Down to Earth - Honolulu
Restaurant, Coffee/Tea/Juice, Grocery/Bakery/Deli
$ - inexpensive
Eclectic (Varied)
Natural foods store, with small cafe section
A large, totally vegetarian natural food store, with a cafe section. The store has a wide selection of organic produce, bulk grains/nuts/cereals/etc, mock meats, vegan novelty items, and more.
The cafe has some menu items and various smoothies, but mostly it's a buffet, where you choose what you want and it's weighed at the checkout. The buffet includes a cold salad section (various veggies, tofu, beans, etc.), and a hot section, that has steamed and stewed veggies, beans, rice, BBQ Korean tofu, spicy stir fry tofu, roasted potatoes, quinoa croquettes with basil sauce, and more. A board also tells you which items in the buffet are organic and each item says if it's vegan or not.
Down to Earth also has a large selection of vegan desserts, including tofu cheesecake, chocolate cream pie, coconut pie, brownies, cookies, and cakes.
There are both indoor and outdoor seating areas.
Close to University Ave, but if you're driving, you'll have to be heading East along S King. They have a car park upstairs.
- (Mostly) Organic
- Buffet
Added by Linda on Jun 14 05 (updated Oct 18 07)
Reviews
I really enjoyed this place. I've eaten at the buffet here a number of times and have loved everything I've had. My favorites include the quinoa croquettes w/ basil sauce and the BBQ Korean tofu from the hot buffet and then the mock chicken salad (which can also be made into a sandwich/wrap) and the potato salad from the deli. I had a peanut butter/chocolate bar, which was pretty good, but the vegan chocolate cream pie was awesome.
The store has a great selection of vegan products (unfortunately, no vegan sour cream or cream cheese), but as mentioned in the below comment, their produce is very expensive.
Down to Earth is the most reliably delicious place for a vegan stuck in Honolulu to eat. There is always something in the buffet that appeals to me, not to mention the premade wraps/sandwiches/salads in the cooler case. I had some mock chicken salad one day that was out of this world. Also, with the constant sales going on at DtoE, the price of groceries approach the non-sale prices on the mainland -- a rarity in Hawaii. I would recommend buying all your specialty/bulk items at DtoE...but don't be fooled into buying the produce. Just go to the local farmer's markets instead (like the one at Diamond Head on Saturdays).
Just wanted to correct the review below...DTE does carry vegan cream cheese and sour cream...just look for the Tofutti brand labeled "Better than cream cheese" and "Better than Sour Cream." DTE even sells vegan pesto, which is wonderful, and happens to make a yummy spread when mixed with the vegan cream cheese or sour cream!