Maui Grinds

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When I told friends that my husband and I are returning to Maui for the fifth time they asked what draws us back there. The answer is simple. First are the sunsets, which are gorgeous. Second is the scenery, which is varied from exotic to desolate. Third is the great food. Maui has terrific food. In local slang we say they have ono grinds (the best food). The range is fast food to lunch wagons to plate lunch to elegant cuisine. We travel on a budget, which means we fix two meals a day in our condo/timeshare and usually eat out for the noon meal. Many restaurants offer lighter and less expensive versions of their menu at the mid-day meal. This trip we stayed 15 days and that meant we could return to so...Read More

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Zippy's

Restaurant | "Maui finally has a Zippy's"

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Zippy’s is new to Maui, but it is a much-loved family restaurant on Oahu. Founded in 1966 they are also known for the items in their Napoleon’s Bakery, in particular the Napples that are flakey turnovers. We have patronized one in Kaneohe where Bill Clinton ate and one in Honolulu where Barack Obama ate. I wonder what future president will be attracted to the one in Kahului, Maui. Technically this Zippy’s is at 15 Ho’okele Street in the Puunene neighborhood; within sight of the Alexander & Baldwin Sugar Mill smoke stacks. Nearby is the Sugar Museum. This is the largest Zippy’s we have seen. If you aren’t a regular customer here, it takes a while to work your way through the menu. There are eight D...Read More

Member Rating 4 out of 5 on December 30, 2008

Zippy's
All over the island
Oahu, Hawaii

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Seascape Ma'alaea Restaurant

Restaurant | "Harbor View and Great Food"

Quote:

Seascape Ma’alaea is a part of the Maui Ocean Center, but it has an exterior entrance for those not paying admission to the Center. That entrance is located near the edge of the Maui Ocean Center adjacent to the Harbor Shops of Ma’alaea. We elected to use that entrance. On another trip to Maui we had visited the Center and fondly remembered our meal at Seascape, so this trip we combined a shopping trip to the Harbor Shops with lunch at Seascape. One of the primary reasons we like this restaurant is the view of the harbor with the West Maui Mountains in the background. Also to be seen from here are the islands of Lanai and Kaho’olawe. Seating is on a patio with huge umbrellas for shade. Flowering shrub...Read More

Member Rating 5 out of 5 on December 30, 2008

Seascape Ma'alaea Restaurant
Maui Ocean Center - 192 Maalaea Rd.
Maui
(808) 270-7043

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Pioneer Inn Grill

Restaurant | "Nostalgic Favorite near the Banyan Tree"

Quote:

Lahaina’s famous Banyan Tree is best photographed with the quaint dark green trimmed in white Pioneer Inn in the background. When you are through admiring the huge tree wander on over to the Pioneer Inn Grill and Bar and have breakfast, lunch or coffee and dessert. I don’t think they have the best menu on the island; the wait staff isn’t the most attentive; but I still have enjoyed every visit here due to the ambiance. Seating is in an open-air covered porch. Sunshades sometimes block the view, and occasionally a tour bus discharging diesel fumes can be unpleasant. If you have any imagination at all it is easy to picture this place when it was a bustling seaport. Even though it was built in 1901, it e...Read More

Member Rating 3 out of 5 on December 30, 2008

Pioneer Inn Grill
658 Wharf St
Lahaina, Hawaii 96761
+1 808 661 3636; +1

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Leilani's on the Beach

Restaurant | "Location, Location, Location "

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Perfectly located on the "Dig Me Beach" section of Ka’anapali Beach Leilani’s Beachside Grille combines casual barefoot atmosphere with good food and great people watching. We haven’t made a trip to Maui without having at least one meal at this restaurant. Leilani’s has an upstairs dining room for evening meals, but the casual lower level is the one that draws us back. We usually combine it with a shopping trip to the adjacent Whalers Village. If your timing is right in the late afternoon, live music is available and it is usually pretty good. And if you are really lucky you can have your meal and watch one of Ka’anapali’s fantastic sunsets. Of course there will be a stream of people walking down the ...Read More

Member Rating 4 out of 5 on December 30, 2008

Leilani's on the Beach
2435 Kaanapali Parkway
Maui, Hawaii 96761
(808) 661-4495

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T. Komoda Store & Bakery

Restaurant | "Best Bakery on Maui"

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A visit to T. Komoda Store & Bakery is worth getting up early and driving to the Upcountry. Located at 3674 Baldwin Ave near the intersection with Makawao Ave in Makawao. If I hadn’t had the exact address with me, I’m sure we would have driven by this unassuming building. No flashing lights or neon signs here, just a small sign Komoda Store on the front of the building and it isn’t even by the entrance! The store was established in 1916 by Takezo Komoda a Japanese plantation worker and hasn’t had many modernizations since. But that’s ok; the bakery puts out a wonderfully large selection of items. We had been forewarned to get here early before the cream puffs were gone. There were three left when ...Read More

Member Rating 5 out of 5 on December 30, 2008

T. Komoda Store & Bakery
3674 Baldwin Ave..
Makawao 96768
(808) 572-7261

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Kimo's Restaurant

Restaurant | "Old Favorite Fares Well"

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Kimo’s is a popular place at 845 Front Street in Lahaina. In the evenings the street level is taken over by the bar crowd and bar food menu while the second floor is the dining area. At noon, when we visited, we were seated on the street level floor on the open-air lanai. In fact our choice of tables put us in the splash zone, as my husband quickly found out! It was a small table, but a terrific view of the water. We watched a wide variety of boats including the unusual looking Reefdancer, parasail, catamarans, and cruise ships. Kimo’s is a sister restaurant to Oahu’s Duke’s and Ka’anapali’s Leilani’s. Bill ordered a grilled Teriyaki Chicken Sandwich with grilled pineapple and Maui chips. He was hap...Read More

Member Rating 4 out of 5 on December 30, 2008

Kimo's Restaurant
845 Front St.
Lahaina, Hawaii 96761
(808) 661-4811

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Coffee Anyone

Restaurant | "In Search of Caffeine"

Front Street shops in Lahaina Photo - Maui, Hawaii

Quote:

The economy is in crisis at the time of our trip, the talk is of cutting down on luxuries…such as travel and lattes. With that in mind we wholeheartedly embraced the concept of a "Farewell Tour". We ordered and enjoyed specialty coffees often. We also bought bags of coffee to send home to friends and family. Two of our favorite coffee houses on Maui are Starbucks and Hawaiian Village Coffee. The Starbucks we patronized was in Lahaina between the Foodland parking area and the parking lot for the Post Office. We had a little problem communicating with the barista here, she was more interested in the younger clients. But honestly, that is going to happen more and more as we age. We had much better ser...Read More

Member Rating 4 out of 5 on December 30, 2008

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Gazebo

Restaurant | "Our Absolute New Favorite Maui Restaurant"

Quote:

We came for breakfast and stayed for lunch. (Well, not exactly.) After reading several guidebook and on-line reviews of The Gazebo, we searched it out. Located poolside on the property of the Napili Shores condominium complex, 5315 Lwr. Honoapiilani in Kapalua, this fifteen-table restaurant is known for its breakfasts. It also has a reputation for long waits in line to get a table. But rarely do you hear a complaint on that score. When we arrived at about 10:30 a.m. there was a long line. Bill held our place in line and I explored the area. Instead of a sandy beach the shore has a lava rock tide pool. I watched as people walked around observing the critters in the pools. Later, I saw someone netting t...Read More

We came for breakfast and stayed for lunch. (Well, not exactly.) After reading several guidebook and on-line reviews of The Gazebo, we searched it out. Located poolside on the property of the Napili Shores condominium complex, 5315 Lwr. Honoapiilani in Kapalua, this fifteen-table restaurant is known for its breakfasts. It also has a reputation for long waits in line to get a table. But rarely do you hear a complaint on that score. When we arrived at about 10:30 a.m. there was a long line. Bill held our place in line and I explored the area. Instead of a sandy beach the shore has a lava rock tide pool. I watched as people walked around observing the critters in the pools. Later, I saw someone netting the area…maybe that harvest would be on the lunch menu. Once we were seated we decided on ordering from the breakfast section of the menu. I had a customized Kula Veggie omelet and for 50 cents more added some tasty Portuguese Sausage. There was rye toast and country potatoes on the side. Wow! Was that good! Bill had standard fare of scrambled eggs, bacon and toast, but with the view of Napili Bay and Molokai it was a perfect breakfast. It was so good we decided to come back a couple of days later for lunch. This time Bill had a Club Sandwich and I had the best Kalua Pork Plate Lunch I’ve ever had. The pork was very flavorful and instead of two scoops rice and one macaroni, this plate lunch was served with steamed cabbage and a small tossed salad with Papaya seed dressing. The service here is exceptional. It is very crowded in the small pavilion, but despite that the customers seemed to all be in a good mood and credit goes to the wait staff who are personable and accommodating. Our waitress told us there had been three whale sightings recently, which is rare for this early in November. That kept us watching the bay between forks-full of food. The Gazebo is open from 7:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Park as far back in the lot as you can and walk to the poolside through the lovely central courtyard. Meals for two with tip averaged $32.00. Read Less

Member Rating 5 out of 5 on December 30, 2008

Gazebo
5315 Lower Honoapi'ilani Road
Maui, Hawaii 96761
808/669-8061

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Fast Food Stops

Restaurant | "Fast Food is Some Times the Best"

Quote:

I am going to lump all the fast food places together. Some are good, some are bad, and one was a real disappointment.1.I had read articles and reviews raving about L&L Hawaiian Barbecue. We tried one at the Lahaina Cannery Mall food court and were disappointed. The chicken catsu was tough, difficult to cut with a plastic utensils and a challenge to chew. The only flavor of the meal came from the overly sweet sauce. Catsu or katsu is a Japanese style of crisp breaded coating. Bill had better luck with the beef short ribs, which were tender, but fatty very messy to eat…not car food that’s for sure. Both are served as a plate lunch and include two scoops rice and one scoop macaroni. The macaron...Read More

I am going to lump all the fast food places together. Some are good, some are bad, and one was a real disappointment.
1.I had read articles and reviews raving about L&L Hawaiian Barbecue. We tried one at the Lahaina Cannery Mall food court and were disappointed. The chicken catsu was tough, difficult to cut with a plastic utensils and a challenge to chew. The only flavor of the meal came from the overly sweet sauce. Catsu or katsu is a Japanese style of crisp breaded coating. Bill had better luck with the beef short ribs, which were tender, but fatty very messy to eat…not car food that’s for sure. Both are served as a plate lunch and include two scoops rice and one scoop macaroni. The macaroni with shredded carrots was good. Lunch for two was under $14.00.
2. Dragon Wall Express served a limited variety of Chinese fast food. While it was tasty at the time, it did not survive a microwave reheat. The veggies were mushy, not the crisp doneness expected, but the meat was tender and tasty. The location is in the food court at the Whalers Village in Ka’anapali.
3.Nikki’s Pizza is also located at the Whalers Village food court in Ka’anapali. Nikki’s was a surprise hit with us. Bill bought a large slice of Hawaiian pizza and it made a satisfying meal. They also offered smoothies. Pizza went for $4-5 per slice.
4. After our Whalers Village food court experience we finished the meal with a treat from Honolulu Cookie Company which is located on the same level of the mall. These expensive (9 cookies for $6-7) little shortbread cookies come in a variety of flavors and are a real taste treat. After sampling several flavors at their ‘have a bite’ display I bought Kona Coffee flavor and Lilikoi Mango flovored ones. It was a difficult decision because all the flavors were wonderful.
5. Burger King located on Front Street across from the Banyan Tree is a dependable, inexpensive and quick solution to a day packed with activities. We had taken a morning cruise from Lahaina Harbor and a stop here was right on the way to our next activity. No wait, no tip and lets face it, a plain old cheese burger and small side salad was just what we needed. Lunch for two was under $7.00.
6. Mc Donalds in a Kahana shopping mall off of Hoohui Road provided fast, cheap food when we were in transition between a condo in Lahaina and one in Ka’anapali. They were out of the packs of apple slices I wanted, but the manager stepped in and substituted a fruit salad for the same price. Lunch for two was under $12.00.
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Member Rating 3 out of 5 on December 30, 2008

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Cafe 808

Restaurant | "Upcountry hidden treasure"

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We read about Café 808 from an on-line search, otherwise we never would have found it. Our plans for the day were to go Upcountry Maui. We wanted to find a place for lunch between two other activities. There aren’t many places to choose from in the Kula region. Thankfully I brought along the computer printout showing how to find 4566 Lower Kula Road in Kula. (Past the Holy Ghost church and across from Morihara Store) The place doesn’t look like much from the street or inside. Perhaps this is a former meat locker; on one wall there are doors like walk-in refrigerators. The floors are concrete or non descript vinyl, the tables are wobbly and a mismatched collection of ice cream parlor chairs and plasti...Read More

Member Rating 5 out of 5 on December 30, 2008

Cafe 808
4566 Lower Kula Road
Kula 96790
(808) 878-6874

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Bubba Gump Shrimp Co.

Restaurant | "Life Is Like a Box of Chocolates..."

Quote:

In the movie "Forrest Gump" the crowd at the football game had to yell, "Stop, Forrest Stop!" to keep him from running out of the stadium. That phrase is on one side of a license plate at each table. If you want the wait staff to stop at your table, just display that sign. That indicates the fun atmosphere at this waterside restaurant. We were seated right at the railing overhanging the water. Great view, a fun waitress, and decent food made for a great experience. Forrest Gump was a champion ping-pong player and sure enough, there was a ping-pong paddle on each table. The paddle held the drink and dessert menu. We got a kick out of all the movie trivia posted around the room and incorporated in the ...Read More

Member Rating 5 out of 5 on December 30, 2008

Bubba Gump Shrimp Co.
889 Front Street
Lahaina, Hawaii 96761
+1 808 661 3111

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Aloha Mixed Plate

Restaurant | "Paper Plates Meets Elegant View"

Quote:

This casual restaurant with a terrific view ranks at the top of my husband list of Maui restaurants. Located at 1285 Front Street in Lahaina it is easy to find. Directly across the street is the Lahaina Cannery Mall. Next-door is the Old Lahaina Luau. In fact one benefit to an evening meal here is the "free" music drifting over from the luau. The other benefit is the gorgeous sunsets with Lanai in the background and in the channel a flotilla of small boats. Very picturesque. Seating is outside under dark green oversized umbrellas. There are two levels with the upper level being adjacent to the bar. You are served on "paper plates, this is a casual place. This trip we came here twice for lunch. Bill...Read More

Member Rating 4 out of 5 on December 30, 2008

Aloha Mixed Plate
1285 Front St
Maui, Hawaii 96761
(808) 661-3322

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IgoUgo

Maui Journals

Maui Grinds

Maui Grinds

Zippy's

Seascape Ma'alaea Restaurant

Pioneer Inn Grill

Leilani's on the Beach

T. Komoda Store & Bakery

Kimo's Restaurant

Coffee Anyone

Gazebo

Fast Food Stops

Cafe 808

Bubba Gump Shrimp Co.

Aloha Mixed Plate

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