Hearts in Hawai'i
Our Trip to Maui (2014)--Day 6
5/10/2014
Today was Maui Swap Meet day! (Saturday) Despite getting there just after 8 a.m., it was hot and muggy (again). Walking the various aisles and viewing the numerous booths filled with souveneirs, t-shirts, food products and what not is hungry and thirsty work. Luckily we found A.K.'s Cafe's booth (their main restaurant is in Wailuku) so we took a break for a little breakfast of rice, Portuguese sausage and egg to go along with our beverages. Neither of us found anything we wanted to buy in these booths so after a little over an hour, we returned to Lahaina.
As I said, it's hot and a little muggy in Lahaina today. Very hot periods were briefly interrupted by cloud cover which helped--a bit.
Great stuff, great smell!
One more great view from the lanai
For dinner tonight, we walked to Kimo's on Front Street. Kimo's is, and always has been. one of our favorite Maui restaurants. They get dissed at times (especially on Trip Advisor reviews, which proves you can't always believe what you read) for their service and food. To be sure, we have almost always received top notch service here. The food (with one exception) has been very good on our eight previous visits. The atmosphere--views of the ocean and, if you time it right, the sunset--takes a back seat to no one. With respect to the timing, we like to call in advance and request a rail-side table, and try to get there so we are seated within a half hour of sunset. The sun sets, the tiki torches are lit--it's a special time for us.
Why is this such a special time for us? In large part, because we dined here on our wedding night 18 years ago. Why did we eat here on our wedding night and not a more upscale place such as Pacific`o? We're not totally sure. As I recall (and I'm recalling something which occurred nearly two decades ago), we saw Kimo's on the Maui Visitors Channel and it looked good to us. Whatever. It was a memorable experience that night and we have had several since.
Just like we planned, we only had to wait for about 15 minutes before being seated on the rail. The sunset this night was decent, not great. Then the skies opened up for about fifteen minutes and they had to roll the awnings out. But this is Maui, and within a half hour of the rains starting, they stopped, the skies cleared and the awnings were rolled back.
Kimo's has gotten somewhat more expensive over the past few trips. Everything here is now a la carte, including their excellent Caesar Salad. They still serve up free bread, including those tasty carrot muffins!
Our server's name is Ryan and he did a tremendous job. He was able to walk that sometimes fine line between being overly attentive and inattentive. He also allowed us to use the free coupon Remy from the Lahaina Shores' Expedia desk gave us to get a free Hula Pie, which is redeemable if you purchase two entrees. Patty wanted the Fisherman's Chowder pupu, but it only came in a small bowl. So she ordered two and they put it into a larger bowl! It turned out to be more than she wanted, but hey, she ordered it! But they did count it as an entree, thus, free Hula Pie!
Patty had ordereed the Kushiyaki in the past and really enjoyed this entree. I thought it was worth a try--I wasn't much in the mood for just steak or just chicken. Their Polynesian Chicken is no longer on the menu, and I miss that item. The Kushiyaki features grilled filet steak, chicken, squash, pineapple, red peppers and onion, all laid out on a bed of rice. Now I know why she liked this so much, it was great! Our total bill was $70 pre-tip, and we thought this was a very good value.
View from our table
Virgin Lava Flow!
Sunset view
Patty's Fisherman's Chowder
My Kushiyaki
After sunset with the tiki torches lit
Kimo's wasn't quite up to the culinary standards of Cuatro, but with considering the wonderful ambience, it was once of our favorite meals during this trip.
Previous: 5/9/2014--Our Trip to Maui (2014)--Day 5
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