“A Taste of Maui: Dining on a budget? Here’s a guide to 20 yummy meal deals. You’ll like the ambience, variety and views, too.
Lahaina, Maui
Everyone wants to score a first-rate deal on the road. But deals can be difficult to come by in a tourist zone — especially one like Maui, where the cost of dining can be as breathtaking as the landscape.
So we went to the people who know Maui best — its residents — and asked them for suggestions on how to eat well here on a budget.
Our local experts included Charmaine Tavares, the mayor of Maui; Bobby Santos, chef instructor of the Maui Culinary Academy; students at the academy; Bonnie Friedman, cookbook author; and Benita Brazier, of the Maui Office of Economic Development.
Their advice helped us develop this list of 20 great Maui meals for less than $20, our second in a series of occasional stories on getting the best value for your vacation dining dollar.
Bon appétit, or as they say in the islands: E mea ai maik’i.
(Note: Some of the restaurants take cash only, and some are hard to find; call first for hours and directions.)
1. CJ’S DELI & DINER
Price: $7.95 to $9.95
Scoping it out: Only $10 to spend? Stop at CJ’s Deli & Diner for what may be the best burger in Maui. For $9.95, our burger combo included half a pound of Angus beef (topped with caramelized Maui onions, cheese and bacon) a refillable soda and a heaping mound of wonderfully seasoned fries. The diner is cheerful and appealing and is just down the street from the über-expensive resorts at Kaanapali. “I opened this restaurant because I was tired of all the tourist traps,” says owner Christian Jorgensen, formerly executive chef at the Westin Maui. His menu includes more than burgers: Jorgensen’s comfort meals include entrees such as meatloaf ($8.50), pot roast ($9.95) and roast turkey ($8.95). And you can BYOB without a corkage fee. Other pluses: Order lunch to take on a picnic or the road to Hana, and CJ will lend you an ice chest.
We loved. . . everything, including CJ’s wickedly wonderful sweets, such as Road to Hana brownies or macadamia nut Hana bars.
We didn’t love. . . that the place is hard to find.
CJ’s Deli & Diner, Kaanapali Fairway Shops, 2580 Kekaa Drive, No. 120 (just off Honoapiilani Road); (808) 667-0968, www.cjsmaui.com.
2. ALOHA MIXED PLATE
Price: $6.25 to $13.95
Scoping it out: Lahaina, once a whaling capital, is now a tourist hub with restaurants crowding Front Street, the main drag. Many are chain eateries with high prices — hey, you might as well have stayed at home. So try something different: Aloha Mixed Plate. The funky ocean-side restaurant features plate lunches, an only-in-Hawaii cuisine that includes foods of many cultures. Typical dishes are teriyaki beef, kalua pork, poi, rice, macaroni salad and lomi lomi salmon, but finicky eaters can skip the local food and get a burger or salad. You’ll dine outdoors on paper plates, but the view is worth a million dollars, especially at sunset: tiki torches, lush vegetation, crashing surf and a flotilla of sailboats riding at anchor. Come around 8 p.m. and you’ll hear the music and dancing from the Old Lahaina Luau next door.
We loved. . . the location and setting.
We didn’t love . . . the difficulty finding a parking space.
Aloha Mixed Plate, 1285 Front St., Lahaina (behind the Lahaina Cannery Mall); (808) 661-3322, www.alohamixedplate.com.
3. SUNRISE CAFE
Price: $5.95 to $9.95
Scoping it out: Sunrise Cafe is a day brightener. Tucked away on a side street in busy Lahaina, the diner offers breakfast specials for $5.95 each. At a resort hotel, you’d pay as much as $28 a person. This tiny, family-run restaurant has only 13 tables but is charming, with two shady covered patios for dining and people watching. It’s an easy stop on the way to the whale watching and snorkeling boats. Breakfast is served until 3 p.m., when the cafe closes for the day. After 11:30 a.m., appetizers, soups and sandwiches are added to the menu.
We loved . . . the eggs Benedict, the restaurant’s specialty.
We didn’t love . . . the cash-only policy. No credit cards.
Sunrise Cafe, 693 N. Front St., Lahaina (next to the Lahaina Library on Market Street); (808) 661-8558.
4. BA-LE FRENCH SANDWICHES & BAKERY Price: $7.75 to $8.25
Scoping it out: This food court restaurant, with two locations in Maui (and 23 others in the state), may have an identity crisis. Is it Vietnamese, French or Hawaiian? It’s a little of each, with various dishes to complement the cultures. Visit here for pho (a Vietnamese soup), hot or cold noodle dishes, saimin and lunch plates featuring short ribs, teriyaki chicken and pork. Sandwiches are served on French-style baguettes. Pastries and puddings round out the offerings.” ( via latimes.com ) by Rosemary McClure, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
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