Munching Across Maui and Molokai

A self-confessed cheapskate finds budget-priced meals
on a Hawaiian holiday

by Robert Scheer

As the waitress presented me with a plate of scrambled eggs, two big slices of Portuguese sausage, hash browns and a thick wedge of pineapple, she remarked, “Pretty good deal for $4.95.” I agreed heartily. The “Hula Shores” breakfast at the Hotel Molokai was one of the best dining bargains I discovered on a trip to Maui and Molokai. If you order bacon instead of Portuguese sausage, you’ll get not just three or four but six crispy slices!

Call me a cheapskate, but I prefer doing a bit of hunting for off-the-beaten-track, frugal eateries, rather than paying an arm and a leg at a fancy hotel dining room. That’s why, in Maui’s resort town of Ka’anapali – where $12 hamburgers are the norm – I was delighted to stumble onto Jonny’s Burger Joint on Ka’anapali Parkway. Jonny’s Original was boastfully billed as “Hawaii’s Best Burger.” I found it very tasty, and at $5.95 (plus an extra dollar for cheese, bacon or mushrooms) possibly the best burger value in the area. As you might guess from its name, Jonny’s Joint is a pretty informal place, as evidenced by the sign on its office door: “No Clothing Allowed Beyond This Point.”

As Maui is famous for its barbecued ribs, but by far the best ribs I found were on Molokai at the Kualapu’u Cookhouse. Fall-apart tender and drenched in unforgettable, house-made guava sauce, they are available only Tuesday through Saturday evenings from 5:00 pm to 8:00 p.m. If you’re there at lunchtime, the pulled pork sandwiches are also excellent. As with almost every meal on Molokai, they’re served with a choice of “mac salad” (macaroni tossed with chopped egg, diced carrot and mayonnaise) or “two scoops rice.”

Another pleasant surprise on Molokai was the Moloka’i Pizza Café, where hamburgers are stacked onto house-baked buns made from pizza dough. The waitress said a local fisherman had just brought in a freshly caught mahi-mahi, so I enjoyed it grilled for $10.99, and then helped my companion finish her huge $8.29 cheeseburger.

Back on Maui, Moose McGillycuddy’s Pub & Café (884 Front St., Lahaina) serves $1.99 early bird breakfasts between 7:30 and 8:30 a.m., but we dropped in at lunchtime and were delighted to discover it was Happy Hour, with cocktails such as Mai Tais and bloody Marys going for only $2.00. This seemed like an amazing value, as we had noticed Mai Tais in Ka’anapali priced as high as $7.50 each. My companion and I shared first-rate fish tacos and a gigantic ham and pineapple sandwich while gazing out at the quaint, turn-of-the-century wooden storefronts of Lahaina town.

Up in north-central Maui, there are at least three places in Paia that pack picnic lunches for travelers driving the scenic Hana highway. We chose Café Mambo for a Sunday brunch of breakfast burritos and quesadillas. The walls were lively with paintings by local artist Ray Masters, who recently opened a gallery nearby. With a choice of six different sandwiches ranging from the mundane (ham and cheese) to the exotic (spinach nut falafel) their picnic packages also include chips, cookies and a cold drink for $8 or $9.

We decided not to take a picnic lunch for the Hana highway, because we’d heard of a tiny barbecue stand located between mileposts 28 and 29 that served especially good baby back ribs and grilled corn on the cob. As it turned out, the menu at “Up in Smoke” had changed a bit. Instead of ribs, they were serving pork, fish or chicken tacos, all mesquite grilled. Corn was no longer in season, but there was a surprise option of breadfruit baked in banana leaves. Our “Kalua pig” tacos, stuffed into soft flour tortillas and topped with grated cheese, tomato salsa and shredded cabbage, were wonderful, although I confess to leaving most of the bland breadfruit behind.

The most memorable meal of my Maui holiday was not budget-priced, although, under the circumstances, it was an excellent value. I treated myself to the traditional hula and feast presented by Old Lahaina Lu’au. The buffet-style meal included a dizzying array of more than fifteen different dishes, plus four desserts and an open bar with seemingly unlimited drinks. The all-you-can-eat menu included salmon, octopus, grilled mahi-mahi, roast chicken, grilled top sirloin steak, and pork roasted in a traditional Hawaiian underground oven, accompanied by sweet potatoes, and other assorted vegetables. The Ahi Poke (fresh raw yellow fin tuna with green onions and Maui onions) was spectacular, and I wished I’d had room for second helpings of the taro and spinach salad in coconut sauce.

A very attentive waiter named Justin kept our table supplied with Mai Tais, Blue Hawai’is, Margaritas, Hawaiian Sunsets and other cocktails, as well as glasses of a respectable California Chardonnay with dinner. Besides conventional tables and chairs, “traditional” seating on cushions at a low table is also available. Although you’re closer to the stage, the traditional seating proved far too uncomfortable for my 59-year old bones during the two-hour event. The floor show, consisting mainly of hula dancing, drumming and chanting, might have been a bit monotonous, were it not for the elaborate costume changes and the delightful personalities of the male and female dancers. It was also fun to chat with the other seven people at my table, including honeymooners from Oakland and a blonde surfer from Australia. Nick, from San Diego, had attended other luaus, and it was his second visit to the Old Lahaina. He proclaimed this the best for food, entertainment and service, and I could not disagree. The price per adult of about $89 also included a gorgeous orchid lei. Reservations are available at hotel desks, dive shops and tourist kiosks across Maui, and information is online at www.oldlahainaluau.com.

For more information about Maui and Moloka'i visit www.visitmaui.com