Maui Restaurants: Mark Ellman’s Latest, Honu Seafood

You can eat the view at Honu Seafood and the grinds are pretty good, too. Chef Mark Ellman, who’s been around Maui for quite some time and still operates the two Mala Wharf and Tavern eateries recently opened this seafood joint in an upstairs breathtaking oceanview space in Maui. A lot of the seafood appears [...]

Maui Menu Classics: Toybox Salad at the Lahaina Grill

I first had this amazing concoction over a decade ago at the Lahaina Grill and was totally blown away. I loved the idea of a salad in a martini glass. The dressing is a somewhat surprising mix of tangy and sweet. Originally I believe it contained apple cider vinegar (one of the most under used [...]

Maui Hands Got Wood: Maui Art Gallery with Lovely Local-Style Woodwork

The amazing piece pictured here is by an artist named Scott Hare who the Island of Hawai’i from Florida in 1979. Over the years, Hare has amassed an amazing portfolio of complex carved wooden objects from calabashes to full-sized tikis to headboards and doorframes. Hare works with many native woods including milo, ohi’a, and, naturally [...]

Hot Shave Ice in Hawaii: Local Boys on Maui

Kihei and Lahaina are two of the hottest spots in the Hawaiian Islands. Translation? Good places for shave ice shopping. Local Boys Shave Ice runs outposts in both towns and should be on your serious shave ice sampling itinerary. Why? Ingredients and price. Unlike most shave ice joints, all toppings are free in the price [...]

Must Eat Maui: Maui Onion and Sesame Crusted Seared Ahi at Lahaina Grill

Like Alan Wong’s ginger crusted onaga, this dish has become so classic and so in demand that the restaurant over 20 years has not dared remove it from the menu. The flavor combination is insanely perfect. High-grade ahi is lightly seared then coated with sesame seeds and maui onions. A remarkable sweet-and-sour-and cream sauce of [...]

Must Eat Maui: Star Noodle’s Steamed Pork Bun’s

Old school Chinese staple steamed pork buns get’s a totally new treatment at Maui’s now legendary Star Noodle House, the island’s answer to Momofuku Noodle Bar. The buns are brilliant white and piping hot, the pressed pork braised and then brushed with sweet and sour hoisin sauce, the shiitake mushrooms add the earth and the [...]