Cinco de Mayo revelers looking for the most lively and delicious fiesta on Hawaii Island made a fast track to On the Rocks (OTR). Live music , hula and prize-winning contests – including the annual jalepeno-eating challenge – along with Chef Carlos Nava’s delicious Mexican specials all created a convivial, sun-in-the fun atmosphere.

After sunset, the party really took off with dancing into the night. Our fabulous servers delivered it all up with big smiles and even bigger aloha!

If you missed it, we will do it all again next year! In the meantime, we look forward to welcoming you to On the Rocks in the heart of Kailua-Kona!

Adios amigos, until next year!

For the biggest and best Cinco de Mayo Fiesta on Hawaii Island, make a fast track to On the Rocks (OTR) on the waterfront in the heart of Kailua-Kona! Live music by Big Boy Kamaka from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m., followed by Brian Vasquez from 6:30 to 10 p.m. – don’t forget your dancing shoes! Huggo’s and OTR Sous Chef Carlos Nava has re-created some of his most cherished family recipes to put together a menu to delight even the most jaded Mexican food palates.

Start out with his Ono Ceviche and Tortilla chips with Quacamole and/or Salsa followed by Homemade Chile Verde Tamales with Rice and Salad – it’s a winning combo. Beef and Fish Tacos also will be featured. Chef Carlos is committed to sourcing only the very best local ingredients and preparing them with care – bold, tasty and delicious are his trademarks!

To complement his specialties, enjoy Pacifico & Negro Modelo beers on draft; $4 Margaritas on the Rocks (with a float of Blue Curacao add $1) and then get ready for fun – prizes for the Best Mexican Hat, Best Mexican Outfit and the winner of our annual Jalapeno Eating Contest!

See you Sunday and, in the meantime, mucho gusto from all of us at On the Rocks!

Have you been by lately? If not be sure to check out the new tables and chairs on the upper level and the even newer tall chairs at the u-shaped bar and high boy tables. They all make munching and imbibing in some of the most tasty and refreshing tropical concoctions on-Island that much more enjoyable.

We look forward to welcoming you to On the Rocks soon and showing off our spiffy new furnishings! Remember, happy hour daily from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m.; spectacular sunsets complimentary!

Sparkling ocean vistas, a luxury cruise ship anchored just off-shore and ocean activities galore at On the Rocks today in the heart of Kailua-Kona! Para-sailers, stand up paddlers and a honu (Hawaiian Green Sea Turtles) or two or three stopped by during lunch today to thrill the crowd of diners.

Wish you were here…but wait, it’s not too late! Remember happy hour is every day between 3 pm and 6 pm with a new menu of adult beverages and pupus specially priced during these hours. Be sure to stop by and try some of Chef Carlos’ fabulous beef and fish tacos, sliders and more! The food and cocktails are delish and the views are spectacular. See you soon!

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A New World mystique hovers over Hawaii’s vast and varied namesake isle. While “The Big Island” moniker may overwhelm, Hawaii Island can be easily explored in baby steps. Take enough steps—or drive enough miles—and you can circumnavigate the isle in a day (if you’re really keen), or conquer its peaks, cascading creeks, and sea in a one-week trip. Armed with a map and a compass—or an app—here’s how to tackle the tropical island like a regular Captain Cook.

First things first: a lay of the land. While some flights head for Hilo, most major carriers land in Kona—part city, part seaside town, and one of the driest spots on the island. North of Kona along historic lava flows, the Kohala Coast hosts resort-clustered shores. Upcountry, Hawaii Island’s cowboys roam in the shadow of the world’s two tallest mountains, Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa (…if you measure from the sea floor to the peaks). On the East side is Hilo’s lush and foliage-shrouded waterfalls, and as you move down to South Point—the Southernmost point in the USA—you’ll pass Kilauea, one of the world’s most active volcanoes adding over 500 acres of molten magic to the island since 1983.

Indispensible Tip: Rent a car for optimum exploration.

Where to Stay

A brood of Big Island hotels hangout in Kona; resort life unfolds along the nearby Kohala Coast; and inns and small bed and breakfast outposts are scattered over Orchid Isle’s side streets. To get a sense of all three, we recommend starting with a bird’s eye view of Western shore at the six-room coffee-estate-slash-barefoot-retreat in Kona coffee country at the Holualoa Inn.

For a taste of the beach life (of the cottage variety), drive 40 minutes North and settle at the bottom of an 1890s flow where lava meets beach at the 2012-built, four-cottage Lava Lava Beach Club. Bonus, every night at 5 pm appetizers and cocktails are delivered to your porch in preparation for sundown. Finally, for a full-featured approach to vacationing, check into the Fodor’s Choice Fairmont Orchid to stay, spa, sip, savor, and swim under one (open-air) roof.

Where to Eat

Boasting 4 of the world’s 5 major climate zones, Hawaii Island’s garden-, farm-, and ocean-to-table fare is so fresh, some restaurants even advertise a 15-mile sourcing radius. Reeling in a boat load of fresh, Da Poke Shack quietly chops just-caught ahi seven days a week in a standing room-only lunch market visible only by a neon-colored sign and two picnic tables outside. The $10 poke bowl (we love the dynamite poke with avocados) is so mouth-watering and tender, you’re likely to join the school of regulars.

Another local favorite using the locavore approach (before it was even a thing) is Peter Merriman’s self-named outpost. One of the pioneers of Hawaiian regional cuisine, Merriman now transports his culinary handiwork from Waimea to other restaurants in the Kohala Coast, Maui, and Kauai. Try the wok-charred ahi (seared on the outside, sashimi-like on the inside) or the macadamia nut-crusted ono in a miso wine truffle reduction.

What to Do

Bubbling lava, black- and white-sand beaches, cascading waterfalls, awe-inspired lookouts, and every other natural wonder under the sun show off Hawaii’s many microclimates.

Plan a heart-pumping hike overlooking Pololu Valley’s steep and palm-packed cliffs, and trek downward to the rocky and wind-swept beach below; or, head to the Waipio Valley Lookout to shimmy on foot down a 25%-grade paved path (used by some locals and tours companies as a road, but beware, it’s not covered in many rental car agreements) to a black sand beach, and the boyhood home of famed Hawaiian King, Kamehameha I.

On the Hilo side, just North of Hawaii’s largest city, drive the 4-mile scenic route along one-lane bridges and Tarzan-tropical foliage—complete with vines that brush the top of your car—toward the Hawaii Botanical Gardens, then visit Akaka Falls, tumbling 442 feet into a steam-eroded gorge in the center of a rainforest.

Finally, the hot-ticket items: volcanoes and lava. An hour from Hilo, Kilauea continues to broil below the earth. An active cauldron of lava still bubbles at the peak, while at its base the Pu’u ‘O’o vent slowly flows, creating more mass, and an opportunity to map new ground like the explorers of old.

Insider Tip: For safety reasons, book a tour to see the Pu’u ‘O’o flow. There are no paved paths, and good physical condition is required to walk over the sometimes-unstable lava. Best viewing happens after sundown, so many tours walk home by flashlight.

Photo credits: Map of Hawaii Island courtesy of Hawaii Island; all other photos courtesy of author, Trish Friesen. Article originally published here: 
http://www.fodors.com/news/travel-guide-hawaii-big-island-6608.html?utm_medium=referral&utm_source=pulsenews 

Huggo’s and On the Rocks Executive Sous Chef Carlos Nava has just been awarded second place in the annual Sam Choy Poke Contest which is just wrapping up now at the Sheraton Kona Resort & Spa in Keauhou.

Kona Poke Pie

Chef Carlos’ winning dish was Kona Poke “Pie” — a tasty combination of Cubed Ahi, Onions, Guacamole, Aloha Shoyu, Won Ton Curls and Roasted Sesame Seeds.

Be sure to congratulate Carlos and his assistant Isaiah Freitas, cook at On the Rocks (our sister restaurant right next door to Huggo’s in the heart of Kailua-Kona) the next time you’re in.

Team Huggo's with Mayor Billy Kenoi

Hula at Huggos On the Rocks

Got Hula? We do here at On the Rocks nightly!

Stop by early evening (in time to catch our great sunsets, too) and enjoy – and maybe even participate in – the show. In this photo,  our beautiful dancer, Joy, performs with a few of her keiki (children) trainees!

Some evenings, something extra special happens when veteran hula masters in the audience spontaneously join Joy on stage or in the sand to dance the dance they do so well – not quite a flash mob, but much better!

Join us, you never know who might be among the crowd on any given night.

By: Margaret Kearns

Piano man Billy Joel dropped by for lunch on Wednesday with an unidentified woman friend much to the delight of General Manager (and big fan) Greg Peterson and their server, who scored an autograph from the iconic musician. According to Greg, Billy enjoyed one of the many grass fed Big Island beef burgers on offer (The Paddler) sans bun, while his guest chowed down on the fresh fish tacos.

Reportedly Billy was on-island to perform at a private party at Mauna Lani Resort’s Fairmont Orchid Hotel early this week.

Rock on Billy and come see us again soon!

The Sack Family enjoys an afteroon at On the Rocks

It’s Ski Week in Hawaii and families looking for warm, ocean fun and gentle trades rather than chilly slopes are flocking to the islands. Among those taking a break for a relaxing lunch at On the Rocks on the waterfront in Kailua-Kona were the Larry Sack family from Rhode Island.

Boy kine hula -- Michael left, Alex, right

The kids, Michael and Alex, gave big thumbs up to the beef nachos and tacos, while the adults noshed on the delicious Turkey Panini, Fresh Fish Tacos and Big Island Grown Beef Burgers. Great fun was had by all and we look forward to welcoming the family back again soon!

Michael Sack, left, with his Uncle Mike Sack, part-time hawaii Island resident.

By: Margaret Kearns

Deston, left, with Hawaii Island regular Kona Gidg and his girlfriend Bridget enjoying lunch at Lava Lava Beach Club

Frequent Hawaii visitor and freelance writer Deston Nokes shared one of his most recent travel stories with us featuring good words about us here at On the Rocks in Kailua-Kona. Just published in the daily The Oregonian newspaper, it reads in part:

“Then, just a short walk south along Ali’I Drive, kick off your shoes and enjoy the sand under your feet while sipping a drink at Huggo’s On the Rocks. If you time it right, you can relish another spectacular sherbet-colored sunset, while your forks clatter over a Mauna Kea Macadamia Nut Ice Cream Pie.”

What Deston didn’t mention was that ice cream pie indulgence was in honor of his birthday! Thanks for celebrating the special occasion with us Deston and mahalo for the kind words!

The group checks out one of the beach cottages at Lava Lava Beach Club

While he was here on island, Deston was also sighted with girlfriend Bridget enjoying good times up at our sister property – Lava Lava Beach Club at Waikoloa Beach Club – as pictured here.

Hurry back, Deston! We look forward to welcoming both of you back soon.

By: Margaret Kearns