Restaurants

So many restaurants, so little time. What's a traveler to do? The Big Island's delicious dilemma is its daunting size and abundant offerings. Its gastronomic environment -- the fruitful marriage of creative chefs, good soil, and rich cultural traditions -- has made this island as much a culinary destination as a recreational one. And from the Kona Coffee Festival to the Aloha Festival's Poke Recipe Contest, the Big Island is host to extraordinary world-renowned culinary events.

The Big Island's volcanic soil produces fine tomatoes, lettuces, beets, beans, fruit, and basic herbs and vegetables that were once difficult to find locally. Southeast Asian fruit, such as mangosteen and rambutan, are beginning to appear in markets, along with the sweet white pineapple that is by now a well-established Big Island crop. Along with the lamb and beef from Big Island ranches and seafood from local fishermen, this fresh produce forms the backbone of ethnic cookery and Hawaii Regional Cuisine.

Kailua-Kona is teeming with restaurants for all pocketbooks, while the haute cuisine of the island is concentrated in the Kohala Coast resorts. Waimea, also known as Kamuela, is a thriving upcountry community, a haven for yuppies, techies, and retirees who know a good place when they see one. In Hawi, North Kohala, expect bakeries, neighborhood diners, and one tropical-chic restaurant that's worth a special trip. In Hilo in East Hawaii, you'll find pockets of trendiness among the precious old Japanese and ethnic restaurants that provide honest, tasty, and affordable meals in unpretentious surroundings.

In our listings, reservations are not necessary unless otherwise noted. Warning: Big Island restaurants, especially along the Kona Coast, seem to have a chronic shortage of waitstaff. Come prepared for a leisurely meal; sit and enjoy the warm moonlit night, sip a liquid libation, and realize time is relative here.

A Lunch for All Five Senses -- Hidden in the tall eucalyptus trees outside the old plantation community of Paauilo lies the Hawaiian Vanilla Company, on Paauilo Mauka Road (tel. 808/776-1771; www.hawaiivanilla.com). Located next to a gulch, surrounded by wild coffee, guava, loquat, and avocado trees, the company hosts one of the truly sensuous experiences on the Big Island -- a multicourse Vanilla Luncheon. Before you even enter the huge Vanilla Gallery and Kitchen, you will be embraced by the heavenly sent of vanilla. You'll see vanilla orchid vines and, if you're truly lucky, the elusive blossoms. One of the real treats is listening to owner Jim Reddekopp's presentation (and video) on how vanilla is grown, how it's used in the meal you will be eating, and just about everything else you ever wanted to know about this magical orchid and bean. The four-course, 2-hour Hawaiian Vanilla Luncheon is held on Friday from 12:30 to 2:30pm (reservations required); the cost is $49 and worth every penny. Check out the retail store, where myriad vanilla products, from beans to extracts, teas to lotions are for sale. You can also arrange to do a Vanilla Tasting, which occurs Monday through Friday at 10am and lasts until 10:45 or 11am; the cost is $15 per person (reservations required).

In & Around Kailua-Kona, Holualoa & Keauhou

Note: Hualalai Grille, Pahu i'a, and Beach Tree Bar & Grill are located north of Kailua-Kona in the Four Seasons Resort Hualalai, 6 miles north of the Kona Airport and just south of the Kohala Coast.

A Tasty Tour -- Kona Joe Coffee Farm & Chocolate Company, 79-7346 Mamalahoa Hwy., between mile markers 113 and 114, in Kealakekua (tel. 808/322-2100; www.konajoe.com), home of the world's first trellised coffee farm, offers free guided tours at its 20-acre estate in the "Gold Belt of Kona Coffee."

The tours begin with an excursion through the well-manicured fields of the unique coffee plants on a patented trellis technology developed by Joe Alban. When he began farming in 1997, Alban wanted a unique, top-of-the-line coffee, so he turned to his brother, John, who is a graduate of the viticulture and oenology program at University of California, Davis. Joe planted 5 acres of coffee in the traditional way and 5 acres of trellised coffee. The trellised coffee had a harvest of 35% more berries, which produced a sweeter, fuller-bodied coffee. With lots of pruning and uniform sun exposure, Kona Joe coffee was awarded the "Best New Roasted Coffee" blue ribbon by the Specialty Coffee Association in 2001, and a local newspaper gave Kona Joe the "People's Choice Award for Best Coffee" in 2006.

In the 10,000-square-foot visitor center on the plantation, the tour continues with live demonstrations on roasting, sorting, brewing, and panning. At the end, you'll get a sample of Kona Joe Coffee and the brownies, truffles, and chocolate-covered coffee beans (yum, yum!) also sold here. Tours are given daily from 8:30am to 5pm.

Kohala Coast

Epicurean Farm Tour & Dinner -- Get a behind-the-scenes look at the making of a meal at Merriman's with Merriman's Culinary & Farm Adventure. Monday through Thursday, a group of 12 leaves Waimea at noon for a 4-hour tour of two farms that sell produce, coffee, and meat to Merriman's, followed by a four-course dinner at the restaurant.

The farm tour includes stops at such places as the Hamakua Heritage Farm, which grows gourmet mushrooms; Long Ears Coffee Company, which has a 400-tree farm in Ahualoa; Kahua Ranch, an 8,500-acre ranch with cattle and sheep; and Honopua Farm, featuring organic vegetables, fresh cut flowers, and renowned master lei-maker Marie McDonald, a Smithsonian National Treasure.

At the conclusion of the tour, participants are bused back to Merriman's restaurant to enjoy the products they have just seen in the form of a four-course meal, which includes a salad course (Honopua Farm spinach salad with herb-roasted beets and Maui onions, topped by warm mac-nut, pear-vinegar, and ginger dressing), a fish course (grilled fresh fish with lemon and arugula pesto), a meat course (braised Kahua Ranch lamb), and dessert (Long Ears coffee cheesecake).

The price for the tour and meal is $155; for reservations and information, contact Hawaii Forest & Trail (tel. 808/331-8505; www.hawaii-forest.com).

Tropical Dreams of Ice Cream -- Tropical Dreams ice creams have spread out over the island but got their start in North Kohala. Across the street from Bamboo, Kohala Coffee Mill and Tropical Dreams Ice Cream, Hwy. 270, Hawi (tel. 808/889-5577), serves upscale ice creams along with sandwiches, pastries, and a selection of Island coffees. The Tahitian vanilla and litchi ice creams are local legends, but I also love the macadamia-nut torte and lilikoi bars, made by a local pastry chef. Jams, jellies, herb vinegars, Hawaiian honey, herbal salts, and macadamia-nut oils are among the gift items for sale. It's open Monday through Friday from 6am to 6pm, and Saturday and Sunday from 7am to 5:30pm.

Hilo

Bet You Can't Eat Just One -- Hawaii Island Gourmet Products, which, under the brand Atebara Chips, has been making potato, taro, and shrimp chips in Hilo for 70 years, recently added a couple of new products that you just cannot miss: purple sweet-potato chips and the delicious sweet-potato, taro, and regular potato chips covered in chocolate (the first-place winner at the Taste of Hilo). You can find them at most stores and major resorts on the Big Island, or contact the company directly (tel. 808/969-9600; www.hawaiichips.com). Warning: As we say in Hawaii, these chips are so ono (delicious), you will be mail-ordering more when you get home.

Kona Coffee Craze!

Coffeehouses are booming on the Big Island -- this is, after all, the home of Kona coffee, with dozens of vendors competing for your loyalty and dollars.

Most of the farms are concentrated in the North and South Kona districts, where coffee remains a viable industry. Notable among them is the Kona Blue Sky Coffee Company, in Holualoa (tel. 877/322-1700 or 808/322-1700; www.konablueskycoffee.com), which handles its own beans exclusively. The Christian Twigg-Smith family and staff grow, handpick, sun-dry, roast, grind, and sell their coffee on a 400-acre estate. You can buy coffee on the farm itself and see the operation from field to final product. You can also find Blue Sky at the Waikoloa Beach Marriott Resort and at KTA Super Stores in Kailua-Kona and Keauhou, open Wednesday through Sunday.

Also in Holualoa, 10 minutes above Kailua-Kona, Holualoa Kona Coffee Company (tel. 800/334-0348 or 808/322-9937; www.konalea.com) purveys organic Kona from its own farm and other growers. Not only can you buy premium, unadulterated Kona coffee here, but you can also witness the hulling, sorting, roasting, and packaging of beans on a farm tour Monday through Friday from 8am to 3pm.

Some other coffees to watch for: Bong Brothers (tel. 808/328-9289; www.bongbrothers.com) thrives with its coffees, roadside fruit stand, and natural-foods deli that sells smoothies and healthful foods. Aficionados know that Langenstein Farms (tel. 808/328-8356; www.kona-coffee.com/konastore), a name associated with quality and integrity, distributes excellent Kona coffee and distinctively tasty macadamia nuts in the town of Honaunau. There are also great tours of the farm; just call ahead to set one up. Rooster Farms, also in Honaunau (tel. 808/328-9173; www.roosterfarms.com), enjoys an excellent reputation for the quality of its organic coffee beans. The Bad Ass Coffee Company (www.badasscoffee.com) has franchises in Kainaliu, Kawaihae, Honokaa, Keauhou, and Kailua-Kona (and even a number of branches on the mainland), all selling its 100% Kona as well as coffees from Molokai, Kauai, and other tropical regions.

A good bet in Hilo is Bears' Coffee, 106 Keawe St. (tel. 808/935-0708), the quintessential sidewalk coffeehouse and a local stalwart. Regulars love to start their day here, with coffee and specialties such as souffléed eggs, cooked light and fluffy in the espresso machine and served in a croissant. It's a great lunchtime spot as well, and a dinner menu was recently added.