Being a man with an uncontrollable sweet tooth, I am a sucker for butterscotch / caramel flavorings in my post-dinner noshables. I also love pies, particularly rich and sinful pies. Which leads me to the Mac Pie, a Big Island version of traditional, silky-smooth southern chess pie but with a liberal dose of Big Island-grown macadamia nuts. They don't stint on quality ingredients and the juxtaposition of the sweet, rich, butterscotch custard filling and the crunchy, rich (and did I say rich?) mac nuts is as close to low-brow culinary heavan as you'll find in Hawaii. You can buy them all over the Big Island or order them directly (they ship to the Mainland). At $26 for an 8-inch pie (which includes shipping) these are hardly cheapie eats. But one you go mac...truly mac-marvelous.

—Alex, 05/02/07