Where Thunderstorm Artis Eats When He Comes Home to O‘ahu

Photo: Courtesy of Foodland Hawai‘i

You can take Thunderstorm Artis out of the Islands, but you can’t take away the local boy’s passion for fresh poke.

Artis, a Hale‘iwa-born singer-songwriter now living in Nashville, was a top-five finisher on American Idol earlier this year. He’s slated to perform at Blue Note Hawai‘i on June 27—part of a busy schedule of touring and recording after wrapping the reality show.

“Just being in Hawai‘i weather again, there’s nothing like it,” he says. “I’m working hard so that one day I can come back and hopefully bring everything I’ve learned back to Hawai‘i and help equip the next generation to do even more than I’ve done.”

We caught up with Artis as he looked forward to a quick homecoming—and revisiting some of his favorite grinds.

Photo: Courtesy of Jen Rosenstein

FROLIC: When you get off the plane, where do you usually go to eat first?

Thunderstorm Artis: Oh man, the first thing I do is go to Foodland and grab a poke bowl or go to Waialua General Store on the North Shore—they’ve got steak plates and poke bowls. I’ve got to have that right away. My wife always loves going to Matsumoto’s for shave ice. My good friends at Zippy’s always hit me up too, so I’ve got to go there—get the chili and rice, spam, all of it.

F: What local food do you miss the most now that you’re living on the mainland?

TA: I hope nobody gets upset (laughs), but the way they do poke bowls on the mainland includes so many toppings like corn, lettuce, etc. And I just want rice, fish, maybe a little sauce—and they look at me like, “Really? That’s it?” And sometimes it’s frozen fish. I can’t!

SEE ALSO: Everything We Wanted to Know About North Shore’s Thunderstorm Artis

F: When American Idol came down to film a couple of episodes at Aulani, and to shoot your hometown story video, did you get to share with the crew and contestants some places to eat?

TA: We didn’t have a ton of free time during American Idol, but my wife and I did get to go out when we were shooting my hometown story. We stopped at Giovanni’s Shrimp Truck, and my cousin owns another spot just across the way on the North Shore. There’s also Farm to Barn Café, with lots of healthy food I love. We hit up Kua ‘Aina Sandwich & Burgers—I love that place. And Fatboy’s is a great spot, too.

Monkeypod Kitchen was my go-to during the show because it was right across from Aulani. So many good places I can’t wait to visit again. And now that my 2-year-old is old enough to start enjoying food, I’m really looking forward to sharing that with him when we’re back.

F: Do you have any favorite omiyage?

TA: Some of my friends from American Idol live in Tennessee—or are moving there—so I’ll definitely take back some local snacks and Noms for them. I want to share a little bit of my culture. I just wish I could fly out some fresh fish so they could taste real poke! (laughs)

Darlene Dela Cruz is editor of Hawai‘i Home & Remodeling magazine.