Category Archives: hawaii

Dining, food, Lifestyle, Travel

Places to Eat in Kihei Maui

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Kihei, Maui is famous for long stretches of sandy beaches, golden sunsets and an abundance of vacation rentals. What are the best places to eat?

I’ll start with the disclaimer: This is a local knowledge list written with a bias for great food, low prices and hole in the wall joints. Mainland chain restaurants aren’t included. So if you’re looking for details about Cheeseburger in Paradise or Starbucks, this isn’t the place to find it. The local yellow pages is your best bet since all of those places pride themselves on being the same.

Where to Eat in Kihei

Let’s start with breakfast and lunch. My personal favorites are Big Wave Cafe and Stella Blues. Both offer generous portions, reasonable prices and tasty food. You can take the kids. They are located in strip malls so don’t expect a fancy ocean view or upscale wine lists. These are just great places to grab a bite.

For dinner, there are a lot of great choices. Sansei, the upscale sushi bar, offers an early bird special of half-price sushi before 6 PM making these otherwise spendy bites downright affordable. But you have to get there early (as the special name implies). People start lining up well before 5 PM.

Roy’s is another great choice. The food is always top quality and the consistently high level of service is a relief after a week of waving your waiter down. Kids are more than welcome, and they bust out a big toy chest to keep them busy while you sip wines made especially for their cuisine and down appetizers that arrive in only minutes after ordering. Don’t forget the chocolate souffle best accompanied by a glass of Banyuls desert wine. They do have locations on the Mainland and are a chain, but since Roy’s first restaurant was on Oahu, it counts as local.

Cafe O’Lei floats like a glittering island of gourmet in a sea of strip mall take-out joints. The raw oyster bar, fresh fish and groovy vibe means that place is packed solid every night. Make reservations and enjoy your stroll to your table past the less-savvy crowds. Prices aren’t cheap, but the quality is deserving.

Longhi’s is always popular because people like Italian. If you’re really into authentic Italian, however, this is not your place. But they do have a good wine list, and the food will satisfy a craving for a decent pasta but not much more.

Shangri-La By the Sea, an Indian restaurant, recently opened in the Menehune Shores Condo complex. Indian has not been reliable or good in Maui until now. For vegetarians, it’s a dream come true. See my blog entry “Kihei, Maui, Hosts new Indian Restaurant” for more details.

Bon appetit!

Dining, food, Travel

Places to eat in Lahaina Maui

Lahaina is located in West Maui, about one hour from the island’s main airport in Kahului. If you’re staying in Lahaina or any of the nearby areas, such as Ka’anapali or Kapalua, here are my “local’s knowedge” recommendations for where to eat, shop and play.

I’ll start with the disclaimer: This is a local knowledge list written with a bias for great food, low prices and hole in the wall joints. Mainland chain restaurants aren’t included. So if you’re looking for details about Cheeseburger in Paradise or Starbucks, this isn’t the place to find it. The local yellow pages is your best bet since all of those places pride themselves on being the same.

Where to Eat in Lahaina

The chain restaurants like Cheeseburger in Paradise, Bubba Gump and Benihana are already familiar. You pretty much know what to expect–large portions of deep fried or themed food–so I will skip those. For a casual lunch that is not overpriced for the quality, try Auntie Pasto’s or Balle.

For a fancy dinner Lahaina Grill (formerly David Pauls), Vino or Sansei are winners. Sansei offers an early bird special of half-price sushi before 6PM. If you can make it to dinner that early, one of the best fresh fish joints on Maui becomes downright affordable.

Other great dining options are I’O, Plantation House, Roy’s and Cafe O’Lei. The latter two also have locations in Kihei and are very family-friendly.

If you’re looking for where to eat in the Kihei area, take a look at my entry “In Kihei: Places to Eat”.

Culture, maui, Travel

The Maui Film Festival

What else is there to do on Maui when the weather is not postcard perfect? This holiday season the Maui Film Festival offers plenty of choices. Located at the Maui Arts and Cultural Center (or the MACC as locals calls it) in Kahului, the film fest brings together a few encore screenings of films previously shown at the MACC as well as a new line up of independents–many of which have been shown at other fests, but are new to Maui.

Before the evening shows, the Candelight Cafe is open in the courtyard, where food, drinks and music are available. For dinner last night before the 7:30 screening of “Juno“, I munched on a chicken caesar salad ($7) and washed it down with a glass of organic red wine ($6) while listening to a jazz trio (free) who brought it.

With an occupied tummy, I laughed heartily along with the near sell out crowd at the prickly dialog delivered by rising teen star Ellen Page along with a talented cast that included Jennifer Garner, Michael Cera, and Jason Bateman. The other films that I have seen so far this festival are “The Walker” starring Woody Harrelson and “I’m Not There” about singer/songwriter Bob Dylan. With another week and so many interesting films to go, I’m going to need to buy a second pass.

The festival started on December 12, 2007 and runs through December 30, 2007. Each day of the festival there are three screening times: 2:00 PM, 5:00 Pm, and 7:30 PM. A different film is shown each time. Screening listings, times and ticket information are available online.