Hmmm. Wonder how the Hawaiian food is in Little Italy? I have heard that there are places where people order pizza with ham and pineapple, but I bet they aren't in Italian neighborhoods!

More seriously, many people today are becoming "locavores", people who try to eat food grown locally or prepared in ways that respect the local cuisine. In Hawaii, I gather that Japan, the Phillipines, China, and Portugal have significantly influenced indigenous cooking, so that would be the kind of food I would be looking for. As to ingredients, I would look to fish and shellfish, pork, fruits, and vegetables, rather than pasta. This wouldn't guarantee a good meal but might help to avoid a bad one.

I think that last post was unfair. It is not unusual to expect good foods of a variety of types in a place as "civilized" as Hawaii. And if someone is in Hawaii for a month -- or Beijing or Moscow for that matter -- what's wrong with wanting a little diversion from "local cuisine". Last time I knew Hawaii is part of the United States and I think it would be totally unfair to expect a visitor to any part of the US to avoid foods that aren't purely "local" creations.

I'm not a big fan of Trip Advisor, but I entered Boston Basil's there and if you had read that before, I suspect you would have easily avoided the place. You are not alone in your feelings!

For the most part, the Big Island is not a foodie paradise. There are a few good restaurants and many that are overpriced and just bad. Hilo is a great place, but it does not have the population that supports top restaurants.

Neopatrick I agree with you about TA. The Hawaii board is "run" by locals who just bully dissenting opinion.

The weakest link in those books (other than directing people to dangerous "undiscovered" places) are their restaurant suggestions regardless of cuisine or island.

Patrick? How did things go in Hana during your trip last year. I must have missed a trip report.

Yep. You must have missed my extensive trip report (Patrick says as he hides his head in shame)

Actually I posted a lot of things as time went on, but never did a whole actual trip report. Loved Hana and was glad I stayed three nights. I've posted about driving there the southern route which I really enjoyed, and then drove back the Hana Highway, sadly with my top up most of the time as it rained pretty much the whole way back.

Rain in Hana? Really? I am happy to hear that you enjoyed your three nights there. Yay!

Got to agree with iamq re the blue book restaurant suggestions - a definite weak link regardless of type of cuisine. Last time in Waikiki we tried some places on the basis of their suggestions, but we would have done better to look at Fodors! It makes me wonder about the rest of the suggestions in the book. The whole book seems to rest on their very strong opinions which don't really fit with me.

I've found a good place to check for restaurant reviews on the BI is on konaweb. http://www.konaweb.com/restaurant/index.cgi

I have to agree. We LOVE the blue books but have tried Pomodoro twice in Kauai based on their recommendation and the food was terrible. You could tell it had been prepared before hand and then microwaved.

Ackislander, I agree that your criticism is off the mark. We certainly do eat the local foods here on the BI. We love Kalua pork and cabbage, local fish, and assorted asian-inspired dishes. When we go to Bamboo in Hawi we don't eat hamburgers, believe me. Our son loves loco-moco (egad!). We also shop at farmers' markets and buy local milk and eggs at the grocery store. We do draw the line at Spam, however. And as someone else said, Hawaii is not a foodie's paradise.

The main point is that one should not rely on the blue books for restaurant recs.

On rereading, I admit it was a little snarky and apologize. I did not realize from your original post that you were residents or frequent visitors who are in fact adventurous eaters.

In my experience, so many visitors to resort/vacation areas try to reproduce what they eat at home that they miss out on delicious local foods. My response was based on that experience. When we owned property in Naples, Florida, and spent our winters there, I was always amazed that some seasonal residents would seek out menus with frozen walleye rather than eating fresh Gulf fish.

Obviously, I was wrong about you! I wish I could send you a gift certificate for a plste of poke!

I can't help but chime in in support of Italian restaurants in Hawaii! I've had some really good meals. Arancino's in Waikiki comes to mind. Sure I love the authentic hawaiian dishes, but they do all kinds of other cuisines well too... Thai, Chinese, Japanese, heck even Mexican.

Don't forget the fabulous Korean food at Sorobal!

Oh, suze, I am sure there are good Italian restaurants. But the point is not to go by the "Blue Books". And so far we have not found a good one in Kona.

And, Ackislander, yes, we go to the Big Island every year for 3 weeks, rent a condo, and eat out about half the time. Our experience has been that there are good places to go for lunch, but dinner is another matter if you don't go to the pricey restaurants at the resorts north of Kona. We keep looking for new places to try instead of always eating at the same places. That's why we tried Boston Basil's.

Next time we will stick to places like Bamboo and Kenichi Pacific. And the Desert Rose down in Ocean View when we go to the volcano. We greatly mourn the fact that Alan Wong no longer has a restaurant on the BI, even if it was a pricey resort restaurant.

I understand, charnees. I didn't mean to be disagreeing with you. My comment was meant more for the person who thought we needed to only eat "island" style every day.

charnees--you might want to try Mi's Italian Bistro in south Kona next time you're in Hawaii. The setting is roadside strip mall about 20 min from Kailua--but we thought the food was really good when we ate there. http://misitalianbistro.com/

Thanks, martym. We will definitely try it next time. The menu looks good, although I don't understand always putting bell peppers in tomato sauce. It just doesn't work, IMO. But there's lots of interesting stuff on the menu.