The Contemporary Museum is the only museum in Hawaii committed solely to contemporary art since 1940. It’s educational, entertaining, affordable, interactive and a perfect way to spend the afternoon. I came here with a group of friends. It cost $5.00 each to get in and parking was free. When we arrived the cafe was full and had a 45 minute wait so we decided to put our name on the waiting list and go through the gallery first. I was impressed with all the interactive art that was offered. After what seemed to be one hour we headed to the cafe for some grub. I was mentally prepared to spend a little more since I was at a museum but pleasantly surprised to find that lunch here was quite affordable.

There is seating both inside and outside

We started off with two Spinach & Artichoke Dips, $7.00 each. It came with slices of warm pita bread. I loved it, thought it was really tasty and wished everyone had their own bowl, or at least I wished I had my own bowl. Shane is the one who is crazy about spinach & artichoke dip, especially the one from California Pizza Kitchen. Every time we go there he orders one thing and one thing only, spinach and artichoke dip. He said this one doesn’t compare. I beg to differ but, he has more experience in this dish than I do.

We also got Hummus & Pita, $6.00. It was served with warm pita bread, tomatoes, red onions, cucumbers, feta cheese & kalamata olives. I have nothing bad to say about this dish. It’s pretty hard to fuck up hummus and fresh vegetables. Not that I really know how to make hummus. I guess the real work comes in presentation and to me it looked yummy and that it was. Everything tasted fresh and the bread was warm to the touch.

Sara ordered the Portabella Mushroom Burger, $10.50, baked portabella mushroom on a kaiser bun dressed with sun dried tomato pesto, basil pesto, lettuce, tomato, & gorgonzola cheese. It was accompanied with some more hummus and chips. This dish was delicious. The mushroom was cooked to perfection and seasoned just right.

Huumm, I wonder who ordered a sandwich? Could it be Ray the whore of most sandwiches. Yes Ray ordered this sandwich, the Cuban Style Ham & Turkey Sandwich, $11.00. It came with fresh turkey, black forest ham, pickles, mayo, lettuce and tomato all on a soft baguette. Ray said the bread was much too hard, so hard that he started eating the insides and left the bread for dead. He also said that it was a petite sandwich that didn’t serve his hunger justice.

This dish too came with chips and hummus.

And here is my dish. I was quite content with my pick, Shrimp Roasted Shallot & Tarragon Salad, $12.00. The tarragon dressing was lite, slightly sweet and oh so good. The sauteed onions were a little over done but the shrimp was grilled to perfection.

When we got to the cafe we were one of the last 3 tables. It took about 45 minutes to get our food after we had already ordered it. This sucked because we had already waited 45 minutes just to get sat. My friend, Ona actually cancelled her Turkey Avocado Wrap because she was tired of waiting and irritated that all of us had gotten our food already. The service wasn’t bad, it was the waiting when it wasn’t busy that annoyed the hell out of us. By the time we got our food we were the only ones there. It just didn’t make any sense. But I do want to say that we were the last table and they were probably just getting ready to close down lunch. After we ate we went for a walk around the garden. Here are some pictures I took.

Pretty cool place right? All I have to say is, today was a good day. My experience here was whimsical.

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The Contemporary Museum Cafe
2411Makiki Heights Drive
Honolulu, HI 96822
(808) 532-3362

Happy Anniversary!!! It’s our two year anniversary. I met Ray back in San Francisco two years ago. My best friend in high school, Jackie, moved to Texas and there she met Ray. Years later Jackie happen to be in San Francisco. San Francisco was an hour from where I lived so I hopped in the car to go see her. She introduces me to Ray and it’s been love ever since. That was two years ago. We got engaged back in February but we like to celebrate our anniversary on the day we met, because for us, that was the first day of our lives together. Awe, how adorable. Go ahead and throw up, I’m not going anywhere.

So on our two year anniversary Ray takes me to Haleiwa Joe’s. He was really bummed out because he wanted to take me to the Haleiwa Joes in Kaneohe but the Pali was closed that night. So he calls his friend, Beau, who is in front of his computer 24/7, for detour directions. His friend gives him directions to the Haleiwa Joe’s in Haleiwa not aware that Ray wanted to take me to the other one. We got here really late and decide to stay. Ray’s still bummed because he says the other one is just that much better. I have yet to find out.

We sat outside where the moonlight and fire from the candles gave the room and very romantic glow. There’s nice seating available inside as well.

We started off with the Ahi Spring Rolls, $9.95. These were amazing. The thin layer of wonton skin gave this dish the perfect amount of crispiness that cracked in your mouth with every bite announcing to every taste bud, ” hey guys, it’s time to eat. Trust me, you want to be awake for this.” Ohhh yum.

I’m a sucker for nuts and fruit on my salad so when I saw the Haleiwa Paradise Salad, $7.95 I knew I found the one. This was perfect, especially since we just had the Ahi Spring Roll, so I was already getting pretty full. The salad was mixed in a subtle sweet orange ginger vinaigrette that really enhanced the sweet candied walnuts and the mandarin oranges. Everything tasted really fresh.

Prime Rib, market price. The market price on August 25 was a whopping $32.00. Yeah, I know this should not be allowed any where near this food blog, but it was our anniversary so you can have anything you want baby.

He ordered it medium well. He said it had a nice thickness to it that made his mouth water just at the shear sight of it. The meat was juicy and so tender that his molars felt as if they were given a vacation every time they soaked into the meat. I, on the other hand, cringe at the sight of blood. The only thing I eat raw is fish. The mash potatoes were amazing but the peas were a little undercooked.

Haleiwa Joes isn’t the cheapest place to dine but there will come a time when it’s worth it to spend a little extra cash for a nice meal.

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Haleiwa Joes Seafood Grill

66-011 Kamehameha Hwy

Haleiwa, HI 96712

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(808) 637-8005

O.k so I got this fan mail via e-mail the other day from Travis. And I say fan mail because It makes me feel like a celebrity. He was telling me how hilarious I am, that my food blog is the high light of his day and that he digs through my garbage at night. And then he gives me this list of restaurants that are his favorite and suggest that I give them a try if I haven’t already. Just so you all know, I love suggestions. I have the boys pick a place off the list and of course being the sandwich whores that they are they pick A Taste of New York. As soon as we cruise up to this place I start to get really excited because I recognized it as one of the many places that I made a mental note to try. This is the view from the street.

This is what it looks like when you walk up to the entrance.

Cute right? As soon as we walk in we see Lei Melket. She’s a bigger celebrity than I am here on the island and is known for the song Falling, at least that’s how I know her. I really haven’t heard any of her other songs. It’s crazy because this is like the 4th time Ray and I have ran into her so this time I was like, I’m just gonna go up to her, introduce myself, tell her that I listen to her C.D. first thing when I wake up every morning, have every song memorized, ask to take a picture with her and hope that stardom hasn’t turned her into a total biznatch. But before I was able to the host goes, “this way please.” Oh, well. I know fate will bring me to her again. Back to food.

The inside is small but totally adorable. The waiter goes up to us and goes, “who wants to start off with a Dr. Browns cream soda?” I’m not a soda drinker, actually, I’m not a carbonation drinker at all. But I do enjoy a good cream soda from time to time, not to mention I just love his intro so of course I say, “I do.” The boys don’t want to make any hasty decisions and get water.

We start to skim the menu and can’t believe what we see. The classic sandwiches are $13.59, famous triple decker sandwiches are around $17.00, lox bagel was $12.75. I thought the lox bagel was expensive at Bogarts and that was $7.75. So of course when all else fails get dessert right? Wrong, $9.95 for a cheesecake slice and only $80.00 for the whole cake. Fuck you, fuck you, fuck you, your cool, fuck you. I’m outta here. Now, for those of you that love this place, I’m sure they have great food and it’s worth every penny, but there are places that have great food and don’t feel like ass raping customers in exchange for it. I love those places. I want to take my money there always. It’s my way of saying, “thank you, thank you so much for not riping me a new hole, take my money, give me good food.” I think Travis failed to read the part of my blog that says, “cheap places to eat,” but thanks for the suggestion Travis. We paid for the cream soda and left. On our way out was a very adorable Japanese couple that also left after they scanned the menu. They go, “that place is kinda pricey, yeah?” Shane goes, “I’m glad you said that because that’s exactly what we we’re thinking.”

They do give you free pickles though, all you can eat, right on the table.

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A Taste of New York
1137 11Th Ave. #103
Honolulu, HI 96816
(808) 737-3354