Pau Hana Friday for Nov. 1

Tiki Iniki cocktails (from bottom left) Trader Vic’s 1944 Mai Tai; Hanalei Sling created for Tiki Iniki by Julie Reiner; Pina Colada from Caribe Hilton in Puerto Rico; Lovely Lini with pineapple puree and lemon juice. Daniel Lane photo

Bill 2491 Vetoed

Mayor Bernard P. Carvalho, Jr. has vetoed Bill 2491, Relating to Pesticides and Genetically Modified Organisms, which was passed by the County Council on October 16.
“I have always said I agree with the intent of this bill to provide for pesticide use disclosure, create meaningful buffer zones and conduct a study on the health and environmental issues relating to pesticide use on Kaua‘i,” stated the Mayor. “However, I believe strongly that this bill is legally flawed. That being the case, I had no choice but to veto.”
The Mayor has released the opinion on 2491 drafted by the Office of the County Attorney, which was delivered to him on October 24.
“Since receiving the opinion I’ve spent hours and hours understanding the points raised and questioning our attorneys on the legal issues,” he said. “While I believe a veto is necessary, we can and will find legal means to address these important health and safety issues.”
In his veto message, the mayor urges the council to move forward quickly on funding the joint fact finding study group, which is the first step toward conducting an environmental public health impact study (EPHIS). The study could be recommended via a resolution that is slated for next week’s council agenda. He also describes actions being taken by the Governor and the State Department of Agriculture to address buffer zones and pesticide use notification.
“I truly believe in my heart that Kaua‘i can accomplish anything through cooperation, collaboration, and by working together in the spirit of aloha,” said the mayor. “This does not invalidate the hard work that has gone into the crafting of 2491. We are moving forward and we will continue to move forward with or without the bill.”
The reaction was covered in The Garden Island’s “Mayor rejects Bill 2491, says it’s legally flawed.” For more information on Bill 2491, visit Kauai 2491 FAQ Pesticides.”

Sun and Lisa at One Song Farm holding Tahitian taro. Daniel Lane photo

One Song Farm

“Lisa from One Song Farm here. What a fantastic turnout for the garden sharing at our farm this weekend!
“Mahalo to all that came. I saw a lot of smiling faces as people left and got many hugs from grateful participants. It felt like a successful event. Not sure when the next one will be, if ever. The farm continues to demand almost all of our attention as we continue start-up. And sharing what we know to make it easier for others continues to be a desire of ours, so we’ll see how it all unfolds.
“We’re enjoying the change of season and the garden is going through its own transition. So get ready for more tasty lettuces, more voluptuous kale and dark greens, sweeter cabbages, juicy turnips and so on.
“See you at the market in Kilauea on Saturdays from 9 to noon at Kauai Mini Golf. Come early. We sell out fast.”

Island Olive Oil Company

Premium extra virgin olive oil will be available for perusing, tasting and purchase at Oahu’s Island Olive Oil Company grand opening, at Royal Hawaiian Center on November 6, 2013. Recently named the Best New Retail Business of the Year, Island Olive Oil has earned a reputation for selling only the freshest premium extra virgin olive oils and balsamic vinegars available. This will be the company’s second retail outlet.
“Royal Hawaiian Center is excited to introduce this young, local company to an even wider audience,” says Marleen Akau, General Manager of Royal Hawaiian Center. “We are confident these premium gourmet products will appeal to our international and mainland visitors, as well as our local resident customers.”
Island Olive Oil is the only retailer in Hawaii to offer Ultra Premium (UP) olive oil, the highest quality of olive oil available. In order to receive this distinction, an olive oil must meet or exceed a comprehensive set of production, storage, transportation, chemistry and testing requirements. This falls in line with Island Olive Oil’s commitment to providing only products of the highest grade and quality.
The brainchild of owner Dana Bergman, Island Olive Oil offers olive oils in a variety of flavors, including cilantro and roasted onion, wild mushroom and sage and Persian lime. The store also sells more than 20 flavors of balsamic vinegars, all progressively aged in wood barrels, according to strict Italian tradition from Modena, Italy. Varieties such as wild blueberry, dark chocolate and cinnamon pear are certain to enliven a salad or casserole. Vinegars range in price from $14.95 to over $200 for the vinegar of Reggio Emilia, aged for 25 years.
EVENTS: 
Friday, November 1

Chardonnay and a view of Hanalei Bay. Daniel Lane photo.

Princeville Wine Tasting

The Cliffs at Princeville, 5:30 to 8 p.m., $65 ($30 tax deductible), $75 at door
The Rotary Club of Hanalei will hold its annual wine tasting event at the Cliffs at Princeville. Paradise Beverages, Chambers & Chambers and Southern will showcase close to 25 wines.
“We also have a very special guest,” says John Young, assistant general manager at the Cliffs at Princeville. “Barry Kinman, owner and winemaker for Bear Cave Cellars, will be pouring one of his winery favorites. This event is unique because  guests may purchase wine directly from the vendors, at reduced prices. So, everything being poured will also be available for purchase!”
Wine orders will be delivered one to two weeks after the event.
“We will have the Kapaa Middle School ukulele band and choir performing to support their annual Mainland competition fundraising efforts,” explains Young. “They have entertained our guests in the past and are always well received, so we are thrilled they have agreed to join us for this event.”
Kauai Coffee will close the evening and a Kahiko chant, with sounds of the Pacific ocean, will follow. The event will be on the cliffs overlooking the Pacific Ocean. There is plenty of parking and guests will be shuttled to and from their cars. The onsite parking lot is at the end of Edward Road, in front of the property.
Nanea, the Westin Princeville’s signature restaurant, will provide pupus. Here’s the menu:

• Crispy crab cakes, Moloaa shaved fennel, grain mustard aioli, togarashi
• Grilled flat bread, two ways
• Kalua chicken, Kauai tomato, buffalo mozzarella, macadamia nut pesto
• Caramelized Maui onion, prosciutto, Kauai Kunana Dairy goat cheese, balsamic gastrique
• Ahi poke salad station, onions, carrots, heart of palm, tomato, won ton strips, miso ginger hoisin vin
• Edemame guacamole, lomi tomato, taro chips
• Watercress tofu salad
• Cheese tray
• Assorted fruit
• Triple chocolate brownie
• Haupia pie

For more information or reservations, call John Young at 808-826-2008.
Saturday, November 2

Beer Tasting Prix Fixe Dinner

Roy’s Poipu Bar and Grill, $67 ($58 without beer pairings), 6-ounce pour per course

• Vegetable Lumpia, Smoked Duck Achara, Kim Chee Nampla ~ Chimay Red Ale
•  Togarashi Dusted U-12 Sea Scallops and Kekaha Shrimp, Asian Succotash, Buttered Crab Nage ~ Shock Top Pumpkin Wheat Ale
• Roy’s Style Coffee and Donuts, Yuzu Malasadas, Dark Chocolate Drizzle ~ Hitachino Espresso Stout

Wednesday, November 6

Winemaker Dinner ~ Domaine Carneros

Kauai Grill, 7 p.m., $150
Join winemaker Eileen Crane  for a five-course meal at the luxurious St. Regis Princeville Resort. Dinner and parings include:

• J&G Egg and Caviar, Vodka Crème Fraiche ~ Domaine Carneros Brut 2009
• Cream of Tomato Soup, Ciabatta, Basil, Aged Cheddar ~ Domaine Carneros Brut Rose NV
• Slowly Cooked Onaga, Sugar Snap Peas, Truffle Mashed Potatoes ~ Domaine Carneros Le Reve 2005
• Roasted Duck Breast, Raspberry Balsamic Gastrique, Parsnip Puree ~ Domaine Carneros Pinot Noir 2010
• White Chocolate and Yuzu Pavlova, Thai Basil Syrup ~ Taittinger Nocturne Sec NV

For reservations, call 808-826-9644.
Friday, November 8

Sampling seasonal fruit at Kilohana Plantation. Daniel Lane photo

A Culinary Romp Through Paradise

Various locations in Kapaa, 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., $140
Tasting Kauai’s Culinary Tour offers an intimate glimpse into the Garden Island’s culinary scene. We start with a farm tour and sample exotic fruit grown on Kauai. At the Kauai Marriott Resort, we join executive chef Guy Higa for an outdoor cooking demonstration and gourmet, four-course lunch made with Kauai grown ingredients. This tour ends at The Feral Pig with a presentation from Kauai Beer Company. After meeting the brewer and sampling craft beer, Dave Power, co owner and bartender of The Feral Pig, will make a la minute cocktails. This is a special treat as Dave has been written up as one of Hawaii’s best bartenders and he excels at making drinks customized to individual taste.
For more information, visit our Kauai Culinary Tours page or our Facebook photo album. Chef Higa donates proceeds from his portion of the tour to the Salvation Army Soup Kitchen and Tasting Kauai donates proceeds to the Kauai Branch of the Hawaii Food Bank. For a complete list of tour dates, check out our Kauai Culinary Tours Calendar. Call 808-635-0257 to make a reservation.
Sunday, November 10

President Obama’s Sister Visits Kauai

Maya Soetoro-Ng, President Barack Obama’s maternal half-sister will talk story Maya at Kumu Camp in Anahola. Afterward, she will sign her book, “Ladder to the Moon” ($20). Proceeds go to provide mindfulness practices, such as yoga and meditation, to Native Hawaiian youth. The book, which is beautifully illustrated, is a lyrical story where a deceased grandmother relays wisdom to her granddaughter in a moonlit dream. For more information, visit the Yoga on Kauai website.
 
 
 

Dave Power, Marta Lane, Collin Darrell and Barb Ka’auwai are cooking up a good time! Daniel Lane photo

Tasting Kauai Popup Dinner and Book Release Party

6:30 p.m., The Feral Pig, $95 (all inclusive)
Join us in celebrating the release of our book, Tasting Kauai: Restaurants ~ From Food Trucks to Fine Dining, A Guide to Eating Well on the Garden Island. Collin Darrell, Kauai’s pop-up dinner maestro and founder of Grow Culture will design a five-course meal with super fresh, locally sourced ingredients. Barb Ka’auwai, executive chef at The Feral Pig, will create a menu based around these ingredients. Dave Power, co owner and esteemed bartender, will start us off with a champagne cocktail, and pair each course with beer, cocktails or wine. At the end of the evening, you will receive an autographed copy of our book and a chance to win one of my husband’s metallic, landscape prints. To secure your place, call 808-246-1100. For more information, read “Popup Dinner and Book Release Party.”

Winemakers Dinner

Dondero’s, $110
Dondero’s Italian restaurant at Grand Hyatt Kauai Resort and Spa is partnering with The Wine Shop in Koloa to bring four famous winemakers and owners together for a special dinner. The evenings begins with a reception including a seared ahi canapé served with J. Cuvee 20. Dinner includes four courses, each paired with exceptional wines, beginning with Selbach-Oster “Old Vines” Riesling and lemongrass cured Grand Banks Scallop.
Renowned Owner and Winemaker, Johannes Selbach, will be here from Germany. Despite a history dating to 1661, Selbach-Oster produces wines that are modern and fresh and reflective of the philosophy of the family: Let the fruit and the soil do the talking.
The second course will feature Foxen, Pinot Noir, from Santa Maria Valley, California and roasted Palmetto Farms squab.Dick Dore, Owner and Winemaker of Foxen, is dedicated to the creation of very small production, sustainably farmed, vineyard-focused wines using a “minimalist” approach to winemaking.
Next Larry Turley will present Turley’s “Juvenile” Zinfandel, from California paired with smoked Martinez Farms Washington lamb loin. Old vines are the key to Turley’s success. Turley wines are full flavored, yet refined, and express the distinctive character of Zin and the classic old vineyards from which they come.
The final course, before a sweet ending, will feature Frog’s Leap Cabernet Sauvignon from Napa with Alii Kula Lavender rubbed Snake River Farms Kobe rib eye. John Williams, Owner and Winemaker of Frog’s Leap, has lead the charge of environmental stewardship in the wine industry. Frog’s Leap Winery was eco-conscious long before “sustainable” entered our daily vocabulary. Williams employs “old school” techniques to sustainably coax exceptional quality from his grapes, creating great wines noted for their finesse, restraint and complexity.
Dinner is crafted by Dondero’s chef de cuisine, Alexis Gutierrez. Cost is $110 per person. For reservations, call Heidi at 808-240-6434.
Tuesday, November 19

Merriman’s Benefit Dinner

Merriman’s Fish House, 5:30 to 9:30 p.m., $65
Merriman’s Fish House in Poipu will host a dinner and all proceeds will benefit the Kauai United Way and Hale Opio Kauai. The meal includes a selection of signature Merriman’s menu items, mai tais, beer, wine, live music, a drawing and a live auction. For reservations, call 808-742-8385.
Friday, November 22

Lunch on the beach after A Taste of Kauai, Yesterday and Today. Daniel Lane photo

A Taste of Kauai, Yesterday and Today

Waipa, 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., $115
Tasting Kauai’s north shore tour is a magical tour that’s part luau, part agritourism and part ecotourism. Our exclusive tour takes place at Waipa, which is nestled in the Hanalei Valley and is a National Wildlife Refuge. Guests explore a vast loi (taro garden) fed by auwai, or irrigation system, that supplies water from mountain streams, and learn about significant foods, growing methods, and overall Hawaiian agricultural and land management concepts and complexes in ancient times and their transition to today. Afterwards, guests sample Hawaii’s staff of life three ways.
Lunch changes seasonally and is made with vegetables grown in onsite gardens, locally sourced meat or fish, and mamaki tea with lemongrass and mint. Guests eat ohana (family) style while enjoying the beauty and breezes of Hanalei Bay. Proceeds from this tour benefit the Hawaii Food Bank – Kauai Branch, help to restore native plants and preserve and perpetuate Hawaiian culture through education. For more information, visit A Taste of  Kauai, Yesterday and Today, or visit check out our Facebook photo album. To make reservations, call 808-635-0257.

Thanksgiving Pies

The Right Slice will announce two new seasonal flavors in the next week or two, and are also offering autumn decorated pies for $2 more. Autumn decorations include fall leaves, pumpkins, acorns and swirls in dough cut outs. They will take orders thru Monday, November 25th. Pick up on Wednesday, November 27, either at the shop from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., or at the Kauai Culinary Market at The Shops at Kukuiula from 3:30 to 6 p.m. Extra pies will be on hand for those who forget to order, but no orders will be taken after Nov. 25. The Right Slice will be closed 11/28-12/1 and re-opening on Monday December 2.
ONGOING:

Farmer John Wooten holds a jackfruit. Daniel Lane photo

Farmers Market Class

Wednesdays, 3 to 4 p.m., $30
Meet local farmers, learn how to select perfect produce as well as when it’s in season and how to cook with it during Tasting Kauai’s one-hour farmers market class. I saw friends at the farmers market who were visiting from Colorado. As we hugged and said hello, I saw a table full of near-rotten mangos. It was still snowing in Denver and my friends were excited about the big, beautiful tomatoes they just bought. Their faces fell when I told them they were not grown on Kauai. I felt bad for them, and was inspired to offer this class.
Farmers markets are an affordable way to immerse yourself in local culture and the best place to buy produce that’s so fresh, it was harvested that morning. But buying at the farmers market doesn’t always insure that it was grown on Kauai. It happens all over the world. In Hawaii, customers want mangos year-round. In Colorado, they want tomatoes in May. To make that sale, vendors buy imported mangoes or tomatoes and sell them as their own. Customers unfamiliar with the seasons can insure their dollars are spent on local products by learning how to identify locally grown produce.
There’s a whole world of delicious produce that many people never try. Let’s face it, some of it looks like it came from another planet. Once unfamiliar produce is demystified and cooking tips are shared, it may become a regular at dinner table. Many factors can make exotic produce expensive and the last thing you want to do is buy a pineapple that isn’t at peak perfection. This class will also teach you how to tell when produce is ripe as well as how to store it for best results. For reservations, call 808-635-0257.

Hanapepe Friday Night Festival and Art Walk

Hanapepe Town, 6 to 9 p.m.
Every Friday evening, Old Town Hanapepe bustles with people. A dozen art galleries stay open late, local crafters sell their wares, and there’s stilt walkers, classics cars, live music and entertainment. Two of our favorite food artisans are there. The Right Slice sells fresh-baked pie by the slice and whole and Midnight Bear Breads makes pizza fresh from a wood-burinig oven. parking is tricky. Call 808-335-6469 for more information.

Art & Wine Thursdays

Kauai Beach Resort, 6 to 7 p.m., $15
The first Thursday of every month Kauai Beach Resort showcases art and wine. On Nov. 7, the work of award-winning artist Glenn T. Ichimura will be on display. The mini exhibition includes his botanical, landscape and seascape paintings. Ichimura will also do a live painting demonstration. The wine tasting features Spain, and includes Jaume Serra Cristalino Brut, Cava; Fillaboa Albarino Rias, Baixas 2011; Tres Ojos Old Vines Garnacha, Calatayud 2011; Palacios Remondo “La Vendimia” Rijoa 2011; Antano Crianza DOC, Rijoa 2008. Light appetizers of cheese, fruit and vegetable crudites will be available. For more information, call 808-245-1955. Guests will receive at 15-percent discount on food at Naupaka Terrace with the purchase of any dinner entree.

Kapaa Art Walk in Old Town Kapaa. Daniel Lane photo

Kapaa Art Walk

Old Town Kapaa, 5 to 9 p.m.
On the first Saturday of the month hundreds of people party in Old Town Kapaa. The street is filled with the sounds of laughter and music, smells of delicious local food, and the work of Kauai artists. In front of the Dragon Building, Anni Caporuscio (owner of Small Town Coffee and Blue House Booksellers) sings to a three-piece band which includes a guitar player, drummer and washboard player. Art Cafe Hemingway and Java Kai open a new exhibit and serve food late. The Buttery hosts jewelers and other Kauai Made jewelry is available throughout.

Second Saturday at the Shops at Kukuiula

The Shops at Kukuiula, 6 to 9 p.m.
Meet local artists on the second Saturday of each month. Six art galleries are featured and previously, an electric violin was played while an artist completed a painting; jazz was played outside of Halelea Gallery where local artist Robin McCoy was featured. Restaurants pair with artists and provide food inspired by their work.

Kilauea Art Walk

Stone Building, 5 to 8 p.m.
Join more than 20 artisans on the last Saturday of the month at the Stone Building in Kilauea Town. There’s live music, original art, hand-made apparel, jewelry, photography, custom slippers, painted glass bottles, ice cream and unique creations. Face painting henna tattoos. Stop by Kilauea Fish Market for dinner.

Photos for this blog post were contributed by Daniel Lane of Pono Photo.