Wednesday, June 2, 2010

Maui, baby! part 1

As you probably figured out from the title, I went to Maui. Woohoo! I was there at the end of April/ beginning of May. Once in a while I can still feel some of the aloha relaxation vibe coursing through my veins - despite the current yuck weather in Seattle.

In this post I'm going to talk about the health food stores I went to, tacos and other random stuff. I didn't take a lot of pics because most of my time was at the beach and I don't bring a camera there or a towel. That way I don't lose anything.

This is my 2nd time to Maui and I even love arriving at the airport after a 6 hr flight and waiting for luggage. That's because it's an open air airport and the warmth of Maui and the sight of palm trees is immediately felt as you exit the plane. Do I care that I have to wait for luggage / rental car bs? nope.


Down To Earth
I always stop here right after the airport. DTE is an all vegetarian health food store that has a rocking hot bar (almost all vegan), salad bar, deli, and smoothie bar. Not to mention all of the new products you will find in the grocery section. Most important thing: stock up on mangos so that there is always a ripe one to eat at bfast.

Here is my plate from the hot bar. A month+ later and I only remember that every bite was fantastic. Note that I typically detest hot bars / buffets because the food just sits around all day - so my "fantastic" isn't easily earned.

Mana Foods
49 Baldwin Ave, Paia
If you plan on going to Paia (and you should), coordinate it around one of your grocery shopping trips. I love the vibe to this store, I wish it were in WA. They have lots of vegan stuff here - I'm sure you're even bound to find something new to you. There are even some freshly baked vegan treats like banana bread here - 2 thumbs up.

Farmer's Market Store
3636 Lower Honoapiilani Rd, Lahaina
This store has lots of vegan grocery basics. The hot bar is ok, but not as good as DTE. The smoothies are ok, but nothing super special. They do have a really nice sign for the smoothie bar.


Iao Needle State Park
A beautiful and impressive place to visit, but a quick one. The hike part is really short, but I can imagine that making a trail on this terrain would be really difficult. So make this a quick detour on your way to Paia (assuming you're staying in West or South Maui).



Giant Banyan Tree in Lahaina
Southern end of Front St, Lahaina
This is all 1 big connected tree. It's not easy to get a great pic of the whole thing, so I went w/ a panoramic shot. click on it and you should get a better view.

Maui Tacos
Many many locations in maui
taco taco buritto taco taco
I love this place and ate here more times than I can count. They have a good salsa bar - my fave was the hot pineapple salsa. Basically they have vegan tacos, burritos and enchiladas where you can vary the fillings. pinto, black bean, potato, rice, lettuce - you get the idea. They also had a chimichanga on the menu, but I didn't even dare to ask if I could get it veganized.


potato tacos & pineapple salsa



Las Pinatas
395 Dairy Rd Ste J, Kahului
Only 1 location, but worth it. I'm not sure if their tacos are vegan or not, but they have a vegan kitchen sink burrito that is AWESOME. The salsa bar is ok, but not as good as maui tacos.


to be continued... in about a month or so given my current rate of blogging.

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Oh, I suppose I should give you a glimpse of The Judge making sure the canola bottle is clean enough for the recycling bin.