Maui

As I said in my post about Mohican, Brett and I took our honeymoon (and got married!) last summer. For the honeymoon, we spent five days in San Francisco and a week in Maui. This probably goes without mentioning, but it was a fabulous trip. Before we'd even left, we were already figuring out when we could go back. Anyway, because I knew of two other people who were planning their honeymoons in Maui, I jotted down some notes about our favorite restaurants and activities when we got home. Since then, I've been asked for these tips a few times, and I thought I'd post them here for anyone who's Maui-bound:

Trilogy – a GREAT tour company. We booked a snorkeling trip to Molokini with them, and the trip was from 8 a.m.- 2 p.m. They took us to two spots for snorkeling, fed us breakfast, lunch and snacks, and then since we were on a sailboat, gave us a taste of sailing. The people, food and experience was fantastic.

Manana Garage – this is in Kahului, and we read about it in Frommer’s. It’s a little hard to find, but it’s a really nice restaurant that doesn’t attract all the tourists. We had jalapeno cornbread and really good fish (they have red meat and chicken too). Worth the drive!!

Kimo’s – very romantic. If you decide to go, call ahead and ask for a seat with a view. We ate here our first night and got a table on the second story overlooking live music on the first floor and beyond that, the ocean. The food was probably the best we had on the island too.

Mama’s Fish House – this is really expensive (everything in Maui is, but this is particularly expensive). We liked the food at Kimo’s a little better, but for a honeymoon, Mama’s is an experience. It’s right on the beach in Paia, and there are no walls or windows on the outside of the restaurant, so you’re just breathing in ocean air. Plus, if you like fish, you’ll love their menu. It changes daily, and they tell you who caught the fish you’re eating and where it was caught. If you go here, definitely make reservations in advance.

Flatbread – this is a little pizza place in Paia (a little hippie town that’s a fun place to go to walk around and shop for a couple hours). We ordered a large pizza to split, half a BBQ pork and half santa fe chicken. They brought it out, and it looked great, but the chef was unhappy with how crunchy the crust was, so she made a whole other pizza. So basically for $16, we had food for quite a few meals.

Comfort Zone – this was a little sandwich shop that’s on the highway just north of Lahaina. We stopped here for lunch one day and had some sandwiches and split an order of garlic fries. The food is really fresh and healthy (except the fries), and there’s a huge selection…sandwiches, salads, big plates. It’s good.

Broke da Mouth cookies – we read about this place in Frommer’s. It’s a small bakery in Kahului, and as soon as we walked in and told the owner we’d never been there before, she gave us samples of every single cookie they sell. We left with five bags of cookies, and believe me, it is well worth the trip. They are crunchy, and come in standard flavors, like chocolate chip and oatmeal raisin, and they also come in more “island-y” flavors like almond macadamia nut.

David Paul’s Lahaina Grill – This was much more elegant than the other restaurants we went to. When you’re inside, it doesn’t really feel like you’re in Maui, more like you’re in some fancy restaurant in a big city. But the food was quite good. We each had a macadamia-crusted pork chop, which was heavenly. It was one of the few times I didn’t eat fish on the vacation. Overall, we liked Kimo’s and Mama’s Fish House better in terms of a fancy, expensive meal, just because their atmospheres were much more relaxed. Their menu is online, so you could always read the menu before you go to see if someplace that you’d want to check out.