Side Orders • Apr. 25, 2013

April 25, 2013

WAILUKU TALK. . . After a recent cut at Lori's Hair Shack, I strolled over to Amigo's Mexican food truck in Wailuku to order my every-six-week fix of chile rellenos, when I thought I'd wait for the order across the street at Maui Sporting Goods, as it's cool, and the items are fun to peruse.That's when owner Brian Yoshikawa told me about how a former manager took over the old Kaohu Store, now also known as Wailuku Market."We took over in February," says Brad Yokouchi, whose grandfather ran the famous Yokouchi Bakery back in the old days. "We make poke and pickled onions, stuff I ...

Side Orders • Apr. 18, 2013

April 18, 2013

SUNNY SOUTH MAUI . . . Situated in the old Jawz Tacos at Azeka Mauka shopping center in Kihei is the new Ziriguidun, a Latin-island fusion restaurant.Vibrant and colorful with murals, flowers and tablecloths, it serves lunch and dinner with creamy white mussels pasta, fish muqueca on coconut sauce and rice, and desserts such as Macakito (little monkey): fried dough stuffed with banana and served with ice cream."I've been dreaming of doing this since I was five years old!" exclaims owner Renata Demoraes, who grew up as the daughter of a Brazilian diplomat and an Italian mother in ...

Side Orders • Apr. 11, 2013

April 11, 2013

SHOOTZ, it's SCHATZ! . . . Saturday was scorchingly hot, and I was looking to cool down as I left the 2013 Maui County Ag Festival at Maui Tropical Plantation.Near the exit was Shaka Pops, so I ordered a creamy lime-coconut popsicle and found a spot way off the side to enjoy it while waiting for my husband.With camera, purse and farm-fresh produce in one arm, popsicle in the other, people approaching me left and right, I could barely eat the treat, when Helen Nielsen called out, "Senator Brian Schatz, I'd like you to meet Carla Tracy, the Maui News' dining editor.""Senator, you have me ...

Side Orders • Apr. 4, 2013

April 4, 2013

BREWING INTEREST . . . Supplying fresh micro-roasted coffee to its wholesale and retail customers since 1982, Maui Coffee Roasters has now unveiled a new eco-friendly coffee roasting machine at its Kahului location.Just so you know, this isn't your run-of-the-mill roaster. It's a clean, green machine that reduces greenhouse gas emissions with 80-percent less energy than conventional commercial roasters."We strive to be sustainable in all of our operations," says MCR's owner Nicky "Beans" Matichyn, "exerting as little environmental impact as possible.""At the end of the day, it's the ...

Side Orders • Mar. 28, 2013

March 28, 2013

ORGANICALLY SPEAKING . . . When First Lady Michelle Obama planted an organic garden at the White House, she made a statement as a role model about healthful choices.Now, Oprah Winfrey, who owns a home and farmland on Maui, has registered trademarks for "Oprah's Farm" and "Oprah's Organics," among others, to sell items from her Maui acreage. The billionaire will put Maui in the organic spotlight in the April issue of O, The Oprah Magazine."Organic foods, produced without agrichemicals such as pesticides, fungicides and synthetic fertilizers are grown in a way that enhances soil fertility ...

Side Orders • Mar. 21, 2013

March 21, 2013

AT THE COLLEGE . . . Maui Culinary Academy at UH-Maui College is really cooking up a storm these days.In its popular food court, Edo Ya Ramen will celebrate its grand opening Friday, taking the place of the former Farm-to-Table lunch concept."We're starting out really basic, but every step we take will bring us closer to Momofuku Noodle Bars that are all the rage in New York City," says Ed Costa, general manager of Sodexo operations at MCA.The garde manger class boils giant cauldrons of aromatic shoyu, miso and non-traditional vegan broths as the ramen soup bases from 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 ...