August, 2007

Rating : 10 out of 10

The Tariff : Lunch for 4

• 2 large pizzas
• 1 glass wine
• 1 pint beer
• 2 beverages
• tip
• $70

The Setting

Paia is the windsurfing capitol of Hawaii and it's also a funky, little Bohemian town with two main shopping streets located on Maui not too far from Kahului airport going towards the Road to Hana. It's fitting, therefore, that this cool restaurant with its giant domed clay oven should be turning out gourmet pizzas and delicious organic salads in a casual setting for locals and tourists alike. The restaurant itself is unassuming from the outside, just a storefront with large windows. These windows give the interior light to show off the open airy high ceilings and the interesting primitive clay oven with stone facing as well as various wood details--like a counter made of a large slab of wood and two oversized booths with inlaid wood tables. There are other smaller tables, a bar with a good selection of wines and beer, and a back porch covered with a canopy that has booths and picnic table style seating.

The Service

We were kind of late for lunch, so no crowds, and we had our choice of tables. Being a hot day we chose a large booth on the covered patio. The clay oven in the maid part of the restaurant tends to add a bit of heat to the already hot summer weather on Maui. We immediately began to relax and take in our surroundings. Our waitress, who we found had the same name as me, was very laid back and friendly. She made sure we knew we could combine the interesting flatbread toppings in order to try more--for instance each flatbread we ordered could be topped with half of one thing and half of another. She and the other staff we saw were wore sundresses or halter tops, sported tattoos and silver jewelry and added to the free spirited image we'd heard Paia was known for.

The Food

The menus catch your eye off the bat because the cover art is done by local children. Menu items include gorgeous organic salads, flatbreads (pizzas) cooked to order in their wood burning ovens, wines, beers, and desserts. Clay ovens cook less uniformly that traditional ovens, which makes them unique. When our first bread turned out a bit overcooked Gretchen insisted the cook wanted to make us another one, but that we were welcome to nibble that one as an appetizer while we waited--no extra charge (We basically wound up with twice the amount of food we'd ordered!). Here's what we tried: First we had a combo of the Pele Pesto Flatbread (organic basil, macadamia and garlic pesto, and chevre cheese, Roma tomatoes, Kalamata olives, and organic herbs) plus the basic cheese and herb flatbread. The other combo we tried was the Mopsy's Kalua Pork Pie (smoked pork, mango BBQ sauce, red onions, pineapple, chevre, cheese, and herbs) and the homemade sausage topping (maple-fennel sausage, sundried tomatoes, caramelized onions, mushrooms, cheese, garlic oil, and herbs). What a feast for the taste buds! The thing that stands out most was the thin crisp crusts that still had a soft chewiness to the edges, the freshness of all the ingredients, and the salty sweetness of the shredded pork on the Mopsy's Kalua Pork Pie. We liked all four flavors and ate far more than we should have!

We tried the Lava Man Beer, served warmer than most American's like but still a good flavored amber brew. and a glass of an organic pinot noir that Gretchen recommended. We also had several great iced teas, one green and one Rooibos (refilled upon request) that were more refreshing considering the heat that afternoon.

The Flatbread Co.
89 Hana Highway
Paia, Maui, HI 96779
808-579-8989