And you may find yourself bracing against freezing cold And you may find yourself in another part of the world And you may find yourself behind the wheel of an out-of-control bike And you may find yourself in a beautiful room, with some beautiful food And you may ask yourself Well…How did I...

For the love of General Tso, what does a person have to do to get some decent Chinese food on this rock? If this is a question sounds familiar, we have two words for you: China Boat. Admittedly, it’s no Char Hung Sut, but it’s arguably the best Maui has to offer. The 100-plus item menu reads...

Maui offers a plethora of opportunities for every type of vacationer.  Whether you’re the “go big or go home” Haleakala mountain biking adventure type or more likely to be found sun worshipping on the sand next to a Hawaiian Monk Seal, your Maui vacation is incomplete without at least one...

Tucked well out of sight behind Fred’s Mexican Cafe on South Kihei Road, you may not even realize 808 Bistro exists. Serving just breakfast and dinner in a surprisingly private, lush green setting, it’s somehow simultaneously front-and-center and off the beaten path. Regardless, should you...

Authentic Texas-style barbecue is not something you’d expect to find on the shores of Maui – Napili Bay, to be exact – but if you find yourself at the cleverly named Iron Imu BBQ Company, you can expect to find the unexpected. Case in point: the restaurant itself is located in the lobby of...

If the words “slightly salty” bring to mind terms like brackish, saline and briny, then prepare to log a whole new entry in your mental (and culinary) database. Most days the Slightly Salty food truck can be found in the Food Truck Oasis, that little cluster of stands that gather daily across...

Raised on the east coast by people who used the oven to store Wonder Bread and cereal boxes, we arrived at the University of California at Santa Cruz having never seen – let alone eaten – an artichoke, avocado or block of tofu. Hippie colleges have a way of making vegans out of a person, and...

Family friendly, easy-on-the-budget dining options on Maui are a lot like the Hawaiian Monk Seal: rare. Penne Pasta Cafe in Lahaina solidly fills that niche, although the food itself often underwhelms. Noting the mention of “penne” in the name, we started with the Baked Penne NY ($10.95). The...

Whoever said “the best things in life are free” clearly never dined at Ka’ana Kitchen in the Andaz Maui. Alas, pricey is the way the gourmet resort cookie crumbles, but we promise you this: it’s worth it. For those that take to more “creative” measures to fund your new astronomical...

Critiquing Mexican (or any cuisine, really) food on Maui is the social media equivalent of wearing a “kick me” sign to a Tae Kwon Do exhibition. Clearly, we like to live dangerously. Similarly, if you enjoy playing fast and loose with your taste buds, Fernando waits for you in all his...

When two different people told us Maui’s best burgers are being served at upcountry’s humbly named Liquor Shack and Deli (formerly Liquor Shack and Grinds, near as we can tell), we figured “if a shack is good enough for the B-52s, it’s good enough for us.” So we gassed up our Chrysler (it...

You see, in this world there’s two kinds of people: Those with loaded guns and those who dig. Scratch that. In this world there’s four kinds of people: Those with loaded guns, those who dig, those who stand in line for breakfast and those who would rather do anything other than stand in line,...

Mulligans on the Blue in Wailea is a veritable Maui institution known for Thursday quiz nights, rowdy St. Patrick’s Day celebrations and regular doses of the musical magic that is Willie K. But how’s the food? Happily, there are some reliable pub standards available. However, much like the...

Nothing gets people going quite like debates about religion, politics or – apparently – pizza. Ever willing to admit if we were wrong, when several people (angry villagers with torches) recently suggested (insisted) that the best New York style pizza on Maui isn’t in (friggin’) Kihei, but...

What says “Fourth of July” quite like attempting to blow up your yard, passing cars and/or your person; all while inhaling the smokey siren song of sweet, sweet barbecue? Although we can’t help you in the procuring and igniting of said boom, if you’re looking for some ‘Q today – and don’t...

Are you a sumo wrestler who can’t quite seem to fill up? Does it take fourteen Hungry Man dinners to stop the rumbling? Have you ever been chased out of an all-you-can eat restaurant for “taking brazen advantage” of the situation? You may have an eating disorder. Look into it. Meanwhile, get...

The island of Molokai is 260 square miles and – including two coffee shops, the bakery where you get the late night sweet bread and that ice cream/snack food place – boasts 15 glorious eating establishments, give or take. For those counting, that’s one restaurant per 17 square miles. As a...

The Market by Capische (as it’s called on the signage –  other sources give it other appellations, but we’ll let those slide) is, as the name implies, a market. However, it’s more a shop of the ‘$100 picnic’ ilk than a place for area residents to grab some basic staples on the way home… well,...

What do Thai food, three-wheeled auto rickshaws, and a psychedelic school bus straight out of The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test have in common? If you said “Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band” or “The Grateful Dead,” you’re probably right. However, in this particular case, the answer we were...

Izakaya Matsu, located in the Makai Azeka Shopping Center, offers a unique opportunity to sample some traditional Japanese pub fare here on Maui. If you aren’t already familiar, an izakaya is a Japanese tavern that serves Japanese-style tapas, making it akin to a Japanese gastropub. (We will...

By David Kvasnicka Vanessa Wolf  of Maui Now has been nominated for a national award for food journalism by the Association of Food Journalists. The AFJ selected Vanessa Wolf as one of three finalists in the ‘Best Restaurant Criticism’ category for her reviews of eating establishments on...

If you were alive at the time, you may recall that back in 1934: Dirt storms swept across the American Midwest, destroying 100 million acres and damaging another 200 million resulting in a natural disaster now known as the Dust Bowl. Adolph Hitler became Fuhrer. Clyde Barrow and Bonnie Parker...

In the book “It Must Have Been Something I Ate,” award-winning food writer Jeffrey Steingarten dedicates an entire chapter to one topic: pizza. How much can be said about pizza, really? Watch and learn. Largely considered an Italian invention, pizza (or a concoction going by that name anyway)...

If you’ve ever been to Costa Rica, you know the expression “pura vida” – literally translated as “pure life” – is used extensively as a greeting, farewell, toast, adjective meant to communicate a laid-back lifestyle and even a synonym for “excellent.” But why? According to Wikipedia, “Pura...

First off, let’s just come out and address the obvious: Kihei’s Eskimo Candy is the epitome of false advertising if ever there were. Is it a chocolatier run by Inuits? A confectionery staffed with native Yupik people? Nope. Not even close. There aren’t even any sweets… well, unless your idea...

It’s official. We have a new crush, and we have it bad. Seafood lovers and party animals rejoice: Tamura’s Fine Wines and Liquors offers a stunning array of what you crave. Sure, the name, location and appearance are rather deceptive, but trust us on this one: Tamura’s is positioned to give...

South Kihei’s La Tienda del Sol is the Clark Kent of Maui Mexican cuisine: under the radar, quietly typing away at his desk in the back. Forget the Bruce Wayne flash, this little restaurant is artfully disguised as a small, understated Hispanic grocery store. Hidden on the bottom floor of a...

In little more than an hour (correction: day. Thanks for the catch, Laura G. ~VW), Star Noodle’s annual Empty Bowl Project benefit kicks off. Whether due to claustrophobia, empty bowlophobia, conflicting plans or something else entirely, those who miss the event can still take in a little...

Your dreams of winning a billion dollars courtesy of Warren Buffet and a bullet-proof bracket dashed, you can still lose a little of your own money in a friendly Final Four bet or two. While you’re at it, consider taking in the games, some brews and some classic pub grub at the The Sports...

There’s nothing quite like the thrill of anonymous fuming via the internet, is there? Last week’s blurb about Taco Bell’s forthcoming venture into breakfast spawned a whole lotta grumbling and one “I can’t wait for Vanessa’s review!” What’s that? A request? A dare? A double-dog dare? A Cheesy...

Every so often, readers send in review requests or recommendations as to “the best [fill in the blank]” –  a gesture we very much appreciate. After three such endorsements for Pho Saigon 808 in Lahaina, we caved to the pressure and checked it out in person. Surveying the menu, the high-level...

Monkeypod Kitchen by Merriman offers an expansive, eclectic menu. Light eaters, multi-plate nibblers and cheapskates will be happy to learn there is also a diverse spread available as part of the happy hour menu. Better yet, it’s offered twice throughout the restaurant every day from 3 to...

Picture an East Coast pizza joint in your mind. If you came up with a small, hot space filled with notable accents, Yankees memorabilia and Scarface posters, then Giannotto’s Pizza in Wailuku is already super legit. They do more than make pizza, but since that’s mentioned in the name, we’ll...

One pitfall of the restaurant business – if not life itself – involves attempting to be too many things to too many people. On the surface, it looks like Café des Amis in Paia may be falling victim to this temptation – “They serve Mediterranean AND Indian food?” – but non, they actually have...

Another day, another west side food truck. This week’s adventure brings us to the Shark Pit, located at the end of the Sugar Cane Train route in Ka’anapali. The eight-item menu is short and to the point, and there is but one rule where the two or three daily specials are concerned: be early...

The latest venture from the owners of Café O’Lei and the Makawao Steakhouse opened in Kihei late last fall. Make no mistake; this is not a French restaurant. Rather, ‘ami refers to the hip-rotation hula move, rather than the word for “friend.” Occupying the breezy space formerly inhabited by...

Here’s the problem with people who love everything: they love everything. How does one distinguish between varying levels of superlative? Is awesome better than amazing? Does scrumptious trump mouthwatering? And what to do about delicious, delightful and de-lovely? Darned if we know. People...

In a veritable Mexican food wasteland all but forsaken by authenticity with the likes of adobo, chilaquiles and mole, Amigos is considered one of the island’s lesser south of the border-style evils. With three locations to serve you – Lahaina, Kahului and Kihei respectively – we went in with...

For most adults in today’s world, there are little to no “firsts” left to discover amidst a vast landscape of been there, done that. This alone makes Fiji Indian Food in Wailuku such a treat. The name baffled us at first: is this Fijian food or Indian food? Turns out it’s both. A solid 40% of...

Jorge is Spanish for George, Jorgito means “little George” and Horhito means … errr … we have no idea. Has the name been gringo-ized for Maui? Is it some kind of nod to Japan’s longest-reigning monach, Hirohito? Do we overthink almost everything? Probably, but nonetheless, Horhitos Taqueria –...

Love and hate: two sides of the same coin. There are few topics that inspire either heartfelt allegiance or ardent antipathy quite like Piña Coladas Jennifer Lopez Cilantro Camping Marmite (or Vegemite, its Down Under brother from another mother) Modern Art Anchovies Poodles Main Street...

As with any great adventure worth pursuing, for this endeavor one must be prepared to break laws and confront danger. If you’re willing, begin on Highway 340 and turn left shortly after the schoolhouse. Continue until you see mile marker 5, then pull over into the nearest patch of weeds....

You know what they say about “when in Rome.” When on Molokai, expect to find plenty of locals retrieving “to go” orders, catching up on the latest news and getting their grinds on at Kualapu’u Cookhouse. Follow their lead. Here you can find plenty of time to think your...

When you enter the slightly misleadingly named Maui BBQ & Grill, proprietor Mrs. Han will no doubt be waiting there by the register clearly having been pining all day for your arrival. Like an answered prayer, you appear in her doorstep. The adorable proprietress lights up like a...

Lahaina Grill, light of my life, fire of my loins. My sin, my soul. La-hi-na: the tip of the tongue taking a trip of three steps down the palate to tap, at three, on the roof. La. Hi. Na. Grill. Founded in 1994, Lahaina Grill is no nubile underage temptress. Almost old enough to drink, she...

Depending upon where you get your statistics, it’s averaged that 44% of restaurants fail in the first year, 33% in the second, and a final 23% of those left standing crumble in the third. Why does this happen? While arguably glossing over some other elements, let’s drill this business lesson...

You know what they say about life and/or boxes of chocolate: you never know what you’re going to get. Piñatas are kind of like boxes of chocolate; minus they’re usually shaped like a donkey rather than a box. And you have to beat the living daylights out of them to get to the candy. And it’s...

Act I – The Wanderers: Seeking Foretold Fortune The Scene: a modest strip-mall restaurant with a knockout view of Foodland. Stage Left: Enter Waiter, a ubiquitous presence at the restaurant. If you require a refresher – and even if you don’t – on some basic Spanish, Waiter (serving also as...

Lana’i ‘Ohana Poke Market really chaps our hide. Without hesitation, the worst thing about the place is that it’s on Lana’i, a 50-minute, occasionally nauseating boat ride from Maui. Tis bullsh*t, my friends. If that weren’t enough, while you are within chewing distance of it, ‘Ohana Poke...

Back in fourth grade, we had a major crush on a boy named Robbie Knowles. He was an odd little dude who regularly did a spot-on monkey impression for no apparent reason. It was strictly a “longing from afar” kind of thing that was forced into suppression when a close friend wrote an a capella...