Our fourth day of honeymoonin’ started like the rest…
Beachy keen. But after soaking up some rays and a few cups of coffee, we headed to the tennis courts for a complimentary hour of professional play horse play. You see, at this point we were deeply immersed in the US Open…funny how you can get so inspired by seasonal sports. Sadly, Kim Clijsters’ brilliance doesn’t automatically translate to skill. At least we were evenly amateur (the first set took up the entire hour because we kept going into tiebreak).
Anyways, we returned to the hotel, showered and headed to lunch. This is the view looking back at (part of) the hotel from the beach front.
For lunch we headed to Merriman’s. I’m familiar with Merriman’s having been to the Maui location before. This place is way more casual, but still emphasizes the same philosophy, honoring the connection between farmers and community. I love the “farm to table” concept, so I knew this was a must visit while on our honeymoon.
The Kauai location is in Poipu and has both mountain and ocean views as well as sunset views over the Kukui’ula resort. The upstairs area is only open at night, but the downstairs cafe is open all day for casual dining.
Please note, they have Cholula hot sauce AND their own Hula Chili and Big Island BBQ sauces :)
Of course as soon as I saw home-made hummus on the menu, it was a no brainer order.
Fresh Hummus with Whole Wheat Pita wedges…booya!
Look at those grill marks! Love it.
Kyle got the fish tacos.
I got the black bean veggie burger.
Complete with avocado, lettuce, and tomato. Doesn’t it look fake?
Totally delicious.
After lunch we strolled around the area and stumbled upon a Natural Foods store called Living Foods Market.
I couldn’t help but wander in…
They had produce ranging from rare local tropical fruit to winter squash (in August?).
And the baked goods! Oh buddy.
Prepared goods.
All the products I love…at 400% the price. Ha :)
Suddenly $4 Kombucha is looking like a steal…
Nice to know I’d have Bob’s Red Mill available had I decided to stay in Kauai indefinitely. Just in case…
Kyle was distracted by the Clif bars, but I was quick to note the coffee bar. Iced java with soy milk…yes please :)
They also had wood burning ovens, a rotisserie station, and sandwich bar. I wish we had discovered this place earlier on…needless to say if when we go back, I’m hittin’ this market up for sure.
We made a key purchase.
For dinner, we had sushi on the brain. Lucky for us, the hotel had a sushi restaurant with crazy fresh seafood.
Excuse the lighting…Stevenson’s Library has live jazz in the evenings, so the dimness contributed to the mood.
Vino me up.
To start, I dove into a seaweed salad. Quite the presentation!
Kyle had steamed dumplings.
And then the rolls came. I’m not even going to try and remember what was what. Just enjoy the beauty…
After dinner we had another few rounds of wine while playing pool.
Kyle tried to show me some of his moves.
Good, not great.
I would do anything to be able to being laying out at the beach instead of being instead working. 🙁
Love the flashback ; ) Looked like a great time. I sure wish health food stores and all would be cheaper, haha, it would save me a ton of money. One day.
Totally envious. Kauai is my favorite island. This doesn’t have to anything to do with your honeymoon, but I came across a recipe for Roasted Autumn Vegetables with Hazelnut-Browned Butter on LHJ.com. The first ingredient is butternut squash! I cannot wait to try it myself. Here is the link: http://www.lhj.com/recipe/vegetables/roasted-autumn-vegetables-with-hazelnut-browned-butter/
Elise, I absolutely love your blog! And as far as the pics from your trip..wow, I’m jealous!! I would love to go to Hawaii, looks like you guys had a great time. And a black bean burgers with guac is one of my favorite meals 🙂