Some of the best food is often found in the most unassuming places: a greasy hole in the wall, a push cart, or, in this case, an old coconut shack across from Sunset Beach on Oahu’s North Shore.
Brothers Alex, Travis, and Koa Smith opened the last fall after 24-year-old Travis returned from a stint modeling in Manhattan. While in New York, he discovered the demand for superfood-enhanced drinks and began experimenting with recipes, selling his concoctions at farmers’ markets. “I got amazing feedback,” says Travis, “but at the end of the day, it wasn’t home for me.” So he moved back to Hawaii, slapped a fresh coat of paint on that shack, and got to work.
The tiny hut now serves up a variety of teas and coffees containing such purported wellness boosters as deer-antler velvet, chaga mushrooms, and Siberian ginseng to a long list of the area’s best professional surfers, including John John Florence, Jamie O’Brien, and .
Though drinks are their specialty, the brothers, who have no formal culinary training, also managed to create the perfect summer snack: a hollowed-out papaya filled with exotic fruits, almond butter, coconut, and bee pollen.
“Lots of places do great acai bowls,” says 22-year-old Koa, who’s also a pro surfer. “So we figured we’d try a papaya bowl instead. It’s really raw and beautiful.” Just like summer.
DIY Papaya Bowl
Can’t get to Oahu? Make this papaya bowl yourself.
Ingredients:
- 1 papaya
- 1 star fruit
- 1 handful granola
- 1 tablespoon
- almond butter
- 1 handful
- blueberries
- 1 handful goji
- berries
- 1 handful
- cacao nibs
- § banana
- Coconut shavings, bee pollen, and local honey to taste
پپDzԲ:Slice the papaya up the center and scoop out the seeds. Slice the star fruit and tuck one slice into each side of hollowed-out papaya. Fill papaya to just below the brim with the granola. Drizzle one spoonful of the almond butter over granola. Add blueberries, goji berries, and cacao nibs until full. Sprinkle on the coconut shavings and bee pollen. Place three slices of banana at the edge of each papaya half. Drizzle with honey and enjoy.