Oakberry Acai Bowls Now in Kapolei Commons

Oakberry began in 2016 in Brazil and now its acai bowls are served at over 600 operating stores in over 35 countries. Oakberry uses USDA organic-certified acai and are vegan, high in antioxidants, gluten-free, and trans-fat-free. Located at the Kapolei Commons, their signature blend contains no added juices, sweeteners, ice, or fruit like bananas or apples. 

There is a variety of signature preset selections on the menu, but you can also build your own bowl or smoothie and add an unlimited number of toppings! There's a ton of delicious choices ranging from fruits, nuts, seeds, proteins, and more. We opted for the signature Original acai bowl with granola, peanut butter, banana and the Create your own classic 12 oz acai bowl with chia seeds and peanut butter.  

Signature menu

Create your own menu

Located next to Aloha Salads

The shop itself is bright and the service was great. There is some counter seating inside the shop and a couple of tables outside. They are open Monday through Friday from 10am and 9am on Saturday and Sundays.

Oakberry Acai 
4450 Kapolei Pkwy, Ste 104

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Crumbl

When Crumbl opened up in Kapolei a couple of years ago, I was given a coupon for a free 4-pack of cookies.  

I love cookies - but I am all for just the straightforward ones - even a simple chocolate chip.  I'm not too fond of the stuffed, iced, or highly embellished cookies - although I will try them.  

Because Crumbl offers more of the fancier cookies, I was hesitant to try them, but was happy to see they offered classic cookies.

Milk Chocolate Chip

Chocolate Cake Batter

Original M&M PB Chocolate

Classic Pink Sugar

The cookies are large and sharable, and more cakey than I liked (just like @deniset73 warned me). 

My kids enjoyed them, although I thought they were just okay, but if you love fancy cookies, you'll love Crumbl.

If I do go back, I definitely will try the Minis instead.

Crumbl

4480 Kapolei Pkwy Ste 277

Kapolei, HI 96707

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Village Bottle Shop & Tasting Room - Kapolei

I recently met @deniset73 at the just-opened Village Bottle Shop & Tasting Room in Kapolei.  We didn't got there for the alcohol (although maybe next time we should!) - I really just wanted the Beef Tallow Fries.  

Beef Tallow Fries

I enjoyed the fries, and you can opt for a number of sauces, and we chose the Village house sauce.  I definitely want to try other sauces next time.

Dirty Fries

I also ordered the Dirty Fries, which came with caramelized onions, cheddar, and Village sauce.  The employee likened it to "Animal Style Fries" from In-N-Out.  They sure didn't skimp on the toppings!

I feel like the Village Sauce overpowered the rest of the toppings, so I actually liked the plain Beef Tallow Fries more - sometimes simple is best!  

Simple Smash Burger

West Side Chicken

Denise had the Smash Burger, and I had the West Side Chicken Sandwich, which consisted of chicken tenders, kale slaw, BBQ sauce, tomato, lettuce, and cracked pepper mustard bacon.  It was a large sandwich, and I could only finish half.  I thought the chicken itself was okay, and I especially loved the cracked pepper mustard bacon - I think pieces of that bacon would go great on the Dirty Fries!

We sat outdoors and in was exceptionally windy that day, so it was difficult to eat as we had to hold down trays and napkins with one hand while trying to eat a sandwich or burger with another.  After we finished eating, we saw a server pull down a shade to help limit the wind due to another table's request.  They don't normally pull down the shade because it can get really hot in the area, but it was good to know that the shade could be pulled down for very windy days.

I thought the service was very friendly and welcoming, and I feel like Village Bottle Shop & Tasting Room would be a great spot for pau hana.  


Village Bottle Shop & Tasting Room - Kapolei
4450 Kapolei Pkwy Suite 278

Kapolei, HI 96707

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Crumbl Cookies in Kapolei

Crumbl Cookies opened their highly anticipated first location in the islands a couple months ago in the Kapolei Commons.  Locally owned and operated, the cookie shop serves up their extra large cookies every day except Sunday from 8am.  Their cookie menu changes weekly and offers 4-5 different specialty flavors, but you'll always find their Milk Chocolate Chip in the cookie line-up.

My daughter, Lauren, favors Crumbl's chilled cookies, but I am not a fan of the texture.  She also really likes cookie dough and I do not so maybe that is the correlation.  I like the served warm cookies much better, but they are also hit or miss for me.  At the same time, I enjoy trying them all to see what I like.  This time, I really enjoyed their Maple Cinnamon Roll and the Buckeye Brownie that was topped with buckeye peanut butter and melted semi-sweet chocolate.  YUM!

To skip the long lines, you can download their app and order ahead for pick up.  We picked up mid-week in the evening and got through the line in no time.  You can purchase single cookies and they also come in their signature pink boxes of 4, 6, or 12.  They also offer a mini size for catering orders.  

Crumbl might not be for you if you don't like soft, super sweet cookies, but they sure are fun to try and fun to gift.  I just wish the Kapolei location served their ice cream, Crumbl cream, which is the real star of the show.

Crumbl Cookies
4450 Kapolei Parkway, Suite 277
Kapolei, HI 96707

  

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Food-A-Go-Go Week Specials at Kapolei Commons!

Pizzas at Mad Bene

Last night Hawaii Mom Blog attended the dine around media event for Kapolei Commons featuring Food-A-Go-Go Week participating restaurants Mad Bene, DB Grill, La Tour Cafe, and Paniolos!  Check out their Food-A-Go-Go specials below!

MAD BENE Lasagna Al Forno -  a mushroom ragu, truffle bechamel, ricotta salata, and 6 yr old balsamic vinegar.

DB GRILL Kona Kampachi - Featuring 2K Farms ginger and scallion. 

LA TOUR CAFE Falafel Banh Mi - Falafel, harissa hummus, firecracker sauce, pickled carrot & daikon, avocado, cucumber, cilantro.

PANIOLOS Paniolo Steak Bowl - Grass-fed local beef slow cooked in chipotle peppers and adobo sauce, topped with lettuce, homemade beans, tomatillo salsa, corn salsa, and salsa fresca.

Food-A-Go-Go Week started March 23 and will run through April 6.  Local businesses and restaurants participating will have a special menu or local products avaialble for customers to purchase/order for fine-in or take out.  Food-A-Go-Go Week will join a year-long public awareness campaigned called Localicious® Hawaii that highlights restaurants and businesses that use locally sourced ingredients or products in their offerings. Proceeds of this campaign will benefit Hawaii Agricultural Foundation (HAF) K-12 ag education programs, which have served over 18,000 students since 2014. 

Find participating restaurants and businesses here.

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Take Out from Mad Bene

Mad Bene is one of my new favorite restaurants.  When I dined there earlier in the year, I loved everything, and I recently ordered takeout from this Kapolei eatery.

Crispy Potato Guy

Chicken Parm

NYC Pizza

Tagliatelle Alla Dogana

I've had the NYC Pizza and Crispy Potato Guy before - delish!  The NYC Pizza is just loaded with Ezzo Pepperoni, and the Crispy Potato Guy is so addicting - I could eat the entire thing myself!

I love Tagliatelle, and this pasta dish was full of mushrooms (I love mushrooms!).  The Chicken Parm was so flavorful!

Mad Bene is open for dine-in, or curbside pick-up is available.



Mad Bene
4450 Kapolei Pkwy #540

Kapolei, HI 96707
(808) 744-7400

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Young's Fish Market x Lanai Collab - Chinese-Style Oxtail Lau Lau

Beginning March 6, you can order Chinese-Style Oxtail Lau Lau at Young's Fish Market (both Kapolei Commons and City Square locations). This special dish is a collaboration between Young's Fish market and Cooking Hawaiian Style's Lanai Tabura.

The 1 pound lau lau is full of tender, flavorful oxtail.  It's enormous!  It's perfect with a side of rice or poi, lomi salmon or mac, and your choice of poke.

I can't wait to see what other Lau Lau creations they will come up with next!

Young's Fish Market

Kapolei Commons

4480 Kapolei Pkwy #600

Kapolei, HI 96707

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Mad About Mad Bene

We drove 27 miles to try Mad Bene in Kapolei Commons, and we'd do it again in a heartbeat!

Mad Bene, brought to you by the owners of the popular nightspot Duck Butt in Kakaako, offers East Coast Italian fare in a spacious setting with reasonable prices.  

Since Gem was traveling in the second half of December, I thought for sure I would get down here before she did, but as it turns out, she beat me to it! Click here to read about her experience.

First of all, make a reservation before you go. We arrived at 5:15 for our 5:30 pm reservation, and we overhead the front desk telling other people that the wait time for a table was over 1 1/2 hours.  Yikes! Although, I would say it's worth the wait, especially if you traveled across the island like how we did.  But really, just go to their website now and book your reservation.  And may I suggest gathering a group of friends to go with you so that you can order a bunch of dishes to share.  Final tip - tell your friends to be on time. They won't seat you until your ENTIRE party is present.

If you are interested in the kids menu, ask your server. They don't have print outs of the kids menu.  Our kids have simple tastes, so we ordered the spaghetti and cheese pizza for them. They gave two thumbs up for both!

kids spaghetti

kids cheese pizza

The rest of us decided to order a bunch of dishes to share, because everything on the menu sounded delicious. Here's what we tried:

spaghetti and meatballs

pappardelle bolognese

N.Y.C.

fusilli pesto 

crispy potato guy

Every dish was amazing!  If I had to choose my favorite dish for the evening, it would be the pappardelle bolognese. They executed this classic dish perfectly.  And in case you were wondering, they make their pastas in-house! 

MAD BENE

4450 Kapolei Pkwy

(808) 744-7400

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La Tour Cafe - Kapolei

After spending a little over an hour at the Touch a Truck event at Kapolei Commons, we were all hungry and in need of a place to sit. Since La Tour Cafe was within walking distance, we headed there for lunch.

A lot of other people had the same idea, as the place was pretty busy, but we managed to find a table for the four of us in the air-conditioned seating area inside the restaurant. Although there was a line of customers before us, the line moved at an acceptable rate and the food arrived sooner than I had expected!

The hubby ordered the French Dip sandwich. It must have been good because he kept asking me if I wanted to try it. 

I was in the mood for something lighter, so I ordered the chicken pesto panini. I was expecting the chicken to be chunkier....

One of our twins wanted the Mac & Cheese - he gave it two thumbs up.  

The other one wanted crispy chicken tenders - they sure were crispy. He enjoyed them with ketchup.

I was impressed with the speed of service considering they were busy from the Touch a Truck event right outside. I would definitely come here again, but would probably skip the chicken pesto panini for something else on the menu (the Bulgogi Burger looks pretty amazing on Yelp!).

La Tour Cafe - Kapolei 

Kapolei Commons

4450 Kapolei Parkway #530

(808) 888-2220

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La Tour Cafe Kapolei

Our family recently dined at the Kapolei La Tour Cafe (they have a bar!).

La Tour Salad

Chicken Pesto

Pepperoni

We devoured a couple of yummy pizzas! My middle son loved the Chicken Pesto Pizza (the combo of pesto, chicken, tomatoes, and red onions is sure delish!), and my oldest and youngest sons (who are not as food-adventurous) ate up the Pepperoni Pizza.

Of course, La Tour Cafe has delicious desserts, but we were on our way to an event, so we skipped dessert.  Fortunately, at the event there were La Tour Cafe macarons!

La Tour Cafe

Kapolei Commons
4450 Kapolei Pkwy #530

Kapolei, HI 96707

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DB Grill

After going to an early-morning movie nearby, we headed to DB Grill for lunch.

Bulgogi Bi Bim Bap

DB Teri Burger

Ramen Fried Chicken Sandwich

Chicken Karaage

Fish Taco

Shredded Chicken Taco

I ordered the Ramen Fried Chicken Sandwich.  It was really tasty, and the chicken was juicy and tender.  The crust was surprisingly soft - I expected it to be somewhat crunchy.  The chicken was topped with an Asian slaw and miso honey mustard, but the veggies underneath the chicken caused the bottom bun to be really soggy.  It was a good sandwich, however.

The DB Teri Burger was huge.  It was topped with a fried egg, bulgogi sauce, fried onions, caramelized onions, and Swiss cheese.

The Bulgogi Bi Bim Bap consisted of Korean namul fried rice, veggies, egg, and chojang.

Because we dined on Cinco de Mayo, DB Grill offered single tacos on special.  One of my sons ordered a Shredded Chicken Taco and a Fish Taco.  Unfortunately, the tortillas on both tacos were falling apart so they were quite difficult to eat.

There are no kids menus, but familiar kid-friendly fare can be found on the regular menu (e.g. Chicken Karaage, Spaghetti).  The service was great, and overall the food was good.

DB Grill
4450 Kapolei Pkwy #560

Kapolei, HI 96707
(808) 376-0885

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