Kauai 2014 (and where to eat)

hello! I'm back from vacation, and it was wonderful. Mr Official Taster, a couple friends, and I spent a week on the beautiful Hawaiian island of Kauai. The husband and I took the lazy, do-nothing approach, but our friends made up for it by hiking every day, snorkeling, and even going on a kayak trip.

Sitting on our lanai (porch), overlooking the ocean with my feet propped up on the railing, and reading was my preferred activity. Maybe sipping some iced tea or chilled wine. It was pretty great. Note: all of today's photos are from my iPhone, but for a few others taken with a grownup camera, check this other post

In case you or a friend visits Kauai, I thought I'd share the few places we found with some good vegan/special diet options. There are lots of places that offer locally raised meat and vegetables, but vegan options are pretty few and far between, unless you stick with salads.

We cooked for ourselves several times, but here are some places where we had good luck:

• Living Foods Market in Koloa. It's small and it's very pricey (even by island standards), but they seem to have good quality fresh food, and they bake bread every morning. They have a small selection of groceries, a coffee bar, a pre-made salad bar (think chicken and potato salads), and a small kitchen that makes pizzas, sweet and savory crepes, breakfast pastries and other light food. They have a few vegan groceries and some gluten free options as well. 
• Kukuiula Store in Koloa. It's pretty much across the street from Living Foods. It's larger and has a consequently larger grocery selection. It seems to have a lot of special diet stuff - I didn't take notes, but I remember seeing Ener-G Egg Replacer, Bob's Red Mill products, vegan cheeses and frozen desserts, and gluten free tortillas. There's also a juice bar in the back. Apparently, their butcher is well liked, and they sell the locally raised, grass-fed beef. I think they have better produce and special diet options than the local Big Save.

• Da Crack. Unfortunate name, but good Mexican food at reasonable prices. It's next door to Kukuiula Store. And anything you order is customizable, so you can avoid problem ingredients. There's no seating - it's just a take out window, but it's fast, fresh, and not a zillion dollars. 
• Merriman's Pizza and Burgers - It's the downstairs, casual, less expensive sister to the upstairs, white tablecloth fish house. They source their ingredients locally, and the menu tells you which farm they came from. They've got a vegan pizza (pretty good) and a portobello burger (didn't try) on the menu, and you can get any pizza on a gluten free crust. 
• Papayas in Kapaa. We didn't get there, but a server at Kauai Island Brewery & Grill recommended it. If we had time, we definitely would have tried it. The brewery was pretty meh in both food and drink. 

Have you visited Kauai? Any food recommendations to share?