Coming up with a game plan for where we want to eat when we travel is where we focus much of our planning efforts. While it's fun to visit some of the more popular and touristy places, I like to dig a little bit deeper and find the smaller establishments that maybe only the locals or savvy travelers know about. Take it from me, folks, those little hideaways are where you can really find some amazing food, and that's how we found Diamond Head Market & Grill in Honolulu, Hawaii on the island of Oahu.
At first glance, Diamond Head Market & Grill is one of those unassuming locations that you are likely to not give a second glance unless you've done your research and already know that they serve up some mega tasty vittles.
Diamond Head Market is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner. We stopped by early in the morning after hiking up the Diamond Head tuff cone in search of a hearty meal. They serve up a traditional selection of Hawaiian breakfast dishes. A popular combination that you'll see all over the darn state of Hawaii is a scoop of rice, eggs cooked any style, a meat, and some kinda carb. Matt ordered his combo with over-medium eggs, Portugese sausage (another Hawaii favorite) and you see that lil' square of cornbread? Man was it tasty. It shouldn't even be called cornbread, it should be called corncake. It was so sweet and buttery and moist. I am typically not a fan of sweet cornbreads, but this one was just soooo delicious.
I ordered my combo with brown rice, scrambled eggs, and I chose ham as my meat. Something funny... I have no idea why I ordered scrambled eggs. I almost always order over-medium for two reasons. A: They are delicious. B: It takes a little extra skill to make the perfect over-medium egg, so it's a good way to score a restaurant's egg cookin' skillz. But since I was trying to pacify Jasper, who had just crumpled into a tantrum, the words "scrambled" came out of my mouth when Matt asked how I wanted my eggs cooked.
Yeah, that story really had no point.
The rice was very soft and not too sticky, so we decided to let Jasper try a bit of it. It was his first time having rice and to our surprise he seemed to really love it!
Oh, and we also tried the honey lemonade and plantation iced tea. I didn't care for the lemonade, but the tea was really something special. Sweetened with fresh pineapple juice in just the right ratios, it was so refreshing!
Orders for the grill are placed at the walk-up counter outside, but inside the shop you can find a large variety of prepared fresh food such as salads, sandwiches, wraps, sashimi, and poke as well as a cornucopia of delectable fresh baked goods. The bakery is where Diamond Head Market & Grill really shines, my friends. After trying the spectacular cornbread we knew we had to duck into the bakery and see what else was available, like an impressive menu of mouth-watering cakes and their daily rotating menu of famous scones.
Annnd that is how we discovered the best scone in the whole entire world ever. Seriously. Not exaggerating. I had done my homework and kept seeing the blueberry cream cheese scone mentioned over and over in a number of reviews, so I'd already made up my mind that that was the treat we needed to try. Buhhh... how do I even begin to describe this beauty? The fresh blueberries were equally and generously distributed throughout the scone. Generous bits of pure cream cheese helped cut the sweetness so it was not overly cloying. The dough itself was just absolute scone perfection. It was like a slightly sweet biscuit, more chewy than a cake, and it had so much flavor. Even if you left out the cream cheese and blueberries entirely, it would have still tasted amazing. The outside had a light browned crust with a crunch that was enhanced by a thin crusted glaze that enrobed the whole thing.
By the time we made our purchase the limited outdoor-only seating had completely filled up, so we sat in our rental car to share this monster. It was a good thing we were in the privacy of our vehicle, because I'm not sure the noises we were making would be considered polite in a public place.
So yeah, if you never take me up on any of the recommendations I've made on this blog, take me up on this one. Go to Honolulu, go to the Diamond Head Market & Grill and BUY THE BLUEBERRY CREAM CHEESE SCONE. Oh, and try the cornbread and plantation iced tea, too.
Diamond Head Market & Grill: 3158 Monsarrat Ave. Honolulu, Hawaii 96815 (808) 732-0077 www.diamondheadmarket.com
Seating: There are only a few picnic tables outdoors in front of the building and they fill up fast. Located right next to the parking lot next to a semi-busy street so you'll have to deal with road noise and exhaust smell. No indoor seating.
Parking: There is a small parking lot in front.
We have no affiliation with Diamond Head Market & Grill - we just wanted to share our experience with you guys!
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