charnees

I generally like the "Blue Book" guides to the Hawaiian Islands, but in one respect I have to warn folks. They seem to have no idea what good Italian food tastes like, and we have had almost-inedible meals at two places they recommended. One was Pescatore in Hilo, years ago. I think that place closed, mercifully.

The other one is Boston Basil's on Alii's drive in Kona. Had dinner last night and literally was unable to eat their so-called Pasta Primavera. The vegs were evidently boiled, not sauteed (the broccoli was dripping with hot water in the sauce) they were all overcooked, and the combination of the vegs and the sharp tomato sauce was awful. DH's fettucini was very overcooked and mine was way too undercooked to be considered al dente.

DS had chicken marsala which he said was just OK but nothing to rave about. I'm afraid the hostess, who I think is one of the owners, was quite defensive about it, and claimed that the primavera was one of their best-sellers. They supposedly pride themselves in using all fresh ingredients, but then they cook them using some really poor recipes and techniques.

They may make good pizza, but we did not try that.

So ignore the Blue Book's recs for italian restaurants.

Ackislander

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.

NeoPatrick

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!

wbpiii

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.

iamq

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.

NeoPatrick

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.

iamq

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

optimystic

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.

martym

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

turtlegirl

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.

charnees

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.

Ackislander

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!

suze

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.

iamq

Don't forget the fabulous Korean food at Sorobal!

charnees

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.

suze

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.

martym

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/

charnees

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.

olesouthernbelle

I did refer to the Blue Books - but supplemented the recs there with many repeated recs here in TR's. Not only that, but Kona Boys (surf & kayak store) love to assist with recs of this sort. And we received good info from them. They even gave us a card & told us to call if we had any further questions about restaurants or anything else for that matter. Lastly, locals on this board are great resources as well! (You know who you are) Say what you want about BI restaurants, we had very enjoyable meals there - none were Italian, btw.