Cocktails are for girls

Whenever Thatboy and I vacation, we tend to pick a "local" drink and stick with it. When we vacationed in Puerto Vallarta, we drank Palomas day in and day out. When we're in Hawaii, we tend to drink Mai Tais (except for the fateful trip when Thatdad decided to make Pina Coladas with 151 Rum - but that's a story for another time).

This trip, Thatboy decided he was going to try all the mai tais on the island to determine who served the best one. Each night we would rank his drink to see where it fell on the scale. Now that we're back, I've asked him to post his review for the good of humankind. I beg your indulgence here, because he very unwillingly agreed. First, he's shy. So I expect you all to be uncommonly kind. Second, he's expressed to me that he didn't want to write a review of mai tais because "cocktails are for girls." So if you could leave him a comment about how masculine and manly and muscular he is, I'm sure he would feel better about himself. And now, without further ado, I give you the man of the hour, Thatboy:

Thatboy here with the superduper drinking trooper Mai Tai review. Now I know I might catch some flack from my boys for writing this review, because "Cocktails are for Girls," but Scotch at all times would get boring, especially when you're on vacation somewhere known for a particular drink. So here goes the Kauai Mai Tia Countdown (at least for the places we drank):

6. Bar Acuda's - Mai Tais are good for their kick, but best if you can't taste the kick too much. Here you knew what was coming a little too much.

5. Beach House - Beautiful experience eating and looking out the window, but even though a little better than Bar Acuda's, the Mai Tai experience wasn't tasty enough.

4. Hyatt - Here your Mai Tai comes in a hurricane glass rather than a rocks glass, and the flavor is an improvement over 5 and 6, but the price prevents you from getting more bang for your buck.

3. Hanalei Dolphin - Tasty Mai Tia in yet another beautiful setting, and here they have a better understanding of the balancing act between punch and flavor.

2. Westin Resort Nanae Restaurant - Convenient (for us 'cause that's where we stayed), tasty, and for some reason this Mai Tai in particular gave a significant kick.

And, drumroll please.....

1. Keoki's Paradise - The Mai Tai at Keoki's not only delivers with both great taste, especially if you like sweets, and plenty of kick, but they are served with the island style that makes visiting a place like Kauai all that it is supposed to be. When you get your Mai Tai at Keoki's you feel like you've stepped into a far off jungle paradise complete with your tiki-man glass in hand.



Standing ovation for Thatboy's review!!! Now let's check out his modeling skills. I'll do a quick review of THE MOST important aspect of our trip - the shave ice. Shave ice is one of my all time favorite things. As soon as we landed I started scoping out where the nearest shave ice was. It was my goal to eat shave ice every day - I didn't quite make it. I did get to try three different shave ice places and here's my review of those three. Thatboy had a shave ice in Koloa which he described as "alright, nothing special" and Thatmom had one in Kapa'a and it was even less impressive. So it's my thought that these are the top three shave ices in Kauai - but there must always be a winner. In Highlander speak "There can be only one."

3. Wishing Well Shave Ice - We hit up this truck on our way back from surfing in Hanalei. Thatboy was very impressed with the fact that he could get condensed milk and coconut on top of his three flavors. I thought the ice was too hard - not fine enough, which made me feel more like I was eating a snow cone and not a shave ice.

2. Jo Jo's Shave Ice - Everyone got to try this one on our way back from Waimea. Have you ever seen Thatmom so happy? How about Thatbrother or Thatboy looking so confused? That's what you get when you have a crazy stalker sister waiting outside to snap your picture as you exit. Thatmom, who usually sticks with one flavor (grape) went all out and got three flavors. We loved the fact that it came in different sizes for those with differing appetites. Thatboy went with one of their specialties which had coconut shave ice, coconut, condensed milk, azuki beans, jellies, and other stuff I couldn't begin to tell you.

1. Hihimanu - This was my favorite shave ice on the island, and lucky for me it was also the one closest to us, which meant I got to have it a lot. It's also right beside Lapperts, which meant everytime Thatmom got a craving, I likewise got to indulge. Thatboy liked Jo Jo's better because Hihimanu does not have coconut shavings, but since I don't care too much about coconut shavings that isn't a detriment for me. I love the finely shaved ice, the flavor selection, and the ginormous size.