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UPCOMING. . . If I had to put my finger on a fun event at a moderate cost, I’d say to run, don’t walk, for tickets to the Ultimate Ocean Cocktail Showdown from 6 to 9 p.m. April 11.
It will be held on the Ocean Lawn of the Sheraton Maui Resort & Spa in Kaanapali with six finalist mixologists shaking up Ocean Vodka creations for you to sip, benefiting six Maui nonprofits.
Plus, guest Oahu chefs will include Lee Ann Wong from Koko Head Cafe in Kaimuki, Will Chen of HiFresh Box in Manoa and Andrew Le of the Pig and the Lady in Honolulu. Other chefs are Shawn Gavin of St. Regis in Princeville, Kauai; and Maui’s Sheldon Simeon of Migrant and Hank Adaniya of Hank’s Haute Dogs. Tickets are $40 in advance and $45 day of event.
Joey’s Kitchen will open Friday downstairs in the food court at Whalers Village in Kaanapali. Former Roy’s chef Joey Macadangdang has struck out on his own (again!) to do a farm-to-table menu of fresh produce from his brother’s land. Savor short-rib pho (Vietnamese soup) with fresh rice noodles, bok choy, corn, cilantro and chile peppers, four types of fresh fish and more.
What happened to Chef Marc McDowell? Word has it that he has left Maui Tropical Plantation for other pursuits. Restaurant people sure get around.
Speaking of getting around, former Spago Maui general manager Jacques Perwin has a new food delivery service called Hopper Maui that will bring you restaurant cuisine from Makena to Maalaea. Order from, say, 5 Palms, and be charged 12 percent of food bill, plus $5. For more details, call 214-6171.
Taste of Aloha from noon to 10 p.m. Saturday should be huge at Lahaina Civic Center Amphitheater with tons of food trucks, food booths, keiki corner, nonstop music and even a comedy act.
Food vendors include 808 Plates, Lilikoi Bliss, Poi By The Pound, Teppanyaki To Go, Yazi’s Plate Lunch, Maui Sugar Shop and more.
Kimo’s 38th anniversary will be celebrated Friday. It’s got the giant deck hanging over the water on Front Street in Lahaina and it keeps ticking with its famous fish and desserts.
In Paukukalo on Maui’s wild and wooly north shore, the new Poke Hale Grindz is dazzling seafood lovers in the old Tom’s Mini Mart. It’s even got a Custom Poke Window, where you fill out a form and check off items such as green onions and inamona. “Why pay for stuff that you don’t want?” asks owner Anthony Vargas, a fisherman since he was 7. “For custom orders, we ask for half pound minimum. Our fish is as fresh as can be.”
Poke Hale Grindz still offers shave ice just like Tom’s, and sells “old-school retro candy” like Gold Mine, Zotz, Horlicks and candy cigarettes, adds Vargas.
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BITS AND PIECES In The Shops at Wailea, Tommy Bahama Restaurant & Bar continues to lure in hungry seafood lovers hook, line and fresh catch for Fish Fridays through April 3.
It’s got more than 20 meat-free items, and Executive Chef Maka Kwan presents recipes from his “Flavors of Aloha: Cooking with Tommy Bahama” cookbook, like togarashi sesame snapper in sake and lime and ginger-glazed salmon. Or savor signature items like blackened fish tacos and lump blue crab bisque.
DUO at the Four Seasons Resort Maui in Wailea has put out some new menu items that are flying out the door. They are honey-glazed pork belly, hamachi tartare and truffled lobster mac ‘n’ cheese.
Maui’s new Italian kid on the block, Sale Pepe, will be puttin’ on the gala Saturday with a Chaine des Rotisseurs dinner of the gourmet kind. Who says a restaurant in the old KFC spot in Lahaina can’t kick it up a notch for the world’s most prestigious culinary organization?