Viliage Snack and Bakery - Hanalei Kauai

Yesterday the weather was Epic here on Kauai and as luck would have it, we had scheduled time off. A friend had recommended this as a lunch place and told me to get the Chili Pepper Chicken Plate and the Chocolate Haupia. Turns out you can get it with brown rice, which is a plus. I am not much of a fried chicken kind of guy and Kathy won't touch it, but I did eat one piece, it was fresh out of the fryer, we I ate some of their rice until it cooled to the point I could handle it. It is crispy, in fact the crispiest fried chicken I have eaten ( though keep in mind that is probably three pieces in the past ten years) and the spice does come through nicely. If you are in a hurry call ahead, this is a favorite with the locals so you may have to wait a while if you just walk in.

After we ate, we took a walk through the Ching Young shopping center where the bakery is located to see what has changed. Was I ever surprised to see there is a full on huge Chicken and Barrel restaurant; good on you Pierce family. Next day off, if the weather is good we want to go back to Hanalei and we will have lunch there for sure. By the way, parking is tight at Ching Young in the front, but if you look at a map you can see there is a gravel road behind. That is where the locals park, hint, hint.

After lunch we parked at Black Pot beach and took a walk on the incredibly fine Hanalei sand beach. I have fairly tender feet and am selective about when I walk on the beach, but this is bar none my favorite. And they have a foot washing station to get cleaned up afterwards. Tip, if you have an extra hotel size body wash gel stick it in your pocket, it helps to really clean your feet up, that fine sand tends to stick.

Then we drove pack to Waipouli, grabbed our beach cart and walked to our favorite swimming beach, Perfects, located behind Pono Kai.

We finished the day with a homemade gluten free English Muffin topped with some cheese and a locally made Taro burger from Hoku Foods. A perfect day.

Oasis - Kapaa Kauai

After work yesterday, Kathy and I took a walk to the Kukui Heiau. I guess we have not been walking as much, we both got a bit stiff so we decided to rest and pulled into the Oasis Bar and Grill at the Waipouli resort on the way back.

It was happy hour, I had the two beers for three dollars and Kathy had a vodka tonic for four dollars. They were setting up a live band, it was standing room only, so to stretch our time at the bar we ordered the truffle fried rice which was seven dollars. That is really good, I think I am going to try to duplicate it. This was some of the better guitar playing I have ever heard, so it was an enjoyable experience. I would have been happy to stay longer, but needed to walk home before dark because it was very low tide and we wanted to walk on top of the dead reef to get back home instead of along the highway.

Rainbow Living Foods - Kapaa Kauai

Kathy and I needed to do some banking so we walked along the beach path to the Kapaa branch of Bank of Hawaii. I noticed a sign on a building, Rainbow Living Foods and after we deposited the checks, we went there.

I was surprised to see Patricia ( the "Hare Krishna" lady ) waiting tables, but it was good to see her. Very creative interesting menu. Kathy had the kale salad and I got the special of the day, which was a wrap, but they used a collard green leaf instead of a flour tortilla ( they are gluten free). Tasty food and I enjoyed the atmosphere.

Chicken in a Barrel - Kapaa Kauai

It is great to be back on Kauai. Today was a bit chilly, but with a wetsuit top, it was possible to get in the ocean. We came back, dried off and then put on walking shoes to take a walk down the bike path (Ke Ala Hele Makalae). This is such a blessing for the community. We ran in Paul Deharnis who probably walked two hours. Then we saw our friends at Chicken in a Barrel; I ordered the Sampler which is enough food for three days or so, Kathy ordered a couple of sides. Then we took our food to a Kauai county picnic table right by the ocean. Life is good!

There were some guys cutting coconuts, so Kathy bought one. On the way back we ran into Ryan El who told us about Art Night in Kapaa. So we plan to walk back down in a half hour. Next we ran into Radia, and chatted with her. Fun afternoon.

Arnaud's - New Orleans

Mike Poor, Hal Pomeranz and I went to Arnaud's in the French Quarter. We set on the side of the restaurant with the jazz band. Mike is a good customer so they gave us a free appetizer. We ordered two appetizers for the table, alligator sausage and crab claws. Hal, ordered a Jameson, Mike ordered a Perrier and I drank tap water.

Both Hal and Mike ordered a filet dish called Plat du Jour and I ordered Fish Pontchartrain. Each of us killed our mains and joined the clean plate club.

For dessert Mike ordered a Praline Crepe and Cappuccino, Hal passed and I ordered a brandy.

Sugar bear and his band were excellent and played for our table twice. Great food, great jazz, great conversation. I am not sure I like New Orleans, but I do like the restaurants.
Update February 5 2013, I saw a link posted by Josh Wright on Youtube of Mike Poor playing with the Gumbo Trio; good on you Mike.

Brennan's - New Orleans

After the college meeting, Toby, Jim, David, Ray, Kathy, and I went to Brennan's for a working dinner. We are seriously behind on our self study and we strategized on how we could play catch up.

We got there right as they opened so it was quiet for our entire meal. Some of the dishes included the Shrimp Samantha, Pepper Filet, Filet Brennan, Tournado Rhys, and Kathy had the Trout Nancy and I had the Redfish Perez. Everyone appreciated the food and the service was excellent as well.

Palace Cafe - New Orleans

It was raining and cold and we went to Palace Cafe which is across the street from the Sheraton. I try to go there at least once every time we come to New Orleans. I had the crusted fish and LOVED the beurre blanc sauce and asked for extra. Yum! Kathy had three sides as a main, turtle soup without the extra sherry, crab claws ( do not miss this starter, it is incredible), and the shrimp remoulade.