Best of Oahu Eats Northshore Edition: Kahuku Farms & Giovanni’s Shrimp Truck

Top Picks: Kahuku Farm Cafe (Locally Grown, Lunch/Dessert, Northshore)

Even on a chilly windy day under a tent in the pouring rain, this place managed to leave a really positive impression on us. We scampered from the car to the cover of the Farm Café and put our order in. IMG_2715The food is cooked to order so it definitely took some time to prepare, but it was worth it! Others were waiting to take food out, eat food in, and pick up orders as well. We checked out their selection of culinary, bath & body, and fresh fruits for sale. We ended up grabbing some holiday gifts for our Mom’s, mine is a health nut who got some Lilikoi balsamic dressing for her salads, and his loves her ice cream so we got some vanilla caramel sauce to top that. The gifts were made with farm grown ingredients, score! There were a few samples to try out so we tasted the vanilla caramel, lilikoi butter, lilikoi jelly, and pineapple papaya spread. All so tasty! We also checked out the waterless honey mango hand sanitizer which was really cool and super convienet considering we just came from hiking the muddy Hau’ula Loop Trail. On a sunny day I am sure it would have been nice to spend the waiting time walking around the farm grounds. Our food finally came out and we split a refreshing haupia pineapple smoothie and each got a farm pizza with side salads. IMG_2712The pizza was so good! A huge thick flakey crush heapingly topped with fresh tomatoes and eggplant and smothered with mozz and a basil mac nut pesto. Yes! The side salad was pleasant with tomatoes and cucumbers topped with the lilikoi dressing. It was a really filling meal, but after reading the description: Grilled banana bread topped with vanilla caramel and vanilla haupia with a scoop of vanilla ice cream… it was necessary to indulge. IMG_2713We split it and we were glad we did! This was a great and memorable stop on one of our daytrips to the Northshore. Regardless of weather it was a beautiful setting, and the food was affordably priced. I loved the fact that most of the ingredients were grown at the farm or in nearby spots, and there were farm tours of the property available.

 

http://www.kahukufarms.com/

 

Top Picks: Giovanni’s Shrimp Truck (Shrimp, Cheap Eats, Lunch [or early dinner], Northshore)

If you love shrimp, and you love garlic, you gotta stop here. We had a bit of a problem initially finding the place, but once you get into Haleiwa just look for a group of food trucks in a big lot and pull in, that’s where Giovanni’s hangs out. We probably should have realized that. You can tell which on it is because it’s the only one surrounded by people in the lot. The truck is covered in signatures and graffiti, they sell shrimp, hotdogs, drinks, and t-shirts. IMG_2192The line may be long but it moves pretty darn quickly, there are lots of picnic tables to sit at. You have to remember that you are outdoors, so there were a lot of flies and chickens amuck, but it’s all part of it. The flies didn’t bite, you just have to swat them away a whole lot, but after your first shrimp goes down the hatch you’ll stop caring. I got the shrimp scampi, a dozen fresh shrimp for $12, perfectly succulent and LOADED with garlic and served with two scoops of white rice. IMG_2191I cleared my plate, licked my fingers, and enjoyed every second of it. You can also get a half order, spicy shrimp, or lemon and butter shrimp if you choose. Jeff mixed it up and got half scampi and half hot. A shrimp truck is a must try if you are visiting the Northshore and enjoy shrimp, and Giovanni’s lived up to its reputation!

 

http://www.giovannisshrimptruck.com/

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