Hawaii

Mike’s Huli Huli Chicken on Kamehameha Highway in Kaneohe has been serving the wood-fired rotisserie Hawaiian chicken that defines the huli huli tradition since Mike Chargin’s family operation started turning birds over kiawe wood coals, earning a windward Oahu roadside reputation for the sweet soy-ginger-basted chicken that smells like a Hawaiian weekend from a quarter

Uahi Island Grill on Hekili Street in Kailua has been a windward Oahu Hawaiian grill destination since it opened, building a menu around the wood-fired and grilled Hawaiian comfort food that earns a Kailua restaurant its loyal following in a community that knows the difference between resort Hawaiian food and the real thing. It appeared

Elena’s Home of Finest Filipino Foods in Waipahu has been a Hawaii Filipino food institution since it opened, serving the adobo, kare kare, and the slow-cooked Filipino comfort food traditions that earn a West Oahu restaurant its devoted following among Hawaii’s large Filipino community and the broader Oahu food world that discovered it. It appeared

Dean’s Drive-In appeared in Season 19, Episode 10 of Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives, “Island Flavor,” which aired May 23, 2014, as a Kaneohe Hawaiian plate lunch and drive-in operation serving the comfort food traditions of the islands — plate lunches, loco moco, and the Hawaiian diner food that earns a windward Oahu community its go-to

Big Wave Shrimp Truck on Kamehameha Highway in Haleiwa sits on the North Shore of Oahu along the famous shrimp truck corridor that has become one of Hawaii’s most iconic food experiences, serving the garlic butter shrimp and coconut shrimp plates that the North Shore shrimp truck tradition is built around. It appeared in Season

Fresh Catch on Kapahulu Avenue in Honolulu has been serving the fresh Hawaiian seafood and poke bowls that the islands do better than anywhere else in the world since it opened, building a menu around whatever the boats brought in combined with the Hawaiian poke traditions that have been part of the islands’ food culture