The Desert Dish

It's hard to believe that at exactly this time last week I was laying on golden sands, baking in the sun and diving into the warm, blue ocean waters. Yes, I just spent a week in Paradise...I just came back from Hawaii.

Hawaii is like no other place on earth - lukewarm breezes, tranquil beaches, lush green mountains, volcanoes, craters, and more. But the one thing that stood out in my mind about Hawaii is its Aloha Spirit: the warmth of the people of Hawaii matched the Islands' lovely temperatures. I found the service in Hawaii outstanding due to the Hawaiian people's friendly, inviting culture.

Anne-Marie (My girlfriend) and I started the week out in Oahu, where you can get your fix of the beautiful nature of the islands while enjoying the perks of a metropolitan city, like high end shopping and the nightlife. I liked Oahu the best because there's no shortage of things to do.

Our first full day we watched the sunrise over Diamond Head volcano from our hotel balcony. Then we jumped in the convertible and headed for the opposite end of the island - the North Shore. On the way there, we stopped at the Dole Plantation where we learned about different types of Pineapples grown in Hawaii and the history of the Dole Plantation. The Plantation is not used much anymore for production, as most produce usually ends up being grown in other southern Countries for cheaper labor.

After exploring the historic town of Haleiwa and spending time on gorgeous Waimea Bay beach, we headed down the Kamehameha Hwy in search of the famous shrimp trucks. On the side of the road, a group of colorful shrimp trucks are parked with their favorite dishes using fresh shrimp. We of course picked last years #1 Shrimp Bus in the North Shore and I tried their Coconut Shrimp, it was spectacular!The breading was light and the Temperature of the oil was perfect. This is very important to get your breading to a light golden brown. About 325 degrees should do the trick.

After a few more days exploring Oahu, we packed our bags and headed to Kauai for some more sun and dee-lish Hawaiian food. Kauai was a great way to end our vacation, its very small, quiet and absolutely beautiful! We rented a Mustang Convertible and cruised the roads looking for those dinosaurs I saw from Jurassic Park. You will recognize this island from all the movies they filmed here. I could see why it would be a perfect location with all the water falls, green lush mountains, and blue beaches (you MUST check out Hanalei Bay Beach). They even have a small Hawaiian version of the Grand Canyon called the Waimea Canyon that is 10 miles long and 3,600 feet deep.

In our 3 days in Kauai we happened to find our favorite Restaurant from our entire trip called the Polynesia Café. On our first visit (we went back a couple of times) the two of us ordered a table full of food and the waitress was laughing at us as we polished off a Crab Omelet, 3 fresh Eggs Over Easy, Hash browns, Home Made Sausage, Macadamia Nut Pancakes, Pancakes with Pineapple-Maple Syrup and a side SPAM! I could feel my watch tightening on my wrist as the salt from the Spam was entering my body, I have to admit I am a Chef and yes, I Like Spam!

Another great thing about the restaurant was the ocean view from the tall floor-to-ceiling windows, which caught the ocean breezes perfectly. It's the one thing I miss the most, now that I am back in the desert and the 103-degree heat.

Well, I hope you have enjoyed my blog so far, and the overall Arnold Palmer Restaurant website. The Desert Sun recently wrote this article about the website http://www.thedesertsun.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2007705300303. I don't get to speak face to face to as many customers as I would like to and this blog allows me to connect to my customers on a bigger level.

I hope you enjoyed my stories about Hawaii. Come back and visit my blog again soon! Thank you and...Mahalo.

Brett Maddock

Dole Plantation
#1 Shrimp Truck
Our Favorite Restaurant of the Trip
Honolulu Downtown