out to Sasha Dog!)

We ate local fish a couple different times-always very nice.

This is one of two contenders for top meal for me.  Hamura's Saimin is so old school you sit at the tiny counter which probably hasn't changed in decades.  What you want to order is the specialty saimin and at least one of the bbq on a stick.  Read up on the history and you will see why this place has a James Beard award.

The other contender for top spot is Chicken in a Barrel.  That is they make smoked meats in a big old barrel.  They are delicious!  I had to try the classic Mac salad side-can't go wrong there either.

E- says his best meal was the poke we got from the deli counter at the grocery store-another local way to go.

And of course we had shave ice like 3 times.

Our nicest dinner was at the Postcards Cafe.  No red meat on the menu but plenty of fish.  Super cute for a romantic dinner.

Don't pass up a chance to get some fresh fruit from one of the roadside stands.  They are set up like this all over, you pick what you want and add money to the box-simple!

And for my final hurrah I got Loco Moco (at the airport-not enough time to eat everywhere!).  Rice, beef patty, gravy and an egg on top.

Maybe it is because everything is close to the road, but for whatever reason, the cemeteries are all visible and well tended.  We drove into just a few of them for a closer look.

They are really packed in in some places.

There are many different faiths-sometimes separated, sometimes not.

Many site have elaborate statues, but some are just simple and lovely.