Side Orders • Feb. 12, 2015

February 12, 2015

ASIAN FAVORITE . . . One of the most popular Central Maui dining spots is Ichiban The Restaurant & Sushi Bar in Kahului Shopping Center.The name is Japanese and sushi, tempura, donburi and udon are staples. But the owners are Chinese and so you will find egg rolls, potstickers, stir frys, lemon chicken and shrimp chow mein on the menu."We will feature lion dancers at noon on Saturday, Feb. 21," says owner-chef Patsy Chan. "I cooked at the hotels here for 11 years, and so I'll do specials like jai, stir fry shrimp and beef, very good oxtail soup and miso butterfish. I season it ...

Side Orders • Feb. 5, 2015

February 5, 2015

CHEERS TO 20 YEARS . . . One of Maui's most popular restaurateurs is celebrating 20 years in business in 2015. Jennifer Nguyen is also the reigning queen of the Mayor's Small Business Awards for her size company of 10 or more employees, and that is the Best Ethnic Restaurant on Maui: A Saigon Cafe in Wailuku."In celebration, tonight we'll do a Ca' Momi wine tasting, she says. "We do something every month in the restaurant, always around the fifth. We'll be pairing light pupu with the five wines, like French baguettes, cheeses and Vietnamese appetizers. Cost is $40.Nguyen just got back ...

Side Orders • Jan. 29, 2015

January 29, 2015

UNO, DOS, TRES . . . Come and count Super Bowl touchdowns on the big screen in the Surf Lounge at Three's Bar & Grill in Kihei this weekend.The happy-hour menu features game-day favorites like Three's habanero-honey chipotle wings, kalua-pork nachos, draft beer and $5 whiskeys, such as Jameson, Jim Beam and Fireball cinnamon.Three's will also celebrate five successful business years on Feb. 5 with 25 percent off breakfast, lunch and dinner and 25 percent of the day's sales going to the Maui Arts and Cultural Center. It's also the main caterer at ArT=Mixx at the MACC on Saturday."We ...

Side Orders • Jan. 22, 2015

January 21, 2015

TASTING TIME . . . Maui is turning into quite the tidy little Napa Valley of tasting rooms lately. Up in Maui Research & Technology Park in Kihei, you can confuse the new Maui Brewing Co.'s state-of-the-art facility with a .com business in San Jose.Only Mount Haleakala looms from behind and the blue Pacific is in the forefront, so there goes other similarities. The Tasting Room with its outdoor seating is delightful, and as a Euro friend pointed out, the rest rooms are modern, but old-world in design. Modern is a good thing, when you are sipping the selections.Three's Bar & ...

Side Orders • Jan. 15, 2015

January 15, 2015

ISLAND BUZZ . . . Word is spreading like wildfire that Bev Gannon Restaurants has picked up a couple of managing partners of the exceptional kind.Acclaimed Maui chef/restaurateur Bev Gannon wants to spend more time hanging out on the beaches of France, rather than slaving over a hot stove.So she has hired Four Seasons Resort Maui's Executive Chef Roger Stettler (who will start on March 1) and Greg Shepherd, Stettler's partner in Maui's new gastro pub, Cow Pig Bun bourbon and burgers, tucked away at the Maui Research & Technology Park in Kihei."I'm excited about the energy and the new ...

Side Orders • Jan. 8, 2015

January 8, 2015

THE STACK IS BACK . . . It's that time of year again and all-you-can-eat pancakes are back at participating IHOP restaurants, including the local favorite at Maui Mall in Kahului.From now until Feb. 8, you may feast on all the famous buttermilk pancakes you want, and then top them with any combination of syrups.Start with either five buttermilk cakes or a short stack of two with a combo plate of eggs, hash browns and choice of breakfast meats. Then, you can keep 'em coming until you are fully satisfied.Also stacking up will be the crowds at the annual Willie K BBQ Blues Fest on Saturday ...