Kilauea Lodge's dining room is an eclectic mix of the traditional and the contemporary. Its hardwood floors, koa tables, and historic 1938 fireplace are the remnants of a bygone era, while bright original art pieces and carefully placed screens brighten and modernize the setting. The fireplace is particularly noteworthy. The Lodge was once a Scout camp, so when the imposing fireplace was built, it was embedded with mementos from Scout camps all over the world, from plaques to coins to surprising items such as an antique poi grinder. It's fun to sit by the fire and let your eyes wander over the globe-spanning selection.
The dining room serves breakfast only to guests, and dinner to the public. I couldn't have imagined a finer Hawaiian breakfast, and it alone was reason enough for me to stay at Kilauea Lodge. The first course was a locally grown papaya served with lime. It was absolutely melt-in-the-mouth delicious, and I swear I don't even like papaya! We savored our Kona coffee, from a nearby farm, while perusing a complimentary newspaper. Entrees change seasonally - in September we were offered a trio of french toast slices made with three different kinds of Punalu'u sweetbread. Also locally grown and quite famous (you can even buy it in the airport!), the sweetbread comes in plain, taro, and a bright pink guava flavor. A second choice was buttermilk pancakes with unimagineably delicious coconut syrup. The third option was scrambled or fried eggs with bacon and toast. All three got rave reviews from the happy diners.
Even though you are effectively in the middle of nowhere, you may want to make a reservation in advance for dinner at Kilauea Lodge. Like the breakfast, it makes generous use of local ingredients and growers, including nearby Volcano Vineyard, which grows its grapes right on the slopes of the volcano itself. The Symphony Dry Wine would be hard-pressed to defend itself in bottle-to-bottle combat against a good Napa Valley chardonnay, but it was as dry as advertised, full and robust in flavor, and really quite tasty. You can sample and purchase their wines at the Vineyard, but shipping rules vary considerably from state to state, so you may not be able to send a case of your favorite vintage home. An appetizer of fried zucchini sticks was lightly fried and piping hot, although the sticks were a mite thick and undercooked for my picky tastes. Our bread basket contained homemade treats, and our fresh, generous, salads were topped with a fantastic homemade house dressing: boysenberry balsamic vinaigrette with crushed papaya seeds. Believe me, it tasted much, much better than it sounds! Entrees are of the Continental variety, with a few local fish specials. We put the kitchen to the test by turning down the one vegetarian option on the menu and asking them to surprise us. We were not disappointed by the result, an interesting melange of fresh vegetables in an excellent tomato sauce over perfectly prepared pasta.