Beach grinds on a budget

By Tanya Bricking
Advertiser Staff Writer

Shore snack survival gear Whether you're surfing, snorkeling or just sunning, you're bound to get hungry. For the sandy-footed and starving among us, nothing spells satisfaction quite like a beach picnic. You don't even have to circle the island to find a good spot to stop. If we were your mother, we'd tell you not to forget the sunscreen. But you already thought of that. Instead, we'll remind you to bring a blanket and a bottle opener (you never know when one will come in handy). Unless you're eating finger food, bring flatware. Napkins are good, but disposable wipes are better, because nobody likes to be sandy and sticky. And another thing: Please be considerate of others: Bring a garbage bag to clean up after yourself. Illustration by Greg Taylor • The Honolulu Advertiser

Her Hawai'i food-finds episode airs again at 3 p.m. July 6 on the Food Network, where you can watch Ray drink a Lava Flow at Duke's, dine at La Mariana Sailing Club and try to catch waves with the beachboys at the Canoe's surf spot off Waikiki.

When hunger pangs sent us on our own search for good beach grinds, local folks gave us typical suggestions such as the KC Drive Inn, home of the Waffle Dog and the Ono Ono Shake, and Zippy's, the mecca of chili and saimin.

But we were looking for something a little more daring.

North Shore Country Okazu & Bento co-owner Deann Sakuoka assures us it can be done, and you don't need to be a foodie to break out of old habits and expand your culinary palate.

Being on national television has been good exposure for her business, which caters to regulars and competes with L & L Drive-Inn next door.

"A lot of locals stop by here on the way to the beach," she said. "It's easier to eat fried chicken and musubis than plate lunches at the beach." So she serves up everything from sushi to smoothies, and relies on word of mouth to keep people coming back.

That's just the kind of thing we were looking for when we searched for places where we could find take-out to tote in a cooler and be a hit on a family picnic or beach date. These are our recommendations for a perfect day on the sand.

Cubicle breakout

So, you're stuck at the office reading this story? You get a lunch break, don't you?

A good spot close to downtown and Ala Moana Beach Park is I Love Country Cafe on Pi'ikoi Street. While the name sounds like country cooking, the menu is full of healthful choices.

Framed photos of bodybuilders and local celebrities line the walls of this spot that's popular with cops and weightlifters.

You can get a spinach Caesar salad ($6.95) that comes with Cajun chicken and garlic bread, or go for comfort food, like the meatloaf sandwich ($5.95) that comes open-faced with mashed potatoes and gravy. Get it to go and take it to the beach park. Or walk to the park, and you'll feel even healthier.

Beach tip: You don't even have to get in the water to take advantage of Ala Moana Beach Park. Walk the path that goes around Magic Island, and you can get in a light workout at lunch.

Burgerland no more

If you surf Diamond Head or Waikiki, you're certain to work up an appetite. If you want to avoid eating in the heart of tourist traffic, try The Grill at Diamond Head Market. It's where Burgerland used to be at Monsarrat and Campbell avenues.

You can get picnic items or meals to go at this upscale market and not spend a fortune. The Grill has a portobello mushroom sandwich ($4), and plate lunches range from $6.50 to $8.75. For now, The Grill opens at 11:30 a.m., but it will soon be open for breakfast. And if you have a sweet tooth, head inside, where there's a bakery and coffee bar.

Beach tip: Bodyboarders know it as "The Wall," that spot at the end of Kapahulu Avenue where the masses gather to catch waves. This is where beginners can learn the rules of wave-riding. Rule of thumb? If somebody's already on the wave, they have the right of way.

Waimanalo way

After a day of bodyboarding at Bellows or a dip at Waimanalo Beach, one place that can help you reload on carbs and get your rice fix is Kimo Z Family Restaurant and Karaoke in the Waimanalo Shopping Center.

Don't take our word for it, take Jan Rowan's.

"I love to eat," said Rowan, the sumo-size owner of Sumo Connection Hawaii, a shop next door to Kimo Z. (Another thing that makes her a food authority? She's the mother of Akebono, formerly known as Chad Rowan, the first foreign-born wrestler in Japan to reach sumo's highest rank, yokozuna.)

Now, if it's just a quick stop to or from the beach, Jan Rowan recommends picking up a Spam musubi or bento from 7-Eleven.

But Kimo Z, which caters to tourists as well as Waimanalo regulars, can whip up a to-go box, too. Rowan's favorite is the Hawaiian plate ($8.95), which comes with laulau or kalua pig, beef stew, poke, lomi salmon and rice or poi.

Anya Lee, who serves food at Kimo Z, says the Hawaiian plate is the most popular with locals and tourists alike. "People say it's better than what they get at lu'aus."

Beach tip: You can commune with Mother Nature by camping at Waimanalo or Bellows beaches, with the Ko'olau range as a backdrop, but you need a permit.

Pastrami to pasta

If it's Mainland flavor you're after, hit the deli at Kalapawai Market in Kailua.

The hunter-green general store, steps from Kailua Beach Park, is a landmark on the Windward side, and the line starts at dawn for beach-walkers and commuters stopping in for Lion Coffee.

"We have those Baker's cookies you can't get anywhere else on the island," cashier Alycia Librie said.

The cookies in question? The oatmeal-raisin Baker's Breakfast Cookie ($1.95), made in Bellingham, Wash., seemed rich for 125 calories, until further inspection of the nutrition label: It was supposed to serve two.

No matter, on to the deli counter. The best seller here is the Kailua Club ($5.79), complete with turkey, jack cheese, avocado, lettuce, tomato and sprouts on multigrain bread. Other favorites, deli manager Heather Elsey said, are the BLTA ($4.95, and the A is avocado) and the Italian Sub ($5.95).

There is an Italian flavor at the deli: Kalapawai owners also own Zia's Caffe, so the deli has take-out versions of pasta ($2.99) and lasagna ($3.99) that they'll heat up for sandy-footed picnickers and hungry board sailors and kayakers.

Beach tip: If you're too timid to try board-sailing or kite-surfing (both popular activities in Kailua), kayaking is easy to learn. You can rent a kayak at Kailua Sailboards & Kayaks, within walking distance of Kalapawai Market, and paddle out to the Mokulua Islets, just off Lanikai.

'Gotta eat here'

Along the scenic coast from Kane'ohe to the North Shore, there's no shortage of roadside fruit stands, where you can tide your hunger over with a mango, apple banana or coconut concoction, or pick up sweet Kahuku corn for the grill.

But the destination food stands are the shrimp trucks.

The yellow Shrimp Shack truck, which has a new home at Punalu'u Gallery, a bit north of Punalu'u Beach Park, has sweet Hawaii plantation shrimp that comes pan-fried with garlic butter on the side ($8.75). A side of Kahuku corn is $2.

If you want your garlic shrimp really garlicky, make your way to Giovanni's Original White Shrimp Truck (well, it was white before people started decorating it with graffiti) in Kahuku. Shrimp plates are $11, and the three choices are shrimp scampi with garlic, hot and spicy or lemon and butter.

The garlic plate of peel-and-eat shrimp is the top seller — manager Mandy Rasmussen serves 400 on a busy day, 200 on a slow one.

She won't tell the secret behind the seasonings, but it has something to do with white wine, olive oil, salt, pepper and lemon juice. Oh, yeah, and garlic. It'll stay with you all day.

But it's the kind of thing Jason Awa and his friends can't miss.

"Summertime, gotta eat here before we go back to school," said Awa, 22, a student at Fresno State.

He's from Hau'ula and says Giovanni's ranks up there with Zippy's and L&L Drive-Inn as the beach grinds he misses when he's in California. With Israel Kamakawiwo'ole's "Over the Rainbow" playing in the background as Awa peeled his shrimp, it really felt like home.

Beach tip: Hau'ula Beach, protected by a reef, is safe for year-round swimming and snorkeling, but watch out for the rip currents at breaks in the reef at both ends of the beach.

Taste of Paradise

Just featured in the WB network's "Boarding House: North Shore" — it's the site of pro surfer Sunny Garcia's after-dark squabble with a tourist — Taste of Paradise Surf Grill, between Sunset Beach and Waimea, is decidedly more friendly in the daylight.

A favorite of barefoot surfers and off-duty lifeguards, this spot with huge carved tiki out front and the indoor-outdoor, greenhouse-like atmosphere has the look of a health-food place and is vegetarian-friendly. (The Pipeline Eggplant, Waimea Veggie bugger and Banzai Tofu each are $7.)

There's more shrimp to be found here. In fact, the only appetizers offered are shrimp. But Linda and Gerry Byrne, who live here part-time when they're not in Pennsylvania, come for the 'ahi and salmon ($8.50 to $9.50, depending on availability).

"We like the food. It's healthy," Linda Byrne said. "A week is not complete without coming here."

Beach tip: Some of the North Shore's hottest rippers can be found directly across from Taste of Paradise at a surf spot known as Rocky Point. But you might have to wait for the winter waves to see them.

Last stop for poke

If the Leeward Coast is more your style, you really can't miss Tamura Super Market in Wai'anae for its poke and poi bar.

And if you're headed to Makaha Beach, Barking Sands or Makua, you better not miss it, because it's one of the last stops for food before you hit the undeveloped stretch of sand that leads to Ka'ena Point.

The community store is reputed to be the cheapest grocer in Hawai'i for fresh veggies and cold beer, and it's more of a gathering place for neighborhood folks than just a grocery.

Go inside and make an immediate right for poke and poi made to your liking. The most popular item? The clerks say it's seasoned, plain poke — just raw yellowfin tuna, no onions, no seaweed ($6.79 per pound). Another good bet is the tako poke — octopus, salt, seaweed, green onion and chili pepper ($7.59 per pound).

It does leave a salty taste in your mouth, which just gets you to wondering: Who really has the best shave ice on the island?

Beach tip: If it seems to be raining where you are on O'ahu, chances are, it's sunny at Makaha Beach. This is one of the driest places on the island, and it's rarely crowded.

Reach Tanya Bricking at tbricking@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8026.