Brian B.'s Profile

My 1st trip to Una Mas was today.  It was okay.  Kind of like Rubio's.  Nothing special, but an alright burrito if you're in a pinch.

Decent rates on kayak rentals right on the Wailua River.  Laid back atmosphere and convenient if you want to do the kayak + falls excursion, but don't want to pay for/deal with a guided tour.  Recommended.

Just a typical grocery store.  Kind of on the smaller end, compared to something like Safeway or similar, but full of foods at decent prices (I guess).  They had a lot of Kona coffees, etc, which was cool.  Not much more to say, really...

I didn't know what this place was called basically the whole week we were in Kauai because it was described to us as "Rent-A-Wreck."  That's basically true.  The place rents cars that have obviously been totalled and repaired perviously.  As such, the cars all have problems or quirks: ours had to be locked by reaching across from the passenger side once the driver door was shut and could only access the trunk with the key.  The people in front of us got a Rav 4 that couldn't be locked at all.  Other people have said they've gotten cars that break down or are otherwise a little unreliable.  These are not necessarily bad things (note good star rating above...).  The guys that run the place are super laid back (ie "It's got like 1/2 a tank.  Bring it back with like 1/2 a tank."), are really responsive in terms of coming to get you/giving you a new car if yours dies, and charging you a really low price for the car you're getting.  

If you go into the process knowing what you're getting, don't mind some quirks with the cars, and want to save money, this is an excellent option for renting a car on Kauai.

This place came highly recommended from a vegetarian friend who said the falafels are excellent.  I was pretty "meh" on the place as a whole, but I also ordered a gyro, and will have to go back sometime to try the falafel and report on that.  In addition, this friend recommended the banana shake...but, as I don't like banana, I did not follow that recommendation either.

The chicken gyro I ordered was dry and kind of tasteless.  The chocolate shake, however, was excellent.  A friend ordered fries, which were pretty decent.

My friend also ordered the banana shake and reported it was good but sweet.

Recommended to us by several locals (the lifeguard at the beach near by and my friend who grew up in Hanalei).  I was told the following by the aforementioned friend: "Go to the Snack Ship.  Order the chili-pepper chicken with macaroni salad and rice.  Don't try to talk to the lady.  Don't act white."  I thought these were interesting instructions.

As it turns out, despite showing up 5 minutes before the kitchen's closing, we got everything we asked for (at that point there were only 3 items available), which was the dishes mentioned above.  The ladies (both of them) were extremely nice.  A good place to get food with friendly staff is how I would describe this place and my overall experience.

This place is interesting.  We ended up going twice.  First, we spent a few minutes and decided it was way too touristy to be worth our time, and so left.  The next day (or so), though, one of the people with us wanted a tiki that he had seen there for a friend, so we went back and spent a little more time paroozing and asking questions.  As it turns out, they actually do have a good selection of locally made crafts and jewelry, as well as some nice clothing and other items...you just have to know where to look.

The store has a cat in it that's very friendly and you can pet.  Actually a good find, after getting past the initial reactions.

Loved Seasport Divers.  As it turns out, I basically went into the Poipu shop every day but 1 while on the island.  I did my PADI Advanced Diver Certification with them, and had a great experience from instruction to dives.  The staff is all very friendly and fun, and also very attentive to your needs.  They also have great prices on snorkel and other gear rentals both per day and for the week.  Highly recommended.

Good carnitas, but overpriced and kinda meh.  The place was decent and in a nice spot on Kauai.  It has a guy who makes fresh guacamole at your table and a nice ambiance, especially if you sit at the upstairs edge where it feels a lot like Disneyland.  Meanwhile, they're a little disorganized and you can spend a long time waiting for your waitstaff or single items from your meal (example, they brought us our main courses but not the tortillas that go with them.  Someone said "I'll be right back with the tortillas, but it took another ~5 minutes for them to come back.  I can understand being easy going and on island time, but this was more along the lines of just ill-attention).  As mentioned, the food is good, but I'd probably recommend going elsewhere when everything is said and done.  Also kind of noisy, at least upstairs.

Mmmm.  My biggest problem with this place is that if I ordered everything I wanted to eat, I would be so so so so so fat.  They have a lot of really good options.  1 of the people I was with got basically a bacon cheeseburger with fries covered in chili in a box (no idea what it's called).  I had a pork wrap that was great.  The salads seemed good, along with the chicken and rice plates (which I guess they're known for).  All in all, a neat little shop with tonnnns of options and good food.  Definitely a local hole in the wall.  I think we were the only haoles there.