BITS AND PIECES . . . It's amazing that six years have already passed since Pineapple Grill opened its doors in Kapalua. The award-winner will celebrate its anniversary Saturday, May 28, as a benefit for Hale Makua.
It looks like a lot of "yum." Action stations will be packed with seafood, meats, Chinatown noodles, Thai satays and barbecue, sushi, salads and desserts. For beverages, you'll find bars with martini ice luges as well as bubble lounges with assorted canapes. Listen to live jazz and enjoy fondues from the Melting Pot.
Speaking of that famous fondue restaurant, it will be part of Lahaina Gateway's Active Lifestyle Day from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday. Try your luck at drawings, massages, prize giveaways and more.
Article Photos
DK Kodama of Cane & Taro took top honors at the Maui Onion Festival’s recipe contest at Whalers Village in Kaanapali recently with this Maui Onion-topped shrimp and lobster cake.
Reflections Photography photo
The Melting Pot will flow from 5 to 7 p.m. with a heart- healthy dark-chocolate fondue sampler with local fruits and a glass of red wine for $9. Bar seating only.
And check out the new Teddy's Bigger Burgers, which just opened at Lahaina Gateway. It will offer 15 percent off salads and veggie burgers all day Saturday. Peruse its fun '50s theme and reinvented and diverse menu of burgers, fries and shakes.
We also hear Dairy Queen across Honoapiilani Highway in Lahaina Cannery Mall is celebrating its win in the Zagat Survey for "best milkshake" in the fast-food chain category. It just launched a new small size for $1.99 through May with all kinds of flavors. . . . And, Casa Maya Mexican eatery has taken over Dante's Italian restaurant in the food court at the mall.
DK Kodama of Sansei Seafood Restaurant & Sushi Bar fame won the Maui Onion Recipe Contest recently at Whalers Village Fine Shops & Restaurants in Kaanapali. You'll find the dish (pictured) at all of his restaurants, including Cane & Taro in Kaanapali. Acclaimed Chef Roy Yamaguchi also competed. Before he took off for Europe that day, he said he will participate in the Hawaii Food & Wine Festival on Oahu from Sept. 29 to Oct 1 with other chef heavyweights Dean Fearing, Celestino Drago, Hubert Keller and more. . .. Also spotted at the Maui Onion Festival (where the contest was held) was the colorful Dr. Patricia Bragg of the liquid amino fortune.
The next Restaurant Week Wailea will kick off Sunday and run through Saturday, May 28. This time around, 15 top resort restaurants will offer three-course pre-fixe dinners for $29, $39 or $49 per person. A portion of the sales will go to the Maui Food Bank. Participants include Capische, Humuhumunukunukuapua'a, DUO Steak and Seafood, Gannon's, Joe's in Wailea, KAI Wailea, K?, Longhi's Wailea, Mala Wailea, Matteo's, Monkeypod Kitchen, Mulligan's on the Blue, Nick's Fishmarket, Pita Paradise Bistro and Ruth's Chris Steak House. For menus and more details, visit www.wailearesortassociation.com.
Continuing with its Taste Education Series, Slow Food Maui will present Chocolate Tasting with Melanie Boudar of Sweet Paradise Chocolatier at 6 p.m. Wednesday at Maui Culinary Academy in Kahului. Cost is $15 per person. Register online at slowfoodmaui.org.
Japengo will be jumping with its next five-course wine dinner Friday in its oceanfront spot at Hyatt Regency Maui Resort & Spa in Kaanapali.
Executive Chef Matt Smith will get you in the groove for summer with locally-sourced ingredients and modern Asian-inspired flavors, coupled with the restaurant's finest vintages. Menu highlights include Singaporean chili crab with Josef Leitz riesling, pan-roasted halibut cheeks with pancetta and spring peas with saffron aioli and Marques de Murrieta Rioja and Snake River Farms Kobe filet with morel mushrooms and Palmina Barbera. Cost is $75 plus tax and tip. Call the Hyatt at 661-1234.
Last but certainly not least, there are still a few openings for Gerard's Rhone/Provence wine dinner at 6 p.m. Friday in Lahaina. I just bumped into Chef Gerard Reversade at Whole Foods in Kahului. He'll present truffle duxelles in puff pastry with reserve Perrin white Cotes du Rhone; island fish bourride and rouille with Chateau d'Esclans Whispering Angel, Rose de Provence; Haleakala Ranch lamb daube with Chateauneuf du Pape Chateau de la Gardine; and lavender ice cream Muscat de Beaumes de Venise. Price is $75 (including wines). Call 661-8939.
* You may reach Dining Editor Carla Tracy at 242-6342.
