Planning day trips or around-the-island drives to Oahu’s North Shore is always a fun ac vity. Check out these delicious eats:
Açaí
Kahuku Farms
Kahuku Farms is a lush oasis (56-800 Kamehameha Hwy.) that features farm tours along with a café, which serves up healthy smoothies, refreshing açaí bowls and savory paninis that feature locally sourced ingredients.
Popular café items include house veggie wraps, grilled veggie paninis and açaí bowls. The latter features Farm-grown Hawaiian acai, apple banana, mixed berries, housemade haupia sauce, almond milk, granola, apple banana slices, lilikoi butter and graham-mac-nut crumble.
End your visit with desserts like grilled banana bread, banana sundaes, or half papaya with ice cream or sorbet.
Call 808-628-0639 or go online to kahukufarms.com.
Haleiwa Bowls
Keep your eyes peeled for Haleiwa Bowls (66-030 Kamehameha Hwy.), located in a quaint shack on Kamehameha Highway.
The Hapa bowl is the most popular option. It features a blended base of açaí, strawberries, bananas and blueberries; toppings include local bananas, raw coconut flakes, granola and local raw honey. The Mana bowl, which features frozen açaí puree with local bananas, raw coconut flakes, local raw honey and granola, is also popular.
Visit haleiwabowls.com.
Entrées
Da Bald Guy
Da Bald Guy (56-565 Kamehameha Hwy.) was featured in the Netflix series Street Food USA. The food truck serves up plate lunches, along with a breakfast menu (it’s open from 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. Mondays-Saturdays).
Popular choices include braised boneless kalbi beef and pan-fried poke, and furikake-crusted salmon and peeled garlic butter shrimp. Pan-fried poke includes caramelized onions, aioli and teriyaki sauce with a furikake topping. All plates come with two scoops of rice and one scoop of mac salad. Go for the combo plates to try more than one entrée; the portions are generous.
Follow the biz on Instagram (@dabaldguy_foodtruck).
Papa Ole’s Kitchen
A trip to Oahu’s North Shore isn’t complete without a stop at Papa Ole’s Kitchen (54-316 Kamehameha Hwy. Ste. 9).
The local spot is in Hauula and is known for its pulehu short ribs.
The biz also offers a full breakfast menu and a plate lunch menu.
Popular options include make-your-own mix plate — kalbi with garlic chicken is a winning combo — and the Big “J” Special, which includes pulehu ribs and shrimp. Talk about a kanak attack!
Call 808-293-2292 or follow the biz on Instagram (@papaoleskitchen).
Seven Brothers Burgers
Seven Brothers Burgers — with locations in Kahuku, Laie and Shark’s Cove — is known for its signature burgers, but also serves salads, fries and desserts.
The Paniolo burger is the most popular. It comprises giant homemade onion rings, grilled pineapple, bacon and melted American cheese smothered in the business’s barbecue sauce.
If you’re dining with a group, get the Paniolo fries, which have the same toppings as its burger counterpart.
Or, upgrade your meal to make it a combo and enjoy the business’s addictive home fries, which are seasoned to perfection.
Visit sevenbrothersburgers.com.
Seafood
Giovanni’s Shrimp Truck
During any drive to the North Shore, stopping at shrimp trucks is a must, and Giovanni’s Shrimp Truck (various locations) is a customer favorite. The biz is recognized for its shrimp plates, which come with a dozen jumbo shrimp and two scoops of rice.
“Our most popular dish is our shrimp scampi, which is marinated in olive oil, fresh chopped garlic, lemon and butter, and it’s sautéed in a pan,” says Mary Nitsche, operations manager of the business’s Kakaako location. “Customers can’t get enough of this garlicky goodness.”
For those who like spice, Nitsche recommends the Hot and Spicy.
“Our award-winning, no-refunds Hot and Spicy shrimp is covered and cooked in our own special blend of hot sauce,” she confirms. “Customers will tell you to heed the warning; there’s only one level of heat and it’s hot!”
Visit giovannisshrimptruck.com.
Ry’s Poke Shack
Ry’s Poke Shack (56-565 Kamehameha Hwy.) is home to many original poke flavors, including the ultra-spicy Lao-style with Thai chile peppers, Wasabi, Garlic Wave and Jalapeño Ponzu. Besides poke bowls, the biz also offers poke salad, tofu poke bowls and Tsunami Poke Nachos (fresh poke, sweet onions, sesame, avocado sauce, chili mayo, unagi sauce, furikake and green onions).
Keep an eye out for off-menu specials during your visit.
Follow the biz on Instagram (@ryspokeshack).
Snacks
Chunky and Co.
Chunky and Co. used to have a trailer in Laie, but the biz recently moved into Pounders Restaurant (55-370 Kamehameha Hwy.) in Hukilau Marketplace. The business is known for its soft, chewy cookies, but recently launched new ice cream sundaes.
Chunky sundaes include two scoops of vanilla ice cream, housemade brown butter fudge and three Chunky mini cookies.
Follow the biz on Instagram (@chunky_co).
Kula Shave Ice North Shore
Kula Shave Ice originated in Hilo but opened another location on Oahu’s North Shore (57-146 Kamehameha Hwy.). The biz features flavors made from organically grown or locally sourced fruit, organic cane sugar and ultra-filtered water.
“While most other shave ice syrup is highly processed with corn syrup, artific i a l flavors, dyes, preservatives and no actual fruit, Kula’s is not,” says Delys Okuyama, owner and operator of Kula Shave Ice North Shore. “We filter and freeze our ice with pure water, giving us the ability to control the quality. We also make most of our toppings.”
Choose from creations like The Kula Rainbow, The Coconutty and Tropical Vibes.
Check out kulashaveicenorthshore.com.
Matsumoto Shave Ice
Matsumoto Shave Ice is a family-owned shop in Haleiwa (66-111 Kamehameha Hwy. Ste. 605) that’s been around since 1951.
Ordering is simple — pick your shave ice size, choose a flavor or flavors, and add toppings like mochi, azuki beans and condensed milk. Shave ice flavors range from blue raspberry, grape and lime to bubble gum, li hing mui and lemonade. There are even more exotic flavors like piña colada, Green River, ramune and ume.
Popular combinations include Tropical (lilikoi, guava and mango), Matsumoto’s (blue pineapple, coconut and lemon) and Rainbow (lemon, blue pineapple and strawberry).
Call 808-637-4827 or go online to matsumotoshaveice.com.
