I was totally sunburned after our walk under the bright sun to the petroglyphs. Oops.
Well, you know what goes with Hawaiian sunburn?
Hawaiian wine!
Luckily, there's a little winery just past Volcanoes National Park, on the Kona side. Yay! It's also the southernmost winery in the US. So we stopped in.
Honestly, I can't get all that excited about Volcano Winery's wines. They are dealing with a lot of the same problems here that our Texas wineries have (well, not the frosts, exactly, but the heat), and are importing a lot of their juice from California. Their guava wine is kind of fun, but pretty sweet. Matter of fact, their wines generally reminded me of some of our Texas wines - lots of sweetness and fruit, not a lot of complexity.
We hopped back in the car and drove the several hours to Kona, winding on roads where the speed limit is 35 but it's more prudent to go 30. We only got a little lost trying to find our hotel, and then drove into town to one of the few places open at 9, Quinn's Almost By the Sea. Logan was in the mood for some local fish.
Quinn's is actually a bit bigger than it looks from the road - they have an outdoor seating area in back. I'd heard it's kind of dirty, and it is a bit, but no more so than any outdoor seating area like this.
It doesn't face the ocean, but we didn't really care. Parking is kind of treacherous, by the way!
Logan was super-excited to see a special of ono (wahoo!) cooked 2 ways, one simply grilled and served with homemade tartar sauce on the side and one sauteed with onions and mushrooms. Surprisingly, both were really, really good, and satisfied our craving for straightforward food. The place is definitely 80's-fabulous - look at that plating! This special was $25.95 and really, realistically, is more than enough for 2 people.
But I got an order of steamed clams, which were totally swimming in butter (and tastiness), and we split everything. A real treat.
Quinn's drinks were really good (and strong!) especially their Mai tais, so we decided to end the meal with one last drink. I ordered a Blue Hawaiian and Logan got a lava flow. Which drink do you think is girlier? (I vote Logan's!) But which is more ridiculous?
I actually really liked Quinn's, hilarious after-dinner drinks aside, and I'd go back. It's not fancy dining, exactly, and it is a bit pricy, but you're in freaking tourist-hell Kailua Kona, for Jack's sake. You could do an awful lot worse (as we found out Labor Day morning, UGH).
Quinn's Almost by the Sea (no website). 75-5655 Palani Rd, Kailua Kona, HI. 808. 329.3822.
(I love how one of the 1-star reviews on TripAdvisor is by the guy who tried the cobb salad and the pastrami sandwich. WTH is wrong with people?)
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