Food, Drinks and Beautiful Views in Maui, Hawaii

Food, drinks, and beautiful views. Just a few of the reasons why even the most touristy of locations can’t ruin a trip to Maui, Hawaii.   

“Yeah, it’s a bit of a touristy area, but it will be fine. It’s a quick trip and Hawaii is so close now. We’ll be back.”

Famous last words when travel planning.

When we decided we would visit Maui, I spent some time researching accommodations. Our first thought was to get a remote rental where we could relax and cook a little using local ingredients.

Then when booking our direct flights from Oakland we got swayed by the great package deals, so we went ahead and added the hotel, too.

So with our tolerance for crowds way up, we arrived on the island, eager to finally see Hawaii.

I can’t fault the hotel along Kāʻanapali Beach in Lahaina. It was stunning. As is the entire island. You simply cannot look in any direction on Maui and not see something beautiful.

The problem was that despite our best efforts, we simply couldn’t get a break from all the people. We even woke up before 7:00 am, in the hopes for a quiet walk. Something we do often when we visit the Caribbean.

Nope. Loads of people were out and about. It felt like the middle of the afternoon. In fact, I’m not sure I’ve traveled anywhere where people were up so early!

I know. We should have known better. We did know better. We just took a chance.

And no, the trip was not ruined at all. We still had amazing views, plenty of tropical drinks and some really great food.

The second we stepped off the plane we headed straight to Da Kitchen. We had seen it on a Brew Dogs episode a few weeks before we left and it immediately made the list. Say hello to my first spam musubi experience. I happened to love it, by the way. 

With that we had a plate of the classics – kalua pork, chicken, mac salad, rice and more spam – which we split because it was enough to feed us the rest of the trip. Oh, and we found out after we arrived that they don’t sell beer, but it is bring your own. So make a quick stop before you head out to eat if you are thirsty for a brew. 

 When one finds themselves in a touristy area, one might as well take advantage of happy hours. And we did. Somehow the umbrellas make it better. Our first Mai Tai of the trip from Leilani’s On the Beach. 

 A visit to Maui Brewing Co. was high on the list and luck was on our side. When planning the trip we were unsure if they would already be moved into their new brewery in which case tours would be cancelled. While I would have loved to have seen the new spot, we enjoyed the opportunity to tour the old brewery and taste some of their outstanding beers.

I think one of the things the new location will do is combine their brewery and brew pub. I can’t tell from the website if this has happened yet, but while we were there, the brew pub was about a 10 minute drive away from the brewery. We enjoyed a few rounds there (a couple of times). We maxed out our quota for traditional Hawaiian plates of kalua pork so I won’t show you any more of those, but I will show you these nachos. Topped with chili made from local grass-fed beef. 

My favorite beer? I’m so glad you asked because it was out of this world. You might know the Maui Brewing Co. Coconut Porter, and it’s pretty good. But this? This is the Imperial Coconut Porter. Flavor-wise it knocks the regular coconut porter out of the park. I still dream about having another sip. 

Sometimes touristy locations do provide a few unexpected opportunities. We were in Kāʻanapali during Kāʻanapali Fresh, a culinary festival. We didn’t attend any events, but I learned before the trip that for the occasion, the Maui grown farmers market would be near by.

Big score for us! So many tropical fruits including Maui Gold pineapples, Maui grown coffee, tasty ulu (breadfruit chips), interesting banana jerky, and oh that banana bread.

A friend of mine told me about the banana bread before we left. I thought, eh, it’s banana bread, which never excites me too much. But this stuff is unlike any other I’ve had. So tender and rich with a wonderfully balanced sweetness. We almost polished off a whole loaf for breakfast. 

 After all of this, you might be wondering what my favorite meal was during the trip.

That would be the tacos. 

We took a drive and stumbled on Ono Tacos. On the side of a building, next to a gas station with about 5 lawn chairs out front. Exactly the kind of place you go for amazing tacos. 

 We settled on the classic beef tongue and the fish tacos. They came in perfectly cooked soft tortillas with crisp edges, and there was a toppings bar so you could add all your favorites like pickled red onion and spicy salsas. Really outstanding. 

So the moral of the story is that even staying in a touristy spot on a trip does not mean all is lost. But unless you have, say, a family of five to entertain, or enjoy being around families of five being entertained during your vacation, find yourself a little remote spot on the island. Hop in the car and grab yourself some food and drink at one of these fine places. Then hit the beach to watch the sunset. 

Thanks for reading! All images and content are the property of Fake Food Free unless otherwise stated. Please do not republish full recipes and images without written permission. What is okay? Feel free to Pin images, share links to my posts or share the photo in a round up post with the title of this recipe and a link back to the post. Confused about copyright and food blogs? Here is some helpful information on Recipe Attribution. If you want to use a photo or full recipe, just ask. I’m sure we can work something out.