So many restaurants, so little time. What's a traveler to do? The Big Island's delicious dilemma is its daunting size and abundant offerings. Its gastronomic environment -- the fruitful marriage of creative chefs, good soil, and rich cultural traditions -- has made this island as much a culinary destination as a recreational one. And from the Kona Coffee Festival to the Aloha Festival's Poke Recipe Contest, the Big Island is host to extraordinary, world-renowned culinary events.

The Big Island's volcanic soil produces fine tomatoes, lettuces, beets, beans, fruit, and basic herbs and vegetables that were once difficult to find locally. Southeast Asian fruit, such as mangosteen and rambutan, are beginning to appear in markets, along with the sweet white pineapple that is by now a well-established Big Island crop. Along with the lamb and beef from Big Island ranches and seafood from local fishermen, the freshness of the produce forms the backbone of ethnic cookery and Hawaii Regional Cuisine.

Kailua-Kona is teeming with restaurants for all pocketbooks, while the haute cuisine of the island is concentrated in the Kohala Coast resorts. Waimea, also known as Kamuela, is a thriving upcountry community, a haven for yuppies, techies, and retirees who know a good place when they see one. In Hawi, North Kohala, expect bakeries, neighborhood diners, and one tropical-chic restaurant that's worth a special trip. In Hilo in eastern Hawaii, you'll find pockets of trendiness among the precious old Japanese and ethnic restaurants that provide honest, tasty, and affordable meals in unpretentious surroundings.

Kona Coffee Craze!

Coffeehouses are booming on the Big Island. Why not? This is, after all, the home of Kona coffee, with dozens of vendors who want to compete for your loyalty and dollars.

Most of the farms are concentrated in the North and South Kona districts, where coffee remains a viable industry. Notable among them is the Kona Blue Sky Coffee Company, in Holualoa, which handles its own beans exclusively. The Christian Twigg-Smith family and staff grow, hand-pick, sun-dry, roast, grind, and sell their coffee on a 400-acre estate. You can buy coffee on the farm itself, and see the operation from field to final product. You can also find Blue Sky at the Marriott Waikoloa Beach Resort and at the Alii Marketplace Gardens outdoor market in Kailua-Kona, open Wednesday through Sunday.

Also in Holualoa, 10 minutes above Kailua-Kona, Holualoa Kona Coffee Company purveys organic Kona from its own farm and other growers. Not only can you buy premium, unadulterated Kona coffee here, but you can also witness the hulling, sorting, roasting, and packaging of beans on a farm tour, Monday through Friday from 8am to 4pm. Also in this upcountry village, the Holuakoa Cafe, Highway 180, is famous for high-octane espresso, ground from fresh-roasted Kona Blue Sky beans.

A good bet in Hilo is Bears' Coffee, 106 Keawe St., the quintessential sidewalk coffeehouse and a Hilo stalwart. Regulars love to start their day here, with coffee and specialties such as souffléed eggs, cooked light and fluffy in the espresso machine and served in a croissant. It's a great lunchtime spot as well.

Epicurean Farm Tour and Dinner

Get a behind-the-scenes look at the making of a meal at Merriman's with Merriman's Farm Visits & Dinner. Every Tuesday, a group of 25 leaves Waimea at noon for a 4-hour tour of the various farms that sell produce, coffee, and meat to Merriman's, followed by a four-course dinner at the restaurant.

Tours include stops at such farms as the Hamakua Heritage Farm, which grows gourmet mushrooms in a 16,000-square-foot facility; Long Ears Coffee Company, which has a 400-tree farm in Ahualoa; Kahua Ranch, an 8,500-acre ranch with cattle and sheep; and Honopua Farms, featuring organic vegetables, fresh cut flowers, and renowned master lei-maker Marie McDonald, a Smithsonian National Treasure.

At the conclusion of the farm tour, participants are bused back to Merriman's restaurant to enjoy the products that they have just seen in the form of a four-course meal, which includes a salad course (Honopua farm spinach salad with herb-roasted beets and Maui onions, topped by warm mac-nut, pear vinegar, and ginger dressing), a fish course (grilled fresh fish with lemon and arugula pesto), a meat course (braised Kahua Ranch lamb), and dessert (Long Ears coffee cheesecake).

Ice Cream!

Fresh, creamy, homemade ice cream in island-fresh flavors -- that's what you'll get at Hilo Homemade Ice Cream, 1477 Kalanianaole Ave., in the Keaukaha area of Hilo. Young Hilo ginger is used for the bestselling ginger ice cream; other winners include mango, lilikoi (passion fruit), local banana, green tea, Kona coffee, macadamia nut, coconut-cream, banana-poha (gooseberry), and many others. Open daily from 10:30am to 5:30pm.

Tropical Dreams ice creams have spread out over the island, but got their start in North Kohala. Across the street from Bamboo, Kohala Coffee Mill and Tropical Dreams Ice Cream, Highway 270, Hawi, serves their upscale ice creams along with sandwiches, pastries, and a selection of island coffees. The Tahitian vanilla and litchi ice creams are local legends, but I also love the macadamia-nut torte and lilikoi bars, made by a local pastry chef. Jams, jellies, herb vinegars, Hawaiian honey, herbal salts, and macadamia-nut oils are among the gift items for sale. They're open Monday to Friday from 6:30am to 6pm and Saturday and Sunday from 7:30am to 5:30pm.