Honolulu Foodie Adventure
By Sammi Smith
With only half a day in honolulu, i couldn't think of a better way to spend it than to do a mini food crawl, hawaiian style.
I woke up jet lagged and drowsy in my cozy Ritz Carlton hotel room. The only thing on my mind was coffee coffee coffee. Later we would be flying to Lanai, our final destination, so I planned to use this half day in Honolulu to do a mini foodie adventure. While browsing yelp, instagram, and google, I came across a place called Gorilla in the Cafe. Quite an interesting name for a coffee shop! As I scrolled through the yelp pictures I came across not only great looking coffee, but colorful Acai Bowls and Smoothies. Nothing gets better than Hawaiian fruit, so naturally I was determined to go. I threw on shorts and a t-shirt, for the first time in months I didn't have to struggle to find a jacket.
I entered the location into uber and soon enough I was in the car with a nice Hawaiian man who was telling me he found it funny that I got an uber because the cafe was only 3 blocks from my hotel. Although I felt stupid, as we were driving, I small sun shower occurred, so I was relieved i did not get stuck in the rain.
The Cafe was set back from the road with outdoor tables and a nice fountain with many designer stores around, which I planned on hitting up after. The walls were covered with exposed driftwood and Gorilla in the Cafe merchandise. They had everything from coffee bags to t-shirts and mugs.
After scanning the menu, I decided on the Pitaya bowl, which was dragon fruit, mango, pineapple, bananas, and milk blended and topped of with granola, pineapple, bananas, and honey. The dragon fruit made it a bright pink color, which of course made it more appetizing. To drink, I got an iced honey cinnamon latte. They also offered various pastries in a case and some very inviting cake. I got my food and sat at a table outside. After taking a few shots and boomerangs of my bowl and coffee, I indulged and it was amazing. The pineapple and bananas on top were incredibly fresh and the granola was crunchy and probably homemade. The blend under was cold and refreshing. Hawaii fruit is truly the best.
After a rigorous three hours of shopping at Calypso, Dior, Louis Vuitton, and more, not only for myself, but also for my family, I decided it was time to head to lunch at the BLT Market, which was under my hotel. The BLT Market has restaurants in major cities around the world, including New York. They are also affiliated with BLT Steak and BLT Prime, steakhouses around the world, also with their flagship location in New York. It beautifully overlooked the city and was all outdoors. Feeling the warm Hawaiian breeze was much nicer than the arctic chill back in Connecticut. I ordered the spicy tuna poke and a caesar salad, while my dad had the charred octopus. After we ordered, the waiter brought over two large loafs of bread, which he explained were made from eggs, tapioca flour, milk, and parmesan cheese. To our surprise, when we broke them opened they were hollow, which explained the reasoning behind two large loafs for only two people. By the time we had devoured the bread, our food arrived. The waiter intricately explained each dish, which was great for my foodie knowledge. My dad's octopus had been charred for 12 hours, then cooked tenderly, and served with corn puree, sponge corn bread, and grilled corn. I only like fried calamari, so I didn't try it, but he said it was delicious. My poke was marinated with wasabi jelly and soy sauce and rested on a bed of onions, tomatoes, and seaweed. On the side, were thin rice crisps dusted with seaweed powder. My caesar salad was relatively self explanatory, but was still delicious. The service was quick and we were able to hop in our car on time to make it to the airport. If you ever find yourself in a city with a restaurant by the BLT Restaurant Group, I highly reccomend going, and never be afraid of a gorilla in a cafe.
