My BFF and I had such a great conversation with the attendant at Fujioka. We got so caught up…read moretalking because we found out he actually knew the valley we're from. We ended up bonding over McAllen, Texas, and how much we miss Texas food. It made us laugh because the tacos just aren't the same here. It was such a comforting experience to connect with someone who understood a piece of our culture. One of my favorite parts of this trip has been meeting new people and feeling more connected to the local community. While we were there, I picked up a little something for my bar cart, a surprisingly medium sized bottle of Fireball for under $2. I couldn't believe how affordable it was for the size. I also found Dos Equis, which brought back memories since it's one of the drinks my partner and I always enjoyed sharing with friends back home. I decided to try something new, too: Guava Cart. It's been catching my eye, so I figured this was the perfect opportunity to give it a try. I enjoyed looking around and seeing all of the different types of bottle choices they had. I definitely would like to create my own little bar at home. I had a bar at my parents house that my dad owned and owning one of my own will bring me a piece of my dad here with me.

Overview: Kapolei's first boutique wine / liquor shop. Small with about a tenth of the selections…read moreof the Kaimuki location but at the same prices. Wine - A well chosen cross section of domestic producers with most major varietals represented at all price points. Some old world producers but it's not their thing. The inventory focuses on drinkability with almost no cellar worthy collectables. Beer -OK selection. Liquor - brown libations - A random assortment with some of everything chosen with no rhyme or reason. Some very high end gems available. No cult offerings. Liquor - Minimal. Essentials are represented. Prices: Fair. Domestic wines all at or slightly below MSRP. French and other imported wines all at increased tariff pricing. No pre tariff import stock. Staff product knowledge / service: Above average. They are capable of making recommendations. Friendly and approachable. Conclusion: A convent place for nearby residents to grab libations not offered at Costco or a supermarket for gift giving or personal pleasuring. Those looking for cult libations, collectables, or old world offerings must look elsewhere.

I'm a fan of R Field Wine Company and when I was told there was one at the Kapolei Foodland Farms I…read morehappily made the drive in the worst weather in December just to check it out. I don't mind the drive from Halawa to Kapolei as it's going against traffic making it easier and faster than town destinations. Making my schedule to hit the furthest Costco Gas first. Home Depot for Gift Cards second then Foodland Farms lastly. Nice parking fronting the store I was jumping puddles and dodging raindrops as I entered. Located in the middle of the store is the R Field Wine Company section. Ordered two pounds of their imported Mortadella (excellent) for Italian sandwiches my son wanted to replicate after his most recent trip to Rome along with some sliced cheese. Since this visit was before Christmas I made a number of stocking stuffer purchases of Manoa Honey, Lingonberry jam, some wonderful goat cheeses and my favorite St Angel French soft cheese along with three bags of fresh Lavosh. No wines this trip but they do have some good labels on their shelves. Another trip planned this week, I'm making my list.....

Sliced to order prosciutto di San Daniele, prosciutto di Parma, mozzarella di bufala, burrata,…read morebresaola, cambozola, pate` mousse with truffle, Cambozola, savoiardi "lady fingers", unusual and imported cheese and salumi... Mmmmmm *these* are just a few of my favorite things!! After 11 years in Italy, when I returned to my native Hawai'i it was a bit of a bummer to not be able to relive and share certain foods that became daily dish staples for me. I would boast about this cured meat and THAT parmiggiano and creamy burrata mozzarella... But they were just memories of the past. Hawai'i is my home and i would never move back to Europe but just part of the palate was missing it... Until we stumbled upon R. Field Wine. Tears... ugly, slobbery tears that ruin your makeup. I cried them. But out of joy. Pure joy. You want Italian staples? You can find them here. There are several locations, all found inside or next to Foodland, but the ones I frequent most are Kailua, Ala Moana and Kapolei. All the greatest cured meats I could find in Italy, I can now find at R. Field Wine. Not even kidding. My favorite prosciutto is San Daniele (they tend to butcher the name- but they have it- so I'll take it) and my favorite type of mozzarella is burrata (a little pricey but worth every penny). If you are making a charcuterie/ grazing board to impress, the following are my go-to's from this awesome gem of a place. They give samples if you are unsure about the meat. -Prosciutto San Daniele (the smaller the round, the sweeter-- I like mine salty- so I always ask to see the cut first... **when curing, they hang the meat from smaller end- so all salt and seasoning runs down to bigger part**) -Prosciutto di Parma (the real deal, not that pre-packaged smelly cardboard- same rule as above, the smaller the round, the sweeter- the longer- the saltier) -Speck (if you find scamorza cheese, roll it up in the speck and pan-fry... ooohh!! Amazing!! They're called "uccelletti" or "little birds") -Bresaola (bray-ZA-OH-LA) this is the leanest cured meat you will find. In Italy it is common to find this smoky delicacy in horse meat but the imported one is usually beef. Sprinkle with lemon and olive oil for a model's meal. They eat this when dieting. If you want to make it more exciting, eat it with mozzarella to cut the salt. -Burrata- the creaminess of this mozzarella is unparalleled... doesn't slice well but on pizza or raw with prosciutto or tomatoes is divine. -Pate- they have black truffle duck pate and goose pate- they are amazing- just depends if you like truffle or not! Try them! Cambozola- is like a creamy gorgonzola that is less sharp but melts beautifully on warm crusty bread! Note: not for non-blue cheese lovers. The brave only! Savoiardi- what I use to make tiramisu. Don't forget the mascarpone in the fridge section! R. Field also is home to many wines and liqueurs (as the name suggests) and quality local products like my favorite kauai cocoa for tiramisu, chocolate, coffee and honey. Hope this was helpful! You can't go wrong with any of their salumi! I promise!

I remember this store being around since I was very young. Stopping here on my way to my Aunt's…read morehouse. I honestly don't remember it being like this, but I'm guessing no renovations of any type has occurred for those years. They have those touch gambling machines lining the center of the store. The machines are always being used. It's dimly lit and reeks of cigarette, yes, the cashier smokes in the store and while she rings you up. There isn't much here. You have your typical grocery items, snacks and sundries. Shelves are usually empty, but the freezers (drinks) are full. The one plus is they tend to have those hard to find snacks here. I am obsessed with the dark chocolate moon pies which are 2/$1 and they also carry tamarind..yum. The decor shows the age of this establishment and the "regular" customers may make you think twice about walking in here. If you're looking for a bright, airy, happy place, drive a bit further down. Want boot-leg snacks, bingo!

Great to know my favorite store as a child has survived all these years. It's a bit different than…read moreI remember having a lot less dust and way more merchandise. Either way it was still a nostalgic visit to a childhood neighborhood store.

Corner of Makaha and Garrington Highway. Ono grinds, fridge full of pupu and always get choke ice!read more

I truly shop here first before heading over to Longs. Love the employees, and the owner is friendly…read moreand customer oriented. If you want a GREAT BURGER THIS IS THE PLACE! (Forget about McDonalds) There's nothing like a simple deluxe burger ! The buns are big and the crunch of fresh lettuce, tomato and red onions, sends me over the edge! Order it with cheese, and the cheese is actually melted! OH MY GOODNESS! Skip over to the corner Shaved Ice place and realize life just doesn't get better than this! WESTSIDE IS THE BEST SIDE! Ohana is friendly to everyone.

Tamuras is where you should go for no frills poke. You can by a poke bowl or poke by the pound. The…read moreflavors and variety is awesome. If I visit hawaii and dont get tamuras poke.... i didnt visit hawaii. Non touristy and more of a locals spot. Every single thing I ordered was bomb.com.

This is such a dangerous shop to go into! We came here for a specific champagne and left with so…read moremuch more lol. I mean just look at all those awesome snacks in one location. See, dangerous! All of the West side shops that we checked around didn't have this particular champagne available. I wouldn't normally be so picky about the type of champagne except I had already started a dessert recipe using a specific bottle and then I ran out and needed to make more. This Tamura's happens to be right down the street from my doctors office. Their poke selection is much bigger than the one closer to home. Freshness wise, the quality is still top-notch no matter which location.

Very cute little shop with super friendly employee. Great wine selection and beers. The shop is…read morevery light and airy feeling.

Haleiwa Bottle Shop has a great tap selection. We had the Howzit Light Lager, and it was perfect…read morefor a warm, sunny day. They also offer an impressive variety of bottled and canned beers. We happened to be their first customers to sit in the dining area and only the third paying customers overall, which was pretty cool. They had received their license just two hours before we arrived. Service was excellent, and we're definitely looking forward to coming back on our next vacation.

It's open late, and they have a wide variety of unusual beers, so I bought several different kinds…read more It's convenient for buying alcoholic beverages now that the nearby Longs Drugs store is gone.

Not bad, had a lot of different liquor. And special sets good for giving as gifts. Person there was…read morevery helpful. Was kind of tight getting around. Had so much items there.

Tumuras deli has changed so much! They downgraded a lot with the deli in quality!!!…read more I grew up on tumuras when their musibis use to be $0.50 back in the day! They had variety musibis where they use to put tuna or ume in them which I loved eating both when my mom use to buy us for breakfast!!! Their bentos use to be very good too! I remember their rolled eggs which was my fav to eat. Over the years they added spam To it which I didn't eat because I don't eat pork anymore! Their bentos also changed too! Their chicken use to be the best on the menu now it's just a copy cat of Zippy's chicken. I don't buy their deli anymore just their poke because their poke is always better quality from other stores.

Tamura's Kitchen provides a mix of Hawaiian and Poke items for lunch. They're on the right side of…read morethe market near the entrance. Parking is plenty and it's a local hole in the wall atmosphere. They have limited seating and most patrons had their order to go. Their workers are nice and their prices are more affordable than restaurant rates. They provided free samples of the Ahi Ninja which seemed like their most popular item. I had the Ahi Fried Garlic and Kalua Pig combo. The Ahi was tasty and the garlic was not overpowering. The Kalua was juicy and shredded well. My party of 5 agreed that they'd come back to this local find when I'm in the area.