Pineapple Grill

Description:

• If you had only a single night to eat on the island of Maui, this would be the place to go. Up-and-coming young chef Ryan Luckey (a local Lahaina boy) has taken the helm and is winning high praise from both critics and the local residents who flock here nightly. My picks on this creative menu would be ahi steak crusted with pistachios and wasabi peas (served with coconut-scented rice, Hamakua mushrooms, and wasabi-ginger butter), sake-soy grilled mahimahi (in a ginger-carrot emulsion), or the wonderful Maui-style seafood paella (with a hint of Portuguese sausage and Kula herbs). An excellent list of wine pairings by the glass is available. Save room for the Maui gold-pineapple upside-down cake (with Whaler dark-rum sauce and Maui-made Roselani gourmet mac-nut ice cream). There are lots of tasty sandwiches and salads at lunch, and a continental-style breakfast in the morning. Plus, it's all served in a very Maui-like atmosphere, overlooking the rolling hills of the Kapalua golf course out to the Pacific Ocean.

• © Frommer's 2013

Awards:

Frommer's

•  Very Highly Recommended 2010