Report on Kosher in Hawaii
Aloha -
Just got back from a two week vacation in Hawaii with the family. We went to Maui, Kauai and Big Island. We stayed in hotels without cooking facilities, but requested refrigerators for our rooms ($25 for the entire stay). I took along some some self-heating spaghetti and meatballs from La Briute for my kids in case all else failed.
Maui was easy. We were able to stock up at Whole foods. Notably, they carry Rudi's bread with a Star-K hechsher. It was difficult to find kosher sliced bread on the other islands, so we bought enough to take with us for the rest of the trip.
On Kauai, we ordered food from Oahu Kosher. They ship it from Oahu overnight for $75, and you can easily pick it up at a refrigerated cargo area next to the airport when your plane lands. We ordered stuff that could be easily refrigerated for several days such as assorted salads, deli, roast chicken, and challah and wine for shabbat. The food was very good, although I would request less onions in the salad if you are not going to be eating it for 2-3 days otherwise the onions overpower everything.
Chabad of Big Island has just started a meal service for visitors. They are very flexible and will work within your budget. We had some very nice home cooked meals from them, and a few of them were even delivered hot!
I hope this helps you future travelers!
By mamaleh
on Jun 28, 2010 09:11 PM
View »
Liquor Collection in the Ward Warehouse (corner of Ward and Ala Moana in Honolulu carries a small selection of kosher wines. Mostly sweet, but they had Herzog Chenin Blanc and Chardonnay. Also a fabulous selection of micro-brewed beers.
Permalink | Reply
Chabad of Hawaii and the Chef at the affiliated Oahu kosher have been sending lunch and supper to a meeting hotel and the food is very, very good. On Shabbat we ate at Chabad; the company wan interestingly international, the rabbi and rebbizen delightful hosts, and and the food was good (the broccoli salad and the challah_were notable.) On weekdays the food is even better. Ordered the Ahi tuna steak rare and that's how it came. It's the sort of thing that wouldn't keep for delivery on Kauai or Maui, but he can deliver it warm to your hotel for dinner. Outstanding. I don't know whether he bakes the baguette or buys it, but it is an excellent baguette. And the avocado/grillled chicken sandwich was outstanding. Ditto for the homemade potato knishes, which came hot out of the oven.
On Oahu you can get bagels, pita and flat breads for wraps (flown in form CA with good hechscherim) at regular grocery stores, along with cream cheese, humus, etc.
But Yudi's prices are so reasonable and the food is so delicious that I can't imagine why you wold settle for hummus on supermarket pita.
Permalink | Reply
Kauai: Although Oahu kosher is very good, there is plenty of food available at the gorceries in Lanai and Princeville, and even Waimea. Foodland in Princeville even has a small selection of Israeli wines (Yarden, Golan - overpriced, of course). You can get a number of kinds of bread (pita, flat breads, flour tortillas). One Lanai supermarket even has one of those dusty kosher sections with jars of gefilta fish, borsht. matzoh and yartzeit candles. There is OU yogurt, Philadelphis cream cheese and fresh hummus (Sabra, Athenos) widely available. Granola bars, crackers, etc.
This can all be especially useful if you've come to do day hikes. Because, while Oahu Kosher is wonderful, carrying an aluminum foil tray of chicken and rice in a day pack could get pretty messy.
Permalink | Reply
They don't seem to be doing fresh cooking on the Big Island anymore. Pity.
Chabad of Oahu will fly meals in.
Permalink | Reply
That's sad. It was very convenient. Guess I'll be cobbling together meals from Island Gourmet on my next trip.
Permalink | Reply
Yes, and Oahu Kosher really does a very good job and ships things fast and efficiently. Yudi is a very good cook.
Permalink | Reply