
The mere mention makes me swoon. When I'm in Hawaii, I'll take a box of fresh, warm, light and oh-so-fluffy Leonard's malasadas to my cranky Dad, who sneers and gruffly harrumphs, "Hmmph. I ate already." Two minutes later, he's got that happy/guilty "I swallowed a canary" sugar-caked grin on his face.

We've been wandering around the Big Island this vacation. For malasadas, the guidebooks tell you to go Tex Drive Inn in Honoka'a, about an hour from Kailua-Kona going toward Hilo via Waimea. But for an Oahu girl, this is not a malasada. Gasp! And sorry to all the awesome Big Island folks and 912 Facebook friends of Tex.

But Tex malasadas are more like square jelly donuts. Tasty and sweet. With out-of-control, amazing fillings, but jelly donuts nonetheless. It was still worth the stop get a few to snack on for a long drive to or from Volcano. But I just can't think of them as malasadas.
While we would stop at Tex next time we are driving through, my heart and taste buds belong to Leonard's.
Eat Well. Be Well.