Emily and Matt

One of the things I was looking forward to on our trip was all the yummy food. While I don’t have much experience in the cooking department — except for watching a lot of Top Chef and Hell’s Kitchen — I can appreciate a good meal.

Cheeseburger in Paradise
When my family first went to Maui, we stumbled across this awesome restaurant. The waterfront location in the heart of Lahaina’s downtown provides a fun ambiance. Maybe it was because I ruined my appetite with popcorn a couple hours before, but this time it wasn’t as good as I remembered. Also, someone appears to have shrunken my Oreo smoothie! Even though it wasn’t what I remembered it was fun to come back to a place where I made several memories as a part of the “four family” (my name for the Atwood clan).

Be forewarned: don’t interrupt a serious meat eater when he’s at work!

An older couple sitting next to us insisted that we take a picture with this wax burger. He said it was bigger than a real burger, but it was pretty dang similar to the monster burger Matt ate. By the way, when Matt finished the burger, the older gentlemen was so excited, he patted Matt on the back, saying “good job!”

Mama’s Fish House
Before we left, our friends Stu and Lynn Anderson (also our Realtor and wedding florist) gave us recommendations for Maui activities and eateries and one of them was Mama’s Fish House. In fact, I believe they said it was the best meal that had ever eaten. They generously gave us a gift certificate to make sure we would not miss out.

The view from the restaurant, located in Pa’ia.

We didn’t get photos of our starters and entrees, but we agree that it was excellent. First they presented us with a bisque (can’t remember which kind off hand) and it was so good I wanted to have 100 more of those little cups. Matt started with a corn and clam chowder and I had a spinach salad. Both were good, but the real highlight of the evening were our entrees. Matt had Mahi Mahi stuffed with crab and lobster — perhaps one of the best seafood dishes he’d ever eaten. I went out on a limb and ordered duck for the first time. It was crispy and with a mango glaze. Part of me doubts that I will order duck that would taste that good.

To finish off the night, we went with what Internet reviewers recommended: the Polynesian Black Pearl. When the plate was placed in front of us, my mouth dropped and in a stupor I managed to say “wow.” It was difficult to eat, in the sense that it looked too pretty to eat and too yummy to miss at the same time. After some pictures, we gave into temptation and ignored the signals that we were previously full. Inside the pastry shell was a chocolate mousse “pearl” filled with creme. Just looking at these photos and remembering the taste makes it hard not to bite at my computer screen!

Thanks so much, Stu and Lynn! Now that we’ve experienced it, we want to get the word out to all our family and friends so one day they too can have an amazing meal at Mama’s Fish House.

Aloha Mixed Plate
Lcated at the top of Lahaina’s Front Street (about a mile away from where we parked!) was Aloha Mixed Plate. This is another place my family frequently visited while vacationing on Maui. It’s become famous for it’s authentic Hawaiian plate lunches for a good price. I’m afraid to say that, like our Cheeseburger in Paradise experience, I wasn’t as impressed this time. The flies were a problem and Maui’s weird laws prevent adult beverages from being consumed nearer to the water.

As with most of our plate lunch experiences (practically non-existent on Kauai!!!), we agreed that we have grown to favor mainland style.

Tedeschi Winery
In addition to a good meal, we also love a good drink! (Not excessively, but our wedding was at a winery after all.) We stopped at Maui’s only winery and were pleased with the unique offerings. We ended up taking a bottle of Maui Splash home — it is a pineapple wine with a “splash” of passion fruit. Intrigued? Good thing you don’t have to travel to Maui to learn more about them. Instead, visit www.mauiwine.com.