Mele and friends at Kaua`i Family Restaurant

Our friend Gary Medeiros is a local kine hero, with his male falsetto mastery and command of the `ukulele. He plays all over town, often with Auntie Manu. In fact, he was recently in Idaho performing. We first met him at last year's Live Aloha Festival in Seattle Center, and then saw him again playing at the luau after the Pineapple Classic. We are lucky to have such a talented kanaka in our midst.


One of Gary's regular gigs is the brunch hour at Kaua`i Family Restaurant. We made it once before, but that was too long ago. So this morning we decided to head down to Georgetown for some `ono food, friendly service and mele nani (beautiful music).



Gary and friends did not disappoint. Dressed in black to (not celebrate) Hawai`i 50th anniversary as a State, the trio played the duration with many impromptu hula intermixed from the lively audience.

There was a special on the menu to commemorate the anniversary -- poke and kalua pig steak with cabbage. Dan couldn't resist that, and at 5.99 the price could not be beat. I went with the traditional rice, eggs and bacon breakfast. Of course any trip to Kaua`i Family Restaurant necessitates grabbing a hold of a big brown bag of goodness - malasadas. The Portuguese donuts are a blissful way to heart disease, fried in coconut oil and not as sweet as your typical bakery donut.



We were blessed with a visit from our old friend Jerry, who we just don't get to see enough of these days. We introduced him to the malasada, to which he concurred was heavenly.

If you are looking for an authentic Hawaiian local experience with refreshingly low prices, Kaua`i Family Restaurant is hard to beat. The bakery/gift shop next door is worth a look, too. The guava and passion fruit cakes come in individual servings, and are very seductive. (They are closed Sunday and Monday).