The Best of O‘ahu: My Favorite Food on North Shore

By Catherine Toth
Nonstop Honolulu

There are only two reasons why I make the 37-mile trek from Aina Haina to the North Shore: surf and food. And since it’s summer — meaning, the conditions along the seven-mile stretch of world-famous breaks are better for snorkeling than surfing — I’m only heading out there to eat.

There are more options out here than you’d probably expect from this sleepy coastline community. You’ll find burger joints, lunchwagons, okazuya, saimin stands, trendy cafes and fine-dining restaurants — all between Wahiawa to Hau’ula.

Some spots — Ted’s Bakery, Giovanni’s shrimp truck and Matsumoto Shave Ice — are so well known (read: crowded) that most locals avoid them altogether.

But even these tourist destinations can offer something refreshingly new — Ted’s has a crispy egg-dipped sandwich filled with shrimp, dijonnaise, onions and melted provolone cheese with a guava butter sauce, for example — for which even born-and-raised resident like me will fight the sunburned crowd and wait in line.

Here are a few other dishes I’m willing to sit in traffic for: