Food at Postcards is Worth Writing Home About

Postcards Cafe
5-5075 Kuhio Hwy # A
Hanalei, HI 96714
808.826.1191
www.postcardscafe.com

I've eaten at Postcards at least a half a dozen times. Sometimes I'm taken with it, sometimes I'm not and don't return for a while. I decided it had been long enough so went back last night, and I'm glad I did.

Postcards offers a good selection of vegan and vegetarian dishes - most all using organic ingredients that come from the island. The result is fresh, flavorful plates with a local flair.
I began with a portobello mushroom cap (above) filled with spinach, onions, corn and white cheddar cheese. As the server noted, it was kind of like a pizza on a big mushroom. It was a substantial starter. The ingredients melded together into a rich mash of goodness.
I'm not a big tofu eater, but the grilled tofu (above) with garlic potatoes, ginger carrots and broccoli was fabulous. The tofu was firm and dry, which worked perfectly with the sweet peppered pineapple sage sauce. The ginger carrots looked a bit like baby food, but were out-of-this-world. The carrots really just provided a base to carry the ginger.

More traditional fare included the Francesca pasta (above), fussili with sun-dried tomatoes, mushrooms, and Kalamata olives sauted in a spicy sherry marinara sauce. It was puttanesca with a twist, slightly more tangy and sweeter with less bite.
Postcards sits in a charming cottage. The original building was constructed in the 1860s and once served as the Hanalei Museum, but 1992's Hurricane Iniki did it in. It was carefully rebuilt as an exact replica of the original in 1996 and has been Postcards Cafe ever since.

Postcards is open nightly from 6 to 9 p.m. Reservations are taken only for parties of four or more.

Vic Falls Hotel Needs to Focus Less on Dress, More on Food

Livingstone Room
Victoria Falls Hotel
2 Mallett Drive
Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe
263.13.44751
www.africansunhotels.com

The Livingstone Room of the Victoria Falls Hotel looks lovely - a grand ballroom decorated in deep red with glorious high ceilings. The diners look good too as the dress-code is strictly enforced. During a late-August visit, the host eyed each guest up and down, checking for collared-shirts, socks, dress shoes, and slacks for men, sending some away from the nearly empty dining room. While the goal may be to preserve the elegance of dining room at this "grand old lady of the Falls," the attention would be better placed elsewhere, such as on the quality of the food.

While the dinner presentation was attractive, the quality left much to be desired. I realize the challenges that Zimbabwe faces and that many people would love to have any food to put on the table, but the expectations are set high here as are the prices. Expect a two-course dinner to run $40 a person without wine. My money would have been better spent grabbing a sandwich and feeding some people outside on the street.
The meal started out well enough, with a cream-based corn soup that was mild in flavor (above).


A tomato and greens salad was rather skimpy and the tomato was bland (above).

The big failure was the risotto entree. It came to the table looking so tasty with garnishes of greens and cheese and as though it had a bounty of flavors, but it needed a good 10 minutes more cooking time. It was simply inedible. The host checked on the entree about five minutes after it was served as it sat on my plate untouched except for one bite. He did little more than say, "Oh," when I mentioned that it was undercooked to the point it was impossible to eat.

Go look at the hotel, marvel at the views and see the Livingstone Room. But don't waste money eating there. If you need an alternative, try the hotel/casino next door that makes a tasty grilled cheese sandwich.

Update: On October 15, I found the following on a booking website for the hotel. "As a result of many requests from visitors, The Victoria Falls Hotel has decided to relax aspects of the long-standing dress code in force in its premier dining venue, The Livingstone Room. This is in recognition of the fact that many travelers do not bring with them the more formal clothes that have until now been mandatory in this restaurant. Smart casual wear is now acceptable in The Livingstone Room at dinner each evening." Unfortunately, fixing the food will be a bit more difficult.