“I’ve only worked here a couple weeks,” the man hand-shaping the individual crusts announced. “I was so impressed – I mean, this is the best pizza I’ve ever had – I asked if I could work here. We bonded over pizza dough and that was that.” With such a promising sales pitch (who can resist the...

Peter Merriman’s Monkeypod Kitchen in Wailea offers a broad menu “dedicated to handcrafted food, drink, and merrymaking.” Eager to partake in the culinary party, the first item on board was the Crispy Rock Shrimp and Calamari ($13.95). This is an enjoyable appetizer that, until recently, was...

It would have been so nice if the hype were true. There is a certain distinctive pleasure to introducing the world to a hidden gem. Mostly – let’s get real – the thought of biting into a pork and pineapple corn dog was equally, if not more, irresistible. Driven by visions of tropical corn...