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Kona: Northbound

By Catherine Toth Fox • March 24, 2011 • #CatTravels, Food, Musings, The Daily Dish, Videos
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One of the must-trys on my list of things to do in Kona was, literally, “Eat malassadas at Tex Drive In.”

I had never been. And being such a malassada connoisseur — OK, not really, but I do love to eat them — I figured I had to try this popular Big Island version.

Lucky for us, the restaurant opened a location in Kopiko Plaza in Kailua-Kona in January. That meant we didn’t have to drive out to Honokaa — about an hour drive from downtown Kona — to its original location, opened in 1969.

But we did anyway.

And not just because I was desperate to try Tex’s fried dough. I wanted to see all the sights along the way: views of the ocean from Hualalai, Waimea Town, Anna Ranch, Waipio Valley, Hapuna Beach.

So we hit the road early, hoping to reach Tex’s by lunch. Or at least before it closed.

Here’s what today’s adventure looked like:

no images were found


Dining at Tex Drive In

Anna RanchBig Islandfarmer's marketfeatured_blogs_offledefeatured_homepage_offledefood-tagfuudHaleakalaHapuna BeachHawaiiHonokaaHualalaiKonamalassadasPortuguese soupTeshimaTex Drive InThe Daily DishWaimeaWaipio Valleywww.thecatdish.com
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Kona: Last day of eating

About the Author

Catherine Toth Fox

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23 Comments

  • Reply Ynaku March 23, 2011 at 8:59 pm

    Is it just me or the pics are Scrunched up? At least the video is ok. Whoo Hoo

  • Reply UncleBullet March 23, 2011 at 9:27 pm

    Soemthing’s wrong with the photos. If I didn’t see your comment I would have missed them.

  • Reply M March 23, 2011 at 9:44 pm

    Hello Cat,

    Same here, can’t see the photos.

  • Reply Ynaku March 23, 2011 at 9:53 pm

    Actually, all the blogs have their pics scrunched up. Videos looks ok.

  • Reply johngarcia March 23, 2011 at 10:24 pm

    Hi all! So sorry about the display issues… There was a CSS glitch this morning while working on thumbnails for the new gallery. Are we good now?

  • Reply JocelynCollado March 23, 2011 at 10:37 pm

    Thanks for checking out my hometown of Honoka’a. Isn’t it quaint? I grew up between Honoka’a and Waipio Valley and my parents and sister still live there. I even worked at Tex’s Drive-Inn and made those same malasadas. You should try Hawaiian Style Cafe for breakfast the next time you’re up there. Their pancakes are awesome!

  • Reply Cat March 23, 2011 at 10:45 pm

    @Ynaku Are you reading this on your phone…? The pics look fine on my computer…

  • Reply Cat March 23, 2011 at 10:46 pm

    @johngarcia ACK! Sorry! I didn’t notice the problem last night — or this morning… Sorry. Let me know if I accidentally clicked on something. I do that sometimes 🙂

  • Reply Cat March 23, 2011 at 10:46 pm

    @JocelynCollado I heard! But we can only fit so much food in our stomachs! 🙂

  • Reply johngarcia March 23, 2011 at 10:52 pm

    @Cat Nope! The problem was introduced at 3:30 this morning when i went to sleep and fixed at 8am when I woke up. 🙂 We’re good now! Thumbs are soo close!

  • Reply Ynaku March 24, 2011 at 12:56 am

    @johngarcia @Cat It’s all so guud along with da fuud pics too 🙂

  • Reply EdW March 24, 2011 at 1:22 am

    Food and pics look great a lot better than this morning (3:30 hawaii time)…I hope i can fit the big Island in on my next visit.

  • Reply 808marv March 24, 2011 at 9:51 am

    I went on a similar drive a few years ago but I also included visiting Hawi in the north before coming back down and going to Honoka’a. The distance, altitude, and also the heavy vog at the time wore me down a bit, but like you said you can’t beat the views along the way, especially places like Waipio Valley.

    Man I really gotta try that Hawaiian Style Cafe, missed it the last time but it will definitely be a priority on the next trip to the Big Island!

  • Reply MaxMaxMax March 24, 2011 at 10:25 am

    @808marv Yeah, the High Road to Hawi from Waimea is spectacular, particularly around sunset!

  • Reply MaxMaxMax March 24, 2011 at 10:26 am

    Cat, I have some photos I took of the area from Hualalai to Waimea to Hawi. Maybe some here would enjoy seeing them. OK to post the links? I wouldn’t want to without your blessing.

  • Reply MaxMaxMax March 24, 2011 at 10:29 am

    Woops! Hit reply to soon. Meant to type that this is my favorite part of the Big Island (North Kohala and Waimea areas!) Glad you finally got to see Waipio Valley. Every Hawaii resident should once in their life. The view from the other side (coming from Hawi) is great also!

  • Reply M March 24, 2011 at 10:59 am

    Great Pixs!

    I been down to Waipio valley. I takes you back in time of old Hawaii.

  • Reply hilorain March 24, 2011 at 6:36 pm

    we were in Waipio Valley over 20 years ago with a commercial guide offering rides in a jeep, and deep in the valley there was a building (very modern and did not fit the motif of the surroundings) that was supposed to serve as a restaurant but probably did not suvive, looked abandoned – was it still there??

    hr

  • Reply CodyZamboni March 26, 2011 at 1:30 am

    super yummy fotos and video. so hungry. but as soon as Butler beats Florida, I’ll be eating lunch.

  • Reply Cat March 27, 2011 at 10:16 pm

    At first, I thought you wrote “Butter” and I got really excited. HAH!

  • Reply Cat March 27, 2011 at 10:17 pm

    @hilorain We didn’t go into the valley; didn’t have time. But I heard you can’t camp in there anymore. Just stopped about two years ago. Sad.

  • Reply Cat March 27, 2011 at 10:17 pm

    @MaxMaxMax Yes, post! I like see!

  • Reply Cat March 27, 2011 at 10:17 pm

    @808marv That cafe is SO YOU! It’s a must on your next trip to Kona!

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About Me

About Me
Born and raised on O‘ahu, Hawaiʻi, Catherine Toth Fox has been chronicling her adventures in her blog, The Cat Dish, for more than a decade. She worked as a newspaper reporter in Hawai‘i for 10 years and continues to freelance—in between teaching journalism, hitting the surf and eating everything in sight—for national and local print and online publications. She’s currently the editor of HAWAIʻI Magazine.

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