Breakfast on the Big Island (Hilo, Kailua: house, public school, live)

[JoDan]

I like breakfast at Ken's Pancakes in Hilo and Hana Hou in Naalehu. I'm not too familiar with Kona and other towns, but know there must be several. What are some other "don't miss" breakfast places?

[OpenD]

In Volcano, I really like Cafe Ohia, at the side of the Volcano General Store, at Haunani and Old Volcano Rd.

It's a tiny place, where you order inside and eat outside... half is covered space, half is umbrella tables.

Great Ka'u coffee, pastries, breakfast specials... not to mention great lunches and early dinner. And lots of aloha.

[JoDan]

Originally Posted by OpenD

In Volcano, I really like Cafe Ohia, at the side of the Volcano General Store, at Haunani and Old Volcano Rd.

It's a tiny place, where you order inside and eat outside... half is covered space, half is umbrella tables.

Great Ka'u coffee, pastries, breakfast specials... not to mention great lunches and early dinner. And lots of aloha.

Sounds like a place to try for breakfast. I did have lunch there once and it was very good. I also remember the little bids enjoyed hanging out! Wasn't aware they had breakfast. I did have breakfast in another restaurant in Volcano Village, can't remember the name, it was Volcano "something" (I think ).

[OpenD]

Originally Posted by JoDan

Sounds like a place to try for breakfast. I did have lunch there once and it was very good. I also remember the little bids enjoyed hanging out!

Yes, the cute little birds around Cafe Ohia are fearless beggers. The good folks in the Cafe ask us not to feed them, but they apparently haven't talked to the birds yet, who will walk right over to your plate and steal food if you let them.

BTW, when you look right across Hounani, past the huge sequoias and cypress trees, is one of the oldest homes in Volcano, which still belongs to the Lee family, who long ago donated the land where the first public school was built, just up the road. When those trees were still small, King David, the last Monarch of Hawai'i was an overnight guest in the house when he came to view the Kilauea caldera.

Wasn't aware they had breakfast.

Yeah, they are open 6 am - 7 pm

I did have breakfast in another restaurant in Volcano Village, can't remember the name, it was Volcano "something" (I think ).

Hmmmm, there aren't that many. Kiawe Kitchen was on the other side of the building, but they closed recently. North on Old Volcano Rd. is Thai Thai, then Lava Rock Cafe (casual American style). In front of Lava Rock at the Kilauea General Store is a coffee counter with pastries and sandwiches. A little further is the Kilauea Lodge, which has a gourmet restaurant. At the north end, just before the dead end is cafe Ono, but they are only open for lunch.

Inside the Park the KMC restaurant and snack bar in the middle of the compound are both open to the public, and the Volcano House Inn should be reopening soon after a long closure and rehab.

And that, as the saying goes, is it for the Village.

Oh, and Sunday morning at the farmers market (6-9) at Cooper Center on Wright Road there are always several vendors offering fresh breakfasts of various descriptions, all delicious, including breakfast tacos and burritos, fried egg sandwiches, sweet breads, filipino breakfasts, extraordinary pastries, and local (Ka'u) coffee. It's quite a fun scene.

[NCHammerhead]

we had great breakfasts at Hawaiian Style Cafe in Kamuela (just outside of Waimea) and Big Island Grill in Kona.. Neither are fancy, but the food is good and the service is friendly -- and that's what counts.. We will definitely return to both on our next visit to BI

[OpenD]

Originally Posted by NCHammerhead

we had great breakfasts at Hawaiian Style Cafe in Kamuela (just outside of Waimea) and Big Island Grill in Kona.. Neither are fancy, but the food is good and the service is friendly -- and that's what counts.. We will definitely return to both on our next visit to BI

A couple of fun notes about local place names... Kamuela is the Post Office name for Waimea... it's the same place. Reason being, when the US Post Office service was established in the islands, a number of towns had duplicate names. There were several Waimeas, a couple of Kailuas, etc.

So the Waimea on the Big Island, located in the middle of the enormous Parker Ranch, had to be renamed for postal delivery. At that time Parker Ranch was the largest cattle ranch in the country, so it got its Post Office named in honor of Samuel Parker, owner of the ranch. But the Hawaiian language has no "S" and consonants like "L" are always followed by a vowel, so "Samuel" got transformed into "Kamuela" in Hawaiian.

In similar fashion, the Kailua on the Big Island is on the kona, or leeward side, in what is today the North Kona district of Hawai'i County. So to distinguish it from the other Kailuas, the Post Office was named Kailua-Kona. Although it is commonly referred to as Kona, as is the area around it, the town itself (and the airport) is more accurately referred to as Kailua-Kona, which is how Big Island Grill's address is listed.

[NCHammerhead]

OpenD - I appreciate the extra knowledge -- I thought I remembered Hawaiian Style being in Waimea but when I checked the name online it came up with Kamuela, so I began to doubt myself, thought maybe it was a separate municipality LOL

Mahalo!

[OpenD]

Originally Posted by NCHammerhead

OpenD - I appreciate the extra knowledge -- I thought I remembered Hawaiian Style being in Waimea but when I checked the name online it came up with Kamuela, so I began to doubt myself, thought maybe it was a separate municipality LOL

Mahalo!

Yep, you're right to say it's in Waimea, and its listed on maps as but the Postal address is Kamuela, and online references tend to use the Postal address.

By the way, the name means "red water." Did you see any? I never have.

At least they didn't name it Lodi... I think Hawai'i may be the only state that doesn't have a Lodi somewhere.

[Fredesch]

Springfield, almost every state has a Springfield. does Hawaii have a Springfield? Lol

[OpenD]

No, Hawai'i is one of the 15 states with no Springfield. But some states are hogging... there are 52 Springfields.