We hate to say it, but the word Kickstarter often makes us roll our eyes. In today’s crowdfund-happy world, every conceivable idea from manufacturing bespoke toothpaste to starting a line of sweaters for alopecia-suffering pandas seems to get an IndieGoGo campaign. So it was with some...

Smoke BBQ, the former food truck turned chic brick-and-mortar shop, occupies a lofty and modern space on Upper King Street. The former home of the short-lived L.I.F.E. Bar and equally short-lived vegan motorcycle restaurant, Motobar, has come a long way. From industrial tables to exposed...

Act I, Scene I. It’s mid-afternoon at Apartment A. As the sun filters through the windows of the 150-year-old building, the soundtrack to pretty much every John Hughes film plays softly overhead. The former dwelling on Coming Street exists squarely in the netherland between restaurant,...

Well, hello there, sultry summer. It’s the dog days. We’ve reached max oppressive heat, bug bites, sunburns, and summer’s revolving door of visiting friends and family. You know what we’re talking about, whether there’s a bloodline connection or not, family is...

If you’re looking to spend a teary 15 minutes humming Sarah McLachlan’s “I Will Remember You,” while being horrified at the behavior of some of your fellow human beings, then by all means google the words “Thai elephants.” If you’re looking to spend a...

New to town, reporter Vanessa Wolf attempts to eat three meals with only $10. 8:59 a.m. Arrived in Charleston from the west, long after the first fingers of sunrise had awoken the marshes. The buildings seem to shimmer under the clear skies, vibrant shades of amber, aqua, and salmon. Although...

What do you get when you mix a 1950s-style soda fountain with some earnest young adults, a Huey Lewis soundtrack, and a heaping helping of pimento cheese? If you guessed 1985’s highest grossing film, Back to the Future, you are darn close. However, if you said, Mt. Pleasant’s...

Arguably the most charming part of France, the sun-soaked, Mediterranean-flanked Provence region extends north  to the snow-capped mountains of the southern Alps. Quite suitably, Maui’s own little taste of Provence is also quite charming. Nestled on a quiet Kula hillside, the garden-like...

There’s something fishy in Wailea. Although the name implies a casual corner shop where you might pick up some poke for the beach, saunter into Nick’s Fishmarket Maui in search of some raw mahi mahi filets for the grill and quickly find yourself a fish out of water. Located in the plush...

Ahoy, me hearties. After many a week at sea, we did stumble upon yon shores in search of grub and grog. Good evening. Welcome to Maui Brewing Co. A table for one this evening? Aye. That is, I an’ me first mate, Pepe. We seek the flavors of the New World. That’s two for dinner, then? Pepe is...

Boasting a veritable alphabet soup of words, we wonder if maybe this little restaurant is overcompensating. Although we’d understand if so, they really don’t have to. No bigger than your living room, Upcountry Fresh Tamales and Mixed Plate – UFTAMP, if you will – manages to churn out a wide...

In the six relatively short years since first opening, Coconut’s Fish Cafe in K?hei has become a top-rated area restaurant with a burgeoning string of franchised locations on the mainland. Named after the owner’s cat, the Coconut Shrimp  ($10.99) might be shocked to learn it’s not all about...

It was a dark and stormy night. Lightning threatened to ignite the very ground beneath our feet, seeming to chase us as we ran toward the refuge offered by the Queen Ka’ahumanu Mall. Denied shelter in the Verizon store, we bolted up the stairs toward the food court as the howl of a wolf – or...

In John Hughes’ 1985 American coming-of-age comedy-drama film starring Emilio Estevez, Anthony Michael Hall, Judd Nelson, Molly Ringwald and Ally Sheedy, we are taught not to stereotype others based on appearances. Haui’s Life’s a Beach – a veritable chameleon of a bar/restaurant/karoake...

When he woke in the woods in the dark and the cold of the night he’d reach out to touch the child sleeping beside him. Nights dark beyond darkness and the days more gray each one than what had gone before. Like the onset of some cold glaucoma dimming away the world. His hand rose and fell...

In nineteen hundred forty-two Kuau Store was brand spankin’ new. Since that time, the little building off the Hana Highway has been through many incarnations, the most memorable to whit being the former Kuau Mart. Known for plate lunches, local surfer sightings and the proprietors’ uncanny...

By all accounts, Central Kahului’s Restaurant Matsu is a re-purposed double-wide trailer located in a parking lot on a nondescript part of Alamaha, but don’t tell that to the throngs of satisfied customers. The place is often standing room only – abuzz with hungry diners and others awaiting...

If it’s been a while since your mom called you pet names while filling your empty tummy, it could be time to pay a visit to the lady who gave you life. But let’s say – for whatever reason – that’s not so easy. No worries, as the sweet, sunny proprietress of the all-lunch-and-only-lunch...

Stillwell’s Bakery and Cafe in Wailuku came preceded by a veritable parade of acclaim. Their website boasts, “We are well known for our famous Chinese Chicken Salad.” and “Stillwell’s Cream Horns are a favorite for visitors and locals alike and boxes of them are often seen leaving Maui as a...

Duke Kahanamoku (1890-1968), the five-time Olympian who brought surfing to Australia, Southern California and – ultimately – the entire world, left behind one of the Aloha State’s greatest legacies. How he came to front the Hawaiian equivalent of Red Lobster is beyond us, but there’s probably...