Family-run Café Haleiwa on the North Shore has been making waves recently with the addition of a dinner menu that changes monthly to follow fresh ingredients from local farms. Next door to the restaurant is Bonzer Front Wine Cellar, co-owned and run by sisters Megan Campbell and Noelle Hayes, where wines, spirits and beers are sold to patrons to accompany their dinners. While the menu varies from homemade gnocchi with roasted kabocha squash, mushrooms and sage with amaretto-cream sauce to tangerine Bavarian pie with bay leaf syrup, these items never last too long, so be sure to try them all before the next round appears! [Read]

• Café Haleiwa, 66-460 Kamehameha Hwy.,
• Mon.-Sun. 7AM-2PM, Wed.-Sat. 6PM-10PM,
• 637-5516

Let director Bob Bates take you into the mud (figuratively, of course) along with O‘ahu’s farmers, chefs, kids, volunteers and food heroes in his film Ingredients Hawai‘i. “Hawai‘i’s relationship with food has everything to do with the cultures here,” Bates says, which is why he himself got down and dirty weeding and planting taro during filming. Get in the spirit with a pre-screening reception to keep your mouth from watering or your stomach from growling in the theater. [Read]

• Mamiya Theater, St. Louis School, 3142 Wai‘ale Ave.,
• Sat., 2/4, 5:30PM, VIP reception, food, cocktails and discussion for the world premiere at 7PM, $45,
• Second screening at 9PM, $5-$12

New children’s book series Coco & Apples is an innovative way to teach young kids how to make popular international cuisines ranging from macaroni and cheese to miso soup and risotto. The books, created by Honolulu-born designer and chef Raynard Oasay and SoCal native and artist Gisselle Barrientos, are available for download in .epub, .pdf, and .mobi formats online. [Read]

• Visit cocoapples.com for more information

A new bill introduced to the state legislature by Sen. Josh Green is seeking truth in labeling of the coffee sold in Hawai‘i. SB2097, drafted by the Kona Coffee Farmers Association, would require every bag of roasted coffee to list where each type of coffee it contains was grown as well as its percentage by weight in descending order. The hope for the bill is that it will clarify to customers that when labels read “10% Kona Coffee Blend,” that doesn’t mean the other 90 percent is grown locally. [Read]

Chocolate Festival Roadshow
The Hawai’i Chocolate Festival Roadshow is coming to town, just in time for Valentine’s Day! Try some locally grown chocolates, pick up recipe cards and enter to win tickets to the off-the-road Hawai’i Chocolate Festival.

• Windward Mall, Center Court, 46-056 Kamehameha Hwy.,
• Sun., 2/12, 11AM-3PM, 235-1143

Got Poke?
Hawai‘i’s star pupu will get its time to shine at the inaugural Sam Choy’s Keauhou Poke Contest on Sun., 3/18, a competition that celebrates delectable and locally sourced fish with four divisions, one of which includes culinary fun. Seaweed, seeds, herbs, spices, nuts, marinades, tofu or fruit flourishes? It’s all up to you. The competition will offer over $10,000 in cash and prizes and is open to both amateurs and professionals.

• Sheraton Keauhou Resort and Spa, Kona
• Entry deadline is Tue., 2/28;
• Contest is on Sun., 3/18

A Nobu Valentine
Nobu Waikīkī at the Waikīkī Parc Hotel has announced a delectable seven-course Valentine’s Day menu that will be available starting Tue., 2/14. Head chef Robin Lee partners with sushi chef Yoshio Ono and pastry chef Rachel Murai to create an exquisite menu, featuring Siberian cavier, karashi su miso, seared hotate tiradito with dashi-infused zucchini and mochi yuba. And that’s just the beginning; then, indulge in kampachi sashimi salad with soy-onion dressing. After assorted sushi and lobster miso soup, finish with burnt caramel ice cream, halzelnuts and orange zest.

• Nobu Waikīkī, 2233 Helumoa Rd.
• Starting Tue., 2/14, ($140 per person) 237-6999, opentable.com, noburestaurants.com

Vintage Steak
An eight-ounce vintage New York steak for only $12! Taste beef the way it is meant to be served. Includes a selection of rustic red wine pairings.

• Wine tasting at 6pm.
• Vino, Restaurant Row, 500 Ala Moana Blvd. Suite 6 D-1
• Thu., 2/2, (6pm) Reservations required. 524-8466

Find Prosperity–But No Peeking!
Celebrate the Year of the Dragon with a special and secretive gift from P.F. Chang’s. In honor of the half-a-month long Chinese New Year celebration, P.F. Chang’s will award visitors dining in with a special red envelope containing an unknown reward. But you aren’t allowed to open it! Not until your next visit, that is, when the server will open the envelope and reveal its mysterious contents. All rewards must be redeemed by Sun., 3/4.

• P.F. Chang’s, 2201 Kalakaua Ave. and 1288 Ala Moana Blvd.
• Mon., 1/23–Mon., 2/13,
• pfchangshawaii.com, 628-6760, 596-4710

When Pigs Fly
For starters, salt baked beets with raspberries, lardo, horseradish creme fraiche and mint; then salmon with fennel, kaffir lime and salmon chiccharrons; and of course there’s pork belly with quail eggs; and Mama Le’s signature soup (jidori chicken, nairagi, pig cracklins and hand cut rice noodles).

• The Pig and The Lady, 324 Coral St. (inside Hank’s Haute Dogs)
• Sat., 2/5 at 7:30pm and Sun., 2/6 at 10pm, $55, BYOB, e-mail for reservations at pigandthelady@gmail.com

Hawaiian Plate
Live music from Grammy-winning guitarist Jeff Peterson, drummer Stacy Tangonan and bassist John Kolivas accompanies a lū’au supper at the Punahou Carnival.

• Punahou School, 1601 Punahou St.,
• Fri., 2/3, 4-7PM, 944-5711

Did Someone Say Chutney?
While you’re at the carnival munching on your favorite snacks, pick up a copy of The Carnival Cookbook, To Breakfast and Beyond to learn how to make them year-round.

• Punahou School, 1601 Punahou St., Fri.,
• 2/3 and Sat., 2/4, 11AM-11PM, 944-5751

Romance in France!
Since Valentine’s Day falls on a Tuesday, be sure to take advantage of Du Vin’s special Tuesday half-off bottles promotion as the staff gladly guides you to your ideal bottle of wine. A four-course dinner includes red beet bisque with a herb and goat cheese tuile, crusted ahi with a maitake mushroom and soy beurre blanc. After grilled pork tenderloin with roasted potatoes, top off the meal with the chocolate lover’s torte—a rich chocolate mousse made with meringue and buttercream layers.

• Brasserie Du Vin, 1115 Bethel St. (across Hawaii Theatre)
• Tues., 2/14, $75 with wine pairing, $45 without wine pairing,
• brasserieduvin.com, 545-1115