Food Lover's Guide to Maui

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Hawaii has a lot to offer food lovers, and Maui in particular is undergoing a culinary renaissance. Now more than ever, there are farms, festivals, food trucks, and fine dining that will delight foodies of all stripes.
ADVENTUROUS FOODIES



You’ll be hungry when you fly into Kahului, and luckily, less than ten minutes from the airport is Poi by the Pound (385 Hoohana St.; 808-283-9381), which opened last year and serves legitimate local food. The Hawaiian mix plate can easily serve two people: It comes with kalua pork, laulau, chicken long rice, lomi lomi salmon, poke, poi, and scoops of rice and macaroni salad. There are also specials like squid lau or ahi belly.



If you don’t mind eating picnic-style on the grass, head to the Maui Fresh Streatery truck on E. Kaahumanu Avenue, where local chef Kyle Kawakami, who previously worked in resort kitchens, now serves gourmet farm-to-truck cuisine. The food rotates among twelve themes, from Korean to Southern. The truck operates Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays from 11 am to 1 pm, and tips benefit local charities.



One of the stars of Lahaina is Star Noodle, where Sheldon Simeon, a Maui Culinary Academy graduate and fan-favorite on Top Chef first made his mark. The menu offers shareable plates that show a wide range of Asian influences and plenty of local ingredients. Try the pohole salad with Hana fiddlehead fern, Maui onion, ebi, and kombu.



Upcountry offers a lot of farm tours, but Ocean Vodka has the most unusual one. Here you’ll see the distillery where vodka and the newly launched Deep Island Hawaiian Rum, as well as the native varieties of sugarcane grown for the spirits, are made. All products are made with local and imported organic sugarcane and desalinated ocean water.



The Upcountry Farmers' Market is considered the best in Maui and has produce, nuts, coffee, and flowers, along with some prepared food. Arrive early for the best selection.
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Newly opened Joe’s Nuevo Latino in Wailea features enticing Mexican, Peruvian, and Venezuelan dishes made with local ingredients. While the menu is still a work in progress, dishes like anticuchos made with beef tongue and Pescado con Coco, a coconut milk-marinated white fish with Fresno chiles, mango, crispy plantains, and lilikoi, are already hits.