what to do on kauai

Westin Princeville serves herb-crusted lamb chops with a roasted garlic and tomato chutney, Hamakua mushroom risotto enriched with truffle oil, and a lamb demi-glace. Daniel Lane photo On September 27, The Westin Princeville will host the 5th Annual Jazz & Wine Festival. Tickets are $95 and can purchased through the concierge at 808-827-8808. “In addition…

Kauai honey bees getting drunk on honey. Daniel Lane photo September is National Honey Month, so it’s the perfect time to celebrate one of nature’s simplest pleasures. It’s hard to imagine anything more pure and natural than one-ingredient honey. Produced by bees from the nectar of plants and flowers, honey essentially flows from hive to…

Tuesday, April 22 at Kauai Community College Electronics Room 114, free Panel Discussion: 4-6pm Film and Discussion: 6:30-8:30pm In celebration of Earth Day 2014, Regenerations Botanical Garden, KKCR, and Kauai Community College present a panel discussion and film focused on remediating contaminated and depleted soils on Kauai. Soil is the foundation of life on Earth and essential to food production on the backyard to commercial scale. Kauai soils have been negatively impacted by decades of management practices that have left the ground polluted and stripped of essential minerals and biological diversity. More than ever, Kauaians are seeking ways to transition to sustainable land management focused on healthy local food production. The panel will identify the challenges and opportunities in restoring the vitality and fertility to our soil so that we can reach our food security and environmental and community health…

Dan and Ellen O’Connell at The Wine Shop in Koloa. Photo courtesy of The Wine Shop.   Tasting Kauai is happy to partner with the O’Connells for Winesday with The Wine Shop. Owners Dan and Ellen O’Connell are a delightful couple whose passion for wine is infectious, their knowledge is vast, and their service is…

Sometimes, the weight of running your own business is too much. This is one of those times. I am taking a Hawaii Master Food Preservers course, which is eight days long and covers everything from food safety to making jams and jellies, canning vegetables and meat, dehydration and fermentation. I have 11 classmates: three from Waipa Foundation, Janine from Black Dog Farms, Aletha from Monkeypod Jam, Morris from Hula Baby Biscotti, Keone from Malama Kauai, and three famers, two of which are organic. Class is from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and began last Friday. On Saturday, we learned to safely make jelly and preserve it. Of course, Aletha has this part down. The class will continue for the next two Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays. As a result, I won’t be able to write Pau Hana Friday until February 28….

Dan and Ellen O’Connell at The Wine Shop in Koloa. Photo courtesy of The Wine Shop.   Tasting Kauai is happy to partner with the O’Connells for Winesday with The Wine Shop. Owners Dan and Ellen O’Connell are a delightful couple whose passion for wine is infectious, their knowledge is vast, and their service is…

Pan Roasted Onaga with Roasted Tomatoes and Summer Vegetables. Daniel Lane photo If you’ve been fans of Tasting Kauai for a while, you know we hold the Kauai Grill in high esteem. We’ve had the privilege of interviewing chef de cuisine Maxime Michaud and executive chef Leanne Kamekona, as well as tasting dishes from world-renowned…

Lili-Kai Cosmo (front) and Superfruit Lychee-tini at RumFire.Daniel Lane photo NEWS: Hole in the Mountain Farm‘s juicy, low-acid, sweet and tender Kauai Sugarloaf Pineapple won’t be available from now until mid-September. After that, they’ll have pineapple year-round. The white pineapple are  rare, and I enjoy being able to send a unique gift from Hawaii. So…

This pork belly bau is one of the images for a listing in our restaurant guide. Daniel Lane photo NEWS: Tasting Kauai on Hawaii Public Radio This morning, I was interviewed on Hawaii Public Radio for our new book, Tasting Kauai: Restaurants. I share poolside lunch bargains, little known dining options as well as food trends…

Sunday, June 2 11:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., Smith’s Tropical Paradise, $100 The annual Taste of Hawaii at Smith’s Tropical Paradise in Wailua is a fundraiser for Kapaa Rotary Club. This year, they celebrate 25-years with statewide chefs beverage vendors and music. There are 35 food participants, and 40 food booths. Many have more than one dish to offer and five offer dishes for vegetarians, three vegan booths, two breakfast booths, 14 will offer seafood, five will serve pork, seven chicken dishes, nine sweets, three baked goods that are not sweet, three salads and there will be a couple of gluten-free options. There are five stages with live entertainment eight beverage booths: three water, one juice, one hot coffee, two tea, one lemonade, one soda, six beer booths and four wine booths. Here is a list of who’s coming and…