Sometimes you’re looking for a four-course meal, nouvelle cuisine, or exotic fare. Sometimes you just want a decent sandwich. When faced with the latter, Cafe @ La Plage in South Kihei’s Dolphin Plaza is likely to fit the bill. Start with breakfast. They make excellent espressos, lattes and...

Ferraro’s Bar e Risorante at the Four Seasons is the real estate agent’s dream: location, location, location. It may take a few days, but once you secure your sunset-timed table reservation, you can look forward to being seated on an open patio just 100 yards from the water. The setting is...

You may be asking yourself, “How good can a rotisserie chicken actually be?” Turns out, INCREDIBLY good…and we’ll get to that in a minute. The first of three visits to Cilantro in the Old Lahaina Center started with the Guacamole and Chips ($4.95/small, $6.95/large). Super fresh chunks of...

Fans of Star Noodle’s Chef Sheldon Simeon may very well be watching with bated breath as he competes on this season of Top Chef, filmed in Seattle. This is the 10th season of the show, and Chef Simeon has now made it through the first four episodes…and twice as many challenges. We talked to...

Have you ever raved about a new love to everyone you know? Then the day comes that you introduce them to friends and family, confident in the presumption that they will fall equally hard …and everything – inexplicably – goes so very, very wrong? Have you ever shown that same new love off to...

Chef Tylun Pang is something of a Maui institution. His book, WHAT MAUI LIKES TO EAT, celebrates not just his own cuisine, but that of many other chefs on the island. Currently the Executive Chef at the Kea Lani and often found behind the lines at Ko, we talked to Chef Pang about his craft,...

Let’s get one thing out of the way first: Leoda’s ain’t cheap. If you are accustomed to a $9 pie feeding four, six or even eight people, well, better hope those people have anorexia. But while the pies sold at Leoda’s Kitchen and Pie Shop are pricey…with the high cost of admission comes a...

Big Island-born and Maui Culinary Academy-educated Chef Sheldon Simeon appears on tomorrow night’s premier episode of Top Chef Season Ten: Seattle. His profile on the Bravo website reveals “Sheldon talks the Hawaiian talk and loves to cook with local island ingredients, but is confident when...

If you’re headed to Wailuku for First Friday tonight and dreaming of a four-course meal on a budget, consider  a stop at Vineyard Food Company on (imagine that) Vineyard Street. This little restaurant is open for lunch Monday through Friday from 11 a.m. – 2 p.m. They also offer a four-course...

Mala Wailea in the Marriot Resort offers a gorgeous view and a surprising range of excellent vegetarian options…alongside some duds. Perhaps knowing what to order before venturing in is the key, so allow us to help with the navigation process. The Quartet of Hummus, Raita, Olives,...

Senior Executive Chef Geno Sarmiento of Sarento’s on the Beach, Nick’s Fishmarket, and Son’z didn’t start out knowing he’d be a chef. Sarmiento was born in the Philippines and moved to Honolulu in 1988. “I was 16 and the culinary industry was just starting to get recognized. I figured I knew...

There are a vast number of culinary influences here on Maui. Those familiar with Hawaii Regional Cuisine know it honors the blend of cultures that originally settled this land: Polynesian, Chinese, Japanese, American, Portuguese, Korean, and Filipino predominantly. Puerto Rican food isn’t...

If you’ve ever watched – or joined a 12-step program to address your addiction to – Top Chef, Iron Chef, or Chopped, chances are you’ve wished you could be one of the judges. You are not alone. Happily, my dream finally came true. Don’t be hating, but it turns out the role is as awesome –...

Lilikoi Grill in Haiku has been open less than a year. Many things are good, but one is left with the impression that they have truly mastered one quality: inconsistency. This was gleaned sight unseen from the mixed word of mouth endorsements and caveats. A perusal of some online review sites...

If the sight of the Joe’s waiter dropping off a steak knife for the chicken and waffles didn’t serve as a warning, the accompanying “you’re going to need this” probably should have. KFC doesn’t give out heavy-duty cutlery. In fact, one can usually can get by with just a plastic spork. So why...

Tucked off Lipoa Street, smack dab between South Kihei Road and the Piilani Highway, Fabiani’s Bakery and Pizzeria is a little tricky to find. The restaurant is in part a family affair. Owners Lorenzo and Michelle Fabiani met on Maui. Italian-born Lorenzo was the maitre’d at Matteos, and...

This spring, Maui No Ka Oi magazine granted Kahili Restaurant the silver ‘aipono award for “best kept secret.” You can find out why tonight. On Fridays from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m., Kahili offers their ‘all you can eat’ prime rib and seafood buffet. Is it worth it? Mostly. Strategic eaters know...

If you have written Beach Bums in Ma’alaea off as just another tourist trap: reconsider. Sure, it’s full of sunburned people fresh off snorkeling boats and whale watching tours. Yes, 80s tunes blare day and night, and they sell $20 t-shirts with “Beach” printed on the front and “Bums” on the,...

Per our offer to track down a beloved recipe for you,  B.K. In Lahaina wrote in, “I have been savoring and dreaming of Pineapple Grill’s Steamed Manila Clams ever since I first tried them.  I admit, I was apprehensive at first, I normally DO NOT like clams, but just one bite and you’ll see...

For her 90th birthday, Emily O’Neil Bott reversed traditions. She gave a present to her children: a copy of her book, SILVER STREAK REVISITED. The slim volume contains some of her columns, which ran in The Haleakala Times over the years and recounted the adventures and misadventures of a life...