Hearts in Hawai'i
Our Trip to Maui (2014)--Day 5
5/9/2014
Nothing much was happening today. The humidity seemed to have lessened a bit, but Lana`i was still somewhat obscured by the voggy haze. Our bodies have adjusted to Hawai`i time by now, so we were out of bed at 6 a.m. and eager to walk the beach. After a three mile beach walk, we hit the sun for most of the morning. The afternoon was spent relaxing in the room.
At 4 p.m, we headed out for dinner at Coconut's Fish Cafe. We had read much of this place and wanted to give it a try. While I'm not a fish eater, as I previously wrote, they had a garlic steak sandwich which was supposed to be fantastic!
So, I was disappointed when I looked at their menu board (this is a place where you order at the counter) and it wasn't listed! This was confirmed by the girl taking orders. Without a second thought, we left. Sorry, but fish tacos don't interest me.
Our back-up plan was easy--Cuatro! We had eaten there two years ago and it was love at first bite. Since we got there before 6:00, we got the early bird special. 25% off. How great a deal is this?
Cuatro is small, with slightly more than a dozen tables inside. The decor is pleasing, but there is no view through the windows other than a parking lot--this is in a small strip mall next to Foodland. But the focus here is on food, and in that capacity, they excel.
Our server is George, one of the owners, and he takes a lot of pride in what they serve here--and they feature nothing but the best ingredients in their offerings. He took time to talk with us about various aspects of their restaurants, and a little bit of the restaurant scene in general on Maui. We talked about the recent closing of Stella Blues, another of Kihei's many restaurants. Our opinion was that the food seemed mediocre, the service aloof and formal. We qualified that by saying we had only eaten there only once, and sometimes it takes more than one visit to truly assess a restaurant. He agreed with us on this point; Stella Blues had once been top-notch, but in his opinion the quality had slipped badly in recent years. They did feature some great musical entertainment (we saw Hapa there in 2012), but in the end, you need more than music if you want to make it as a restaurant/bar. So they closed, and you can fault whatever or whomever you want for that. I think there were other factors, but the slippage in the quality of their food certainly didn't help.
Many sources, both online and in guidebooks, had raved about Cuatro's Spicy Tuna Nachos, and I had to give them a try. I was tempted on our previous visit but had "chickened out" and got the Asian Steak pupu instead. This time I ordered the nachos, and was I glad I did! They come served as five wontons stuffed with spicy tuna with an avocodo relish drizzled with truffle aioli and cilantro pesto. Incredible! Despite her not being a big fan of tuna--I like tuna somewhat--Patty liked these as well. The Latin/Asian influence is clear in this preparation.
Patty's pupus came shortly, the Grilled Marinated NY Steak, which comes in a spicy teriyaki sauce with sauteed mushrooms. Hers was also very good, but in my estimation it fell slightly short of the tuna nachos. Still, I would be content with either as a starter.
Next up were the salads--I had the Tijuana Caesar Salad and Patty got the House Salad. Both were excellent. Patty's had a cilantro citrus vinaigrette and was also topped with spicy macadamia nuts.
Patty's dining ended there, but I wasn't through. I also ordered the Roasted Chicken Breast, which was stuffed with green chilies, ham and pepper jack cheese. By the time I was finished with this, I was absolutely stuffed!
Our final bill--only $60! Thanks to it being the Early Bird special.
George was engaging, entertaining, but he had one final quip as we exited. I had forgot to take my Visa card back when I signed the bill, and he caught us halfway out the door with "I'm good but I'm not that good" as he handed my card back. Funny guy!
Spicy Tuna Nachos
Grilled NY Steak
Patty's House Salad
My Tijuana Caesar Salad
Stuffed Chicken Breast
Restaurant front
Previous: 5/8/2014--Our Trip to Maui (2014)--Day 4
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