Follow In Anthony Bourdain's Footsteps To Eat Like A Local In Hawaii For A Tasty Vacation

Hawaii is a place that Anthony Bourdain visited more than once between his two travel shows, "No Reservations" and "Parts Unknown." Bourdain's first televised trip to the 50th U.S. state was in 2008, and he made a return trip in 2015. Though it's been years since he toured the islands, you can still dine at some of the same spots, eschewing the "cliche Don Ho luau," as he called it, in favor of local eateries.

Bourdain's first order of business, however, was to shop for a Hawaiian shirt. On "No Reservations," he learned how "a local kimono maker" invented these patterned shirts as an easier-to-sell "kimono in shirt form." Bourdain spent $3,000 on one at Bailey's Antiques and Aloha Shirts in Honolulu, but don't worry, you can find non-vintage shirts priced as low as $9.99 there. The shop still advertises its selection of 15,000 aloha shirts as the world's largest. When Bourdain asked owner David Bailey whether "Hawaiians wear Hawaiian shirts," Bailey replied, "I'd say a third of the people wear 'em almost every day."

On the island of Kauai, you can explore the real Jurassic Park and swim in one of America's best hotel pools. You can also hit up Puka Dog in Poipu Beach Park, where Bourdain had his first cheap meal in Hawaii. The Puka Dog is a Hawaiian-style hot dog made with garlic lemon secret sauce, tropical fruit relish, and passion fruit mustard—all wrapped in a toasted sweet bun with a hole in the center.

The next stop for Anthony Bourdain on "No Reservations" was 'Ono Hawaiian Foods, which closed in 2017 as the owners retired after 57 years of business in Honolulu. Two minutes down the block from that restaurant's former location is the Kapahulu Avenue branch of Side Street Inn, which maintains its original branch on Hopaka Street. This is the bar and chefs' hangout Bourdain visited with his local guide, Colin Nishida (who owned it until his death in 2018, just four months before Bourdain's). Side Street Inn continues to offer an array of hearty dishes based on Nishida's recipes, with the menu describing its "famous pan-fried pork chops" and "signature garlic chicken" and fried rice (pictured above) as "favorites for locals."

Though it's since closed, New Uptown Fountain is where Bourdain learned to appreciate Spam, which he dubbed "the quintessential mystery meat." It began life as a World War II ration, and even today, Spam musubi is a fixture of local cuisine, ranking among Jason Momoa's favorite Hawaiian foods. It's not on the menu at La Mariana Sailing Club, but tiki drinks are, along with views of the volcanic Diamond Head. The zombie, billed as a "mai tai on steroids," is the drink that Bourdain knocked back at La Mariana Sailing Club. If you don't have the fortitude for a skull full of five rums, you can sip a regular mai tai at what he called "one of the few remaining old-school, original non-ironic tiki bars left in Hawaii."

In Hawaii, two of the three restaurants where Anthony Bourdain dined on "Parts Unknown" have gone out of business. Town, the neighborhood joint where he ate with "The Mosquito Coast" author Paul Theroux, was first to close in 2020, though it's continued offering up some limited catering. After 45 years, Ethel's Grill shuttered in 2024, with an Instagram post promising it "will reopen somewhere new" in the future. For now, you'll have to find somewhere else to eat taco rice.

On Maui, at least, you can still chow down on the same plate lunches that Bourdain sampled at Tasty Crust. Chicken katsu, hamburger steak, and furikaki ahi all remain on the lunch and dinner menu. Ditto for the plate lunch's "most identifiable and essential feature," which is "a big scoop or two of white rice and potato mac salad," per Bourdain.

Tasty Crust has a sign out front advertising its "world famous pancakes." They're a breakfast staple that fill the entire plate at this roadside diner, which Honolulu Magazine profiled as one of Hawaii's oldest restaurants. It's your best bet for a "Parts Unknown"-inspired meal since Bourdain spent the rest of the episode learning about other aspects of Hawaiian culture. Despite its nickname, the Friendly Isle, he suggested that Molokai (where he bit into a live octopus brain) doesn't have a tourist-friendly reputation. "If you're watching this show," he said, "I hope your heart is swelling with admiration. But bottom line: Don't come here."