My New Best Meal Ever

We'd heard all about these famous shrimp trucks on the North Shore of Oahu, but little did I know what I would discover when we finally made our way there. The "trucks" are converted mail trucks that serve up shrimp from the local shrimp farms in Kahuku. We first stopped at Giovanni's because we had heard they were one of the originals. Sure enough, when we got there, it became clear Giovanni's was THE shrimp truck to try. Cars lined up to turn right into the grass parking lot. A small tour bus pulled in behind us. A crowd of tourists hung around the two mail trucks leisurely; we were not quite sure if they were standing in line to order or to pick up. I had a flutter of that feeling like when you first go to Anna's Taqueria, when it seems like everyone but you knows what to do and you can't figure it out in time before you get to the tortilla warmer. After taking a minute to assess that nearly everyone was waiting to pickup, we made our way to the front and ordered the shrimp scampi, which seemed to be the house specialty, from a young blond high schooler. After a long wait, we indulged in a plate of hot, buttery, garlic shrimp and rice.


I looked around to see a young Japanese couple posing for pictures with their shrimp. Across from us, a very large girl around eight years old sucked the butter and garlic off every shrimp before pulling off the shells, slurping her Gatorade, ingesting each shrimp in one bite, and licking her fingers. A small bird hopped around, waiting for a bit of butter and rice.

Five napkins each, we were hooked and ready for more. Luckily, we had concocted what I thought was an ingenious plan: order only one plate from Giovanni's so we could visit a second truck, Famous Kahuku Shrimp Truck...


Even though it was the just next one up the road, this shrimp truck was different. There was no line turning off the main road, no tour bus, and no crowd waiting to pick up. Only one family, albeit a very large family, occupied the purple picnic tables, with a cooler of drinks from home. Where Giovanni's felt like an ice cream parlor on the Cape in August, this truck was quiet and calm. With no confusion about what line to stand in, we placed our order; this time is was a Korean style hot and spicy squid with shrimp scampi.


And there is was... the best meal I've had in recent memory. At first we took distinct bites of the two, but soon the buttery shrimp and spicy squid blended together to create a new sensation.


Off the beaten path in no way, it was simply the second truck up the road, yet 99% of the tourists missed it when they took that very first turn off Kamehameha Highway. Matt and I, on the other hand, happily sucked the butter and garlic off of every shrimp, scooped up every spot of spicy squid, slurped our Cokes, and licked our fingers. No scraps for begging birds here. Just two people contemplating a return visit the THE shrimp truck.