Judy Best

Fun Family Dining in Oahu

We’re just back from our first trip to Hawaii.  Our son is a Marine stationed at Kaneohe Bay, so my husband, daughter, and I flew to Honolulu to spend Christmas with together as a family on Oahu.  Loved visiting Hawaii, but having our family together for the holidays in Oahu was priceless!  This trip was all about enjoying our family time, so we didn’t visit any of the fabulous restaurants or lounges that we’d normally check out in a new location.  But, I still have some fabulous meals that I can recommend in Oahu: 

• Puka Dog:  Our Marine son, Eric, told us before we ever came that we’d have to try a Puka Dog when we visited, saying it was a great hot dog.  I’ve got to tell you … hot dogs are never on my list of special meals.  About the only time I eat hot dogs is when we’re watching baseball.  I agree with Eric … don’t miss dining on a Puka Dog.  We were even hoping to go back a second time during our visit, but we never made it.  The Puka Dog stand can be found at the rear to the International Market Place Waikiki.  Lots of options, but don’t worry – the staff will help you create the perfect Pooka Dog for you.  Your first choice is do you want a polish sausage or a veggie dog.  We all picked the polish sausage, but each of our Pooka Dogs were unique after that.  The next choice is the heat in the Garlic Lemon Secret Sauce, which ranged from Mild to Hot Hot.  Eric and I opted for Mild, Rachel chose a mid-range spicy, while Roger chose the Hot Hot Habanero sauce.  Each of us chose a different relish.  I opted for the pineapple relish – when in Hawaii, pineapple seemed like the right thing to choose.  There was one more choice after that, but the Puka Dog staffer paused only a moment before making a perfect recommendation for each of us.  We watched as our personal Puka Dogs were prepared.  They start with a small loaf of bread, which is pierced on a vertical hot metal spike, creating a toasty warm “puka” hole.  The seasonings, relishes, and sauces are piped into the “puka” hole, and the dog is added at the last, with one last drop of the sauce on the top pof the dog.  We loved the Puka Dog so much, we wondered if there was anyway to open a Puka Dog stand back home. 
• Cheeseburger in Paradise Waikiki:  Roger and I tend to avoid chain restaurants like this as we travel, and hamburgers are not among my favorite foods, but Eric recommended this restaurant as well.  We’d just completed a hike to the top of Diamondhead and back down, and we were hungry, and those hamburgers hit the spot.  We each ordered a different hamburger, but shared one basket of fries.  I ordered the Cheeseburger Island Style, which was a big burger grilled in teriyaki sauce with a grilled pineapple on top.  I normally do not eat a whole hamburger, but I ate it all.  This open air restaurant with a view of Waikiki beach across the street was the perfect place to refuel and recharge for a little beach time after our Diamondhead adventure!  You’ll find it between the Sheratan Moana Surfrider and the Outrigger Waikiki, and it’s open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. 
• Big Wave Shrimp Bus:  This was the last of Eric’s recommendations and another big hit with the family.  There’s lots of buses parked along the road in North Shore serving fresh hot shrimp, but you’ll find the Big Wave Shrimp bus at the beginning of Haleiwa on the North Shore, next to One Love Surf Shop and Haleiwa Fishing Supply.  We again had choices of how we’d like our shrimp served.  This time Eric and I both chose the Garlic Shrimp, while Rachel and Roger opted for the Spicy Shrimp.  Roger loved the Spicy Shrimp, but it was a little too spicy for Rachel, and she was soon dipping her fork in my Garlic Shrimp, which was marvelous.  We ate at picnic tables under the canopy of a beautiful tree near this colorful bus, and this was the perfect end to our North Shore beach day.  We wrapped up the meal with one of Matsumoto’s famous shaved ice from the nearby Matsumoto General Store.  If you get “Da Works”, you’ll have a scoop of vanilla ice cream, topped with a heaping globe of shaved ice, flavored with up to three different flavors, with a sweet snow cap!  I thought this was way too sweet, but everyone else loved it, so it’s still one of my top family recommendations. 

If you have any other Oahu family recommendations, please leave your comments below.  It will help many others!  And, you can see more of our Hawaii pics at this link.  Enjoy!