Honolulu Restaurants and Takeout Spots Where You Can Stock Up On Pantry Staples and Groceries
Six places to get flour, yeast, meat, vegetables and, yes, toilet paper.
Photo: courtesy of The Nook
Supermarkets are looking a little less apocalyptic these days, compared to the early days of the pandemic, but there are still times when there are people lining up to get in and shelves are bare of the essentials. Some Honolulu restaurants have stepped up and are offering pantry staples and groceries—even pasta, flour and yeast!—alongside their takeout menus. Here’s where to go to supply your own home kitchens while also supporting local restaurants.
SEE ALSO: Can We Ever Eat All Local in Hawai‘i?
The Nook
There isn’t actually a flour and yeast shortage—only a shortage in household sizes of these baking essentials. Five-pound bags of flour may be scarce in the supermarkets, but meanwhile, distributors and restaurant suppliers are sitting on 50-pound bags, now that restaurant sales have slowed. The Nook helps keep the flour ($6 for 5 pounds) and yeast ($3) flowing for your baking projects with its online marketplace. You can even pick up ‘ulu flour ($18) that comes from Kahumana Farms to experiment with.
Mad Bene
With Mad Bene at Home, you can pick up fresh pasta and pizza kits—and you don’t even have to drive out to the restaurant in Kapolei. Townies can pick up their order at Duck Butt and bring home pasta in shapes including spaghetti, rigatoni and paccheri, and choose from sauces including arrabiata, a spicy tomato sauce (my favorite). Pasta kits for two are $20, for four is $35, and a pizza kit that makes enough for two pies is $25.
SEE ALSO: Meal Kits to Grocery Delivery: How to Eat the Best Local Food at Home
Fresh pasta kits can be ordered for two ($20) or four ($35) and include all the ingredients you need.
photo: Marisa Heung
MW
MW offers one of the most extensive market selections, with lots of locally grown Asian produce, including kai choy, choy sum and daikon; plus Mrs. Cheng’s tofu made in Kalihi; OK Farm Eggs; and freshly milled rice from The Rice Factory.
53 By the Sea
While 53 By the Sea still offers some of its luxe dishes like a Surf n Turf with filet mignon and lobster for takeout, as well as a $175 Champagne and caviar set, you’ll also find a more humble produce box for your own home cooking for $30 that includes half a dozen local eggs, onions, carrots, celery, potatoes, broccolini, tomatoes and peeled garlic.
SEE ALSO: Where to Find Pasta: Fresh Box’s New Online Market Delivers to Your Door
CHARLES WAKEMAN TRIMS THE DAY’S GRASS-FED KUNOA CATTLE STEAKS at Butcher and Bird.
Photo: David Croxford
Butcher and Bird
Pasta, steaks, bacon, eggs, ice cream: what else do you need? Find pre-packaged bundles from Butcher and Bird, ranging from $50 to $250, the most expensive “Baller” version of which includes Snake River Farms pork chops, 2 pounds of sliced cheese and charcuterie, house-smoked bacon, cookie dough and Kaka‘ako’s Butterfly Ice Cream.
Zippy’s
Alongside its cornbread mixes and bake-at-home apple pie and Napples, Zippy’s is offering flour, yeast and rice. And what may be even more sought after than its chili these days: toilet paper.
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