Last Updated on August 15, 2019 by Larissa
The north coast of Oahu is festooned with trucks serving a local favorite: garlic shrimp. Visitors driving along the Kamehameha Highway to watch a surfing competition among the pounding waves of the North Shore will be hard-pressed not to stop once the heady aroma of sauteed garlic fills their car.
Perhaps the best known shrimp purveyor is Giovanni’s, which has been serving them up in Kahuku since 1993.We’re usually skeptical of famous food places but Giovanni’s shrimp truck lives up to its well-deserved reputation. But this is a “Hot Dog of the Month” story. How does Giovanni’s shrimp truck serve the best hot dog too?
The hot dogs (and shrimp) are cooked in a sublime lemon/olive oil/butter/garlic sauce with chunks of caramelized garlic and are the best we’ve ever tasted. In lieu of a roll, the hot dogs are served with rice drizzled with, you guessed it, garlic oil. The exterior of the hot dog is crispy and has a bite to it like New York deli franks, just how we like it.
After eating this hot dog it’ll be hard to taste any others without wondering why they weren’t sauteed in fresh garlic. We thought we’d miss eating a dog in a bun but it worked out just fine with the rice. As a remembrance of your visit, Sharpie markers are available to add your name to the many thousands of customers who have signed the circa 1953 bread delivery truck before you.
Oh, and the shrimp are pretty good too. We tried garlic shrimp at several other trucks during our sojourn to the North Shore of O’ahu and liked Giovanni’s the best. (Note: You better like garlic though.)
But you don’t have to take our word for it. Here are the 4-star reviews of Giovanni’s Shrimp Truck on Yelp.
Visiting Giovanni’s Shrimp Truck:
Main location: 56-505 Kamehameha Highway, Kahuku, HI 96731 (Second location: 66-472 Kamehameha Highway,Haleiwa, HI 96712)
Hours: Daily, 10:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. in Kahuku.
Prices: Shrimp scampi, $13.50; jumbo garlic hot dog, $3.50.
Web: www.GiovannisShrimpTruck.com
And since you made it this far, you may as well drive a bit farther north and take in a surfing competition on Oahu’s North Shore while enjoying your garlic hot dog.
We’re global nomads who have been traveling the world since 2011 seeking off-beat, historic and tasty sights. To receive monthly updates and valuable travel tips subscribe here.
