Some foodies in Maui

Kahana Sands Restaurant, in my book, is a hidden gem. Probably the best mahi mahi I've ever had. I know, that's a bold statement. This place is secretly located in the back of the Sands of Kahana Resort and Condominium complex. It literally brushes up right next to the resort pool. The resort is beach side and right across the street from the pink Kahana Falls resort. I stayed at Kahana Falls five years ago and found this restaurant by accident.

I will post pictures eventually, but they offer an amazing macadamia nut-encrusted mahi mahi. You will be forking out around $25 for the dish, it came with purple sweet potatoes (yes, purple), mango salsa, and some veggies. The seared ahi is absolutely amazing as well. Probably some of the best seared ahi I've tasted. The cool thing about this place is between the hours of 5-6pm they run a special, which is buy one entrée, get the second 50% off! Awesome. Because it's located right next to the pool, you could literally walk in (dried off) with your beachwear and order fine cuisine. I think I was wearing trunks and a t-shirt. Their resort is right on the beach so what we did was arrive around 3:45pm and just sunbathed using some of the resorts lounge chairs along the beach and then came in at discount time. I don't think the place ever fills up because it is so hidden.

Also, F.Y.I., this is not a place you'd go to if you're looking for a huge meal. This place has amazingly presented meals that aren't incredibly small, but they aren't big.

What a great place! This is an open air restaurant right next to the Old Lahaina Luau and behind the Lahaina Cannery Mall. There may be a small wait when you get there if you're planning on dinner.

We ordered the furikake garlic fries for appetizer, which were delicious! I would've never thought furikake on french fries! I ordered the Aloha Mixed Plate which came with beef, chicken, and fish. Quite the filling meal for myself. My wife ordered a beef mix plate I believe.

Great value, fast service, and the fact that you're dining on a wooden patio near the ocean ain't too bad either.

This place will be a regular stop for me when I'm out in Maui.

Hula Grill is located in the back of Whaler's Village in Kaanapali. Park in the structure and just make sure you get your ticket validated. You have a choice of the fine dining (seafood, steak, etc) or the barefoot bar (sandwiches, fish and chips, etc.). We went for the barefoot bar, I had the ahi sandwich and my wife had the fish and chips. We were both happy with our meal and the atmosphere definitely added to the experience. We were able to kick off our sandals and watch the sunset and listen to some great live, local music. There's usually a pretty good wait for both dining areas so my suggestion is to put your name down on the list then go shop or take a stroll down the beach for a little bit.

FYI the fine dining will take reservations if you call in, the barefoot bar will not.

This is a little place in the back of one of the downtown Lahaina shopping centers. I wish I had better directions for you, but all I can remember is it's behind the grocery store that's in the center across from Ace Hardware. I hope that helps. The drawback to this center is you have to pay to park, but I'll let you in on a little something: if you're planning on just picking something up, there are usually spots free on the back side of the grocery store towards the left of Buns of Maui. I just parked there for about 5 minutes, ran in, bought a couple cinnamon rolls and took off; it saved me $4. Try at your own risk.

The cinnamon rolls were very good, the guy working there, however, was not so nice. Maybe I just caught him on a bad day, but I had wished I just bought the buns and left instead of asking the guy for dinner suggestions. If you're in the Lahaina area, this wouldn't be a bad place to stop by and grab some cinnamon rolls to take back for breakfast the next day. They are still incredibly delicious if you stick them in the microwave for about 25-30 seconds.

There's also another cinnamon roll place for those staying on the southeastern side of the island in Kihei. It's located under Denny's off S. Kihei Rd. I didn't get to try their rolls, but I walked by and almost drifted towards the heavenly scents.

My wife and I are staying at the Ka'anapali Beach Club which is right off Lower Honoapiilani Rd. Honokawai Okayuza & Deli was actually a place I first found in a book then confirmed online. This is just a small joint where even the locals will come in to grab food. To be honest, this isn't a great place in terms of ambiance if you want to "go and eat somewhere." They do have a few tables outside you can sit at, and some stools with a shared table along the wall. If you're staying somewhere along L. Hono Rd., this is an excellent place to just order and take back to your hideaway. I ordered the mahi mahi sautéed in lemon and butter sauce. It was good, but wasn't as flavorful as my wife's katsu don. Her dinner was very tasty. I would have given it five stars (scantron bubbles), but we did wait abnormally long. If you plan to eat there more than once, my suggestion is pick up a menu and call in the order.

Our experience with this place was only so-so. My wife and I went on an early snorkel trip to Molokini at 7am. We got back around 10am and got to Da Kitchen around 10:30am. My wife was dying for some Portuguese sausage and eggs. Luckily breakfast didn't end until 11am. Unfortunately, they decided to stop serving breakfast at 10:30. That was a bummer on top of the fact that this place has no bathrooms. I attempted to run over to the next center and use the Denny's bathrooms upstairs, but they are code-locked for paying customers only.

The captain from the boat suggested Kihei Cafe which is just down the street. I kind of wish we had gone there instead, maybe my wife would've gotten her meal and I would've gotten my bathroom.

I ordered the Loco Moco and my wife got the chicken salad. Both were good portions. The atmosphere was a typical diner style with some flashed out colors.

Would I eat here again? Possibly, but my interest is more piqued for Kihei Cafe now.