July, 2007

Rating : 10 out of 10

The Tariff : Lunch for 4

• 4 lunch entrees
• 2 beverages
• tip
• $57

Atmosphere

Located behind the Lahaina Cannery Mall across Front Street at the north end of town lies the greatest local food you'll find in a pretty setting on two large patios along the harbor. You can sit under the shade canopies, enjoy the breezes, listen to the ocean, and watch the sailboats moored in the harbor. The green buildings trimmed in yellow are the kitchen and the bar--the rest of the place is outdoors under the shade of trees, large umbrellas, and canopies

The Service

The first time we came for lunch we waited obediently by the sign saying wait to be seated...and we waited...and we waited...The hustle and bustle of lunch was going on all around us but we couldn't understand why no one was even acknowledging our obvious presence. Finally, we asked a passing waiter and he asked whether we had checked in on a sign-in sheet at the bar (How were we to know?). After that it was smooth sailing to the edge of the lower patio and a table with a beautiful view of Lahaina harbor. Although the initial moments worried me, the waiter turned out to be friendly and my teenage daughter pointed out that he and several waiters were serious "man candy," as if to say 'don't worry about the wait, Mom just keep your eyes open!' By the time we had eaten there two times we realized the staff was pretty friendly and easy going.

The Food

For an appetizer we tried the Furikake Garlic Fries, not knowing what we'd get--turns out to be a basket of crisp fries with garlic, sesame seeds, and tiny flakes of toasted seaweed--salty and delicious. I never thought garlic fries could get better till I tried these. Mozzarella sticks were fine--just what a kid would expect anyplace.

Talk about pigging out! For entrees we tried the two local favorite mixed plate specials. According to the menu the 'mixed plate' originated on the plantation where workers from Hawaii, Japan, Philippines, Korea, and China would bring their lunches and eventually began sharing what they had brought. The first, called the Hawaiian Plate ($8.95) is made up of Kalua Pig, tender shredded roast pork mixed with cabbage--rich and delicious but heavy; white rice; creamy, soft macaroni salad; poi, the purplish, starchy mostly flavorless paste made from taro; lomi lomi, a salsa like side salad with tiny bits of raw marinated salmon; and haupia, which is a sweet thick pudding firmer than Jello with real coconut flavor. The second 'mixed plate' was the Lau Lau Plate, which features tender chunks of pork wrapped up in a taro leaf and cooked in a rectangular packet--even the leaf is edible. It comes with all the same Hawaiian sides mentioned above. In my opinion you've gotta try these just to say you've tasted the local cuisine.

We also tried the Shoyu Chicken (medium portion $5.50), pieces of light and dark meat coated with a sweet soy sauce marinade and oven baked--a big hit with our son who immediately declared he'd ordered the best choice on the menu. Best choice for that day, I guess, because the next time we visited he had the Paniolo Burger topped with BBQ aioli, bacon, cheese and a giant onion ring ($8.95) and proclaimed it to be a juicy delight. The Kalbi Ribs (regular portion $9.95) were cross cut sections of ribs cooked Korean style with sesame teriyaki marinade--the flavor was great but the meat was a bit chewy and fattier that we'd normally like. Are you getting the picture that this isn't the type of restaurant for a diet? A good vegetarian option was the Veggie Stir Fry with house sauce ($8.50), a very lightly sweet soy flavor over crisp broccoli, snow peas, celery (yuck!), carrots, and onions, served with two large scoops of white rice. Next time we tried it with tofu and black bean garlic sauce ($10), a stronger flavor and aroma, but a great entree as well. I should mention that all of these dishes were big enough to take home leftovers and we didn't even order the largest portions in most cases.

Needless to say there was barely room for dessert, but we tried a piece of the Taro Pineapple Bread Pudding to share and found it to be sweet and creamy--moist, but a little bland--I blame the taro!

This restaurant is a real find: lovely setting outdoors with view, great local food, huge portions, reasonably priced, friendly staff. So you guessed it--we had to go back again!

Aloha Mixed Plate
1285 Front Street
Lahaina, Maui, HI