miulang

In the Wailea Resort area, there's also Joe's Bar & Grill. It's owned by Bev Gannon (of Haliimaile General Store fame) and her husband. (131 Wailea Ike Place-875 7767). I haven't eaten there yet, but it's gotten decent reviews. If you get tired of the resort, head into Kihei town and go to these places which have good food: Sansei Seafood & Sushi Restaurant (Kihei Town Center (near Foodland, 808-879-0004)--excellent sushi and they have late night specials. If you want to eat like the locals do, go to Da Kitchen ( 2439 S Kihei Rd-875 7782). They're in a small strip mall just north of the larger mall with Denny's in it). Their plate lunches are huge (enough food for 2 meals) and great to take to the beach for lunch. Around the corner from Da Kitchen (in the same mall, around the corner on the right hand side--you have to pass by it because it's a one way street) has an excellent Thai restaurant. I can't remember the name of it, but besides the Thai place in Wailuku, this has the best Thai food on Maui. If you want to sit on a patio and sip a Mai Tai and watch the sun set, go to KKO Kitchen (2511 Kihei Rd., 879-1954). They're across the road from Kamaole Beach (Beach 1, I think). The food's OK, but the sunset is awesome. I think they also serve breakfast there, too. If you want some nightlife, go to Hapa's Brewhouse (down the road by Star Market and Azeka Place) 41 East Lipoa St-879-9001. On most Monday nights, Hawaii's treasure Willie K jams there. Other nights they have karaoke and a DJ. Have fun! Miulang

That "divey looking Chinese place" is owned by Gavin, who moved from Hawaii a couple of years ago. He used to own restaurants on Oahu and is still (I think) part owner of some of the L&L restaurant chain on Maui. Hence, his menu is very similar to L&L's (closest L&L to Seattle is in Lynnwood). The place is called North Shore Hawaiian Barbeque. The place isn't pretentious (but it is very clean). Food is served on sturdy paper plates...utensils are plastic, but the food is cooked to order. Extremely ample portions (come in regular and mini plates, a la L&L) with the rice, mac salad an entree. No malasadas yet (L&L has them, but you'd be better off buying a box of Cafe du Monde beignet mix and making them yourself, or take a tube of Pillsbury biscuit mix and deep fry it and roll it in sugar for a quick malasadas fix). Prices are also similar to L&L but a teency bit lower. You can tell they've modeled themselves after the L&L chain because they even have a lo-carb combo platter for $7.59 (skips the rice and mac salad, but gives you a bed of cabbage and 2 eggs on top of the beef, ribs and chicken.) We had some of the BBQ items on their menu...the combo plate had 1 piece of kalbi short rib sliced thinly, 1 large piece of Hawaiian BBQ beef and 3 pieces of boned chicken thighs plus the ubiquitous 2 scoops of white rice and 1 scoop of macaroni salad for $7.59. The marinade is what is known in Hawai'i as "hulihuli". Single entree platters are $6.39 for the regular and $4.59 for the mini. They also have the only-in-Hawai'i "loco moco" (hamburger patty, 2 fried eggs over white rice with brown gravy over all) for $6.39 for the regular size and $4.39 for the mini size. Hopefully their fried (katsu--pork, chicken) items are decent. Lately, the quality at L&L for the chicken katsu has been a tad bit spotty. Miulang They've only been open a week, so it's cash only for now. Miulang

Stopped by Fresh Flours around noon today after a short bike ride. Not much left in the display cases by then (the late Sunday breakfasters probably grabbed most of the goodies). The creampuff was OK (real custard filling; the puff itself was neither tender nor crisp (probably the result of sitting in the case all morning) but the Basque Cake was a definite winner. It has this intriguing flavor and texture: after the first bite I thought the cake was dry, but as I ate more of it, the buttery flavor and dry/crunchy texure of the cake and the cream filling were a delicious mix. I'll have to go back and try some of their other pastry...and I'll remember to go earlier during the day for a better selection! Miulang

Further south on Phinney is Stumbling Goat, Chupacabra and the new location of Gaspare's, which appeared to be doing a booming business yesterday. Miulang

Patty's Eggnest (formerly in Wallingford) has resurfaced in Greenwood...in the QFC center off Holman Rd. They still have those killer 4-egg omelets. Place was very crowded Sunday morning. It's a slightly bigger space than the old Wallingford location and not as intimate (lots of natural light in the new place). Funny to have Pete's Eggnest at the south end of Greenwood, and Patty's Eggnest anchoring the north end of Greenwood. Only open for breakfast and lunch, but sign says they plan to serve dinner soon, too. Miulang

You have no "authentic" Hawaiian restaurants in the NYC area, so I doubt you would be able to find poi. However, you can get it via mail order in 2-days (but you have to order a minimum of 2 lbs of the stuff...and that's a lot). Then again, it's been a bad year for taro in Hawaii, so they might not be able to ship you any. Go here: http://www.maui-info.com/2poi.html (for fresh poi) Go here: http://commerce.secureinput.com/zippys/pro...7T7GBA73VHJ1PN8 (frozen poi) Miulang

No one has yet mentioned haupia french toast! You make some haupia and put it between 2 thick slices of sweet bread (or take one really thick piece of bread and cut a pocket in the middle) and dip in custard like regular french toast. Top with coconut or guava syrup. Absolutely scrumptious. Miulang

I walked by two weekends back and Wayne mentioned he was selling - soon. ← Went up to Hiroki's (he used to make the cheesecake for Clara's) and he said Wayne had sold the business and it was going to become a Mediterranean restaurant). Wayne is planning to spend a little time in Hawaii and then look for a place further up north to re-open. Apparently that area of Wallingford is kind of a tough place for business...on street parking is atrocious (as is the traffic). Gonna miss his kalua and cabbage and meatloaf sandwiches! Miulang P.S. If you're looking for Hawaiian style "local" food and live on the Eastside, you might want to try out Lei's Family Restaurant in downtown Duvall. They even have fresh poke on Friday nights! Their grand opening was on May Day (which is also Lei Day in Hawaii). We were over there about 3 weeks before the grand opening so most of their Hawaiian menu still hadn't been rolled out. I understand they are serving "plate lunches" now too, including the ubiquitous "loco moco".

Thai Siam in the Greenwood neighborhood (15th NW up by the Safeway at the corner of 85th) is pretty good as far as neighborhood ethic restaurants go. They've been there forever, and Hinterberger wrote some favorable things about it once. The owner is also a very charitable person. Every summer, she has a benefit meal which is basically a Thai buffet. She donates all the proceeds from that day to about 6 or 7 charities every year. Miulang

← Don't forget Orviedo's up the street. They serve really downhome Filipino cooking. We had the chicken and green papaya plate lunch. Humble surroundings, but the food is cooked with pride by the owners. Miulang

Well, you would be safe with the recommendations below. The Grand Wailea is on MAUI, as are the "whale watching" beaches. Miulang

Being on his honeymoon, Mr. Toast was focusing on items other than vanilla beans while in Tahiti last year. At the end of the trip Ms. Toast collected all our remaining foreign currency and spent it on vanilla products (including fresh beans) in the airport. Very nice, indeed. ← If price is no object but taste is, you might want to try Hawaiian vanilla beans. You can get them via mail order (http://www.hawaiianvanilla.com/flavor.htm), $9.00 for a single bean and 3 beans for $25.00. These beans are grown on the Big Island of Hawai'i, along with Hawaiian Vintage Chocolate. Miulang

Oh yeah, kau yuk (steamed red pork with taro) is delicious stuff indeed! Haven't seen that on any menus at any Chinese restaurants in this town, though? Anybody know of someplace that might serve this? Don't want to have to wait until I go back to Hawai'i to eat some! Thanks. Miulang

They're open for lunch on weekends? Will have to stop over there if they are. I'm always in the mood for a good feijoada. Miulang

Never did make it to Stalk Exchange before it went under. I'm glad to see more restaurants coming to that (my) neighborhood. Kiliki: haven't you ever been in the Pig 'n Whistle? They have a bar, too and pretty decent pub food. Baranof's is sooo depressing. More depressing than the bar in the Chinese restaurant across from Safeway. Miulang

Hello, fellow NW food enthusiasts! I've just joined your fraternity and am thrilled to be part of this organization. An update on Hiroki: I discovered this place shorly after it opened because I had a slice of his NY cheesecake at Clara's in Wallingford. It was to die for. From then on, I skipped the pretense of eating a meal before dessert and now very often stop by Hiroki to check out his latest desserts. His best by far dessert is the green tea tiramisu. I love that stuff! Not too sweet, very light. I still haven't figured out the entire recipe, but I did coax him into telling me marsala and mascarpone were part of it. I'm wondering if he uses green tea extract rather than tea leaves to get that tea flavor? His souffle cake is also very tasty. Haven't tried any of his tarts yet, but they do look good. The neighborhood appears to support him and at times the place (small as it is) sometimes gets crowded. Sitting in the back of the room with a latte and a slice of green tea tiramisu is a real treat. Seeing Pasco (a beautiful collie) tied up outside on a nice day is also a treat. Hiroki is a very nice guy. Every time I go in, he always asks me if I've been back to Clara's (truthfully, there are so many other places to try out in Wallingford that we haven't had time to go back there...we have been to Rocking Wok twice in the last month, though...love those thousand layer pancakes!) I like patronizing places where you can talk to the owner and he remembers you from the last visit. Didn't like the Luau Polynesian Grill the couple of times we ate there; it was pretty pricey (something like $13 for a pupu platter that didn't have much on it). I know it changed owners about a year ago and hopefully the quality of the food has improved since then. I still have to try out Kisaku (I am on the quest for the perfect nigiri in a restaurant outside of the ID). All this food talk is making me hungry. Time to go root inside the fridge. Miulang