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Jaws OUR WORLD-FAMOUS WAVE FROM THE PROS’ POV
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REST ASSURED
New resort safety protocols
CREATING KAPA
The ancient beauty of barkcloth
5 MUST-TRY RESTAURANTS 0
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With delicious savory starters
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Features
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ADVENTURE A BITE OUT OF HISTORY Three surfers chronicle their encounters with one of the most infamous waves in the world — Jaws. By Lara McGlashan
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ISLAND BUSINESS COPING WITH COVID Learn about how safety is the new luxury. By Sarah Ruppenthal
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HAWAIIAN SOUL BEAUTY IN THE BARK The Hawaiians of old excelled in the making of kapa. Now, their distant daughters are reclaiming this once-lost ancient art. By Shannon Wianecki
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AT HOME FLUID DYNAMICS This West Maui dwelling owes its design to the elemental attraction of water. By Marti Rosenquist
Cover: Kai Lenny takes on Jaws, Maui’s North Shore leviathan. Read all about our world-famous wave on page 32. Photo by Daniel Sullivan
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“This photo was [taken] around 1996, and it was blowing my mind that ... no one else was on the cliff watching or shooting during this session of the Strapped Crew in the early days of Pe‘ahi.” This page photo and quote by Erik Aeder
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Departments
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CONTRIBUTORS It takes a lot of talent to make Maui Nō Ka ‘Oi the magazine that it is.
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PUBLISHER’S NOTE By Diane Haynes Woodburn TAG, WE’RE IT! Here’s a shout out to our fans who get social.
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MAUIMAGAZINE.NET Want more MauiMag? Check out our online exclusives.
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TALK STORY Tales of Hawai‘i fresh off the coconut wireless. By Shannon Wianecki, Kat Ambrose & Lara McGlashan
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CELEBRATING 25 YEARS We’re turning 25! Here are some of our favorite stories of issues past. By Rita Goldman
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WHO’S HELPING Community is everything, and Mauians are always there with a helping hand. By Felix Sunny D’Souza
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PAU HANA HOME IS WHERE THE POI IS By Teri Freitas-Gorman
Dining Stories by Becky Speere
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FEATURE POP-UP PERFECTION We’re treated to a sample of Chef Taylor Ponte’s new culinary venture.
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DINING HIGHLIGHTS THE SHORT & SAVORY LIST These are the perfect starters to whet your appetite.
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The Sea House Restaurant’s steak tataki is a starter you won’t want to end. Our Dining Highlights begin on Page 68. Photo by Mieko Horikoshi
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MIXOLOGY ATTACK OF THE KILLER DAQS Try this custom cocktail from Wailuku’s newest hot spot.
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DINING GUIDE Here is a list of our favorite places to eat all over the island.
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There’s a saying known throughout the Islands: Maui nō ka ‘oi, Hawaiian for “Maui is the best.” We hope you think so, too.
Publisher Diane Haynes Woodburn Group Publisher Michael Haynes Creative Director John Giordani
Editor-in-Chief Lara McGlashan
EDITORIAL
Consulting Editor Rita Goldman Dining Editor Becky Speere Website Manager Adelle Lennox Digital Media Manager Felix Sunny D’Souza Digital Media Contributor Tori Speere
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Controller Kao Kushner Subscriptions & Office Manager Nancy Wenske NEWSSTAND SALES & CIRCULATION
Subscription Inquiries Toll-Free: 844-808-MAUI (6284) or visit Subscribe.MauiMagazine.net National MagNet, National MagNet, Disticor Magazine Distribution Services Hawai‘i MagNet | In-Room Maui Circulation CONTRIBUTING WRITERS
Kat Ambrose, Felix Sunny D’Souza, Rita Goldman, Teri Frietas Gorman, Lara McGlashan, Marti Rosenquist, Sarah Ruppenthal, Becky Speere, Shannon Wianecki CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS
Erik Aeder, Mark Ammen, Fish Bowl Diaries, Mieko Horikoshi, Nina Kuna, Mike Neubauer, Flip Nicklin, Becky Speere, Daniel Sullivan CONTRIBUTING ILLUSTRATOR
Guy Junker E-MAIL: Info@MauiMagazine.net
Moving? Send address changes to: Haynes Publishing Group, 90 Central Ave., Wailuku, HI 96793. Please note: If your magazine is undeliverable, Haynes Publishing has no further obligation unless we receive a corrected address within one year of notification.
Publishers of Maui Nō Ka ‘Oi, Kā‘anapali, Island Living and Eating & Drinking magazines 90 Central Ave., Wailuku, HI 96793; 808-242-8331. ISSN 2473-5299 (print) | ISSN 2473-5469 (online) ©2021 Haynes Publishing Group, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this magazine may be reprinted and/or altered without the written permission of the publisher. The publisher reserves the right to accept or reject any advertising matter. Unsolicited manuscripts and photographs are welcome, but must be accompanied by a self-addressed, stamped envelope. The publisher assumes no responsibility for care and return of unsolicited material. Individual issues are available upon written request at $4.95 per issue plus postage. Yearly subscriptions: U.S., $24; Canada, $44; Foreign, $64. Payable in U.S. currency. MauiMagazine.net.
Maui Nō Ka 'Oi Magazine is printed on acid- and chlorine-free paper from Sappi, an environmental leader whose paper products comply with the Forest Stewardship Council and Sustainable Forestry Initiative.
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CONTRIBUTORS
Introducing some of the folks who make our magazine nō ka ‘oi (the best).
Born and raised in Japan, photographer Mieko Horikoshi moved to Maui in 1994. She discovered her love for food photography while she was tied her to the kitchen raising two young daughters. She's inspired by things big and small, from a tiny mushroom to the Milky Way. miekophotography.com | Society6. com/LilikoiMaui | IG @miekoskitchen
Marti Rosenquist lived on Maui for more than fourteen years before moving back to the Midwest, but she continues to spend winters on the island. When she wasn't chasing the latest food trend, our former dining editor often penned pieces about luxurious living, including the story in this issue about a dream home in Kapalua Plantation Estates.
Kula resident and amateur gardener Nina Kuna loves toiling in the dirt with her husband, cat and three ducks. Photographing Maui’s remarkable people, places and cuisine has been a highlight during her fifteen years on the island. She owns and operates an online shop specializing in engraved gifts and novelties. Visit TheEngraver.etsy.com.
Dining Feature (p.63) & Highlights (p.68)
At Home (p.52)
Hawaiian Soul (p.46)
Named the 2016 Travel Writer of the Year by the Hawai‘i Ecotourism Association, and Best Independent Journalist by the Society of Professional Journalists, Hawai‘i Chapter, Shannon Wianecki has traveled to Iceland, the South Pacific and all points in between in search of stories. Her favorite spot remains the beach within walking distance of her house on Maui. Follow her adventures @SWianecki.
Of Rita Goldman’s numerous writing awards, she’s proudest of the Hawai‘i Book Publishers Association’s 2004 Ka Palapala Po‘okela Award of Excellence for her pictorial history Every Grain of Rice: Portraits of Maui’s Japanese Community, written on behalf of the Nisei Veterans Memorial Center. Her curiosity about the past made Rita’s present assignment a cinch — our curated series, “Celebrating 25 years of Maui Nō Ka ‘Oi.”
For his book The Maui Coast, awardwinning photographer Daniel Sullivan captured stunning landscapes by circumnavigating the island, logging more than 200 miles searching for remnants of the 16th century Kings Highway. When he’s not in his gallery, Indigo Paia, he’s leading private photography tours. DanielSullivan.tours IG @danielsullivangallery DanielSullivanPhotography.com
In Season (p.26) & Hawaiian Soul (p.46)
Celebrating 25 Years (p.28)
Cover & Adventure (p.32)
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PUBLISHER’S NOTE
Hope, Enterprise and Change
A hui hou,
Diane Haynes Woodburn Publisher
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MIEKO HORIKOSHI
Just as Maui Nō Ka ‘Oi enters its 25th year, and shortly before I put this pen to paper, we lost a dear friend and renowned photographer, Ron Dahlquist. “I remember calling Ron when I first decided to launch Maui Nō Ka ‘Oi,” I tell the small group of friends gathered aboard the Trilogy catamaran for Ron’s celebration of life. ‘‘‘I can’t afford you,’ I confessed, ‘but would you consider being our photographer?’” With a resounding and generous YES! Ron became our staff photographer for the nascent Maui Nō Ka ‘Oi Magazine, and his spectacular photography graced our pages for many years to follow. Our captain shares a story, too, reminding us of the full and rich life Ron enjoyed. “And yet he had one regret — that for all the whale-watch cruises he had been on, he never caught the quintessential photo of a breaching whale.” We all laugh. Ron had captured so many legendary photos throughout his career that this small gap in his portfolio seemed impossible. It is a gorgeous day with cobalt blue skies, bright sun and a cool breeze, reminding us all of the beauty Ron communicated in his work. As more friends shared remembrances, my husband, Jamie, and I lean in close to one another. “The wind is changing,” Jamie says in a soft voice, his eye on the horizon. But it’s not just the wind; change is constant, and just as the philosopher Bertrand Russell promised, it’s the only thing we can really count on. “Man needs, for his happiness, not only the enjoyment of this or that, but hope and enterprise and change,” said Russell. And change is certainly riding the wind at Maui Nō Ka ‘Oi. As this issue goes to press, our senior editor, Rita Goldman, is taking on a new role with the magazine. She began with us as a freelance writer and contributing editor more than two decades ago, and in 2007 joined the staff as senior editor. Although she’s the first to admit she can be “ornery,” and we’ve often gone head-to-head, I’ve always trusted Rita to have the magazine’s excellence at heart … and to bring humor to its pages. Now, as consulting editor, Rita remains an integral part of Maui Nō Ka ‘Oi … with more time to smell the plumerias. As Rita (mostly) steps down, it’s my pleasure to welcome our new editor-in-chief, Lara Our very first issue, Summer 1996, cover photo by the late McGlashan, who navigated her move from Connecticut to Maui this past summer despite Ron Dahlquist. the pandemic’s challenges. Lara has been a writer and editor for more than 20 years, spearheading numerous national and international magazines and writing and coauthoring several books. To be able to combine her love of writing with her love of Maui, she says, is a dream come true. Get a taste of her work on page 32 of this issue with “A Bite out of History,” and be on the lookout for new and exciting digital content. And there’s more: John Giordani, who started as our creative director in 2012, has returned after a yearlong hiatus. You will recognize the gorgeous design and creative energy that John puts into each and every issue, enabling us to tell our stories with beauty and sensitivity, and to reflect our respect for place and culture. We also welcome Felix D’Souza in his new position as digital manager and Tori Speere as a digital contributor. I could not be happier to have these talented people join the MNKO team for our launch into 2021. As our afternoon on the Trilogy begins to wane and testimonies come to an end, someone begins to sing “Aloha Oe,” that beautiful, melodic tune written by Queen Lili‘uokalani. We all join in. The mood is sweet, somber, reflective. Then I hear my husband … “Over there!” Jamie yells. There is a collective gasp on board. A humpback whale is in full breach off the bow. I see it just as it comes crashing down on its side. “Holy smokes!” I shout in exhilaration. A few moments pass as the huge animal disappears into the ocean, and then it’s airborne again, and again … in fact, four breaches in all. The mood swings instantly from solemn to incredulous, and finally to joyful. I am not particularly religious, but in this moment, I am a believer. We wish you a 2021 built on the foundation of aloha, and filled with the miracles of hope, enterprise and change.
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TAG, WE’RE IT
It’s official: Our readers are as obsessed with Maui as we are. We see you out there, exploring the island and snapping those Insta-worthy shots. Follow us on Instagram @MauiMag, tag #LoveMauiMag and we’ll share some of our favorite posts in each issue.
@stusoley “Relax Your Mind” ... and let your conscious be free!
@taraleemurphy Mystical mountain ride today, fresh air for the win
@aaronlynton Clean up in aisle 7
@mattfosterillustration ALOHA Hawaiiana letterpress art by Matt Foster.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS → WEB
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Want more Maui Nō Ka ‘Oi? Go to our website for exclusive articles, recipes, contests, videos and more. Here’s what’s in store this issue.
WE’RE TURNING 25! Help us celebrate with a look back at some of our favorite stories from issues past. Read them in full at Maui Magazine.net/25years.
WIN A TRIP TO MAUI! We’ve partnered with Alaska Airlines and the Fairmont Kea Lani in Wailea to give one lucky winner an amazing trip for two to Maui. Go to MauiMagazine.net/contests and sign up today!
STAYING SAFE IN MAUI Our beautiful island resorts are open and ready to welcome you back! Go to MauiMagazine. net/resort-safety and click on the hyperlinks to read about their stepped-up safety and cleanliness protocols.
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WHALE WATCHING Watch as our Talk Story subject and Whale Trust cofounder Flip Nicklin comes eye-to-eye with a male humpback whale. MauiMagazine.net/ humpback-chronicles
TOP LEFT: MIEKO HORIKOSHI; CENTER: ALASKA AIRLINES; BOTTOM L–R: FOUR SEASONS MAUI RESORT, FLIP NICKLIN
STEAK YOUR CLAIM The chefs at The Sea House Restaurant at Napili Kai share their delicious recipe for Steak Crudo with Seven-Spice Chili Oil — exclusively with us! Go to MauiMagazine.net/steak-crudo and make it tonight.
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SHOPPING * DINING * ACTIVITIES * MODERN ACCOMMODATIONS
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TALK STORY F re
sh of
→ day
f t h e c o c o n u t w i re
le s s
NAME Charles “Flip” Nicklin
in the life
A Whale of a Tale By Kat Ambrose & Lara McGlashan Photography by Flip Nicklin
TITLE Marine wildlife photographer and marine biologist UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL While snorkeling and free diving to depths of more than 90 feet, Charles “Flip” Nicklin has engaged with twenty-eight species of whales, dolphins and porpoises. But one encounter stands fins and tails above the rest: coming eye-to-eye with a male humpback. Nicklin was snorkeling in the waters between Lāna‘i and Kaho‘olawe when the whale first circled then swam straight toward him. “He trapped me between his pectoral fin and the surface,” says Nicklin. “But it was slow and easy, and he held me there for a bit, just to have a look at me. Then he dropped his fin and swam off.” Amazingly, Nicklin had filmed the entire event, and that footage became episode 7 of his weekly talk story series about humpback whales and the history of whale research called the Humpback Chronicles. With more than 30 episodes to date and counting, this series has allowed Nicklin to share the wonder and beauty of his beloved whales with the world. PASSION PROJECT Nicklin grew up working at his father’s dive shop in San Diego and was helping to teach diving classes at fourteen years old. Nicklin Sr. was also an underwater cinematographer, so it would seem a natural segue for Flip to follow in his dad’s swim fins — but it almost didn’t happen. “It looked interesting but didn’t seem [like a] realistic occupation,” Nicklin recalls. In 1976, Nicklin met National Geographic photographers Bates Littlehales and Jonathan Blair, and was offered a job as an assistant on a diving expedition. “I bought an underwater camera system and spent three months working in the Northwest Hawaiian Islands chain, watching the photographers work,” he says. A couple of the photos he took during that job were published in National Geographic, and in 1982, Nat Geo ran Nicklin’s very first story on Maui’s humpback whales. He has since published several books of marine photography as well as a book for kids called Face to Face With Dolphins.
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15th Annual Whale Tales FEBRUARY 13-14, 2021 In 2021, Whale Tales will be a virtual experience that will bring humpback whales and the beauty of Maui to you — no matter where in the world you are this winter! This event has raised more than $725,000 for whale research over the last 13 years, and has reached tens of thousands of people, including thousands of local schoolchildren. For more information or to donate to this local nonprofit, go to WhaleTales.org.
Maui Nō Ka ‘Oi Jan–Feb 2021
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EYE-TO-EYE ENCOUNTER Watch Nicklin’s up-close-and-personal encounter with a humpback whale in episode 7 of the Humpback Chronicles at MauiMagazine.net/ humpback-chronicles.
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MAKE IT SNAPPY Preparing for a photo shoot requires careful planning, and since your subjects aren’t privy to the call time, you have to be ready to jump into the water when opportunity strikes. The goal of each whale encounter is to capture as many images and as much video footage as possible without disturbing the whales or changing their behavior. For that reason, Nicklin works tank-free. “When I am snorkeling and free diving I am making less noise than if I were SCUBA diving,” he says. “That way I can capture better behavior.” Federal law prohibits anyone — whether on or in the water — from coming within 100 yards of a humpback, however there are permits allowed for research and education, and it’s with those in hand that Nicklin and his team conduct their studies. “It’s not [about] swimming with whales,” he says. “It’s [about telling] the story.” Whale Trust Maui P.O. Box 243 Makawao, HI, 96768 (808) 527-5700 | WhaleTrust.org IG @whaletrustmaui | FB @WhaleTrust IG @flipnicklin | FB @flip.nicklin An earlier version of this story originally appeared in our Jan-Feb 2020 issue.
RALPH PACE
YEARS OF SHARING MAUI STORIES
Nicklin’s passion for whales is evident not only in his photographs, but also through Whale Trust Maui, a nonprofit which he cofounded with scientists Meagan Jones, Ph.D., and Jim Darling, Ph.D. Their mission is equal parts research and education, with the goal of encouraging marine conservation. Nicklin is part of the Whale Trust research-photography team, and along with videographer Jason Sturgis, works to document the behavioral and social patterns of Hawaiian humpback whales, one of the least-understood areas of whale research. Their work is key to the understanding of whale song, relationships and more.
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TALK STORY → in
season
The Urchin & the Hala Tree An old Hawaiian proverb says, “Pala ka hala, momona ka hā‘uke‘uke.” (“When the hala ripens, the sea urchin is fat.”) Hala trees (Pandanus tectorius) are among Hawai‘i’s most recognizable and versatile native plants. All along the coastline, bunches of spiky leaves erupt out of thick trunks perched atop prop roots. Weavers strip the long, narrow leaves (lau hala) of their spines and bend them into mats, hats and bowls. Fishermen keep an eye on hala, too: The tree signals the best time to forage for two favorite ocean delicacies. Hala fruits look like arboreal pineapples — round and segmented. When they break apart and fall to the ground, it’s time to harvest hā‘uke‘uke, or helmet urchins. These deep purple sea urchins congregate on wave-battered rocks where they creep along and graze on algae. Unlike their prickly cousins who wave away potential predators with needle-sharp spines, these echinoderms armor themselves with a smooth, plated dome. This helmet is perfect for
Story by Shannon Wianecki Photo by Mike Neubauer
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withstanding the high-impact surf zone. Two to three times a year, the coastal animals grow “fat,” or reproductively mature. Fishermen crack the urchin’s helmet to reveal its gonads — five glistening, golden segments that are scooped out and eaten raw or cooked. Urchin aficionados crave the creamy texture and distinctive, sweet and briny flavor, which varies according to the animal’s diet and the water temperature where it was harvested. Hā‘uke‘uke is one of several edible urchins popular around the world, particularly in Italy, France, Japan and Hawai‘i. And humans aren’t the only ones who have discovered the joy of sea urchin gonads: A second Hawaiian proverb reveals, “Pala ka hala, momona ka uhu.” (“When the hala ripens, the parrotfish is fat.”) Parrotfish grow plump snacking on sea urchins, and smart fishermen know how to hook an uhu using hā‘uke‘uke as a lure. Their efforts result in a double feast: raw urchin and roasted parrotfish. So ‘ono (delicious)!
CELEBRATING 25 YEARS OF MAUI NŌ KA ‘OI
Encore! 19962000 This year, Maui Nō Ka ‘Oi Magazine celebrates a quarter-century in print, bringing you stories that illustrate what our name means in Hawaiian: Maui is the best. Throughout 2021, we’ll share some of our favorites from the archives, printing a sampler in these pages and the complete stories online at MauiMagazine.net/25years. We’ve saved space in the November/December issue to highlight some of your favorites. Send your candidates to ideas@ mauimagazine.net. Here’s to another 25 years. Mahalo for your enduring support. Story by Rita Goldman
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1996 SUMMER The Giant Costco-storeus
Maui Nō Ka ‘Oi Magazine made its debut in 1996 — and so did Maui’s first megastore. Would it prove friend or foe? Writer Tom Stevens tackled that question in “Searching for COSTCO's Soul.” “Costco’s arrival on Maui sent Jurassic tremors through the local business community,” wrote Tom. “Alarmists viewed Costco as a killer carnivore, a Tyrannosaurus rex that would smash through the jungle and devour all businesses in its path.” Some local businesses did succumb (remember Woolworth? Horiuchi Market?), though not all were the fault of the megastore. And while lacking the charm of Maui’s venerable mom-andpop establishments, Costco did bring benefits, such as featuring Maui Pineapple Company’s succulent fruit in its worldwide mail-order catalog, and selling bento lunches from Bentos & Banquets by Bernard. “For the first time, average wage earners, homemakers and pensioners can steer oversized shopping carts through a sea of quality, brand-name products previously found only in Honolulu,” Tom noted, “and ... socialize while they do it.”
1997SUMMER/FALL Saddling Up to Haleakalā
Tom Stevens took on a different breed of animal in this story by riding into the Haleakalā crater. Guide Nate Holmes immediately sized Tom up as a horseback greenhorn and said, “You’ll be on Ozzie. [He’s] been through the crater 400 times. Just give him his head and you’ll be fine.” Down they went — our intrepid writer, Nate and six other adventurers — zigzagging down Sliding Sands and into a caldera ten miles long, three miles across and 3,000 feet deep. “At length the crater works its magic,” reported Tom. “And the ‘half-day’ vote is forgotten. We all want to press on.” Tom’s story did, too. “[We passed] John Wayne buttes and mesas … flanks of cinder cones hundreds of feet tall … the dark eerie chasm called Bottomless Pit and a rock formation Nate identified as, where Madame Pele, [Hawai‘i’s storied volcano goddess], kept her pigs. In that vale of ghosts and mists, there seems no reason to doubt him.”
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CELEBRATING 25 YEARS OF MAUI NŌ KA ‘OI
1998 SUMMER
A Portrait of the Artist as Historian When Eddie Flotte moved to Maui some 25 years ago, he began painting scenes of a now-bygone era: old-timers playing cards outside of Noda Market, a pickup truck rusting in an overgrown yard, a cow gazing out from a pasture of the long-departed Haleakalā Dairy. His watercolors are often nostalgic, sometimes whimsical and always captivating. And his process? A bit unorthodox. “The books say to paint the entire picture in layers,” wrote author Tamara Hanke. “Study the light, the shadows … [Eddie's] painting grows from left to right, as if a large brush had swept slowly across his paper.” “[The masters] didn’t sit around and analyze the geometric shapes,” said Eddie. “Their sense of balance and harmony was instinctive.” So is Eddie’s. See for yourself at EddieFlotte.com.
1999 SPRING Man of the Cloth
The assignment was to explore the art of John Severson, the former owner and publisher of Surfer Magazine. “I was unaware that surfing was only a small part of his career,” said writer Jamie Woodburn. “Severson [was also] a photographer, filmmaker, businessman [and] environmentalist.” Surfing and art were John's passions. “It would take Hawai‘i — and the U.S. Army — to bring his two loves together," wrote Jamie. John worked as an illustrator for the Army and surfed every chance he got. His wife, Louise, worked in textile design. Dale Hope of Kahala Designs was the couple’s mutual friend. He spotted some of Louise’s fabric designs in a Makawao shop and asked John and Louise to design aloha shirts for his company. The rest, as they say, is the fabric of history.
2000 WINTER Bitter Sweet
“On my daily drives through Maui’s Central Valley … I see acres and acres of green young cane rustling in the breeze.” When Michael Stein wrote that opening sentence in his story, “king" sugar had been Hawai‘i’s most significant commercial crop for more than 150 years. It reshaped the islands into vast plantations and transformed the population, as immigrants from around the world came to work in the fields and mills. Global competition and the high cost of production inexorably pushed the king from his throne. By 2000, only Maui’s two sugar plantations, Pioneer Mill and Hawaiian Commercial & Sugar, remained — and Pioneer Mill was closing. Michael's story delved into sugar’s past and precarious future, and how the land and people were indelibly changed.
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It was too hard to choose just a few of our favorites from the many stories we’ve shared over the years. Here are some of our runners-up for you to enjoy, as well. Read them in full at MauiMagazine.net/25years.
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Why We Love Willie (Summer 1996)
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The Gray Wave (Winter '96-'97)
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Maui Pineapple (Winter 1998)
Kaho‘olawe Reborn (Fall 1999)
A Cuppa Ka'anapali (Summer 2000) Maui Nō Ka ‘Oi Jan–Feb 2021
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Makua Rothman, the 2015 World Surf League’s Big Wave Surfer of the Year, catches a monster at the 2019 WSL Jaws Big Wave Challenge. “This was one of the largest days at Jaws I had ever seen,” recalls photographer Daniel Sullivan. “We watched from the helicopter as Jet Skis were literally pulverized against the rocks.”
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Story by Lara McGlashan Photography by Daniel Sullivan
Three surfers chronicle their encounters with one of the most infamous waves in the world — Jaws.
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Laird Hamilton Pe‘ahi, 2008
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Kai Lenny Pe‘ahi, 2020
ou are looking out over the vast expanse of the Pacific from the high cliffs on the north shore of Maui. The the water appears smooth and tranquil. A gentle breeze blows as the ocean undulates toward the shore, waves marching along in orderly fashion. This view is typical of Pe‘ahi on a balmy summer’s day; however, this peaceable calm will vanish as the swells get larger and rougher and winter closes in. If you’re lucky, you might bear witness on one of the few days of the year when the ocean literally rises to the height of an eight-story building and rushes forward with the raw temper of a grizzly bear. Jaws is going off. In order to create the oceanic phenomenon that is Jaws, certain sequential steps need to happen. First, a strong winter storm thousands of miles away in the North Pacific has to push the ocean’s surface with winds averaging 40 to 50 knots. This creates swells — enormous oceanic ripples — which emanate outward in haste until they approach land. As the sea floor becomes shallower, the swells rise in both speed and amplitude, creating waves which finally terminate on the shore, crashing in a spectacular riot of foam and tumult.
“An immeasurable amount of water is being displaced and the force is unstoppable. It is pretty absurd we put ourselves in that position, but in some satisfactory way we feel good about it.” — Kai Lenny Now, let’s say that same raging storm pushes the ocean water in a very specific direction (NW-NE) and the winds blow along a particular course (E-SE), directing the waves toward the north shore of Maui. As the swells approach land, they are funneled first down and into an ancient ocean trench some 100+ feet deep, then are forced quickly back up and onto a shallow 20-foot reef. This sudden vertical jump in marine terrain drives the energy of the wave skyward, resulting in the monstrous wall of water that has become the forbidding hallmark of this isolated shore break. With all the particulars necessary to create this kind of wave, it stands to reason that it is a rare occurrence, and indeed Jaws reaches absurd heights only a few times each year, typically between November and March. So now let’s say that you’re a human being who makes his or her way several miles east of Pā‘ia Town on a
wickedly craggy dirt road and arrives at a cliff on one of those very few days when Jaws rises from the deep — and decides to surf it. Today, Jaws is internationally notorious as one of the best places on earth for big wave surfing — if not the best, depending on who you ask. Athletes from all over the globe will literally drop what they’re doing and hop on the next plane to Maui when it’s predicted to go off. But as much renown as it enjoys at present, Jaws was relatively unoccupied and anonymous for decades. “There was only a handful of people who knew about it because it was so off the beaten track,” says Pete Cabrinha, multi-water-sport athlete and Jaws pioneer. “It was sort of mystical and people were like, I hear there is this big wave spot that, you know, has no access.” For years the only real landmark that Maui Nō Ka ‘Oi Jan–Feb 2021
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Robby Naish sails into the the belly of the beast on New Year’s Eve — a radical start to 2020. Photo by Fish Bowl Diaries
“The first time I went out to Jaws was in 1996. I launched from the lighthouse with a friend of mine — no boat, no Jet Ski, no helicopter. I made it out past the break, but he didn’t; he kind of got washed back in. So I had my first session at Jaws by myself.” — Robby Naish signaled where to turn off the highway for the break was a dome-shaped house, (which also gave the locale its first nickname, “Domes”), and the only way to reach the rocky beach was to scrabble down a sketchy cliff with your board tucked tightly underneath your arm. In 1975, three surfers who had heard about the secluded spot — John Lemus, John Potterick and John Robertson — decided to check it out. They made it down the cliff and into the water, but within minutes of beginning their session the sea went from manageable to insurmountable, and the surf began to rage with the unpredictability and ferocity of a shark attack. Thus, they rechristened it Jaws in deference to the movie of the same name. Regardless of its enticing new nickname, Jaws remained largely vacant, save for a few
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hearty and hale windsurfers. “You were really roughing it back then,” says Robby Naish, 24-time windsurfing world champion and the first athlete to surf Jaws on a stand-up paddle board (SUP) in 2000. “There were no helicopters, no Jet Skis, no inflation vests — just a pair of board shorts and holding your breath.” But in the 1990s that would all change. Anyone who has been competitive in sports knows the innate yet inexplicable human need to push your limits and attempt the impossible. For surfers, that impossible was Jaws. “There was talk amongst big wave surfers that there was this thing called the unrideable realm,” says Cabrinha, “this threshold where it was generally understood that there existed a size of wave you might not be able to catch by paddling in.”
Simply defining this realm made people crazy to conquer it, including Laird Hamilton, who at the time was making a name for himself on O‘ahu. Hamilton and a couple friends were noodling around and towing one another into waves using a Zodiac — an inflatable boat traditionally used for leisurely activities such as fishing. They documented their efforts of that session and brought their footage to Maui, where they shared it with friends. Immediately everyone wanted a piece of the action. They upgraded their towing tools from Zodiacs to Jet Skis and used themselves as guinea pigs for any and all equipment innovations they could dream up. “We quickly realized that in order to [tow surf] effectively we needed to be connected to the board,” says Cabrinha. “Originally we tried foilboarding with a semipermanent connection using snowboard boots. But that was pretty gnarly because you’d go from like 50 miles an hour to zero in half a second. So we started strapping ourselves to our surfboards like you do in windsurfing.” And so was born the Strapped Crew, which included Laird Hamilton, Mark Angulo, Pete Cabrinha, Darrick Doerner, Dave Kalama, Brett Lickle, Rush Randle and Mike Waltze, among others.
A Windward Aviation helicopter flies low in search of a surfer in the white water. Jet Skis rescue watersports athletes from a pummelling.
Once they had a rudimentary system in place, it was just a matter of honing their craft in anticipation of blowing past that unrideable realm. “It was a sobering and serious moment when you realized that, okay, there is gonna be a day where we’re gonna come out to Jaws and we are gonna be able to catch an 80-footer,” says Cabrinha. “I think we all knew that we were part of this, that we were living this seismic shift in the whole big-wave-surfing thing. We knew there was such consequence to what we were doing, and everybody had everybody’s back. Surfing went from a solo sport to a team sport and we got serious about the surfing as well as the rescuing, because if someone wiped out, you couldn’t go in and pick them out of the impact zone. That’s when the Jet Ski became an important part of the rescue as well as the towing-in.” The Strapped Crew continued to experiment with equipment, and though they didn’t realize it at the time, were laying the very foundation that would make Maui ground zero for surfing techology. “Tow surfing pushed the progress of equipment because you could ride a much smaller board — the size of board that matched the wave — and there was this quantum leap in board performance,” says Cabrinha. “Paddling
Spectators on the cliff overlooking Jaws watch a professional competition.
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“Jaws is the most perfect wave in the world. There is really no other wave out there that is as big vertically and has as much power and as much potential for performance.” — Kai Lenny
Kai Lenny Pe‘ahi, 2020
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The picturesque Pe‘ahi coastline belies its dangerous temperament.
in you’re riding at least a 10½- or 11-foot board, but with tow surfing you’re riding a 6-foot board and suddenly you have a high-performance surfboard on your feet that you can really control.” But tow surfing was not immediately accepted, and surfing purists pooh-poohed it and called it “cheating.” Undeterred, the Strapped Crew continued with their quest to perfect the science of the tow-in and enjoyed uncrowded conditions at Jaws for several years. And while the Crew caught big wave after big wave in rapid succession, paddlers sat for hours waiting to catch a single one — a nd still wouldn’t buy into the idea. However, just as the practice of towing into big waves was coming to a technological head, a new crew of paddle-in purists stole the spotlight. “All surfers were like, if you really want to prove you’re in the top you’ve got to paddle in,” says Cabrinha. “Shane Dorian, Ian Walsh, Billy Kemper and a host of other guys decided to tackle it and push the limits. And that is when the whole progressive paddle-surf movement took off.” This shift gave people a new challenge to overcome, a new unrideable realm to demolish and a whole new host of young athletes to school. And with this urgent press forward came more advances in technology. “It’s like a seesaw,” says Kai Lenny, pro surfer, Red Bull athlete and eight-time SUP world champion. “As the performance level of the athlete goes up, you’re sort of waiting for the technology to catch up and help you get to the next level. Then the technology blows past and you’re trying to harness all that — while
“It’s intimidating. It’s a lot of water. Even after doing it for this long I still get nervous when I am out there, more and more so as I get older. Maybe it’s a self-preservation gene that comes in as you age, whether you like it or not.” — Robby Naish also trying to ride the biggest waves possible in a creative and exciting way.” One recent invention that has caused some controversy in surfing circles is the inflatable vest: Pull a tab and you puncture a CO2 canister which quickly inflates a bladder inside the vest and rockets you up to the surface like a cork. Some consider this a life-saving discovery, allowing users to increase their chances of surviving a two- or three-wave hold-down, while others believe it gives those who might not be capable of surfing big waves a false sense of confidence. “I am not a person to say who can and cannot go out there — it’s up to the individual,” says Lenny. “But they have to look at reality and see where they are, mentally and physically. It’s human nature that people overstep their limits and people definitely get in over their heads out there. A lot of people get pounded, are saved by their inflation vests and probably won’t come back. But others get pounded and realize, I have to train harder, and are back the next day.” Though the area is now known by its original Hawaiian name, Pe‘ahi, popularity has given
the hallowed spot a different vibe, one which smells of commerce and social media. “A lot of guys want to go there and get their picture taken at Jaws and post it online as quickly as possible,” says Naish. “It’s the showcase place, and what happens at Jaws is recorded in the morning and by afternoon is going around the world.” Indeed, on any given day when the surf’s up on the north shore, you’ll find dozens of people and watercraft bobbing around on the sea, waiting for the swells to amplify. Oftentimes there are helicopters circling and hundreds of spectators standing on the edge of the cliff waiting to see the best of the best catch the wave of their lives. Despite the media chaos, many local pros still ride Jaws on the reg, and on any given day you might see the Walsh brothers, Keala Kennelly or Kai Lenny navigating the belly of the beast. The progressive paddle-in trend still prevails, but tow in surfing is currently enjoying a moment, due in no small part to Lenny. “At one of the most high-profile events in the world, the [2018] Pe‘ahi Challenge, it got big and windy and gnarly and they put the contest on hold,” says Cabrinha. “Kai had his Maui Nō Ka ‘Oi Jan–Feb 2021
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[Pullquote] “It’s intimidating. It’s a lot of water. Even after doing it for this long I still get nervous when I am out there, more and more so as I get older. Maybe it’s a self-preservation gene that comes in as you age, whether you like it or not.” Robby Naish [end]
“I wasn’t inspired by comic books or superheroes … I was more inspired by these heroes I was seeing in front of me, these water sports athletes — Robby Nash, Laird Hamilton, Dave Kalama. It was those individuals I looked up to because they were doing what everyone was saying was impossible, and I loved that.” — Kai Lenny
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tow-surfing gear with him and while the cameras were rolling, the world watched live for an hour as he put on a tow-surfing clinic. That one session is now referred to as ‘The Kai Show.’” Lenny is arguably one of the most skilled and well-heeled watermen in the world at present. A jack-of-all-sports, Lenny rides what the day brings and stubbornly and successfully avoids being pigeonholed into a single sporting category. “I was 16 years old when I first went to Jaws — and I was on a foilboard,” he says. “I was invited by Laird [Hamilton] and Dave Kalama and it was a big day — not the biggest — but it opened up my campaign there. Ever since, I have been going to Jaws every single season and doing every sport I possibly can out there.” Untethered, Lenny is leading the charge of
Three surfers recount what it’s like to tackle Jaws, from dropping in to wiping out to defying death in the depths.
The Paddle-In
“Dropping into a really big wave, I have that little moment of appreciation where everything else melts away. One of the best moments [on Jaws] was getting into that giant barrel for the first time. Just being inside this huge wave, what felt like a cave — my mind was racing so fast, yet I perceived time as moving slow, like, standing still. It was only a couple seconds in the barrel, but it felt like minutes and that gave me this adrenaline rush I have never felt anywhere else.” — Kai Lenny
“A lot of the memories I have [of Jaws] are seared in my brain. Certain things in life you kind of forget about or have a vague recollection of them, but there is a handful of waves I caught out there that I have this imprint of, and I can go back there and relive those in pretty fine detail. The wave I caught at the Billabong XXL to win is one of those.” — Pete Cabrinha
The Wipeout
“I have had really big waves where you get sucked over the falls and think it is going to be the worst wipeout of your life, but it just pushes you down deep and out the back. Then you get others where it ragdolls you to the point where you feel like your arms and your legs are going to get torn off.” — Robby Naish “Have you ever seen a dog grab a stuffed toy and shake it back and forth? Basically, you are that stuffed toy. And that is not an exaggeration. You get flipped and spun and are out of control. For example, one day we were practicing these different techniques and I thought, Okay, the next time I wipe out I am going to bring all my limbs in and tuck into a ball and let the energy pass through me and around me. But it’s impossible. You can’t. [The wave] rips your arms away from you and your limbs away from you — it’s so incredibly strong.” — Pete Cabrinha Pete Cabrinha catching the 74-footer which earned him the 2004 Billabong XXL Award. Photo by Erik Aeder
up and coming young athletes, some of whom will hold him in the highest regard — much in the way Lenny himself did with the Strapped Crew — as a real-life superhero. Perhaps they, too, will refuse to be bullied into choosing a single sport and will christen a whole new trend of all-watercraft-are-welcome in surfing circles. “I have been a part of what I would say is the first generation of kids that really watched this place from a young age,” says Lenny. “Jaws was just in our lives from the moment we opened our eyes. I’ve been out there for about 12 years now and I am seeing the next generation begin to take heavy interest. Seeing them so young, training their hardest and looking up to people in the sport for mentorship — it’s very exciting.”
“Some of the worst wipeouts don’t look visually crazy on camera, but last year alone I sliced my hand nearly in half, blew out my MCL, dislocated and broke my big toe and sliced my foot. I have had many concussions just because of the compression of the wave. But it comes with the territory. I don’t even think about it. And a lot of those injuries could have happened in smaller waves, as well.” — Kai Lenny
Into the Soup
“Half the game is in your head. If you eat it really bad, you’re talking to yourself the whole time underwater. Talking yourself through it. You’re mostly saying, I got this. I got this. Just relax. Because if you’re saying, Oh no this isn’t good, you start to panic and deplete your oxygen and things go bad quickly. There are only about 20 seconds between waves, so you have to go with it for about five or 10 seconds then make some physical effort to get to the surface and take a breath and hopefully get rescued. If not, you take a few breaths and go back down before the next one is on you.” — Pete Cabrinha “I was windsurfing at Jaws when I fell. I was swimming and diving under white water, working my way to the channel. And even though there were Jet Skis and photographers around, nobody came to grab me. Not that it is anybody’s responsibility — you’re out there on your own. I took five on the head and was almost to the channel when a big, wide wave came and I got annihilated. It held me down in that underwater river that pulls along the channel and wouldn’t let me up. I surfaced when I thought I could take a breath, but it was all white water and I had to go down again. I was close to panicking and was seeing stars, but was able to hold out a tiny bit longer and finally come up for air. I was probably only underwater for 30 seconds, but that’s an eternity when you’re getting thrashed. That was the only time in all my years I thought I might drown.” — Robby Naish Maui Nō Ka ‘Oi Jan–Feb 2021
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ISLAND BUSINESS
COPING WITH COVID Safety is the new luxury.
Story by Sarah Ruppenthal
Bathing suit? Check. Floppy sun hat? Check. Hand sanitizer and a face mask? Check.
Andaz Maui at Wailea Resort “We’ve always looked out for our guests and associates,” says Mark Boettger, director of security, safety and hygiene at the Andaz Maui. “But now the emphasis is greater than it was before.” Like nearly all of its counterparts in Wailea and Kā‘anapali, the Andaz closed temporarily in late March of 2020 due to COVID-19. Boettger made good use of the downtime and teamed up with Jackie Yulo, their director of health and wellness, to prepare for the day trans-Pacific guests
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The Andaz Maui at Wailea has implemented a robust public safety initiative that includes frequent disinfection of high-touch surfaces, numerous hand-sanitizing stations and a wellness room for guests and employees. Valets have been accessorized with disinfectant spray-guns to ensure the safety and well-being of their guests.
would return to the property. For the Andaz, that day was November 1, 2020, a little more than two weeks after Hawai‘i’s governor, David Ige, implemented the pretravel testing program. This plan gives out-of-state visitors the option to avoid the fourteen-day mandatory quarantine with proof of a negative COVID-19 test taken within 72 hours of arrival. In the months leading up to the reopening, Yulo and Boettger stockpiled equipment and supplies, re-trained their resort staff and developed protocols that well exceeded the guidelines set forth by the county, state, Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention (CDC) and the American Hotel & Lodging Association. Yulo says their goal was twofold: to keep things as safe — and as normal — as possible. Some of the highlights of their steppedup measures include a fully-equipped wellness room for guests or employees with any type of health concern, as well as designated “hot” rooms to isolate anyone who has fallen ill. The Andaz Maui also partnered with a mobile medical unit to administer free and voluntary COVID-19 tests on site. Complimentary bags filled with masks, sanitizing wipes and a travelsized bottle of locally-made hand sanitizer
COURTESY OF THE ANDAZ MAUI AT WAILEA RESORT
Packing for a Maui vacation requires a bit more forethought in the era of COVID-19 — and so does running a luxury resort. No matter which property you visit, pandemic protocols are in plain sight: Plexiglas barriers at the front desk, PPE-clad employees sanitizing every nook and cranny, physical distancing signage and protective face masks. Beyond the obvious, dozens of notso-visible protocols are also in place, and most resorts are going above and beyond the baseline of mandated procedures to ensure their guests have the safest and most enjoyable experience possible.
The County of Maui requires all residents and visitors ages five and older to wear a mask in public settings unless they are actively engaged in activities like exercising, eating or drinking.
COURTESY OF THE FAIRMONT KEA LANI, MAUI
All the rooms at the Fairmont Kea Lani, Maui, are spacious suites, each with its own private lanai for private relaxation. The expansive grounds are perfect for sociallydistanced lounging.
are distributed upon arrival, and guests have the option to check in and check out using a smartphone, which can also double as their digital room key. (Otherwise, a standard, UV-sanitized key is also available.) Bell service is optional, and for those who opt in, bags are dropped off outside the room to minimize contact. Inside the room, coffee mugs and glasses have been replaced with biodegradable, single-use drinkware, and once a guest checks out, rooms are thoroughly cleaned and sanitized from top to bottom, and are then left empty for a full twenty-four hours. When it comes to public spaces, all hightouch areas and surfaces, such as handrails, stairwells and elevator buttons, are sanitized every 30 minutes. Tables are spaced six feet apart in on-property restaurants, and disposable paper menus with QR codes are the new norm — just use a smartphone camera to scan and order. Poolside lounge chairs are also placed six feet apart, and if you need a squirt of hand sanitizer, there are more than sixty stations available resort-wide. “Just look to your left or right,” Boettger says. “You’ll find one.”
Fairmont Kea Lani, Maui Even pre-pandemic, the Fairmont Kea Lani, Maui, had already set the bar high when it comes to hygiene and cleanliness, but in response to COVID-19 it upped its game even more. “These unprecedented times have given us a unique opportunity to adapt and rapidly innovate our business in a way and at a pace we have not done before,” says general manager Michael Pye. “We are able to apply new technologies and systems to
care for our guests without compromising the core foundation of what has made Fairmont Kea Lani beloved by so many.” Parent company Accor partnered with a team of well-credentialed public health experts to develop new standards of safety and enhanced operational procedures, and by November 1, 2020, those beefed-up protocols were solidly in place and the resort was primed and ready for visitors. Pre-travel, registered guests can chat with a member of the resort’s guest experience Maui Nō Ka ‘Oi Jan–Feb 2021
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and menu ordering options. Of course, these measures are subject to change with the ever-evolving nature of the pandemic. “Our protocols will remain fluid to ensure we are adhering to all guidelines and recommendations outlined by the CDC, local authorities and expert advisors,” says Pye.
The Four Seasons Resort Maui at Wailea
team who will answer their questions and brief them on everything they need to know when they arrive on Maui. “This provides them the opportunity to have a personalized conversation about what to expect while staying with us,” Pye explains. Guests will be informed about a new check-in process which includes a health screening, a temperature check,
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travel-related questions and verification of participation in Hawai‘i’s Safe Travels program. The resort’s traditional lei greeting looks a little different, too: The garland is now presented on a tray to maintain physical distancing. For a contactless experience from check-in to check-out, smartphonecarrying guests can download an app that provides digital menus and enhanced chat
The Four Seasons Resort took a no-stoneunturned approach when it welcomed back guests in late November. In spring of 2020, its parent company formed a COVID-19 advisory board and entered into a consulting agreement with Johns Hopkins Medicine International to help guide all of its decisions. In addition to implementing a companywide enhanced health and safety program, the Four Seasons Resort Maui launched their Safe on Maui program. As part of the program, all rooms and suites are now
COURTESY OF THE FOUR SEASONS RESORT MAUI AT WAILEA
All the rooms and suites at the Four Seasons Resort Maui are equipped with HEPA filter air purifiers, but if you prefer the natural ocean breezes you can relax on your private lanai. The Fountain Pool deck (left) has been updated to allow for more space between cabanas and chaise lounges.
FOR MORE DETAILS about the safety protocols of these and our other partnering resorts, go to MauiMagazine.net/resort-safety. VISIT THESE WEBSITES for up-to-date health and safety information for your upcoming trip to Maui: Hawai‘i’s Safe Travels program and COVID-19 policies HawaiiCOVID19.com COVID-19-related policies and procedures in Maui County MauiCounty.gov/2370/COVID-19Coronavirus-Information
COURTESY OF THE HYATT REGENCY MAUI RESORT AND SPA
The Hyatt Regency Maui shines with tropical beauty on the outside, while inside they stay safe with hospital-grade disinfectants, touchless check-in and check-out and keyless room entry.
equipped with top-of-the-line HEPA filter air purifiers and are disinfected daily using EPA-approved products. Room attendants perform routine black light inspections to ensure there are no residual particles on any surface after cleaning, and a kit containing face masks, hand sanitizer and sanitizing wipes is placed in every room. Extra masks are available if needed, as well. For guests who book a residential suite, the Safe on Maui program includes a private airport experience for those departing from Los Angeles International Airport. Onproperty there’s a staff-supervised virtual classroom for kids staying at the resort to help with distance learning, and guests can enjoy around-the-clock medical care led by a board-certified emergency physician. This medical team will provide basic urgent care
services — treating everything from a bad sunburn to a sprained ankle — and can administer rapid antigen tests as well as polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests upon departure.
Hyatt Regency Maui Resort and Spa Thirty-plus miles away in Kā‘anapali, the Hyatt Regency Maui Resort and Spa is also putting health and safety first. The resort reopened on October 15, 2020, the same day Hawai‘i’s pre-travel testing program took effect, but in the weeks leading up to the opening, management rolled out a bevy of new protective measures. These include near-constant sanitization with hospitalgrade disinfectants property-wide, a cashless environment to minimize contact,
opt-in bell and housekeeping services, a four-person limit in all elevators and a specialist tasked with overseeing all protocols and operational guidelines. There’s also a Hyatt smartphone app that gives contactless check-in/check-out and mobile keyless entry options. And, if you book a room at the Hyatt Regency Maui, you’ll receive an email in advance that gives a soup-to-nuts overview of what to expect when you arrive, as well as the resort’s global care and cleanliness commitment, which covers all of its health and safety initiatives. You are clearly in good hands here on Maui, and all guests can have peace of mind knowing that your resorts are putting your health and safety above all else to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Maui Nō Ka ‘Oi Jan–Feb 2021
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At left, from top: Wauke trees provide the raw ingredients for kapa. U‘ilani Naho‘olewa beats watermarks into wet barkcloth with an i‘e kuku. Lei Ishikawa displays her experiments with soot inks and plant dyes. Background: Held to the light, this kapa moe (bed cover) reveals a watermark pattern made more than sixty years ago.
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HAWAIIAN SOUL
Among Polynesians, the Hawaiians of old excelled in the making of kapa. Their distant daughters have begun to reclaim this once-lost ancient art. Story by Shannon Wianecki | Photography by Nina Kuna
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Clockwise from top left: ‘Ohe kāpala, intricately carved bamboo stamps, add extra flourish to a kapa skirt or loincloth. Hawaiian turmeric, milo seeds, ferns and flowers make brilliant natural inks and dyes. Dancers with Hālau O Kekuhi who wore kapa garments in the 2011 Merrie Monarch Festival say it was a transformative experience.
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OPPOSITE BOTTOM: COURTESY OF THE MAUI ARTS & CULTURAL CENTER; ALL OTHERS: NINA KUNA
Making kapa is a laborious process. 1) Score wauke bark with a niho manō (shark-tooth knife). 2) Peel bark from branch. 3) Pull outer bark away from inner bark. 4) With a sharp shell, scrape off remains of outer bark. 5) With a round hohoa, flatten and separate inner fibers against a rock anvil. 6) After soaking the wauke for a week in salt water, shred it, form into balls and soak for two more weeks in fresh water. 7) Pound with i‘e kuku, imprinting watermarks into fabric. 8) Use bamboo stamps to finish cloth with geometric designs.
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henever a storm rattles the trees on Maui, most residents focus on battening down the hatches; Lei Ishikawa thinks of resin. Shortly after the gusts stop, she’ll venture out to a k ukui grove and look for damaged limbs. Kukui trees produce a sticky resin in response to injury. Ishikawa collects this fortuitous substance and later applies it to her handmade Hawaiian k apa, o r barkcloth, to fix her colorful natural dyes. Kapa makers are crazy like that; they’ll brave storms, plunge kneedeep into mud and grapple with fermented slime if it means a better product. Like their ancestors, modern kapa m akers are studious observers of the natural world, intuitive chemists and fine artists with no small dose of perfectionism. For centuries, fashioning beautiful, pliant cloth from plant material was a Hawaiian woman’s daily chore. The islands echoed with the sounds of carved kapa beaters knock-knock-knocking against anvils hewn from native woods. In between, wet strips of wauke took shape. Wauke, or paper mulberry, is one of some two dozen plants Polynesians brought to Hawai‘i in their voyaging canoes, and cloth made from its bark is ubiquitous throughout the Pacific. It’s called tapa in Tahiti and masi i n Fiji, but the finest pieces came from ancient Hawai‘i, where the craft was elevated to high art. Hawaiians were the only ones to ferment wauke before pounding it, a slimy, stinky process that nevertheless produces a soft, luxuriant material. The Hawaiians’ handiwork is further distinguished by decorative watermarks beaten into the barkcloth and by bold natural pigments. Kapa was once the literal and metaphoric fabric of Hawai‘i — it swaddled newborns, softened beds, clothed warriors and dancers, and accompanied elders’ bones into the grave. Like so much of Hawaiian
culture, kapa had a spiritual dimension: It held the m ana (life force) of the plants it was made from and the persons who made and wore it. But once Westerners arrived, European trends supplanted native traditions, and even Kamehameha the Great shed his kapa loincloth for cotton trousers. By 1870, the Native Hawaiian historian Samuel Kamakau reported that, “all are dead who knew how to make coverings … and adornments … that made the wearers look dignified and proud and distinguished." A century passed before kapa came back into fashion. During the Hawaiian cultural renaissance of the 1970s, a few dedicated (some might say obsessed) individuals began breathing life into the lost art. This second wave of kapa m akers has had to figure out every step anew, aided only by a few clues hidden in mele (songs), old Hawaiian-language newspapers and museum relics. For modern crafters, the Bishop Museum’s collection of centuries-old kapa is confounding: How did early Hawaiian artists construct such delicate, lacy barkcloth? Why haven’t the dyes dimmed over time? Which plants produced such vivid colors? Some of the artisans began to grow their own wauke and made their own tools: the round hohoa used to loosen the bark’s fibers before fermentation, the square-sided i‘e kuku that impresses complex watermarks into the pounded cloth, and the ‘ohe kāpala, delicate bamboo stamps that decorate the final creation. A single piece of k apa c an take months to make. It’s backbreaking work that requires a steady hand and infinite patience, but it’s worth the effort, and the kapa produced today tells the elegantly intricate story of Hawai‘i. Modern kapa makers have collaborated with other artists to craft authentic costumes for performers in events such as the 2011 Merrie Monarch Festival, Hawai‘i’s preeminent hula competition named for Maui Nō Ka ‘Oi Jan–Feb 2021
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U‘ilani Naho‘olewa shows off her kapa designs, including a kīhei (cape) made for her daughter’s fifth-grade graduation.
the “Merrie Monarch” King David Kalakaua. That day, when the dancers stepped into the spotlight dressed in barkcloth malo (loincloths), kīhei (capes) and pā‘ū (skirts), it was the first time in over a century that hula and kapa were reunited on stage. The challenge of creating functional garments for events such as this opened up a new line of inquiry for kapa makers, because it’s one thing to sleep on or be buried in barkcloth, but it’s quite another to sweat, strain and still look handsome while wearing it. The fabricators needed to ensure that their inks wouldn’t smear and that the finished outfits would move as gracefully as the dancers who wore them. In 2013, two dozen kapa makers took part in an invitational art exhibit at the Maui Arts & Cultural Center’s Schaefer International Gallery, and in 2016 they were featured in a PBS documentary and had a yearlong exhibit at the Hawai‘i State Art Museum. Each of these events brought artists from across the state together, allowing them to trade techniques and hone their craft. “Every day we learn something new,” says Ishikawa. One such discovery? That different types of paper mulberry yield different results. “There are three varieties,” she says. “Wauke is straight, tall and strong; It’s best for malo. You want strong fibers so that you can girdle [the
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malo]. Po‘a‘aha, a different variety, is finer quality, lighter. It’s best for things like kapa moe [blankets] that you want to be soft and flowing. Then there’s a third one that we’ve learned about, but have never seen.” Much as they might have done a century or so ago, Ishikawa and another kapa maker, U‘ilani Naho‘olewa, sit outside surrounded by kapa beaters, stamps and pots of dye. Ishikawa shows Naho‘olewa how the kukui resin imbued her kapa with a light metallic sheen. Ishikawa is a teacher by profession, Naho‘olewa a graphic designer, and both devote their spare time to perpetuating Hawai‘i’s native visual art. A large pinao (dragonfly) darts behind the ladies into a grove of spindly wauke trees. Naho‘olewa snaps off a thin wauke branch, slices it lengthwise with a shark-tooth knife and strips its bark off in a single piece. The contemporary artist delights in the pursuit of her ancestors’ arcane knowledge. “I’m not just tinkering, but channeling,” says Naho‘olewa. “They must have been like us, looking at the vibrant coral reefs and thinking, how can I get that color in my next piece?” “It took us so long to figure out how to make pa‘u — the black ink,” says Ishikawa, enumerating the steps needed to conjure that color from nature: First you roast a kukui nut, then you crack it open and burn the kernel. But there is an important detail: You want an irregular fire that makes lots of smoke. “We capture the soot that floats in the air,” says Ishikawa. “That’s what we mix with the kukui resin to make our ink.” In times both past and present, this is a job for keiki, children. “All of my mo‘opuna [grandchildren] know how to make kapa,” Ishikawa says. Before long, the youngsters will be out storm-chasing alongside their elders, collecting sap from broken branches in pursuit of their Story originally appeared in our Jan-Feb 2014 issue. ancient art.
TOP & LEFT: NINA KUNA; RIGHT: NEIDA BANGERTER
Remembering Marie
Top: A kapa maker can’t have too many i‘e kuku (beaters), and each one leaves a unique impression. Above: fruit from the milo tree can make a yellowish-green dye.
Among the artisans who rediscovered the craft of kapa making, Marie Emilia Leilehua McDonald was a legend. She continued to expand contemporary knowledge of this ancient art well into her eighties, learning through trial and error to grow her own wauke, transform its bark into cloth and fashion the traditional tools with which she inscribed her designs. “I have learned to appreciate the women who came before me,” she told author Shannon Wianecki in 2014. “They had so much fortitude.” Marie was one of the kapa makers who introduced this traditional apparel to the 2011 Merrie Monarch Festival and helped coordinate the 2013 kapa exhibit at the Maui Arts & Cultural Center. In 1992, the Buddhist temple Honpa Hongwanji Mission of Hawai‘i named her a Living Treasure. Recipients of this honor are chosen, in part, for their “significant contributions toward a more
humane and fraternal society,” and for having shown “an ongoing striving for excellence and a high level of accomplishment.” Marie McDonald passed away in 2019, but her many contributions live on. “Kapa is an art form that’s truly Hawaiian,” she once said. “It will grow, develop and evolve. Even though it’s influenced by times past, the kapa produced today tells a story of our time.” Maui Nō Ka ‘Oi Jan–Feb 2021
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Fluid
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AT HOME
Dynamics This West Maui dwelling owes its design to the elemental attraction of water. STORY BY MARTI ROSENQUIST PHOTOGRAPHY BY MARK AMMEN
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t the top of Kapalua in West Maui's mountain, JoRene and Gunars Valkirs have carved out a slice of paradise. “We had been visiting Maui for years, for a week or two at a time,” Gunars recalls. “One year we rented a house in Kapalua and stayed for a month.” “While watching the kite surfers in Oneloa Bay, Gunars got the notion he could live here,” adds JoRene. “When he said, I’d like to try that someday, I knew he was hooked.” A few years later the couple purchased a three-and-a-half-acre lot in Kapalua’s Honolua Ridge. And a few years after that they began working on the place they now call home. “We had a large property in San Diego, so we wanted acreage,” says Gunars. “Honolua Ridge was one of the few places within a resort [on Maui] where you could get that.” The pair hired Rick Ryniak to design their
Opposite: The central lānai adds 1,500 square feet of living space. A Thai antique monkey panel inspired the master bedroom’s décor. This page, clockwise from top: Retractable glass walls blur indoor/outdoor boundaries; furnishings by Baik Designs and Dedon. Solar panels reduce the home’s carbon footprint; a shower offers privacy al fresco. The signature butterfly gate. Maui Nō Ka ‘Oi Jan–Feb 2021
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home. Before beginning the plans, the Maui architect flew to San Diego and stayed with the couple over a long weekend. “I was able to see how the Valkirs lived and learned what was important to them,” says Ryniak. “They showed me pictures of a home whose pool was tucked inside the U-shape of the building. Water and their relationship to water were important [factors].” “There’s nothing in this house that we sacrificed for resale value,” says Gunars. “A lot of people build with that in mind, but we have no intention of selling this house.” Building a home entirely on their own terms resulted in one of the most appealing estates on Maui, a haven whose quiet is laced with birdsong and lit by afternoon rainbows. Enter the estate through the iron-and-glass butterfly gate designed by California sculptor Dale Evers and notice how the sky is mirrored in reflection pools on either side of a walkway that leads to a broad, covered lānai which connects the home’s two main structures. Beyond the lānai, an infinity-edge swimming pool creates the illusion of the water spilling into the sea. The home was designed as two separate living areas, one for guests and the other to accommodate the Valkirs’ daily life. Massive glass walls Left: The dining-room artwork includes a Chinese scholar’s rock from Brown-Kobayashi and a painting by Betty Hay Freeland; the acrylic bamboo light fixture is by Condor Lighting. Below: Custom cabinets by Cutting Edge and a Diva de Provence induction range create an inviting workspace.
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AT HOME
Clockwise from top left: A glass wall at a hallway’s end creates the illusion of being outdoors. Landscape design by Russell Gushi; installation by Friendly Island Landscape. The master bathtub is ensconced in Italian marble. Guests arrive at the port cochere and enter through a butterfly gate.
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retract effortlessly, allowing the outside so completely in that it’s easy to lose track of where house ends and nature begins. To enable such seamlessness, Ryniak designed the home without intruding columns. Rather than being built from the ground up, the house hangs from an unseen steel I-beam superstructure that allows for the broadest possible ocean vista. The guest quarters features two bedrooms, each with an en suite bath and individually controlled entertainment and media options; an electronics center hidden in the heart of the house allows access to thousands of tunes and movies with the flip of a switch. A breakfast nook lets visitors power up in their private quarters whenever they like. “We have a lot of guests, sometimes for weeks at a time,” says JoRene. “We want them to feel at ease and not worry about intruding.” A separate entertainment room in the guest wing features sumptuous furnishings and décor, including prized artwork collected from the couple’s journeys to Africa.
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Maui Nō Ka ‘Oi Jan–Feb 2021
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Around the corner is JoRene’s arts-andcrafts room where she creates pastel portraits and jewelry. Next is the workout room, which is decorated with old family photos, some in original frames, including one of Gunars and his brother as young boys. “This wall is a montage of snapshots from life’s minor and great moments,” Gunars says. “Kathy Merrill, our interior designer, suggested doing this and we thought it was a great idea.” The house rambles across the property on a single level, avoiding dark corners and hallways through the use of transition areas whose glass walls look out onto landscape features or works of art. The great room opens to an enviable ocean view that stretches from Lāna‘i to the far edge of Moloka‘i. Hidden behind the kitchen, the wine cellar/pantry features his-and-hers sections. Despite the great room’s size, the Valkirs were keen on maintaining a feeling of coziness and warmth while still preserving the view. Architect Ryniak accomplished this feat by varying the ceiling height, creating curved surfaces that both define and bring fluid continuity to the kitchen, living and dining rooms. A curved hall leads to the couple’s master bedroom. Hand-crafted cabinets provide an entire wall of storage, and the closet is practically the size of an off-Broadway stage. In fact, one of JoRene’s visiting friends, a ballerina, tour jetéd her way across the space! Setting, décor and attention to detail make the Valkirs’ house a standout, but it’s the owners' aloha spirit that make it so livable and inviting. Story originally appeared in our Jan-Feb 2013 issue.
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Corner windows bring picture-postcard views to this guest bath.
Sweet Charity Of all the philanthropy JoRene and Gunars Valkirs have practiced over the years, their latest venture is surely the sweetest. It began as a hobby when the Valkirs added several cacao trees to their fruit orchard. Today, thousands of cacao trees grow on fifty acres the Valkirs lease in the Lahaina foothills, the first step in creating Maui Ku‘ia Estate Chocolate. They were putting the finishing touches on what would soon be the largest chocolate factory in Hawai‘i when Maui Nō Ka ‘Oi stopped by in 2019. A retail store would soon inhabit a small corner of the factory; upstairs, an open-air pavilion is available to rent for meetings and special occasions. And here’s what makes the deal so delicious: The Valkirs give 100 percent of Ku‘ia’s net profits to charities across Maui County. The pandemic has taken quite a bite out of that commitment, so for now, Ku‘ia is donating the proceeds from their chocolate tastings to the Maui Food Bank. The Valkirs also created “Chocolate Laulima,” a program that gives 40 percent of retail sales to the nonprofit of the purchaser’s choice. And take this, Willie Wonka: Ku‘ia’s chocolate factory is entirely off the grid, so while you may get some gourmet chocolate on your fingers, you’ll find nary a carbon footprint here. To learn more, visit MauiMagazine.net/ kuia-estate-chocolate. For future tours and tastings, visit MauiChocolateTour.com. No golden ticket required. Maui Nō Ka ‘Oi Jan–Feb 2021
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Dining
Esters Fair Prospect in Wailuku plays host to a pop-up private dinner from Kamado.
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Every course at the pop-up event was infused with tropcal island flavors. A fresh lime, vodka and orgeat cocktail served with Kona kampachi leche de tigre (left); butter-poached lobster served with a delicate curry-mango sauce (opposite).
Pop-Up
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Dining
Perfection
Story by Becky Speere Photography by Mieko Horikoshi
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(1) (2) (4) (3)
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Kamado’s Natasha Joslin and Taylor Ponte flank their pop-up hosts, Esters Fair Prospect owners Suzanne Navarro (left) and Jessica Everett (right).
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n July 2020, The Mill House Restaurant announced it would be closed until further notice. Not one to hang up his hat, executive chef Taylor Ponte, Maui Nō Ka ‘Oi’s 2020 Chef of the Year, grabbed Natasha Joslin, the senior sales and events manager at Mill House (and his BFF and partner), and went rogue. They created a new catering venture called Kamado, a business offering private dinners and pop-ups. Three months later they masterminded this collaboration dinner with Wailuku’s newest tropical cocktail bar, Esters Fair Prospect. The warm temperatures are dissipating into darkness in Wailuku town as my husband Chris, MNKO publisher Diane Woodburn, our friend Maria Ljubic and I settle into the al fresco terrace at Esters Fair Prospect on Main Street. It’s eight o’clock and we are hungry; we’ve all held out on eating today in anticipation of this event. “I looked at the menu online and knew it would be a lot of food,” says Maria. And she was right. Suzanne Navarro, co-owner of Esters, introduces us to the tropical bar concept created by herself and co-owner Jessica Everett as she serves coupe glasses of MauiWine’s Lokelani sparkling wine. “This will go with the amuse-bouche to start off our evening,” she says. “Chef Taylor will be bringing it by shortly.” The dish turns out to be a large Maine oyster on the half-shell served in a pool of spicy ginger sugo (sauce) with crunchy slivers of cucumber.(1) Diane eyes the oyster warily, admitting she is not a huge fan of this sort of shellfish. Regardless, she dives into it like a pro and surfaces with a smile. “That is the best I’ve ever tasted!” she says. “It was really good!” The briny sweet Wellfleet oysters are flown in daily from the East Coast by Maui Prime, and pair beautifully with the ginger and citrusy spark of the wine. For the first course, Suzanne arrives bearing cara cara orange-hued cocktails with a bamboo-skewered kaffir lime leaf (a.k.a. makrut) balanced on the rims. We take cautious sips, and as the combination of vodka, citrus and orgeat flavors meets our lips we unanimously declare it a winner. The accompanying dish is Kona kampachi crudo in a coconut and lime leche de tigre sauce softened with macadamia nut oil, a delightful start to our culinary quest. Next arrives Taylor’s Kula corn salad with Kaua‘i shrimp and whipped
Mexican cotija cheese.(2) “I love using local ingredients, and Kaua‘i shrimp is one of Hawai‘i’s best seafood products. Enjoy!” he says. I whisper to Chris that I love this salty-fluffy cotija and shrimp combination and tuck away the flavor memory for future at-home creations. Jessica, who is also the resident mixologist, works another perfect pairing, blending smoky mezcal and lime with a sweet corn stock and finishing it with a mist of cilantro and spicy chili oil. Taylor’s next dish, Okinawan sweet potato and mahimahi — a classic pairing at many Hawaiian restaurants — takes an eastward turn to the West Indies.(3) “I have thirteen different spices in this Caribbean-inspired dish,” notes Taylor, and I immediately detect allspice, coriander and star anise in the roasted purple sweet potatoes. A cane sugar molasses reduction marries perfectly with the tender chargrilled fish and is further enhanced by Suzanne’s next cocktail, which is served in a Tom Collins glass: a blend of rum, coconut, amaro, house-made orgeat and lime over crushed ice. (See Mixology for The Sea Hag recipe, Page 72.) An intermezzo of refreshing cucumber, cinnamon and mint granita cleanses our palettes in preparation for the final savory course: poached lobster on a mango curry emulsion. The harmony of curry spices intertwined with cardamom lobster stock and fruit is irresistible. I relish each slice of warm lobster meat in slow motion, dipping the morsels into the yellow curry sauce until I have swabbed the plate clean. Maria exclaims, “It’s all so good, but I can’t eat anymore!” Yet, as the dessert course arrives, she is the first to dip her spoon into the rich coconut lime chiboust with rum syrup and crunchy meringue florets.(4) A divine cocktail laced with pineapple rum from the Cognac region and walnut bitters caps off the night. It’s been nearly eight months since Taylor’s last Chef’s Table at the Mill House as we go to press, and although Chef and the venue itself are missed by many, he hasn’t skipped a creative beat in the kitchen. See you at the next Kamado pop-up, or perhaps even sooner at Esters. Kamado | kamadomaui.com IG @kamadomaui | natashaeventsmaui@gmail.com | (808) 281-7979 Esters Fair Prospect | 2050 Main Street, Wailuku estersmaui.com | IG @estersmaui | (808) 868-0056 Maui Nō Ka ‘Oi Jan–Feb 2021
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Dining Highlights
The Short and Savory List Story by Becky Speere
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MIEKO HORIKOSHI
The Sea House
’Ahi Poke-tini
Need something to tide you over until dinner? These delicious locales can quell your hunger, with selections such as an ‘ahi poketini, hummus with fresh local veggies and a real pizzaiolomade pizza. A Saigon Café Tom Ram
The Sea House Restaurant at Napili Kai When my friend Maria said, “OMG! Her food reminds me of [a certain Top Chef’s] creations,” I knew I had to taste chef Sam Basques’s dishes. And her steak crudo* and ‘ahi poke-tini (pronounced po-kay-tee-nee) definitely met the criteria for onolicious delight. For the steak crudo, the New York strip was cooked rare then sliced thin and served with Guamanian finadene, a Chamorro sauce akin to salsa. With just the right amount of tartness steeped in umami, the sauce tastes of tamari, vinegar, jalapeños and onions, and the dish is finished with a seven-spice chili oil.* It paired perfectly with an ice-cold Bikini Blonde from Maui Brewing Company. The poke-tini consisted of a martini glass filled with fresh ‘ahi, avocado and furikake — a sesame and noriflaked condiment — which was embellished with white truffle oil and wasabi aioli. It definitely hit all the marks for freshness, flavor and fun. Now imagine noshing on these dishes while admiring the expansive beachfront at Napili Bay. That’s a recipe for perfection. Napili Kai Beach Resort, 5900 Honoapi’ilani Hwy., (808) 669-1500 *Go to MauiMagazine.net/steak-crudo for these recipes.
and a mountain of fresh veggie condiments. My other go-to is a specialty of the house — the Tom Ram, a.k.a., Garden Party Shrimp. The prawns are fried crisp then sautéed in a highly-seasoned sauce with nam pla, onions and other secret ingredients which, when blended together, simply cry out for a bowl of rice. Either dish will leave you with a happy opu (belly). 1792 Main Street, Wailuku, (808) 243-9560
Miso Phat Sushi The chefs at Miso Phat Sushi — who won the 2020 ‘Aipono Gold Restaurant Award for Best Sushi — do not skimp on the fish, and you’re always guaranteed to get your money’s worth when you visit. Try the TNT Roll — a shrimp tempura and crab delight topped with ‘ahi poke, unagi sauce and agave honey — which owners Joy and Shawn Steadman say is so big you might explode! Or indulge in a torched salmon roll topped with tobiko, ginger and kabayaki sauce for the ultimate in blended savory flavors. Want to really experience their expert sushi service? Go for the Miso Phat Omakase (Chef’s choices) and leave feeling, well, Phat. Azeka Shopping Center Mauka, 1279 S. Kīhei Rd. (808) 891-6476 | IG @misophatsushi_kihei 4310 Lower Honoapi’ilani Hwy., Kahana (808) 669-9010 | IG @misophatlahaina
BECKY SPEERE
A Saigon Café Consistency. That’s what you’ll find at Jennifer Nguyen’s Saigon Café. I know this because I’ve been eating her food ever since she was a one-woman show on Lower Main Street in the early 90s. I recommend the Vietnamese burrito, a fun, interactive dish served with chargrilled marinated beef or tofu, rice paper wrappers
The Ritz-Carlton Kapalua Your lunchtime burger has left your tummy but it’s not quite time for dinner — what to do? Grab a light snack at the Alaloa Lounge at the Ritz-Carlton in Kapalua. Their new food and libations menu features a bevy of global
Miso Phat Torched Salmon Roll
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Dining Highlights
The Ritz-Carlton Kapalua Mediterranean Hummus
tastes, such as hulihuli (Hawaiian-style brined and kiawe-smoked) chicken or a creamy Mediterranean hummus served with a rainbow of fresh, locally-sourced Maui vegetables, which are brought over daily from a nearby farm. After a day of sun and fun, the culinary team at the Ritz knows just what you need. Enjoy a nibble, watch the whales and know that life is good. 1 Ritz-Carlton Drive, Kapalua, (808) 669-6200
Very few restaurants in Hawai‘i can boast having a resident pizzaiolo, a certified Italian-schooled pizza chef, but Maui’s 2020 Gold winner for Best Italian food is one of them. After years of handson dough-time, owner Michele di Bari has perfected a recipe that corrects for humidity and tropical temperatures. Using 100-percent, imported “OO” flour, he mixes and kneads the dough early in the day and lets it rest nearly eight hours. When it’s time to get cooking, the dough is rolled out and prepared to make what I consider to be the best pizza on-island. After a spell in the 800-degree oven, a piping hot pizza lands on your table, crisp and bubbly, yet with a nice chew and just the right amount of saltiness from hand-pulled mozzarella (which Michele makes daily). From creamy gorgonzola and pears to prosciutto and rosemary to a classic Margherita with house-made marinara and sweet Genovese basil — whichever pie you choose is sure to satisfy. Andiamo a mangiare! 878 Front St., Lahaina, (808) 667-7667 | IG @salepepemaui
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Sale Pepe White Pizza With Housemade Mozzarella, Prosciutto and Rosemary
TOP: MIEKO HORIKOSHI; BOTTOM: SALE PEPE
Sale Pepe
SEA-TO-TABLE CUISINE On Napili Bay
AWARD
WINNING
Hawaii Magazine’s Third Annual Reader’s Choice Awards: Named One of the Top Five ”Best Hotel/Resort Restaurants” and "Best for Breakfast" in the state of Hawaii
OCEANFRONT Rated “Excellent” by Zagat
Breakfast • Lunch • Dinner • Happy Hour
DINING
Maui No Ka Oi Magazine’s Annual Maui Restaurant 'Aipono Culinary Awards: Best Ocean Front Dining: Gold
and Rosé all Day
Celebrating Over 55 Years of Aloha at Napili Kai Beach Resort 5900 Lower Honoapiilani Rd • Napili • Maui • Hawaii 96761 • 808.669.1500
Hours and More Information at SeaHouseMaui.com
Mixology
Attack of the Killer Daqs Story by Becky Speere Photo by Mieko Horikoshi
Esters Fair Prospect in Wailuku Ten years ago, Jessica Everett and Suzanne Navarro met at work in San Francisco and found they had one thing in common: their love of Maui. “I knew I’d end up here and so did Suzanne,” says Jessica. “So when she arrived first and suggested we start a tropical bar business, I was in.” Now, after two years in the making, Wailuku’s newest spot is open, complete with tiki bar décor, pink fish-shaped ceramic goblets and air conditioning! Suzanne’s boyfriend, Matt Poynton, did most of the design and construction, and after working all day at the Mill House, Suzanne would head over to paint or do carpentry or whatever else needed doing to help move the project along. (Jessica casually admits to doing some “light jackhammering” to help as well!) Their labor of love shines as bright as the fun cocktails made with local sugarcane juice, fresh fruit and spirits. Names like Dazed and Confused, and Mercury in Retrograde pique my curiosity. I settle on The Sea Hag, which was named for a conversation between Jessica and a friend who one day were feeling decidedly un-mermaidish. I can relate!
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The Sea Hag Makes one cocktail.
INGREDIENTS 1 oz RumHaven coconut rum 1 oz Averna Amaro ½ oz coconut cream ½ oz orgeat ¾ oz lime juice
Shake and serve over crushed ice. Garnish with grated nutmeg and a fresh mint sprig.
Maui Nō Ka ‘Oi Magazine presents
Win a trip to Maui! Fly Alaska Airlines to Maui and enjoy three luxurious nights at the Fairmont Kea Lani in Wailea!
One lucky entrant will win this grand prize — worth more than $5,500! The trip will include round-trip air travel for two and three nights in an ocean-view suite The contest runs from January 1 to February 28, 2021. Winner will be notified by phone on March 15, 2021.
For an entry form, rules and restrictions, visit MauiMagazine.net/contests
Dining Guide B=Breakfast BR=Brunch L=Lunch H=Happy Hour D=Dinner N=Dinner past 9 p.m. R=Reservation recommended $=Average entrée under $15 $$=Under $25 $$$=Under $40 $$$$=$40+ =‘Aipono Readers’ Choice Award winners for 2020
WEST SIDE A‘A ROOTS Napili Plaza, 5095 Napilihau St., Ste. 3, Nāpili, 298-2499 Vegan cuisine made with the freshest Maui produce. Try the açai bowl, soba bowl with peanut sauce, or bagel sandwich with hummus, avo and veggies. International. B, L, $ ALALOA LOUNGE Ritz-Carlton, Kapalua, 1 Ritz-Carlton Dr., Kapalua, 669-6200 Creative farm-to-table cocktails, mocktails and an exciting selection of savory dishes from the menu, such as juicy huli huli chicken, sushi and stone-oven pizza. International, D, $–$$ AMIGO’S 658 Front St., Lahaina, 661-0210 Authentic Mexican fajitas, tostadas, flautas and Amigo’s famous wet burritos. Kid-friendly. Mexican. B, L, D, $ THE BANYAN TREE 1 Ritz-Carlton Dr., Kapalua, 665-7096 Chef Bella Toland’s interpretation of her grandmother’s pancit palabok is a Filipino noodle dish full of shrimp and calamari, finished with a lobster-stock reduction in annatto-ginger-garlic-shrimp sauce and topped with herbs, chicharron, and garlic. Pacific Rim. D, $$–$$$$ BREAKWALL SHAVE ICE COMPANY The Wharf Cinema Center Shops, 658 Front St., #104, Lahaina, 661-4900 Grown-up shave ice? You bet! Cool off with one of the best snow cones on Maui and discover your favorite flavor. Treats. $ CANE & CANOE Montage Kapalua Bay, 1 Bay Dr., Kapalua, 6626681 Try the eggs Benedict and mimosas for breakfast and prime select steaks with horseradish creme fraiche for dinner. Lunch at the Hana Hou Bar includes Wagyu bacon cheddar burgers and vegetarian selections. Yum! Kid-friendly. Pacific Rim. B, D, $$$–$$$$ CAPTAIN JACK’S ISLAND GRILL The Wharf Cinema Center Shops, 672 Front St., Lahaina, 667-0988 Choices include Sirens’ shrimp, Black Bart’s BBQ chicken salad and Black Beard’s Philly cheesesteak. American. L, D, $–$$ CHEESEBURGER IN PARADISE 811 Front St., Lahaina, 661-4855. Wake up to oceanfront views as you sip a cuppa’ joe and dig into a luscious breakfast. For lunch, try the poke, wings, onion rings and salad, or a hefty cheeseburger. For dinner, Aloha Fish and Fries. B, L, D, International. $-$$ CHOICE HEALTH BAR 1087 Limahana Pl., #1A, Lahaina, 661-7711; Second West Maui location: Whalers Village, 2435 Kā‘anapali Pkwy., Kā‘anapali. All juices, smoothies, salads, soups and açai bowls are made with fresh ingredients. Daily Specials. American. B, L, $
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CLIFF DIVE GRILL Sheraton Maui Resort & Spa, 2605 Kā‘anapali Pkwy., Kā‘anapali, 661-0031 Order Hawaiian-style edamame, a juicy burger, or fish tacos to go with your poolside mai tai or Black Rock Lager. Hawai‘i Regional. L, D, $–$$ THE COFFEE STORE Napili Plaza, 5095 Napilihau St., Nāpili, 669-4170 Stop in for a coffee and muffin ... and you may end up staying for lunch — or later. (They’re open till 6 p.m.) Great service and fresh-baked goods, yogurtgranola parfaits, chia pudding and to-go items. Coffee Shop. B, L, D, $ COOL CAT CAFÉ The Wharf Cinema Center Shops, 658 Front St., Lahaina, 667-0908 Burgers, chicken and more in a ’50s diner atmosphere. Kid-friendly. American. L, D, $ DOWN THE HATCH The Wharf Cinema Center Shops, 658 Front St., Lahaina, 661-4900 Mermaid fries with cheese and lava sauce, towering shrimp cocktails, fresh island fish and lots of Southern aloha. Great shave ice, too! (See Breakwall’s listing.) Hawai‘i Regional. B, L, H, D, N, R, $$ DRUMS OF THE PACIFIC Hyatt Regency Maui, 200 Nohea Kai Dr., Kā‘anapali, 667-4727 Enjoy a traditional imu ceremony and Hawaiian cuisine, plus the dances and music of Polynesia. Kid-friendly. Lū‘au. D, R, $$$$ DUKE’S BEACH HOUSE MAUI Honua Kai Resort & Spa, 130 Kai Malina Pkwy., Kā‘anapali, 662-2900 Imagine Old Hawai‘i while dining on crab-and-macadamia-nut wontons or prime rib at this open-air beach house. Kidfriendly. American/Pacific Rim. B, L, D, R, $$ FEAST AT LELE 505 Front St., Lahaina, 667-5353 This classic beachfront lū‘au explores the cultural and culinary world of the Pacific Islands. Open bar. Lū‘au. D, R, $$$$ FLEETWOOD’S ON FRONT ST. 744 Front St., Lahaina, 669-6425. (Yes, that Fleetwood.) Pacific oysters with tart apple mignonette, grilled Hawaiian shutome and a onepound Harley Davidson Hog Burger. Bar opens at 2 p.m. American/British Pub Food. L, H, D, N, $$–$$$$ FOND Napili Plaza, 5095 Napilihau St., Ste. 115, Nāpili, 856-0225. Breakfast silog bowls with garlic fried rice, sammies for lunch, Wednesday night fried chicken special and Saturday Chef's Table. Eurasian. B, L, D, $-$$ FRIDA’S MEXICAN BEACH HOUSE 1287 Front St. Lahaina, 661-1287 Chalupas, fresh aguachile ‘ahi, short-rib tacos and great mixology
Due to COVID-19, some venues may still be closed or have limited hours. Please call ahead or visit their social media sites for information.
are among the reasons this seaside restaurant won the Gold ‘Aipono Award for Best Mexican Cuisine. Latin-inspired. L, H, D $–$$ GAZEBO Napili Shores, 5315 L. Honoapi‘ilani Hwy., Nāpili, 669-5621. All day! Breakfast for lunch, lunch for breakfast. Fluffy pancakes, omelettes, plate lunches with Cajun-spiced chicken or kālua pork, salads and seven burgers to choose from. Ocean views are free! International, B, BR, L, $ HONU SEAFOOD & PIZZA 1295 Front St., Lahaina, 667-9390 Mark Ellman serves bicoastal seafood and killer Neapolitan pizza. Seafood/Pizza. L, D, $$ HULA GRILL Whalers Village, 2435 Kā‘anapali Pkwy., Kā‘anapali, 667-6636 Dip your toes in the sand at the Barefoot Bar and enjoy poke tacos, tiki mai tais, homemade ice-cream sandwiches and live music. Kid-friendly. Hawai‘i Regional. L, H, D, $$ INU POOL BAR The Westin Nanea Ocean Villas, 45 Kai Malina Pkwy., Kā‘anapali, 662-6370 Island-fresh mixology earned Inu the 2019 Silver ‘Aipono for Best Cocktails — taste for yourself! Enjoy Maui Brewing Company’s Coconut Hiwa beer-can chicken with shoestring potatoes and buttermilk dip, or Maui beer-battered tempura fish with Ocean Vodka tartar sauce. Hawai‘i Regional. L, H, D, $–$$ JAPENGO Hyatt Regency, 200 Nohea Kai Dr., Kā‘anapali, 667-4727 Great steaks and authentic sushi prepared with the finest seafood are just two of the reasons Japengo won ‘Aipono’s 2019 Gold Award as Restaurant of the Year. Japanese. D, N, $$$ JOEY’S KITCHEN Whalers Village, 2435 Kā‘anapali Pkwy., Kā‘anapali, 868-4474 Second West Maui location: Napili Plaza, 5095 Napilihau St., Nāpili, 214-5590 Start your day with macadamia-nut pancakes or a kālua-pork omelet at Whalers Village and end it with dinner at Joey’s Nāpili venue. Chef Joey Macadangdang knows good food. Pacific Rim. B, L, D, $–$$ LAHAINA GRILL 127 Lahainaluna, Rd., Lahaina, 667-5117 Treat yourself to a warm, pecan-crusted goat cheese and arugula salad, Maui onion and sesame-crusted ‘ahi steak with vanilla-bean jasmine rice, or the famous Kona coffee-roasted rack of lamb with coffeecabernet demi-glace. Great wine selections and cocktails. American/Pacific Rim. D, R, $$$$ LEILANI’S ON THE BEACH Whalers Village, 2435 Kā‘anapali Pkwy., Kā‘anapali, 661-4495 Chef Ryan Luckey rocks island flavors with a lemongrass miso salmon and Duroc pork ribs with honey BBQ glaze. Kid-friendly. Steak/Seafood. L, H, D, N, $$
LEODA’S KITCHEN & PIE SHOP 820 Olowalu Village Rd., Olowalu, 662-3600 The house-made pastrami on fresh-baked bread, pineapple coleslaw and ice-cold beer, or justsqueezed lemonade will make you want to dance. After the mac-nut chocolate cream pie, you will boogie! American. B, L, D, $ LOCAL BOYS SHAVE ICE 624 Front St., Lahaina, 868-3476 This location also serves açai bowls, coffee and bagels. Also see South Shore listing. Treats. $ MĀLA OCEAN TAVERN 1307 Front St., Lahaina, 667-9394 Snap peas slathered in ginger and sambal, and fresh ‘ahi atop flaxseed bruschetta satisfy the healthconscious and the hedonistic alike at this surfside tavern. Turtle sightings are nearly guaranteed. Mediterranean. BR (Sat–Sun), L, D, $$ MAUIGROWN COFFEE COMPANY STORE 277 Lahainaluna Rd., Lahaina, 661-2728 If you’re running low on energy, head to MauiGrown’s plantation-style hale for a boost. Pumpkin bread and other baked goods round out a great cuppa' joe. Coffee Shop/Café. B, L, $ MAUI’S BEST BANANA BREAD + COFFEE CO. 180 Dickenson St., #115, Lahaina, 661-6216 Bananas, roasted macadamia nuts and coconut — all of life’s essentials rolled into a single serving of sweetness. Coffee, smoothies and lunch, too! Try a bacon, egg and ham bagel, a turkey-avo wrap or a GF banana bread. Coffee Shop. B, L, $ MAUKA MAKAI The Westin Nanea Ocean Villas, 45 Kai Malina Pkwy., Kā‘anapali, 662-6400 Expect the freshest fish, beef and lamb, vegetable sautés and islandinspired desserts at this restaurant that celebrates the fishing and farming cultures of ancient Hawai‘i. Pacific Rim. B, L, D, $–$$$
On Location at Montage Kapalua Bay
MERRIMAN’S KAPALUA 1 Bay Club Pl., Kapalua, 669-6400 Peter Merriman casts his spell on seafood, local beef and produce to create the most delectable fare. Pacific Rim. Sunday BR, L, D, R, $$–$$$$
Savor the Flavors of the Islands from Land to Sea
MISO PHAT SUSHI Kahana Manor, 4310 L. Honoapi‘ilani Rd., #111, Kahana, 669-9010 See South Shore listing.
The signature restaurant at Montage Kapalua Bay,
MOKU ROOTS 335 Keawe St., Lahaina, 214-5106 Where can you find a vegan/vegetarian venue worthy of the 2019 Silver ‘Aipono for Best New Restaurant? Same place you’ll find a Gold for tastiest Healthy Fare — here! Vegetarian/Vegan. B, L, D, R, $ MONKEYPOD KITCHEN Whalers Village, 2435 Kā‘anapali Pkwy., Kā‘anapali, 878-6763 See South Shore listing. MYTHS OF MAUI Royal Lahaina Resort, 2780 Keka‘a Dr., Kā‘anapali, 661-9119 Live music, Polynesian dance and an Island-inspired buffet complete with kālua pig unearthed from the imu. Lū‘au. D, R, $$$$
Cane & Canoe, draws inspiration from the roots of Maui’s history and culture. Renowned for their exceptional breakfast and dinner menus, this breathtaking ocean-view venue offers classic favorites and modern local flair, utilizing only the freshest ingredients from local farmers and fishermen. We invite you to indulge in this exceptional dining experience.
ONE BAY DRIVE, LAHAINA
(877) 624-8039
OLD LĀHAINA LŪ‘AU 1251 Front St., Lahaina, 667-0700 Eat lomilomi salmon and haupia (coconut pudding) like a Hawaiian. Reserve this popular lū‘au far in advance. Open bar. Kid-friendly. Lū‘au. D, R, $$$$
Maui Nō Ka ‘Oi Jan–Feb 2021
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Dining Guide More listings at MauiMagazine.net/DiningGuide Due to COVID-19, some venues may still be closed or have limited hours. Please call ahead or visit their social media sites for information.
PACIFIC’O 505 Front St., Lahaina, 667-4341 Try the breakfast locomoco with a slant: “fried rice” tots, Maui onion gravy and organic poached egg with house-made sausage. Kaua‘i grass-fed beef burger with cured lamb bacon topped with smoked bourbon onion jam for lunch. Lobster ravioli for dinner. Hawai‘i Regional. BR (Sun), L, D, $$-$$$$
draws lines late into the night. Try a Kenny G roll (snapper with shiso and ponzu sauce) with a swig of saké. Pacific Rim/Sushi. D, N, R. $$$
PĀ‘IA FISH MARKET RESTAURANT 632 Front St., Lahaina, 662-3456 See North Shore listing.
THE SEA HOUSE RESTAURANT Napili Kai Beach Resort, 5900 L. Honoapi‘ilani, Nāpili, 669-1500 Start the day with oven-baked pancakes laden with fruit. Enjoy coconut-crusted shrimp as the sun sinks into Nāpili Bay. On Wednesday, stay for Grammy-winner George Kahumoku Jr.’s Masters of Hawaiian Slack Key Guitar. Pacific Rim. B, L, H, D, $$$
PAPA ‘AINA Pioneer Inn, 658 Wharf St., Lahaina, 661-3636 Try the new, curated menu by Bravo Channel’s Top Chef competitor Lee Anne Wong. Smoked salmon Benedict for breakfast, cheesy kālua-pig nachos with a cold beer at happy hour. Dig into a plate of shrimp and Portuguese sausage linguine for dinner. Pacific Rim. B, L, H, D, $–$$
SON’Z STEAKHOUSE Hyatt Regency Maui, 200 Nohea Kai Dr., Kā‘anapali, 667-4506 Moroccan-spiced blackened ‘ahi with soy-mustard sauce enlivens the evening. Or sink your teeth into filet mignon carpaccio, rib-eye steak, or classically prepared, line-caught mahimahi in lemon-caper butter. Pacific Rim/ Steak. H, D, N, $$-$$$$
PIZZA PARADISO MEDITERRANEAN GRILL 3350 L. Honoapi‘ilani Hwy., Kā‘anapali, 667-2929 Juicy gyros, flavorful falafel in warm pita bread with a side of tabbouleh, kabob platters and pizza. Dine in or take out. Pizza/Med. L, D, $–$$
STAR NOODLE 1285 Front St., Lahaina, 667-5400 Big-city style and local flavors unite. Enjoy a Golden Star sparkling jasmine tea as you drink in a view of Lāna‘i across the channel. The ramen broth is extra smoky, the Singapore noodles bright and flavorful. Asian. L, D, $$
PRISON STREET PIZZA 133 Prison St., Lahaina, 662-3332 East Coast-style pizza, Caesar salad, calzones and more. Italian/ Pizza. L, D, $ PŪLEHU, AN ITALIAN GRILL The Westin Kā‘anapali Ocean Resort Villas, 6 Kai Ala Dr., Kā‘anapali, 667-3200 Try the pappardelle Bolognese made with Maui Cattle Company beef, or succulent Kaua‘i prawn risotto. End with chocolate almond cake and amarena gelato. Italian. D, $$$ ROCKSALT Sheraton Maui, 2605 Kā‘anapali Pkwy., Kā‘anapali, 921-4600 Eclectic, globally-inspired share plates combine exotic spices, ingredients and flavor profiles with fresh produce from Hawai‘i farms. An equally fresh cocktail program features Hawai‘iproduced spirits and house-made infusions. Kidfriendly. International. B, H, D, R, $$–$$$ ROY’S 2290 Kā‘anapali Pkwy., Kā‘anapali, 669-6999 At lunchtime, line up for a great Maui burger. For dinner, dive into Roy’s blackened ‘ahi with soy mustard, ume tsukudani, soy daikon and pickled ginger. Save room for the signature Melting Hot Chocolate Soufflé. Pacific Rim. B, L, H, D, $$$$ ROYAL OCEAN TERRACE RESTAURANT Royal Lahaina Resort & Spa, 2780 Keka‘a Dr., Kā‘anapali, 661-3611 Breakfast offerings include loco moco and eggs Benedict, or go light with a delightful avocado toast topped with microgreens. Burgers and prime rib, too. Pacific Rim. B, L, D, $–$$ SALE PEPE 878 Front St., Lahaina, 667-7667 Brick-oven-fired pizza and flatbreads highlight a menu that changes daily, with items like pancetta and ceci purée on grilled crostini and house-made strozzapreti pasta — just like Chef Michele’s mama makes in Italy. Good Italian wines and beer. Italian/Pizza. D, $$ SANSEI SEAFOOD RESTAURANT & SUSHI BAR 600 S. Office Rd., Kapalua, 669-6286 Small and action-packed, D.K. Kodama’s classy sushi bar
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TAVERNA 2000 Village Rd., Kapalua, 667-2426 House-made pastas, agrodolce-style fish of the day and Italian desserts that stand up to the grand finale: espresso with grappa. Taverna is dining heaven. Great wine, cocktails and craft beer. Italian. B, L, H, D, $$–$$$
‘ŪMALU Hyatt Regency Maui Resort & Spa, 200 Nohea Kai Dr., Kā‘anapali, 667-4902 Head poolside for Kobe beef sliders or ‘ahi poke nachos. Knock back a “Mutiny on the Carthaginian” cocktail inspired by Lahaina’s rowdy whaling past. Live music nightly. American/Pacific Rim. L, H, D, $$$ WAIKIKI BREWING COMPANY 900 Front St., Lahaina, 856-0036 Paddy’s Irish stout and Waikele Wheat brew temper the heat in ~o queso dip served with a giant pretzel. the jalapen Follow it up with smoked Kona coffee-rubbed beef brisket and cheddar potato cake and you’ll be one happy patron. American. BR, L, D, $-$$
SOUTH SHORE 1054 TOGOSHI South Maui Center, 95 E. Līpoa St., Kīhei, 8680307 Chef Manabu’s twenty-five years as a sushi chef —two of them as head chef at Morimoto’s Maui — shine through in fresh sashimi and sushi. Closed Mondays and the last Tuesday of each month. Sushi. D, $-$$ AKAMAI COFFEE COMPANY 1325 S. Kīhei Rd., Unit 100, Kīhei, 868-3251 Second South Shore location: 116 Wailea Ike Dr., Wailea, 868-0003 Coffee and espresso done right with beans from their own farm. Coffee Shop, $
TEDDY’S BIGGER BURGERS 335 Keawe St., Lahaina, 661-9111 The staff hand-pat the burgers, charbroil them to order and serve them in a fun diner ambiance. Kid-friendly. American. L, D, $
BISTRO MOLOKINI Grand Wailea Resort, 3850 Wailea Alanui Dr., Wailea, 875-1234 Organic Kurobuta pork, Hāna Bay fish and chips and grilled mahimahi are made with fresh, local ingredients and served up in this casual, open-air eatery. Kid-friendly. American. L, D, $$$
TEPPAN-YAKI DAN Sheraton Maui Resort & Spa, 2605 Kā‘anapali Pkwy., Kā‘anapali, 921-4600 Start with Oyster Dan — seared oysters with wasabi and tobiko — then watch your chef transform chunks of lobster and sirloin into a masterpiece. Japanese/Steak. D, R, $$$
BOTERO BAR Grand Wailea Resort, 3850 Wailea Alanui Dr., Wailea, 875-1234 Named for the surrounding Fernando Botero sculptures, the Botero Bar offers nightly entertainment and Thirsty Thursdays, when a three-cocktail tasting is just $20. L, D, H, N, $
THAI CHEF Old Lahaina Center, 878 Front St., Lahaina, 667-2814 This small, well-loved venue keeps fans coming back for commendable curries, fresh prawn spring rolls and beef salads drenched in tangy sauce. Thai. L, D, $
CAFÉ O’LEI 2439 S. Kīhei Rd., Kīhei, 891-1368 Choose from macadamia-nut-crusted chicken, seared ‘ahi tuna, tiger shrimp linguine and other favorites. American/Pacific Rim. B, L, D, $$
TIKI TERRACE RESTAURANT Kā‘anapali Beach Hotel, 2525 Kā‘anapali Pkwy., Kā‘anapali, 661-0011 Dine in casual comfort with the full-service menu, or challenge yourself to try all the offerings at the award-winning Sunday brunch. Kid-friendly. American/Pacific Rim. B, BR, L, D, $–$$$ TIKI TIKI THAI CUISINE Wharf Cinema Center, 658 Front St., Lahaina, 661-1919 Thai food by Thai chefs. 100 dishes from spring rolls and pad Thai to yellow curry with seafood. Yum! Thai, $–$$ ULULANI’S HAWAIIAN SHAVE ICE 790 Front St., Lahaina, 877-3700 Second West Maui location: Hyatt Regency Maui Resort & Spa, 200 Nohea Kai Dr., Kā‘anapali Homemade tropicalflavored syrups such as liliko‘i and coconut set this shave-ice business apart. Kid-friendly. Treats, $
COCONUTS FISH CAFÉ Azeka Shopping Center, 1279 S. Kīhei Rd., Kīhei, 875-9979 Dive into fresh fish tacos, grilled fish burgers or fish and chips. The cabbage slaw with coconut dressing and mango salsa sets this eatery apart. American. L, D, $$ DUO Four Seasons Resort Maui, 3900 Wailea Alanui Dr., Wailea, 874-8000 Breakfast buffet or à la carte? Did someone mention chateaubriand? Four Seasons never disappoints. Pacific Rim. B, D, $–$$$ FABIANI’S PIZZERIA & BAKERY South Maui Center, 95 E. Līpoa St., Kīhei, 8740888 Second South Shore location: 34 Wailea Gateway Pl., Wailea, 874-1234 Lox and bagels, fresh croissants, Caprese salad with local tomatoes, thin-crust and gluten-free pizza, spaghetti with house-made pork-sausage meatballs. Italian/ Bakery. B, L, D, $$
FERRARO’S BAR E RISTORANTE Four Seasons Resort, 3900 Wailea Alanui Dr., Wailea, 874-8000 For lunch, enjoy veggie quesadillas or grilled tenderloin sandwiches served poolside. For dinner, salumi and lobster tagliatelle. Italian. L, H, D, $$$$ FORK & SALAD 1279 S. Kīhei Rd., Kīhei, 879-3675 Chef/owners Cody, Travis and Jaron serve up green superfoods topped with pastrami-style seared ‘ahi, baked quinoa falafel, or ginger tofu. Vegan, gluten- and dairy-free options. International. L, D, $
Lahaina Fried Soup Pohole Salad HAPA RAMEN STAR UDON AHI AVO GARLIC NOODLES Singapore Noodles Steamed Pork Buns PAD THAI malasadas SAKE COCKTAILS
FOUR SEASONS LOBBY LOUNGE Four Seasons Resort Maui, 3900 Wailea Alanui Dr., Wailea, 874-8000 Impeccable service, a locallysourced menu, swank cocktails and performances by hip, local songwriters. Pacific Rim. H, D, N, $$$$ HAVENS 30 Manao Kala St., Kīhei, 868-2600 Local boy Zach Sato, former chef de cuisine at Hawai‘i’s Relais and Chateau hotel and restaurant, is ready to serve at his new digs in Kīhei. Try the smash burger and noodles — chopsticks in one hand and burger in the other — local style! Hawai‘i Regional. B, L, D, $-$$ HUMUHUMU Grand Wailea Resort, 3850 Wailea Alanui Dr., Wailea, 875-1234 ‘Aipono's 2018 Chef of the Year Alvin Savella turns out an umami-laden squid-ink risotto with crispy soft shell crab, cauliflower and fennel. Meat lovers should try the prime beef filet with peppercorn jus. Great wine selections! Pacific Rim. D, $$–$$$
FRESH HOUSE MADE NOODLES & ASIAN SPECIALTIES SERVING LUNCH & DINNER
1285 FRONT STREET NEXT DOOR TO THE OLD LĀHAINĀ LŪ‘AU
RESERVATIONS & TAKE-OUT
808.667.5400
ISLAND GOURMET MARKETS The Shops at Wailea, 3750 Wailea Alanui Dr., Wailea, 874-5055 Sushi to go, deli sandwiches, plate lunches and much more. Pacific Rim. B, L, D, $
Client: Leoda’s Trim 4.64" x4.78 Color: FULL
KA‘ANA KITCHEN Andaz Maui, 3550 Wailea Alanui Dr., Wailea, 573-1234 Start with a Wagyu hanger steak on green papaya salad, then charred octopus with local goat cheese. Next, Kona abalone on creamy risotto, or a modern take on chicken and waffles. There’s a curated wine list and mixology at its finest. Asian Fusion. B, D, $$$$ KIHEI CAFFE Kīhei Kalama Village, 1945 S. Kīhei Rd., Kīhei, 8792230 Woke up hungry at 5 a.m.? Head down to this surfer hangout for banana-mac-nut pancakes, loco moco and a cuppa joe. Café. B, L, $–$$ KŌ Fairmont Kea Lani Resort, 4100 Wailea Alanui Dr., Wailea, 875-2210 Plantation Era cuisine takes the spotlight. Try the Kobe beef poke appetizer and “On the Rock”: three mouthwatering morsels of ‘ahi served with a 300-degree lava rock for searing them to perfection. Pacific Rim. L, H, D, R, $$$ LEHUA LOUNGE Andaz Maui, 3550 Wailea Alanui Dr., Wailea, 573-1234 Cocktails created with locally sourced, seasonal ingredients like lychee, liliko‘i and Hawaiian navel oranges go hand in hand with Ka‘ana Kitchen’s award-winning menu. Lounge. H, $ LINEAGE The Shops at Wailea, 3750 Wailea Alanui Dr., Wailea, 879-8800 If steamed clams with housemade "XO" and lup cheong sausage, Maui beef with black garlic and hulihuli chicken with pineapple kim chee
AND OUR HOMEMADE SWEET & SAVORY PIES
OPEN DAILY FROM 7AM to 8PM
BREAKFAST • LUNCH • DINNER
leodaskitchenandpieshop leodasmaui leodasmaui
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Dining Guide More listings at MauiMagazine.net/DiningGuide Due to COVID-19, some venues may still be closed or have limited hours. Please call ahead or visit their social media sites for information. get your juices flowing, head to Wailea — now! Eat. Drink. Talk story. Pacific Rim. D, $–$$
Company beef and Italian sausage, ‘ahi crusted with Calabrese olive tapenade. Italian. L, H, D, $$–$$$
menu that hooked surfers and families for years in Pā‘ia is now in Kīhei, too. See North Shore listing.
LOCAL BOYS SHAVE ICE Kihei Kalama Village Shopping Center, 1941 S. Kīhei Rd., Kīhei, 344-9779 How to chill out in the Islands? Slurp up a mountain of fruity shave ice served with Plantation Era-inspired add-ons like haupia (coconut pudding) and macadamia-nut ice cream. Treats. $
MISO PHAT SUSHI Azeka Shopping Center Mauka, 1279 S. Kīhei Rd., Kīhei, 891-6476 Sushi served on-site, to-go, or delivered. Sashimi platters, sushi rolls, nigiri and specialty rolls. Omakase heaven! Japanese. L, H, D, $$
THE PINT & CORK The Shops at Wailea, 3750 Wailea Alanui Drive, Wailea, 727-2038 The best mac-and-cheese with black truffles, shrimp and grits with chorizo, poke bowls and burgers. If it’s football season, you can score breakfast, too. Touchdown! American. L, H, D, N, $–$$
LONGHI’S WAILEA The Shops at Wailea, 3750 Wailea Alanui Dr., Wailea, 891-8883 Eggs Benedict, made Florentinestyle with spinach or topped with crabcakes, will lure you out of bed. Have an open-face chicken picatta sandwich for lunch and seafood pasta for dinner. Expansive wine list, too! Italian. B, L, H, D, $$$
MONKEYPOD KITCHEN Wailea Gateway Center, 10 Wailea Gateway Pl., Wailea, 891-2322 Lunch at this Peter Merriman restaurant includes pizza, burgers, tacos and ramen. For dinner, Big Island beef rib eye with chimichurri sauce, gnocchi with pork sausage and banana-cream pie. Hawai‘i Regional. L, H, D, N, $$
LUANA LOUNGE Fairmont Kea Lani Resort, 4100 Wailea Alanui Dr., Wailea, 875-2210 This lobby lounge reimagines happy hour in tropical surroundings. Try appetizers like lū‘au-inspired kālua-pork flatbread with mango barbecue sauce and lomilomi tomato paired with ice-cold passionfruit ale. Pacific Rim. L, H, D, $–$$
NICK’S FISHMARKET Fairmont Kea Lani Resort, 4100 Wailea Alanui Dr., Wailea, 879-7224 Classic seafood dishes are served beneath a sky full of stars. Woo your date with plump strawberries drenched in Grand Marnier and set aflame. Pacific Rim/Seafood. H, D, R, $$$$
MANOLI’S PIZZA COMPANY 100 Wailea Ike Dr., Wailea, 874-7499 Manoli’s believes in fresh, organic and sustainable ingredients. Order a pizza with handcrafted organic wheat or gluten-free crust, or dig into chicken scaloppine. Italian/Pizza. L, H, D, N, $$ MATTEO’S OSTERIA Wailea Town Center, 161 Wailea Ike Pl., Wailea, 8798466 Matteo’s meatball sandwich with Maui Cattle
NUTCHAREE’S THAI FOOD Azeka Shopping Center Makai, 1280 S. Kīhei Rd., Kīhei, 633-4840 The flavors of Thailand never get boring when Nutcharee is cooking! Start with ‘ahi laab tartare salad or the popular crispy fish mango salad, then dig into tender braised short ribs smothered in massaman curry. Don’t forget the spring rolls! Thai. L, D, $–$$ PĀ‘IA FISH MARKET RESTAURANT 1913 S. Kīhei Rd., Kīhei, 874-8888 The same yummy
PITA PARADISE Wailea Gateway Center, 34 Wailea Ike Dr., Wailea, 879-7177 Start with classic spinach tiropitas with caramelized onions, feta, mozzarella and tzatziki wrapped in phyllo dough, then move on to kabobs, pasta and gyros. Baklava ice-cream cake, too. Mediterranean. L, H, D, $–$$$ PIZZA MADNESS 1455 S. Kīhei Rd., Kīhei, 270-9888 This familystyle restaurant serves Cobb salad, hot and cold deli sandwiches, award-winning pizza and pasta. Italian/Pizza. L, D, $-$$ THE RESTAURANT AT HOTEL WAILEA 555 Kaukahi St., Wailea, 879-2224 Produce from the hotel’s gardens and fish plucked from island waters provide some of the freshest ingredients around. With a gorgeous outdoor setting, you have a night made in heaven. European-inspired. H, D, N, $$-$$$$ ROASTED CHILES Azeka Shopping Center Mauka, 1279 S. Kīhei Rd., Kīhei, 868-4357 Ofir and Suki Benitez share family
back & better than ever!
E N J OY N E W R E G I O N A L S P E C I A L S
Weekend Brunch
with Live Music on Saturdays & Hula on Sundays! DINNER: 5pm-9pm LUNCH: 11:30am-2:30pm HAPPY HOUR: 3pm-5pm BRUNCH: 9:30am-2:30pm
808-667-CIAO (2426)
WWW.TAVERNAMAUI.COM 2000 Village Rd, Kapalua, Maui
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recipes like chicken mole, pozole verde and langostino enchiladas blanketed with tomatillo cream sauce. Giant margaritas! Mexican. L, H, D, $–$$ RUTH’S CHRIS STEAK HOUSE The Shops at Wailea, 3750 Wailea Alanui Dr., Wailea, 874-8880. Steaks and homespun side dishes worthy of devotion, top-flight service and a superb wine list earned this chain loyal fans — and this venue doesn’t stray from the flock. American. H, D, N, $$$$ SANSEI SEAFOOD RESTAURANT & SUSHI BAR Kīhei Town Center, 1881 S. Kīhei Rd., Kīhei, 8790004 See West Side listing. SARENTO’S ON THE BEACH 2980 S. Kīhei Rd., Kīhei, 875-7555 Inspired entrèes backed by great wines and a myriad of martini choices. And of course, there’s the romantic location — smack dab on Keawakapu Beach. Italian. B, L, H, D, R, $–$$$ SPAGO Four Seasons Resort, 3900 Wailea Alanui Dr., Wailea, 874-8000 Start with fresh poke nestled in crunchy sesame-miso cones, then move on to the caramelized pork chop with exotic notes of anise, cinnamon and pineapple. Chef Peleg will have you singing his praises. Pacific Rim. D, N, $$–$$$ TANPOPO 1215 S. Kīhei Rd., #F, Kīhei, 446-3038 Lunch offerings include ramen, Japanese-style chicken curry, California rolls and beef burgers. Dinner goes Italian and Japanese with pastas, flatbreads, sashimi, sushi and tempura. Japanese Fusion. L, D, $–$$$ THREE’S BAR & GRILL 1945-G S. Kīhei Rd., Kīhei, 879-3133 Eggs Benedict six ways, including seared ‘ahi, smoked salmon and prime rib. For lunch, Peruvian pork tacos or signature ramen. For dinner, truffle-yaki-marinated flatiron steak. Follow their food truck on Facebook. Pacific Rim/Southwest. B, L, H, D, $$–$$$ TOMMY BAHAMA RESTAURANT & BAR The Shops at Wailea, 3750 Wailea Alanui Dr., Wailea, 875-9983 Who’d guess a clothing company could deliver such delish pork sandwiches and Caribbean-inspired libations? Caribbean/Pacific Rim. L, H, D, N, $–$$ ULULANI’S HAWAIIAN SHAVE ICE 61 S. Kīhei Rd., Kīhei See West Side listing.
CENTRAL BISTRO CASANOVA 33 Lono Ave., Kahului, 873-3650 This downtown bistro serves paella for two, fresh-cut French fries and burrata caprese, as well as many fresh pasta dishes. Best pau hana (happy hour) in Kahului. Mediterranean. L, H, D, $–$$ CAFÉ O’LEI, THE DUNES AT MAUI LANI 1333 Maui Lani Pkwy., Kahului, 877-0073 Same great fare as the South Shore location, served beside a links golf course overlooking West Maui’s mountain. American/Pacific Rim. B, L, H, D, $$ FORK & SALAD Pu‘unene Shopping Center, 120 Ho‘okele St., Unit 330, Kahului, 793-3256 See South Shore listing. MAUI COFFEE ROASTERS 444 Hāna Hwy., Kahului, 877-CUPS (2877) Pastries,
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Dining Guide More listings at MauiMagazine.net/DiningGuide Due to COVID-19, some venues may still be closed or have limited hours. Please call ahead or visit their social media sites for information.
“We Know Wine” meet our maui team
muffins, salads, sandwiches, wraps, and bagels and lox made to order. Fresh-roasted coffee beans set this experience above the average. “Happy Cappy Hour” from 2 to 6 p.m. Coffee Shop. B, L, H, $
the road from MauiWine, find great deli fare, hotoff-the-grill lamb burger with tzatziki, grass-fed venison or beef burgers. Plus homestyle chili and rice or kālua-pork plate lunch. American. L, D, $
MAUI FRESH STREATERY MauiFreshStreatery.com, 344-7929 Kyle Kawakami was ‘Aipono’s 2019 Chef of the Year, and in 2020 won the Gold ‘Aipono for Best Food Truck. He rocks street food with imaginative poutine, ethnic dishes from around the world and a modern take on local fare. Follow him on Facebook for locations. Food Truck. L, $
NORTH SHORE
A SAIGON CAFE 1792 Main St., Wailuku, 243-9560 Squeeze into a booth and order a clay pot, the Vietnamese burrito, or lemongrass curry. Vietnamese. L, D, $ SAM SATO’S 1750 Wili Pa Loop, Wailuku, 244-7124 This beloved Maui restaurant sets the standard for dry mein, saimin and chow fun. Asian B, L, $
James Maher Tod Clayton S. Maui Sales W. Maui Sales Certified Sommelier Certified Sommelier
THAI MEE UP Plate Lunch Marketplace, 591 Haleakalā Hwy., Kahului, 214-3369 Addictive fried pork ribs and luscious pad Thai noodles. Curry, too! Thai, Food Truck. L, D, $ TIGHT TACOS 349 Hanakai St., Kahului, 707-1221 Get the three-taco plate lunch (braised beef, pork and shrimp) with street corn, rice and salsa. Scratch great Mexican street food off your foodie bucket list! Mexican. L, $ TIKI TIKI THAI CUISINE 395 Dairy Rd., Kahului, 893-0026 See West Side listing.
Charles Fredy VP, Director of Sales & Marketing Advanced Sommelier
LOOK FOR US EVERYWHERE.... Find our wines around the state at many fine resorts, restaurants and retailers.
TIN ROOF MAUI 360 Papa Pl., Kahului, 868-0753 Sheldon Simeon of Top Chef fame builds memorable kau kau bowls filled with his savory offerings: furikake-crusted seared salmon, Kaua‘i prawns in garlic butter and a killer spicy fried chicken sandwich. Pacific Rim. L, $ ULULANI’S HAWAIIAN SHAVE ICE 333 Dairy Rd., Kahului Second Central Maui location: 50 Maui Lani Pkwy., Wailuku See West Side listing.
UPCOUNTRY KULAMALU FOOD TRUCK LOT Kiopa‘a St., Pukalani Gravel lot next to Longs. Many food trucks with a choice of vegetarian, local-style plate lunches, açai bowls, BBQ and more.
hawaii’s fine wine specialist since 1979 EST. 1973 @ChambersWinesHawaii @chamberswineshi
www.chamberswines.com
LA PROVENCE 3158 L. Kula Rd., Kula, 878-1313 Perfect croissants, fruit tarts, blueberry-mango scones and artisan breads baked fresh daily. On weekends, muscle past long-distance cyclists to order a Benedict or salmon-pesto crêpe. French/Bakery. Cash only. B (Wed-Fri), BR (Sat-Sun), L (Wed-Fri), D (Thur-Sun), $ O‘O FARM 651 Waipoli Rd., Kula. Call Pacific’O Restaurant, 667-4341 Reserve a culinary tour to learn about organic gardening and coffee roasting, and enjoy a breakfast veggie frittata, bread from the woodburning oven and fresh-roasted coffee in this bucolic setting. Lunch includes chicken and fish entrées, roasted veggies and dessert. American. B, L, $$$$ ULUPALAKUA RANCH STORE & GRILL 14800 Pi‘ilani Hwy., ‘Ulupalakua, 878-2561 Across
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CHOICE HEALTH BAR 11 Baldwin Avenue, Pā‘ia, 661-7711 See West Side listing. COLLEEN’S BAR AND RESTAURANT 810 Kokomo Rd., Ha‘ikū, 575-9211 Slip into a comfy booth and enjoy a roasted eggplant sandwich on homemade bread. The pizza is a well-loved standard. Plush bar setting with original cocktail menu. Kid-friendly. American/ Pizza. B, L, H, D. $$ ESTERS FAIR PROSPECT 2050 Main Street, Wailuku, 868-0056. Serving fun, classic cocktails, tiki drinks, craft spirits, rum, amaro, mezcal, tequila, wine and beer. Local farmto-table inspired small plates, too. Rosé wine and daiquiris during Happy Hour. H, $ FLATBREAD COMPANY 89 Hāna Hwy., Pā‘ia, 579-8989 Big booths, a snazzy bar scene and organic flatbreads laden with maple-fennel sausage and roasted veggies. Kid-friendly. Pizza. L, D, N, $$ MAMA’S FISH HOUSE 799 Poho Pl., Kū‘au, 579-8488 Mama’s is famous for its heart-stirring windward setting and Polynesian-inspired cuisine. Each detail evokes oldtime island hospitality. In 2018, this Maui institution became a James Beard nominee for Best Restaurant. Hawaiian/Seafood. L, D, R, $$–$$$$ NUKA 780 Ha‘ikū Rd., Ha‘ikū, 575-2939 Izakaya food with flavor and style. Start with paper-thin fried gobo chips, then ‘ahi tataki with ponzu sauce. Creative lunch and dinner specials are epic here! Save room for black-sesame or green-tea ice cream. Japanese. L, D, $$–$$$ NYLOS 115 Baldwin Ave., Pā‘ia, 579-3354 Ever since its opening, this fine-dining restaurant has garnered rave reviews on the coconut wireless for its menu and casual ambiance. International. L, D, R, $$$ PAIA BOWLS 43 Hāna Hwy., Pā‘ia, 214-6504 Get amped with healthy fruit-and-granola açai bowls, avocado toast and nitro coffee. Try add-ons like ashwaganda, cordyceps and brain dust in your favorite Blue Majik smoothie. You’ll be waffling the surf after your iced matcha latte. Surfer fare. B, L, $ PĀ‘IA FISH MARKET 100 Hāna Hwy., Pā‘ia, 579-8030 Huge slabs of fish served with coleslaw on burger buns explain the line out the door. Order your ‘ahi burger rare and squeeze in beside surfers and families. Kidfriendly. Seafood. L, D, $ WAILUKU COFFEE CO Aloha Aina Center., 810 Kokomo Rd., Ha‘ikū, 8683229 Downtown goes “country” with this second location, serving the same tasty salads, sandwiches, ice cream and espresso. Coffee Shop. B, L, $
WHO’S HELPING
Kapalua Homeowners Food Box Distribution This past fall, homeowners in Kapalua’s residential community gave back by raising over $100,000 in donations to create food boxes for more than 1,000 families in need. Each box contained numerous non-perishable items, a bag of locally-grown fresh produce, five pounds of beef and a $25 gift certificate for Island Grocery. Of the 100K donated, 20K was given to the Maui Food Bank to support other West Maui families.
Community is everything, and these oustanding local businesses and nonprofits deserve to be in the spotlight for all the good they do for the people, places, flora and fauna of Maui. By Felix Sunny D’Souza
Down the Hatch & Coral Reef Alliance Down the Hatch restaurant partnered with the Coral Reef Alliance (CRA) to support Clean Water For Reefs Maui. The CRA handed out starter kits to local guests which contained enough supplies to grow 50 native Hawaiian seedlings. The CRA will collect the plants once they've matured, and will root them in highly-erosive areas to help stabilize the soil. This will ultimately help prevent pollutants from entering the ocean and damaging Maui’s delicate coral reef ecosystem. For information or to grow some seedlings, go to coral.org/maui.
Paddle for Hunger 2020
Hua Momona Farms Meal Kits
This year, Hawaiian Paddle Sports' Paddle for Hunger fundraiser went virtual in support of the Maui Food Bank. Participants were encouraged to paddle around the island on stand-up paddle boards, canoes or surfboards. They clocked their time spent asea, used GPS to plot their course and tagged photos to record their participation. This event has been helping local families since 2010, raising thousands in donations and celebrating the aloha spirit amongst Maui’s paddling community. hawaiianpaddlesports.com/paddle-for-hunger | mauifoodbank.org.
Hawai‘i’s number one organic microgreens producer, Hua Momona Farms, is now offering Maui Meal Kits to help local residents eat healthier and make bettter food choices. Their first line of kits is for a healthy stir fry and includes plenty of prepackaged raw vegetables such as green onions, peppers, eggplant and carrots. Not sure how to best cook them up? Try their recipe courtesy of Executive Chef Zach Laidlaw (huamomonafarms.com/pages/recipes). To purchase meal kits for your own family or to donate to those in need, visit MauiMealKits.com. Maui Nō Ka ‘Oi Jan–Feb 2021
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PAU HANA
Home Is Where the Poi Is
Story by Teri Freitas Gorman | Illustration by Guy Junker
The care package from Pukalani arrived while we were settling into our newly rented, 1950s-era Fort Lauderdale bungalow. Hot, humid, crowded and endlessly flat, South Florida was a foreign country some 4,789 miles away from home. Despite its familiar-looking tropical setting, something just wasn’t right about the place. There was no mauka (toward the mountain) to help delineate makai (toward the ocean). The plumerias had no fragrance, the papayas had no flavor and the geckos had no chirp. Even the rice refused to stick together. That ordinary-looking parcel turned out to be a Hawaiian treasure chest in disguise. Inside were bags of li hing mui, dried mango, chow fun noodles, Kona coffee, wasabi furikake, a bottle of Aloha Shoyu, an Ainokea t-shirt, a “Braddah Iz” CD and a red sticker that asked, “Got Poi?” These humble comforts fill me with saudades — a Portuguese term, not easily translated, describing a bittersweet longing for something not attainable. Pidgin translation: “Choke homesick.” “Got Poi?” was immediately affixed to the back window of our white 1992 Lincoln Mercury. Purchased from our used-car-dealer neighbor, it fell far short of being South Beach chic.
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Months passed and “Got Poi?” went largely unnoticed, save for a Cuban coworker who asked, “What the heck is that?” until one routine Saturday morning shopping trip. Our usual supermarket, Publix, is located less than three miles from our house, but the trip entails a death-defying drive along one of Broward County’s most dangerous roads, Federal Highway. It should be a Florida State Historic Site: the birthplace of Road Rage. Stopped at a red light in a mega-congested intersection, I hear, “BEEP, BEEP, BEEP, BEEEEEP.” Uh-oh. This could be trouble. Half expecting a sniper in search of a random shooting victim, I ignore the horn and refuse to turn around. The light turns green, the traffic inches forward and again I hear, “BEEP, BEEP, BEEP, BEEEEEP.” Okay, this is getting scary. I must ditch the hornblower. I whip into the Publix parking lot and tuck into a nondescript stall. I look around thinking I’ve lost him, but a glance into my rearview mirror reveals an ominous black monster pickup blocking my escape. My heart is pounding. I hear a door open and slam. I brace myself and turn. And see… The Shaka! The proverbial Hawaiian salute is connected
to a very big Hawaiian with an even bigger smile. “Eh, sistah — I saw your poi stickah! You from Hawai‘i?” What’s this? A local boy! He tells me he’s originally from O‘ahu, now living on a Seminole reservation near Miami. “Get lotta guys from Hawai‘i living down here,” he explains. “We planning one ho‘olaule‘a next month in Jupiter. You gotta come. Call Charlie. He da organizer. He’s a Maui boy. Wait, I give you his numbah.” One month later I’m cruising in my Mercury land yacht alongside a Jupiter beach park in search of a lone Hawaiian flag. We find it flying over a jumble of beach chairs, blue tarps, coolers, aluminum pans and rice cookers. The sound of slack-key guitar and the unmistakable aroma of teriyaki on a hibachi waft through the air. This must be the place. We thirty-some displaced Hawaiians share food, stories, music, hula and our saudades for home. At sunset, we gather in a circle, hold hands and sing “Hawai‘i Aloha.” Tears stream down our faces. For one glorious afternoon, a nameless Florida picnic site marked with a Hawaiian flag becomes our sovereign land. Home is where the poi is. Story originally appeared in our Nov-Dec 2011 issue.
Serving Hawaii Is Our Business Since 2005, Pasha Hawaii has supported Maui’s locally-grown businesses, including Maui’s own Haynes Publishing Group, a second-generation familyowned company that publishes Maui Nō Ka ʻOi Magazine, Ka’anapali Magazine, Island Living, and Eating & Drinking magazines. These awardwinning publications focus on the life and culture on Maui, celebrating the people, places and events that make this Island, Maui Nō Ka ʻOi. “Our partnership with Pasha Hawaii is one of our most valued. Pasha understands the challenges and unexpected snags facing small-business owners everyday. From senior management to dock workers, the people at Pasha exemplify aloha in their business strategies and responsiveness. They truly care about our product. The remarkable success of Pasha is reflected in their unwavering commitment to the success of their customers.” — Diane Haynes Woodburn, Publisher, Haynes Publishing Group