Fresh Bite makes and creates a variety of bowls, like Chop Lee (left), named after the owner’s mom, which also can come with grass-fed steak. (Photo: Fresh Bite Farm To Beach)

When asking children what they want to be when they grow up, some of the top replies are a doctor, princess, pro athlete or movie star. But for Sara Carsia, who’s the chef and co-owner of Fresh Bite Farm to Beach, her answer was always the same: restaurant owner.

“I’ve always loved cooking and farm-fresh foods,” says Carsia. “I graduated from college with a degree in nutrition and then moved to Kauai with my now husband, Zak. We worked at some of the most delicious restaurants and would shop at our beautiful farmers markets. After having our first daughter, we made the leap to start Fresh Bite Farm to Beach with our family.”

Found in the quaint and magical town of Hanalei, the Kauai food truck serves up fresh, local and organic fare that’s packed with flavor and good-for-you contents. Menu items cater to plant-based eaters and include salads, wraps and bowls, though, Carsia says there’s surely something for everyone.

Take the 808 steak sandwich ($13), for example, which comprises local, grass-fed steak with Kailani Farms greens, green onion, tomato and a choice of a homemade sauce (buttermilk ranch, honey mustard, chipotle or chimichurri).

The Buddha wrap with organic chicken ($16), meanwhile, is a bestseller. It includes local organic salad greens, crispy and crunchy fresh cabbage, cucumber, carrots, green onion and macadamia nuts that comes together with a rich, creamy, vegan macadamia nut satay sauce in a locally made whole wheat tortilla.

When asked what her favorite thing on the menu is, Carsia says, “I love everything equally, like my keiki, ‘cause I made them all,” with a smile.

“But, today, I’d eat a Chop Lee quinoa bowl with local and grass-fed steak. It’s hearty with organic quinoa, salad greens, tomatoes, roasted corn, hard boiled egg, avocado, green onion, crispy chickpeas and drizzled with the most delicious ranch dressing made fresh every week by my mom, Lee.

Fresh Bite is your quintessential family-run biz, something Carsia says is wonderful but can be challenging at times. But there isn’t a day — or lunch rush— that goes by where she’d want to work with anyone else.

“When you come to Fresh Bite, you are supporting so many local Kauai families and their small business dreams,” she says. “We are connecting people; you can taste the freshness and aloha.”

Fresh Bite Farm to Beach

5-5100 Kuhio Hwy., Hanalei (Kauai)
Phone: 808-652-0744
Web: freshbitekauai.com
Instagram: @freshbitekauai
How to pay: Cash, credit cards and Apple Pay
How to order: Phone or in person

—
Originally published in the Star-Advertiser’s Crave section.

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Rainforests dripping with precipitation and dry cactus-laced coastlines make the island an exclusive location for harvesting a variety of food.

Chefs have the privilege of using purple sweet potatoes, green beans, mango and lychee to spruce up their dishes, as they are among the bountiful edibles regularly available to them. That’s what makes dining here so special.

This variety of flavors straight from the soil is why the culinary culture on the Garden Isle is something to look forward to during your Hawaiian vacation.

Fresh, Local Ingredients

Most restaurants encompassing the island have at least one or two specialty dishes that use fresh, local ingredients. You’ll find salads made with greens from north shore farms and desserts created with fruits plucked from west side gardens. Most places strive to use as much local produce as possible for their dishes.

Fresh Catch of the Day

The cuisine on Kaua‘i also represents the myriad of fish found in deep waters surrounding the island’s coasts. Often, restaurants will serve the fresh catch of the day, which can fluctuate from ahi (tuna) to ono (mackerel). Chefs use the fish in a range of ways from baked with a macadamia nut crust to rolled raw in sushi. There’s often an Asian Pacific flare to these dishes as well. Teriyaki sauces and miso glazes are common to many menus — something you won’t be able to taste in quite the same way anywhere else.

The Kauai Food Truck Scene

Sit-down restaurants aren’t the only option if you want to experience Kaua‘i’s culinary culture. Food trucks keep springing up in places like Hanalei, Kapa‘a and Po‘ipū. They are a less expensive, more casual option, but the food is just as delicious. Many of these trucks also go out of their way to work with farmers and fisherman to accommodate the local food movement.

Farmer’s Markets

It goes without saying that farmer’s markets are one of the best places to get in on Kaua‘i’s culinary action, especially one where value-added products are sold. These items are pre-made and can be anything from popsicles made with fresh fruit and homemade jams, to pasta and soup.

Kaua‘i’s cuisine is so eclectic with such a unique tropical flare it would be difficult not to please your palate during your stay in paradise.

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Mark’s Place

This is one of the most popular places for Pacific Rim Cuisine. Tucked in an industrial area in Puhi, it’s where you’ll find a variety of grab-and-go plate lunches and bento boxes that you can take with you or enjoy at one of their outside tables. Try a little bit of everything when you order Mark’s Famous Mixed Plate, served with chicken katsu, teriyaki beef, beef stew, rice and a scoop of classic potato macaroni salad.

Smiley’s Local Grinds

This place has just about every single kind of local plate you can imagine. Try any number of items, including laulau, chicken long rice, kalua pig or loco moco at a fraction of the cost of other places. And bring your appetite to this small diner, which is nestled inside a mini strip mall on Rice Street, because portions are ample.

Hamura Saimin

Located in an obscure alley in Lihue, this place has bustled with customers ever since opening in the 1950s. And not much has changed about it since then, including its old-fashioned U-shaped counter. Visit on a chilly evening and order a warm, heaping serving of saimin, a bowl of soup reminiscent of the plantation days when workers would cobble together ingredients in order to fill their bellies after a hard day’s work. Each bowl is made with ramen noodles, broth and a range of other ingredients, such as lunch meat, fish cakes and roasted pork.

Koloa Fish Market

Get your fill of locally caught, fresh fish at this tiny South Shore grab-and-go eatery. This little hole in the wall is the perfect place to pick up something to bring to the beach for a picnic. They’ve got ahi poke with all the spicy trimmings, as well as fish plates that come with rice, green salad and macaroni salad.

Fish Express

This is another fresh fish option that serves an array of poke bowls, as well as Hawaiian plates made with your choice of laulau or kalua pork, lomi salmon, rice and a side of poke. They also have grab-and-go gourmet bento boxes with options like baked teriyaki chicken and furikake crusted salmon. Best of all, this is an excellent place to pick up fresh fish, such as ahi, ono or mahimahi, to take with you and grill yourself.

Pono Market

This locally owned and operated Kapaa eatery, which also serves as a convenience store, opened in 1968. The market is known for its Hawaiian plate lunches that include an assortment of flavorful options, such as spicy poke, lomilomi salad, chicken laulau steamed in taro leaves and hefty scoops of rice. They also make musubi by the hundreds every day with different flavors and meats, including teriyaki beef or chicken, and, of course, classic Spam.

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Sprinkled throughout the gorgeous vistas of the Garden Isle are a number of great places to dine. Bring a hearty appetite because each of these new establishments offer an array of palate pleasing options.

NORTH SHORE

1. Fresh Bite Kaua‘i

A trendy food truck that boasts “Farm to Beach” (get it?) servings of salads and sandwiches that incorporate ingredients straight from local farms. It’s also an ideal place to try poi (pounded taro) made with seasonal fruit, granola and coconut honey syrup.

2. Piazza

A casual but chic Italian eatery that specializes in wood-fired oven pizza like mushroom garlic with truffle oil. Located at the Princeville Center where CJ’s Steak and Seafood formerly operated, the digs have since been spruced up and the new layout includes a large, open dining room with modern rustic décor.

3. Hanalei Bread Co.

This organic bakery is operated by the same chef who owns Bar Acuda. This is a good choice for morning coffee paired with a pastry or frittata. The open-air seating is perfect for enjoying comfortable ocean breezes, as well as people watching.

4. Palate Wine Bar and Restaurant

An elegant, European-style tasting room that features wine and tapas located in Kīlauea. The wine is carefully curated from small vineyards around the world, and a selection of cheese and meat plates are presented on classic wooden cutting boards.

KAPAA

5. Sleeping Giant Grill

Ahi wraps and grilled ono (wahoo) plates are among the specialties served here. The restaurant’s simple, yet filling entrées are served with rice and salad; and their grab-and-go offerings are fantastic for a day at the beach.

6. The Garden Island Grille

Formerly the location of Tomkats Grille in Old Kōloa Town, this restaurant is all about fun. Colorful Hawai‘i-themed decorations and live music entertain patrons while menu items satisfy everyone in the family’s hunger.

WESTSIDE

7. Café Lure

Located in the paniolo (cowboy) inspired town of Waimea, this quaint family-run establishment is a great place for authentic local grinds like fried saimin. This is also a perfect spot for breakfast on the way to Waimea Canyon with choices such as sweet bread French toast or biscuits and gravy.

8. Little Fish Coffee

This operation got its start in Hanapēpē but is now open in two new locations – Pō‘ipu and Kōke‘e. Its presence at Kōke‘e Lodge is all the rage because customers can now casually sip warm lattes by the fire and gain a refreshing respite from the crisp mountain air.

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Photo: Anake’s Juice Bar.

You can’t visit Kaua‘i without trying out some of the fresh, local food the island has to offer. Sure, there are the usual restaurant staples that continue to please visitors’ palates, but every year new establishments pop up around the island that are worth trying out.

Scorpacciata

Photo: Scorpacciata.

This mobile restaurant makes regular appearances at different locations on Kaua‘i but is typically parked at a hip, new spot in Lawai called Warehouse 3540.  In August they plan to move to old Kapaʻa town next to Wailua Shave Ice.  This will be their new home base, and they will return to Lawai occasionally for special events.  The food truck’s specialty is melt-in-your-mouth pizzas such as “Fig-n-Pig” and “Lawai Mushroom” made in an 800-degree oven that crisps each pie to perfection in seconds flat. They’ve also got breakfast specials that include plenty of local ingredients like banana buckwheat pancakes. Visit their Facebook page for hours and locations.

Nom Kauai

Photo: NOM Kauai.

Another food truck worth finding is Nom Kaua‘i featuring breakfast and burgers made with grass fed, local beef. It’s best to leave your diet behind for this one because the menu doesn’t hold back on proportions or indulgences like pineapple-bourbon compound butter that goes with an ample serving of chicken and waffles. Their burger sizes are unparalleled as well, piled sky high with ‘ono (delicious) ingredients. They are typically parked in Kapa‘a across from the Kaua‘i Products Fair. Visit their Facebook page for hours and locations.

Palate Wine Bar

Photo: Palate Wine Bar.

Experience a touch of sophistication on the North Shore while satisfying your taste buds at this Kilauea eatery. The menu consists of light appetizers (or pupus as they say in Hawai‘i) including flatbreads, salads and meat and cheese samplers. What people really come here for, however, is the exquisite wine list. Enjoy a glass of carefully selected white or red wine at a reasonable price or try a wine flight paired with food. Visit palatewinebar.net for more information.

Anake’s Juice Bar

Photo: Anake’s Juice Bar.

This is a diamond in the ruff located all the way in the back of the Kukui‘ula Store in Po‘ipu. They sell freshly squeezed juices and acai bowls that are to die for, loaded with fruit and other good-for-you ingredients. Prices are incredibly reasonable and the servings generous in size, just order “The Hulk” and you’ll find out exactly what this means. Open daily from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

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