Side Orders • May 23, 2019

Opakapaka topped with aji amarillo, lime and cilantro will be a highlight at Spago on Friday for the From Lima to Wailea feast. Spago photo
ISLAND HEATING UP . . . Wanna take a culinary journey all the way from South America to Maui? Then buy “passage” for the From Lima to Wailea wine-pairing feast Friday at Spago Maui located lobby level of Four Seasons Resort Maui.
Executive Chef Peleg Miron will present appetizers at 6 p.m. followed by a five-course dinner at 6:30 p.m. You may savor Kona kampachi tiradito; rabbit served with carrot cream and cocoa nibs; opakapaka with aji amarillo, lime and cilantro; Snake River Farms strip loin “Lomo Saltado”; and arroz con leche with local honey and papaya. It will all be made with Hawaii ingredients and Peruvian preparations, according to GM Derrin Abac. Cost is $125 per person. Call Spago at 879-2999.
Mulligans on the Blue was serving up a storm of Irish Harps-battered fish and chips at Saturday’s Maui Brewers Festival in Kahului. Owner Mike O’Dwyer says he’ll be catering all of the food for Celestial Cinema viewers during Maui Film Festival at Wailea June 12 to 16. See movie stars such as Awkwafina of “Crazy Rich Asians” and more. Visit www.mauifilmfestival.com.
Speaking of the film fest, the Taste of Chocolate will melt inhibitions with epicurean desserts and drinks June 13 at Four Seasons Resort Maui.
“I’m super excited for the Taste of Chocolate,” enthuses Riccardo Menicucci, executive pastry chef of the five-star, five-diamond resort. “There is nothing else like it on Maui, and our pastry team is ready to create some over-the-top desserts. This year, our approach will be fresh and modern, and we hope to wow attendees with playful and unexpected new ways to taste chocolate.”
Menicucci is from Florence, Italy, baked at the two Michelin-star Acquerello in San Francisco and recently was on Food Network’s “Spring Baking Championship,” rising to the final four.
Cinco de Mayo may be a fading memory, but Tommy Bahama Restaurant & Bar upstairs in The Shops at Wailea is taking inspiration from that fun Mexican holiday and the “Flavors of California Cookbook” with the Tacos and Tequila limited-run menu through May 31. Imbibe in a Paloma margarita with grapefruit juice and silver tequila and munch tacos of red-mole chicken, filet steak or blackened mahimahi with queso fresco and lime sour crema.
The island’s heating up with the third annual Fire It Up!, which will morph into a three-day affair spanning July 19 to 21 at Grand Wailea, A Waldorf Astoria Resort. The first day will be the Sea to Fire event beachside with repeat celebrity chefs Jonathan Waxman and Hubert Keller. Dig into a Hawaiian-style clambake, lamb porchetta, adult S’mores and more. Day two will ignite with the BBQ of the Pacific, featuring famous live-fire pit masters such as Sam Jones and Chris Lilly and many others hailing from North Carolina, Colorado, Texas, Georgia and Alabama. Day three, the Brew Brunch will cool you off at Maui Bewing Co. in Kihei with beer and Bloody Marys and food by new MBC Chef Kevin Posada and GW chefs. Kamaaina take note: Get discounts of 15 percent off Fire It Up! until June 19. Visit eventbrite.com/fireituptickets.
In addition, Grand Wailea will open Maui Film Festival on June 12 with the Taste of Summer and will participate in Taste of Wailea on June 15 along with Tommy Bahama, Spago, Four Seasons and Mulligans.
All of the above establishments are part of 21 total that are offering deals in the immensely popular Restaurant Week Wailea, running through Saturday. Diners get big discounts on three-course meals, and a portion of the proceeds goes to Maui Food Bank to help feed Maui’s hungry. Visit www.restaurantweekwailea.com.
- Opakapaka topped with aji amarillo, lime and cilantro will be a highlight at Spago on Friday for the From Lima to Wailea feast. Spago photo