Hawaii - Jeff Campbell [318]
Jacques Northshore Restaurant & Bar ( 579-8844; 120 Hana Hwy; mains $10-25; 5-10pm Thu-Sun) A simple open-air restaurant for innovative seafood at honest prices. Jacques is all about fresh fish, from the top-quality sushi bar to grilled delights like the macnut-crusted mahimahi. Order the nightly special and you can’t go wrong.
Moana Bakery & Café ( 579-9999; 71 Baldwin Ave; breakfast & lunch $10-16, dinner $15-35; 8am-3pm Sun & Mon, 8am-9pm Tue-Sat) The best place in town to linger over a relaxing lunch. Locals love that the chef is agreeable to any special requests. Not that you won’t find what you’re looking for on the varied menu – perhaps the fresh catch steamed in banana leaves and served with green papaya salad, or the Hana Bay crab cakes with guava puree?
TOP END
Mama’s Fish House ( 579-8488; 799 Poho Pl; mains $36-50; 11am-2:30pm & 5-9:30pm) Mama’s is where you go when you want to propose or celebrate a big anniversary. Not only is the seafood as good as it gets, but when the beachside tiki torches are lit at dinnertime, the scene’s achingly romantic. The island-caught fish is so fresh your server tells you who caught it, and where! Mama’s is at Ku′au Cove, along the Hana Hwy, 2 miles east of Pa′ia center. Reservations are essential.
Drinking & Entertainment
Charley’s ( 579-9453; 142 Hana Hwy) Don’t be surprised to find country-singer legend Willie Nelson at the next table. A part-time Pa′ia resident, this cowboy-centric place is Willie’s favorite hang. There’s live music most nights.
Milagros ( 579-8755; 3 Baldwin Ave; 8am-10pm) The spot for a late-afternoon beer or the perfect margarita. The sidewalk tables are perched perfectly for watching all the action on Pa′ia’s busiest corner.
Moana Bakery & Café ( 579-9999; 71 Baldwin Ave) If jazz is your thing, this is your place, with live music Wednesday to Saturday nights.
Shopping
This is a fun town for browsing, with owner-run shops and boutiques selling Maui-made goodies of all sorts. It’s convenient too – most shops are within a stone’s throw of each other near the intersection of Baldwin Ave and the Hana Hwy.
Maui Crafts Guild ( 579-9697; 69 Hana Hwy) This longstanding collective of 30 Maui artists and craftspeople sells everything from pottery and jewelry to handpainted silks and natural-fiber baskets at reasonable prices.
Na Kani O Hula ( 573-6332; 115 Baldwin Ave) Hula halau (troupes) shop here for ′uli′uli (feather-decorated gourd rattles), ′ohe halo ihu (bamboo nose flutes) and other traditional dance and music supplies – any of which would make for a fascinating souvenir.
Hemp House ( 579-8880; 16 Baldwin Ave) Come here for all things hemp – well, almost all. Hemp clothing, hemp lotion and of course, hemp frisbees.
Maui Girl ( 579-9266; 12 Baldwin Ave) Get your itty-bitty bikinis here. These local creations really are hot – two of them even made it into the latest Sports Illustrated swimsuit edition.
Paia Mercantile ( 579-6388; 2 Baldwin Ave) All sorts of Maui-made arts and crafts are sold at this little shop next to the fish market. The sea-turtle theme plays out in everything from jewelry to photographs and paintings.
Getting There & Around
Maui Bus ( 871-4838) operates between Kahului and Pa′ia ($1) every 90 minutes from 5:30am to 8:30pm. You can rent Trek mountain bikes at Maui Sunriders ( 579-8970; www.mauibikeride.com; 71 Baldwin Ave; per day/week $30/100; 9am-4:30pm). The price includes a bike rack, so a travel companion could drop you off at the top of Haleakalā, or anywhere else, to cycle a one-way route.
THE ROAD TO HANA
Of all the breathtaking drives in Hawaii, this is the big kahuna.
A roller-coaster of a ride, the Hana Hwy winds down into jungly valleys and back up towering razor-edge cliffs, curling around 600 twists and turns along the way. Some 54 one-lane bridges cross nearly as many waterfalls, some eye-popping torrents and others so gentle they beg a dip. But that’s just the drive. When you’re ready to get out and