then we agree about the fruit.
: O )

..and also i agree about the limited variety of local grown veggies. What I have had has been fabulous, though.. like the little purple sweet potatoes, giant avocadoes (a fruit, though), mmm ginger. I suppose I like the fish from the Dolphin market better than Fish Express, but it is pretty far from these folks who'll be down in Poipu. I'm sure if one worked at it you could find some "real" fresh fish or fish 'em out yourself. I am just not that motivated for that, To me, the quality of even the "less impressive" markets local fish is much fresher than i am used to. Our local seafood is pretty awesome here on the west coast, too, though come to mention it.

As a resident of Kaua`i, I feel compelled to step in and add my 2 cents on the subject of food (probably my _favorite_ topic!) on this island.

As for Kintaro's, it's unquestionably one of the most popular restaurants on the island. Crowds and lines of folks, every night they're open (reservations are a _must_). Ditto for Hamura's (no reservations allowed; lunch- and dinner-time expect 15-20 minute wait for a stool at the counter).

Fresh veggies and fruits -- the island restaurants get dibs on the best island-grown produce (wahhhh!). Produce is very easy to grow in this climate (barring any torrential rains) -- but demand seems to always exceed supply. You can find island-grown produce at the farmers markets and at some of the mom 'n pop grocers (like Papayas -- which also has a big store in Hanalei). The produce at Safeway/Big Save/Foodland may be barged in (from other islands) but is mostly flown in (overnight from the mainland).

We also agree on the avocado sea wahine! Absolutely amazing to behold them and to have them available in the backyard for guac dip.

That's what I thought I said Auntie. The produce is shipped (barged in) from HNL but of course flown into HNL from mainland. The channel gets rough in winter. I waited days for lettuce and peppers.

As for the home vegetable garden... between fungus and insects the heat of the summer and wet of the winter, most US veggies do much better on the mainland.

Our Hawaiian crops look stunted in comparison across the board. Of course there are some local Hawaiian veggies that work well.

For instance:

"Cherry tomatoes and chili peppers grow all year here, but full size tomatoes and sweet peppers need to be in a screenhouse or greenhouse because of fruitflies."

It's a challenge to grow veggies in Hawaii. Here's a book by a woman who took up the challenge.

http://www.besspress.com/productdetails.cfm?PC=120

Fruit is king....