It’s all about the view at this restaurant at the Four Seasons. Sit on a lanai (balcony) just above sea level and soak in the exquisite island sunsets. The menu, overseen by executive chef James Babian, pays homage to the bounty of the Pacific and the Big Island’s many farms and orchards. Sushi specialties, which can be ordered at the table or in the restaurant’s sushi lounge, included a fire and ice crab roll, with red king crab and spicy kampachi. A wood oven produces such mouth-watering options as whole lobster roasted with Meyer lemon and Big Island wild boar with local berry chutney. While most places on the Big Island are resort-casual, feel free to dress up a bit here.

A small window in front of The Tahiti Nui restaurant, this juice bar offers delicious creations and is a great stop in Hanalei. Those in need of caffeine should opt for the drink made from coffee, cinnamon and macadamia milk. Open Monday through Saturday from 7:30am to 1:00pm.

With a hidden location in the corner of Kukuiula Market, this juice bar offers a quintessentially laid-back Hawaiian experience. Young, local staff vigorously prepare smoothies, juice and acaí bowls in order to keep up with the high number of visitors. The oatmeal and chia pudding mason jars go quickly, so be sure to arrive early in the morning if you want something more substantial than a smoothie.

A decade out, the Who’s Who of Kauai’s north shore still comes to this north-shore small plates hot spot. Bar Acuda is the brainchild of Jim Moffat, an award-winning San Francisco chef who opened the restaurant after he moved to the island and couldn’t find a decent place to eat. The menu is tapas based, with such dishes as slow-braised short ribs and grilled pancetta-wrapped sea scallops. There are also a number of salads and lighter-fare items. His wine list—with vintages from around the world, many served by the glass—is one of the most comprehensive on Kauai. Foodies shouldn’t miss this experience.

This casual café is a local favorite and serves simple but delicious staples such as French toast at breakfast and Mahi burgers and fish n’ chips throughout the rest of the day. It also has a bakery.

There's nothing charming about the location of Coconut's Fish Café: located in a shopping plaza in busy Kihei, it is flanked by a diner and a tattoo parlor. However, the long lines attest to the fact that this unassuming little spot serves what many consider to be Maui's best fish taco, served with a delicious mango salsa. (Coconut's is in fact the go-to spot for various fresh, simply prepared seafood, from grilled mahi mahi to coconut shrimp.) Diners order at a counter, then sit at tables made from polished surfboards. There’s an excellent coffee shop a few doors down for a post meal caffeine fix.

Despite its hole-in-the-wall location in a strip mall, this Mexican joint draws visitors due to its mouthwatering burritos, tacos and nachos. There is no seating, so bring your food to the nearby beach to enjoy.

A Hawaiian version of ceviche, poke is a salad of raw fish, such as tuna, that has been cured in a dressing that typically includes soy sauce, sesame oil, seaweed and chili peppers. The best place to find poke on the Big Island is this little storefront tucked into a nondescript set of condos. The lunch special comes in Styrofoam container with rice and another side, like Korean kimchi. Visitors staying in houses and villas swing by before it closes at 6pm to pick up poke to serve as an appetizer before dinner. There is nothing fancy about this place, but foodies can’t stop raving about it.

This family-style restaurant, located on a somewhat nondescript street in Honolulu’s Chinatown, offers live music, attentive owners and consistently excellent French-Vietnamese cuisine, for a dining experience that excels on all levels. It is the perfect spot for a comforting meal of shrimp and papaya salad, lemongrass chicken and banana tapioca pudding.

The Four Seasons’ most formal dining room, Duo, is one of the finer restaurants on Maui. The mostly steak and seafood house features the exceptionally tender locally raised Kobe-style beef, island seafood and produce, and such comforting options as goat-cheese fritters and Maui onion soup with three-cheese crust. The Duo tartare features both natural beef and locally fished snapper. Tropical flowers decorate the dining room and the tables, which are set with fine china, silver and crystal. Before dining, sit back with a flute of Champagne and take in the sunset over Wailea Beach.

Food-loving Honolulu has embraced the food truck craze with gusto and in 2011 some smart entrepreneurs organized a monthly event—the last Friday of each month—called Eat the Street. It is essentially a food truck rally in a parking lot, often with themes like Oktoberfest or Spicy. Check out the website for details on the next event.

One of the Four Season’s eateries, Ferraro's has an unbeatable seaside setting, with tables overlooking the ocean. Lunch includes a wonderful selection of seafood favorites, like ahi wraps and lobster sandwiches, while the dinner menu morphs into rustic Italian and the ambience is super romantic.

This food truck serves self-coined farm-to-beach–style fare like salads and wraps made using the island’s freshest ingredients. Visitors can enjoy the simple, local dishes at the picnic tables nearby. Closed Tuesday and Wednesday.

This wonderful neighborhood joint was founded in 1988 by Bev Gannon, former road manager for Liza Minnelli. After moving to Maui in 1980, she worked as a caterer until starting the Hali’imaile General Store in the middle of a pineapple field in the Upcountry. A half hour’s drive from Wailea, the little clapboard restaurant/general store is well worth the effort it takes to get there. Perhaps the fact that the Maui News voted Gannon the best chef on Maui some years ago says it all. Her menu is eclectic: crab pizza, a raw bar, macadamia-nut-crusted fresh catch, and Paniolo Ribs with mashed potatoes. In short, it puts a creative spin on Hawaiian regional cuisine, and everyone raves about it; our concierge at the Four Seasons called it a must. On any given night, at least a third of the customers are locals. Many sit at the bar, the neighborhood’s social center. After dinner, check out the regional art and pottery that comprise the general-store part of the restaurant. This not only is a good time but also gives you a glimpse of the scene in this part of the island.

A north shore institution on the banks of the Hanalei River since 1977—the longest continually operated restaurant on the north shore—the Dolphin is an excellent place to while away the afternoon under a big umbrella on the deck. The crab legs, fish burgers, calamari, and catch of the day are basic but delicious. Before leaving, don’t miss the adjacent fish market at the back; it sells the freshest fish in the world, sashimi and delicious clam chowder to go. A newer location is now in Poipu.

Katrina Markoff, the founder of Vosges Haut-Chocolat, recommends this hidden gem, “a hole in the wall off the beaten path that happens to be a James Beard award winner.” Stop by for lunch or an early dinner.

Situated on one of Oahu’s most beautiful beaches, Hoku’s has long been the restaurant of for Hawaii’s movers and shakers. Headed by executive chef Wayne Hirabayashi, the open kitchen lets you keep an eye on what’s cooking, though it’s difficult to tear yourself away from the sunset. Be sure to try the seafood tower with seven dipping sauces (it’s not on the menu, but you can request it) or the grilled island fish; and the dessert sampler is not to be missed. There’s also a “focus” menu every month, meaning that one ingredient, from asparagus to green tea, is featured in a variety of dishes. Note: men are requested to wear collared shirts and pants, not shorts. Women should wear “evening attire.”

Adored by locals, this shop is a favorite for its impressive selection of juices and smoothies. Kauai Juice Co. prides itself on its low carbon footprint: the shop's ingredients are harvested organically, juiced immediately, bottled the same day and meant to be consumed within three days. There is no solid food on the menu here, so grab a few juices and a poké bowl from the Fish Market to enjoy at the tables next door. When finished, return your juice bottles—the shop pays ¢50 for every bottle that is returned for reuse.

Chef Justin Smith, who trained at Michelin three starred restaurants in Europe, operates a mobile farm-to-table operation out of a state-of-the-art food truck. A sweeping white tent is set up on a grassy field in Hanalei, with most of the seating spoken for well before the communal tables are laid down. Bring your own beverage and enjoy inventive, fresh cooking that truly embraces the local, seasonal foods of Hawaii. Check the website in advance of your visit to see which nights the white tent will be awaiting guests. Kauai ONO 560 also provides private dining services.

A Hawaiian specialty, Ahi poké is made with raw ahi tuna marinated with soy sauce, green onions, sesame oil and sesame seeds, and this small, unassuming deli is serves some of the best on the island. The fish market also offers other lunch and vegetarian options. Closed Sundays.

Since it opened in 2012, the brightly decorated restaurant at the Fairmont Kea Lani has caught everyone’s attention, winning rave reviews. Ko means sugarcane in Hawaiian, and Chef Tylun Pang focuses on dishes handed down from Maui’s 19th Century sugar cane plantation era, and the various ethnic groups – Hawaiian, Filipino, Portuguese, Korean, Japanese and Chinese – that populated the island. Portuguese bean soup might be followed by Maui-raised beef ribs in Korean seasonings. Desserts include pão doce frito, fried Portugese sweet bread with coconut gelato and black raspberry jam. Ko also has a popular bar with tempting, not-too-sweet tropical cocktails.

Maui's best sushi and sashimi is served at this small but acclaimed restaurant, which is also one of Maui's most difficult spot to get into. Like many of the top sushi bars in Tokyo and Los Angeles, Koiso is tucked in the back of a non-descript shopping plaza in Kihei, and the well-lit dining room is nothing special. But the super-fresh, beautifully presented, traditionally prepared fish here is nothing short of extraordinary, and the rice alone will make sushi lovers weep. A white board behind chef Hiro-san lists the day's offerings but it is best to trust his picks and indulge in the omakase here, letting the chef decide on a combination of dishes. Koiso can seat about 15 people, so follow the advice of the locals who told me before my recent trip: "Call as soon as you know your dates on island and take whatever night and time they offer. It's that good."

This casual burger joint in Haleiwa is a North Shore tradition. In addition to the hamburgers, the fish burgers are fantastic. The secret ingredient: Vermouth, which may sound elevated but know to wear your flip flops and bathing suit as your fellow diners will be surfers.