Pau Hana Friday for November 15

EVENTS: 
Saturday, November 16

Kauai Beach Resort

Enjoy a benefit concert featuring Sean Na’auao. Craft Fair begins at 4 p.m., doors open at 5 p.m. Concert from 6 to 8 p.m. Tickets sold at the door. Seafood Buffet at Naupaka Terrace from 6 to 9 p.m. For more information, visit the Kauai Beach Resort Facebook page.
Sunday, November 17

Garden Island Range & Food Festival

This Sunday is the fifth annual Garden Island Range & Food Festival. It’s the second year I am serving as farm chairwoman, so I can share the latest about the party that celebrates local food. The fundraiser, which promotes Kauai’s ranchers and farmers, will award a $1,000 scholarship to a student in the Culinary Arts program at Kauai Community College.
Wednesday, my husband and I spent the day picking up produce from 16 farmers. Yesterday, whole animals and cuts of grass-fed beef along with the produce we collected were delivered to 14 restaurants.

Grass-fed beef provided by Aakukui Ranch and William Sanchez. Daniel Lane photo

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. The event will be hosted outdoors in the Palm Court at The Shops at Kukuiula, seating is limited so book early.For reservations, call 808-742-8385.
Friday, November 22

A Taste of Kauai, Yesterday and Today includes lunch at Hanalei Bay. Marta 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 Specials

In preparation for holiday festivals & feasts, Da Food Chain will offer delivery service on Tuesday and Friday. For more information, visit Da Food Chain’s website.
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 cutouts. They will take orders thru Monday, November 25. 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 will re-open on Monday December 2. For more information, visit The Right Slice‘s website.
Beginning Monday, Nov. 24, and up to Thanksgiving day, I will post holiday menus, specials and more.
UPCOMING:

Guests from Austria learn how to tell when a pineapple is ripe on A Culinary Romp Through Paradise. Marta 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 Oasis on the Beach with a presentation by the Koloa Rum Co. Afterwards, mixologist Joel Downs will make two hand-crafted cocktails with Koloa Rum.
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.
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-burning 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 entrée.

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.