The Tasty Crust Restaurant looks from the road like it was dumped there like a red-headed stepchild by the mother of dives. The never ending collections of cars in the lot indicate something otherwise. One thing was certain; as bad as this joint looks, it has to have something going for it.
My kids, being adventurous, voted thumbs up when I suggested a stop for dinner. "Looks pretty funky!" they chimed, expectantly. We tried to peak into the windows to prepare ourselves, but the film on the windows made it impossible. I hesitated.
"Go in!" they urged, daringly.
A long counter lined with chrome stools separates the smoking sections from the family section. Though the smokers looked as if they’d been there for awhile cheerily talking story across the booths, the air was surprisingly clear. A miracle of Maui?
Noticing a "please seat yourself" sign, we headed toward an open booth but were escorted promptly by two smiling waitresses who seemed genuinely happy we’d come in. Once seated in the non-smoking family section we were given the bill of fare, a hand printed paper wedged between a smeared plastic promising the Hawaiian version of the "Greek menu."
Choices ranged from all day breakfast, everything from
eggs and spam to macadamia nut flapjacks (the specialty of the house), to fried egg sandwiches, miso soup, reubens, stuffed cabbage, honey fried chicken, liver and onions, Kim chi, and a dozen other dinner entrees including Hawaiian and ethnic specialties offered with the ubiquitous two scoops of rice and macaroni salad. Or a tossed salad, should you be the health-nut type. A sidebar note said, "if you don’t want fries with a sandwich, take $1.15 off." Considering the fried egg sandwich was $2.95 complete, that made dinner the deal of the century.
My stuffed cabbage (specialty of the day) was a satisfying choice for $6.50. Mr. Adventuresome ordered a milkshake ($2.50) and, having somehow charmed the waitress, got a hand-whipped half-gallon of ice cream that stood up not only to a spoon, but to his brother’s fork!
Dishes were brought to the table as they were prepared regardless of who had been served and who hadn’t. One son got his sandwich long before his soup. His only complaint was that the miso broth was missing the tofu chunks, but I reminded him it was $1.50 soup and he was okay with it.
The verdict on the food from picky eaters anonymous? Fantastic.
The verdict on the ambiance? A throw-back-retro-immersion into local color. Prices? Can’t be beat, for Maui.
Would I suggest this for a first date or gourmet introduction to the islands? Not really. But if you do take a date and he/she finds Tasty Crust a hoot, pop the question! It’s guaranteed your new spouse will be very low maintenance and plenty fun.
Later, you can bring your kids to the place where you fell in love. It’ll be here.