Hawaii: filling the belly without breaking the bank

One of our readers, Nancy Grimaldi, recently expressed concern about food costs for her upcoming trip to Maui. “We have heard that food prices (both in markets and restaurants) have soared recently in Hawaii, more than in other parts of the U.S.,” she said in an e-mail. “This would be due to the increased costs of fuel [transporting food items to Hawaii via air and sea].”

You may not be able to do anything about the escalating prices on the islands, but you can strategize to keep your overall food costs down while you’re there. One of the biggest budget busters when it comes to food is the resort restaurant. Just skipping these venues can save you money.

But where to go instead when hunger hits? For one, think picnics, which aren’t just for lunchtime anymore. Since lunch out is usually less expensive than dining out for dinner, eat a big lunch at a restaurant, and then plan a sunset-accompanied beach picnic for dinner. Get picnicking fare at a farmers market or the supermarket –- the prices may still be higher than you’re used to, but it’ll be far less than any dinner out.

However, if a hot meal is what you’re after (and you’re not equipped with a camping stove), rest assured that you can eat out inexpensively by copying the locals, who know where the food-getting is good (and still cheap). Look out for roadside vendors, and also bookmark these Los Angeles Times stories: 20 cheap eats under $20 on Maui and 20 cheap eats under $20 on Oahu.

At Aloha Mixed Plate in Lahaina, Maui, for instance, you can get very Hawaiian “plate lunches” for reasonable prices. I called to see if their prices have increased in past months and bartender Victor said, “No, we don’t do that to our customers.” Lunch plates here, as they long have, start at $3.95 for a small portion; the most expensive item on the menu is the $13.95 coconut shrimp plate, which comes with rice and macaroni salad.

As always, the World Wide Web is full of pointers. Mr. Cheap Stuff has lots to say about cheap food in Hawaii. Blogger Sheila of Go Visit Hawaii has consistently posted great money-saving tips, including this post, where she recommends looking at free local tourist magazines for restaurant coupons.

How do you save on food in Hawaii? Please share with us in the Comments section.

— Susan Derby, Special to the Los Angeles Times

[Photo: Aloha Mixed Plate; Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times]

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This entry was posted on Wednesday, July 2, 2008 at 1:00 pm by Susan Derby and is filed under Gourmet, Hawaii, Hawaii's Big Island, Islands & Beaches, Kauai, Lanai, Maui, Molokai, News, Tips & Advice, Oahu. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a comment, or trackback from your own site.