EVENTS: 

Lychee Sangria from Josselin’s Tapas Bar & Grill. Daniel Lane photo

Bo Ssam Dining Experience

Josselin’s Tapas Bar and Grill, 5 to 9 p.m., $200
For one night only, Josselin’s Tapas Bar and Grill is hosting a Bo Ssam Dining Experience. This is a chance to hang out with friends in one of Kauai’s trendy restaurants and share food made by one of Kauai’s legendary chefs. Incase you don’t know, this post describes what bo ssam is. The price includes enough food for four to six people and there will be shochu, sake and sake cocktails available to complete the experience. For reservations, call 808-742-7117.
 
Friday, October 18

A Taste of Kauai, Yesterday and Today

Waipa, 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., $115
 

A Taste of Kauai, Yesterday and Today includes lunch at Hanalei Bay. Marta Lane photo

Na Lima Hana Festival

Auntie Janet shows how to make a basket to harvest salt at Na Lima Hana. Daniel Lane photo

Festival of Stars & Flavors of Waimea

CB Hoffgard Park, noon to sunset, free
Na Mele No Kaumualii will honor King Kaumualii by showcasing original compositions including songs, chants and poems. Musical compositions are about significant events and places connected to Kauai’s beloved King. Ethnic food will be provided by West Kauai businesses. King Kaumualii will be remembered through music and songwriter, producer and musician Ken Makuakane. The event is coordinated by West Kauai Visitor Center and sponsored by Kauai Economic Development Board, West Kauai Professional and Business Association, For Kauai Magazine, and Hawaii Tourism Authority.
Friday, October 25

Restaurant Guidebook Signing

Talk Story Bookstore, 5:30 to 9 p.m., free
Join Tasting Kauai at Talk Story Bookstore during Hanapepe Art Night. After hubby and I enjoy some fresh made pizza from Midnight Bear Breads, and maybe a slice of pie from The Right Slice, we’ll sign copies of our new book, Tasting Kauai: Restaurants. Come, enjoy a delightful evening of food, music and art, and talk story with us. We’d love to meet you! A portion of the proceeds from book sales go to the Hawaii Food Bank – Kauai Branch.
Friday, October 25 and Saturday, October 26

13th Annual Fall Festival

Kauai Christian Academy campus, 4000 Kilauea Road, Kilauea, 4 to 9 p.m., free
Kauai Christian Academy celebrates its 40 anniversary during their Fall Festival. The carnival atmosphere will have games, food, entertainment, and a “super-deluxe” silent auction. Live entertainment includes a bluegrass band and adult and keiki hula. Silent auction prizes include top hotel stays, zipline tours, boat tours, helicopter clothing, artwork, spa treatments and food items. For more information, call 808-639-4307.
Sunday, October 27

Lisa and Sun work the land by hand. Daniel Lane photo

Sustainable Island Tastes from the Garden

One Song Farm, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., $36
After this workshop, bio-intensive farmers Lisa Fuller and Sun will offer a tasting of foods that grows well on Kauai. During the workshop, Lisa will teach bio-intensive gardening basics and how to grown a lot of food in a small space. Sun’s workshop is for advanced gardeners and focuses on overcoming the challenges of growing food on Kauai and how do it successfully. At noon, sample plants that grow well and are good for you. Discussion includes recipes and plant care. For reservations, call 635-3020.
 
UPCOMING:
Friday, November 1

Chardonnay and a view of Hanalei Bay. Daniel Lane photo.

Princeville Wine Tasting

The Cliffs at Princeville, 5:30 to 8 p.m., $65 ($30 tax deductible), $75 at door
The Rotary Club of Hanalei will hold its annual wine tasting event at the Cliffs at Princeville. Paradise Beverages, Chambers & Chambers and Southern will showcase close to 25 wines.
“We also have a very special guest,” says John Young, assistant general manager at the Cliffs at Princeville. “Barry Kinman, owner and winemaker for Bear Cave Cellars, will be pouring one of his winery favorites. This event is unique because  guests may purchase wine directly from the vendors, at reduced prices. So, everything being poured will also be available for purchase!”
Wine orders will be delivered one to two weeks after the event.
“We will have the Kapaa Middle School ukulele band and choir performing to support their annual Mainland competition fundraising efforts,” explains Young. “They have entertained our guests in the past and are always well received, so we are thrilled they have agreed to join us for this event.”
Kauai Coffee will close the evening and a Kahiko chant, with sounds of the Pacific ocean, will follow. The event will be on the cliffs overlooking the Pacific Ocean. There is plenty of parking and guests will be shuttled to and from their cars. The onsite parking lot is at the end of Edward Road, in front of the property.
Nanea, the Westin Princeville’s signature restaurant, will provide pupus. Here’s the menu:

• Crispy crab cakes, Moloaa shaved fennel, grain mustard aioli, togarashi
• Grilled flat bread, two ways
• Kalua chicken, Kauai tomato, buffalo mozzarella, macadamia nut pesto
• Caramelized Maui onion, prosciutto, Kauai Kunana Dairy goat cheese, balsamic gastrique
• Ahi poke salad station, onions, carrots, heart of palm, tomato, won ton strips, miso ginger hoisin vin
• Edemame guacamole, lomi tomato, taro chips
• Watercress tofu salad
• Cheese tray
• Assorted fruit
• Triple chocolate brownie
• Haupia pie

For more information or reservations, call John Young at 808-826-2008.
Friday, November 8

Breezy and beautiful gourmet lunch and cooking demonstration at the Kauai Marriott Resort. Daniel Lane photo

A Culinary Romp Through Paradise

Various locations in Kapaa, 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., $140
Tasting Kauai’s Culinary Tour offers an intimate glimpse into the Garden Island’s culinary scene. We start with a farm tour and sample exotic fruit grown on Kauai. At the Kauai Marriott Resort, we join executive chef Guy Higa for an outdoor cooking demonstration and gourmet, four-course lunch made with Kauai grown ingredients. This tour ends at The Feral Pig with a presentation from Kauai Beer Company. After meeting the brewer and sampling craft beer, Dave Power, co owner and bartender of The Feral Pig, will make a la minute cocktails. This is a special treat as Dave has been written up as one of Hawaii’s best bartenders and he excels at making drinks customized to individual taste.
For more information, visit our Kauai Culinary Tours page or our Facebook photo album. Chef Higa donates proceeds from his portion of the tour to the Salvation Army Soup Kitchen and Tasting Kauai donates proceeds to the Kauai Branch of the Hawaii Food Bank. For a complete list of tour dates, check out our Kauai Culinary Tours Calendar. Call 808-635-0257 to make a reservation.
Tuesday, November 12

Winemaker’s Dinner

Dondero’s, $110
Dondero’s Italian restaurant at Grand Hyatt Kauai Resort and Spa is partnering with The Wine Shop in Koloa to bring four famous winemakers and owners together for a special dinner. The evenings begins with a reception including a seared ahi canapé served with J. Cuvee 20. Dinner includes four courses, each paired with exceptional wines, beginning with Selbach-Oster “Old Vines” Riesling and lemongrass cured Grand Banks Scallop.
Renowned Owner and Winemaker, Johannes Selbach, will be here from Germany. Despite a history dating to 1661, Selbach-Oster produces wines that are modern and fresh and reflective of the philosophy of the family: Let the fruit and the soil do the talking.
The second course will feature Foxen, Pinot Noir, from Santa Maria Valley, California and roasted Palmetto Farms squab.Dick Dore, Owner and Winemaker of Foxen, is dedicated to the creation of very small production, sustainably farmed, vineyard-focused wines using a “minimalist” approach to winemaking.
Next Larry Turley will present Turley’s “Juvenile” Zinfandel, from California paired with smoked Martinez Farms Washington lamb loin. Old vines are the key to Turley’s success. Turley wines are full flavored, yet refined, and express the distinctive character of Zin and the classic old vineyards from which they come.
The final course, before a sweet ending, will feature Frog’s Leap Cabernet Sauvignon from Napa with Alii Kula Lavender rubbed Snake River Farms Kobe rib eye. John Williams, Owner and Winemaker of Frog’s Leap, has lead the charge of environmental stewardship in the wine industry. Frog’s Leap Winery was eco-conscious long before “sustainable” entered our daily vocabulary. Williams employs “old school” techniques to sustainably coax exceptional quality from his grapes, creating great wines noted for their finesse, restraint and complexity.
Dinner is crafted by Dondero’s chef de cuisine, Alexis Gutierrez. Cost is $110 per person. For reservations, call Heidi at 808-240-6434.
ONGOING:

Farmer John Wooten holds a jackfruit. Daniel Lane photo

Farmers Market Class

Wednesdays, 3 to 4 p.m., $30
Meet local farmers, learn how to select perfect produce as well as when it’s in season and how to cook with it during Tasting Kauai’s one-hour farmers market class. I saw friends at the farmers market who were visiting from Colorado. As we hugged and said hello, I saw a table full of near-rotten mangos. It was still snowing in Denver and my friends were excited about the big, beautiful tomatoes they just bought. Their faces fell when I told them they were not grown on Kauai. I felt bad for them, and was inspired to offer this class.
Farmers markets are an affordable way to immerse yourself in local culture and the best place to buy produce that’s so fresh, it was harvested that morning. But buying at the farmers market doesn’t always insure that it was grown on Kauai. It happens all over the world. In Hawaii, customers want mangos year-round. In Colorado, they want tomatoes in May. To make that sale, vendors buy imported mangoes or tomatoes and sell them as their own. Customers unfamiliar with the seasons can insure their dollars are spent on local products by learning how to identify locally grown produce.
There’s a whole world of delicious produce that many people never try. Let’s face it, some of it looks like it came from another planet. Once unfamiliar produce is demystified and cooking tips are shared, it may become a regular at dinner table. Many factors can make exotic produce expensive and the last thing you want to do is buy a pineapple that isn’t at peak perfection. This class will also teach you how to tell when produce is ripe as well as how to store it for best results. For reservations, call 808-635-0257.

Hanapepe Friday Night Festival and Art Walk

Hanapepe Town, 6 to 9 p.m.
Every Friday evening, Old Town Hanapepe bustles with people. A dozen art galleries stay open late, local crafters sell their wares, and there’s stilt walkers, classics cars, live music and entertainment. Two of our favorite food artisans are there. The Right Slice sells fresh-baked pie by the slice and whole and Midnight Bear Breads makes pizza fresh from a wood-burinig oven. parking is tricky. Call 808-335-6469 for more information.

Kapaa Art Walk in Old Town Kapaa. Daniel Lane photo

Kapaa Art Walk

Old Town Kapaa, 5 to 9 p.m.
On the first Saturday of the month hundreds of people party in Old Town Kapaa. The street is filled with the sounds of laughter and music, smells of delicious local food, and the work of Kauai artists. In front of the Dragon Building, Anni Caporuscio (owner of Small Town Coffee and Blue House Booksellers) sings to a three-piece band which includes a guitar player, drummer and washboard player. Art Cafe Hemingway and Java Kai open a new exhibit and serve food late. The Buttery hosts jewelers and other Kauai Made jewelry is available throughout.

Second Saturday at the Shops at Kukuiula

The Shops at Kukuiula, 6 to 9 p.m.
Meet local artists on the second Saturday of each month. Six art galleries are featured and previously, an electric violin was played while an artist completed a painting; jazz was played outside of Halelea Gallery where local artist Robin McCoy was featured. Restaurants pair with artists and provide food inspired by their work.

Kilauea Art Walk

Stone Building, 5 to 8 p.m.
Join more than 20 artisans on the last Saturday of the month at the Stone Building in Kilauea Town. There’s live music, original art, hand-made apparel, jewelry, photography, custom slippers, painted glass bottles, ice cream and unique creations. Face painting henna tattoos. Stop by Kilauea Fish Market for dinner.