Ali’i Chang founded a lavender farm in Maui’s Upcounty, on a steep hillside en route to the volcanic Haleakala Crater. Koa took over after his father’s passing. The land continues to yield yellow echeverias, oversized protea flowers like the woolly bear, the occasional tri-horned Jackson chameleon, and 45 lavender varieties. Take a walking tour along the Peaceful Path to see (and smell) the differences between French (oily, serrated leaves, culinary), low-lying Spanish (less oil, bunny ears, decorative) and English (oilier bulb, simpler leaf, sweeter). The tour ends at a gift store, with opportunities to experience lavender in food and drink.

The Road to Hana is a windy vehicular workout involving a series of hairpin turns and one-lane bridges. Clearly that kind of drive deserves a reward. Enter Coconut Glen’s, a fresh coconut milk ice cream stand in a hippie-style wrapper from Boston native Chef Glen Simkins that dates to 2007. The open-air shack stands at mile marker 27.5 and includes an aqua tile counter and map of the world where customers can pin their hometowns. This dairy-free ice cream is surprisingly creamy. Original coconut comes with sweet, chewy coconut candy shards. Honey mac is another favorite, folded with roasted macadamia nuts. If you like, they’ll also crack a coconut to order with a machete, yielding fresh coconut water and meat.

James and Tricia Patch created a Napili-Honokōwai crowd pleaser. They run a poke to the right and prepared seafood on the left. Rosy seared furikake crusted ahi was a hit. They also serve coconut shrimp (my guilty pleasure) and rotate fun specials.

Chef-owner Jojo Vasquez incorporates Filipino flavors and Hawaiian ingredients at FOND, the charming Napili Plaza restaurant he runs with wife Eliza. Maui sirloin served over garlic rice in a sizzling skillet and FOND’s seafood “tsunami” with mahi mahi, shrimp, and poke were just two standouts. For diners looking to level up, FOND offers a seasonal 5-course chef’s counter experience.

This island born chain has just one branch on Maui, within the Hyatt Regency Maui Resort & Spa. The company grows coffee in volcanic Mauna Loa soil on their Big Island farm and roasts the beans in Honolulu. Their “artisan Kona roaster” baristas brew coffee using three-group La Marzocco espresso machine and pourover bar.

Chef Mark Ellman co-founded Hawaii Regional Cuisine and runs two restaurants on the Lahaina waterfront with his family: Mala Ocean Tavern and Honu, a Mediterranean-Asian restaurant. Honu was my favorite restaurant of the bunch. The building took part in a pineapple canning through the ’30s and housed a Japanese bakery that got leveled by a tsunami on April Fool’s Day, 1946. Now the space features white walls lined with sea life art. Outside, Honu’s wide rock shelf allows turtles to lay out in the sun. Honu houses a 900-degree brick oven, which yields the signature Ahi Sausage Pizza with crumbled sausage crafted from fish, plus Kalamata olives, tomato sauce, herbs, and lemon. Seafood also fuels creative dishes that never get too serious.

Red sand beach and kiawe grilled chicken? It’s hard to beat that combo. In 2012, Russell Kaho’okele founded this humble huli huli chicken stand, which features a grill framed by cords of kiawe wood near the vivid beach. Order in a bamboo hut under kamani trees that drop fruit that will pelt your head if you’re not careful. Sit inside at communal bamboo tables or outside at picnic tables. Each chicken is juicy, with smoky skin and a bath of savory sauce.

Dan Blessing and wife Faith have brought frozen joy to Lahaina Gateway mall since 2014. They scoop house-churned ice cream and have a DIY Glacier Ice® shave ice station with 36+ syrups. Still, nothing prepared me for their Sposhy. Their signature shave ice creation features mango and strawberry purees, fresh fruit, boba, mochi, condensed milk, and a choice of ice cream for the center.

Chef Joey Macadangdang grew up in the Philippines and spent two decades working for Roy Yamaguchi. He opened his colorful restaurant in the Whalers Village food court. Blackboard menus promote Hawaiian comfort foods prepared with precision. Poke stars hamachi and comes tossed with local ingredients like ogo, pohole fern, and sweet Maui onion. Pork loin sports a complex sauce that contains tamarind and coffee. Filipino influences factor into dishes like pancit, a noodle stir-fry with vegetables and chopped shrimp that benefits from a squeeze of calamansi. Joey also runs Balai Pata in Kahului.

If you visit Maui and don’t eat poke, did you truly visit Maui? Hamachi poke was a hit, featuring firm pink chunks. Local favorite Kaohu Store releases more poke varieties throughout the morning. Pohole salad is a classic fiddlehead fern preparation with cherry tomatoes, sweet Maui onions and shoyu dressing. They also serve a daily special, which was beef stew during my visit.

Chef Marc McDowell presides over this casual restaurant and bakery at the mouth of Maui’s Upcountry. Kula Bistro features an olive green facade and a dining room with cream colored walls, panoramic paintings, and necessary network of ceiling fans. Sandwiches and salads are both possible, though you can easily go bigger. Honey dipped chicken is a good value, with three crisp-crusted pieces plated with steamed rice and potato salad. Fresh catch changes daily, but could include firm monchong, which is available served over Caesar salad. For dessert, raid a pastry case loaded with baked goods, cakes and a particularly good lilikoi cheesecake with tangy, creamy filling and Graham cracker crust.

This ambitious bakery and cafe, a sister to Star Noodle and Aloha Mixed Plate, is located just south of Lahaina. The space features reclaimed wood planks, a high-top table crafted from an old shipwreck, and a blackboard touting contributing farms all help build the establishment’s charm. So do a packed pie display case, boxes of house-made bread and a series of sandwiches made on said bread. Chicken and waffles and the Lahaina Dog are just two of executive chef Marcus Whisenant’s more recent revelations. Saving room for pie is imperative, especially banana cream, Maui pineapple mac nut, or a flaky apple hand pie.

Steve Lange and wife Christine took over this bakery in 2020. They added German breads to complement Hawaiian baked goods. Ube butter mochi and P.O.G. bread now somehow seem natural alongside jette (pretzel croissants) and Steve (seeded rye bread).

Photographer John Henry and wife Gwen have run Maui Coffee Attic since 2015. This community hub also serves baked goods with Hawaiian flavors. Their signature ube haupia cheesecake was MIA during our two visits, but lilikoi cheesecake was still magical.

Kellee Houghtaling and husband Ryan applied lessons learned from her parents’ pie stores in Michigan, opening Maui Pie in a Kihei Strip mall in 2015. The glass-fronted space features wood tables on the patio and an interior with tan and pink walls lined with colorful Island style images. Maui Pie produces a range of pies with either pastry or crumb tops. Fruit fillings change with the seasons, but could involve big pieces of peach and strawberry. They also bake chicken pie pots and lilikoi pie, which is similar to Key lime, only more Hawaiian.