HAVE I BEEN SLEEPING UNDER A ROCK? @bananaramabakery was such a vibe, and the decor definitely lives up to the name. They're located in Pāhoa Town, and they're open 7 days a week. Now that I've been "exposed," I'll definitely have to stop here regularly. I had such an excellent "first-timer" experience, and I'm itching to eat through the entire menu. As a first-timer, I only got a few things because I wasn't sure what to expect. Here's what I got;
Banana Caramel Cake
Notes: OMG! There was only one slice left, so I'm glad I got it, but let me tell you, if a whole cake were available, I would've bought it, no questions asked! The banana caramel cake checked all the boxes! It was moist, flavorful, and balanced. It was sweet but not overly sweet, and that caramel frosting had a deep and rich flavor. This is one of the better cakes I've had in a while.
Rating: 10/10
Banana Cream Pie Cupcake
Thoughts: We ate our little haul outside, and I'm so glad we decided to eat there instead of taking it home to consume because after I ate this cupcake, I went right back in and ordered a dozen. OMG! The cupcake is a banana cupcake with a banana pudding center, topped with a rich vanilla frosting and a banana chip. Best CUPCAKE I've had in a long time! I'll be dreaming of these for sure. Who knows, maybe I'll swing by again today
Rating: 100/10
Lavender Lemonade
Thoughts: This was one of the BEST lemonades I've ever had. The lavender's floral notes of mint and rosemary really come through and paired beautifully with the vibrancy and tartness of the freshly squeezed lemonade. If you see this when you go, make sure to try it.
Rating: 10/10
Citrus Refresher (lemon, lime, lilikoi, and coconut)
Thoughts: I could talk for days, so I'll spare you all and keep things short. This is another MUST
Rating: 10/10
Tahitian Lime Bar & Liliko'i Lemon Bar
Thoughts: The flavor of each bar is perfect. The Tahitian lime and the lilikoi lemon flavors are undeniably tasty and accurate, I might add, but the crust didn't really do it for me. The crust on both bars was crumbly and didn't have a lot of flavor. Typically with good lemon or lime bars, you look for that sweet, buttery, and rich crust to counteract the tartness of the lemon/lime filling.
The crust is the make-it-or-break-it piece of the dish because, without a good crust, there's no cohesiveness, and that's what it felt like. It felt like the filling was one thing, and the crust was another. If @bananaramabakery can find a way to bring the two together, these would be delicious!
Rating: 6/10
These homemade strombolis, courtesy of @bananaramabakery, were insanely good! And when they say they make everything from scratch, they mean "everything!" They even make their own marinara and garlic sauce, so I had to try them both. The three strombolis we got today were the Italian sausage and pesto with mozzarella, the pepperoni with mozzarella, and the spinach with mozzarella. All three were perfect! There's absolutely nothing that I could critique. For anyone who may not be familiar with what strombolis are, think of rolled-up pizza served with your sauce of choice which speaking of, I highly recommend one of each (i.e., marinara and garlic). I am still trippin' over that garlic sauce. That sauce has me in shambles! For those who read my review yesterday, add their strombolis to the list of "must-try" foods! Absolutely stunning!
P.S. Order it heated up and if any of you see me heading out to Pāhoa again, tell me to turn around and go to the gym
I'm sorry I don't have more pictures. I only made videos. You can go to my IG to check out my reels. I'll have the two Bananarama Bakery videos pinned for the next month My IG is @bigislandfoodieandtraveler read more