Fabulous Food And Fotos ~ A Few More From Maui!

Jet lag really sucks! Nearly three days after returning home, I’m still trying to adjust back to East Coast time (USA) from Hawaii time and the six-hour time difference. I haven’t fixed a thing in the kitchen, since my head is so out of it! I’d probably burn down the kitchen while falling asleep at the ~~wheel~~ stove! But for Wordless Wednesday, I’m going to simply share just a few of my last shots taken on Maui . . . and this time they include some famous dishes that are sought out by foodies who visit the islands.

Above are the famous “Macadamia Nut Pancakes with Coconut Syrup” from The Gazebo overlooking Napili Bay. Enjoying this sweet indulgence early in the morning with a hot cup of kona java is absolutely one of our must-do breakfast rituals whenever we visit. The portions are so large, that we each take home half and then re-heat them the next day for a second breakfast. These monster-sized pancakes really do hold up nicely overnight in the frig! When you’re there, make sure you pick up a bottle of the coconut syrup that they sell right there at this “very small” eatery. There are lots of brands of this syrup available for sale on the islands, and the brand that The Gazebo uses is the best! Click on this {link} to read the reviews of this great little eatery! If you choose to go to The Gazebo, know that they do not take reservations and each and every day there is a 20 to 30 minute waiting line before the place even opens at 7:30 all the way through the lunch hour. Yea, that good!

Macadamia Nut Pancakes

1/2 cup macadamia nuts (chopped)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 eggs

3 tablespoons butter (melted)

1 1/2 cups buttermilk

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

4 tablespoons sugar

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

Coconut syrup and whipped cream to lather on top of the pancakes.

In a mixing bowl thoroughly mix together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

In a separate bowl, mix together buttermilk, butter, eggs, and vanilla extract.

Combine the dry and wet mixtures until the batter is lumpy.

Heat a non stick frying pan or griddle over low heat.

Pour batter for the size of the pancake that you prefer onto the frying pan or griddle.

Sprinkle some of the chopped macadamia nuts onto each pancake, flip it overand cook until golden for another 1 – 2 minutes.

Next on the photo show is this incredible hamburger, “The Luna” from Cool Cat Cafe in Lahaina on Front Street, winner of the best hamburgers on Maui since 2005 (click on ‘Cool Cat Cafe’ for the link, full menu, and reviews). To put the size of this burger into perspective, the plate that it is sitting on is a dinner plate . . . it took up HALF of the enitre plate. I was being a real pig, and ate the whole thing. My husband had no problem eating his entire burger too, “The Bogy”. The Luna was a 6 1/2 oz. angus beef burger with bacon, melted Jack cheese, avocado, mayo, lettuce, tomatoes, pickles, onions, and thousand island dressing. Warning: You will stretch the diameter of your mouth as you try to bite into these!

Here’s a sample review from ‘urbanspoon’:

“I see a lot of people are talking about the burgers at Cool Cat Cafe in Maui, and there is a reason folks. TEXAS has some of the best burgers you can wrap your mouth around, and this burger joint puts out one of my top 3 ALL TIME best burgers I’ve had…and i have had many a burger in 62 years! We’re talking the type of burger where the grease runs down your hand with flavor, large slices of onions and tomatoes, and the cheese tops it off, dripping over the bun. This a two-handed burger my friends…nothing skimpy here.”

Got the picture? And now I have just got to work on re-creating these massive babies for our Memorial Day grilling!

I realize that the above photo is not one of food or tropical scenery. Yes, it is a picture of the commode in our favorite restaurant on Maui, Mama’s Fish House. I included it just to demonstrate that only on Hawaii would guests be treated to such tiny attention to details such as these tropical flowers tie-twisted to the tissue paper. Not just your ordinary potty room experience!

The food at Mama’s is literally as dreamy as is the scenery directly in front of the restaurant (shown below). ”Zagat” ranks Mama’s Fish House as one of the top 5 restaurants for 2011! Yes, when you make your reservation, go EARLY for your seating time so that you can sit as close to the beach as possible. This is what you will look out at while you dine on extraordinary, fresh fish: turquoise blue waters with white-capped waves rolling in and wind sailors dotting the horizon! It is truly heavenly!

Our daughter Lauren, her husband Dawson, and our son Jesse gave us a gift certificate for our Christmas gift (which really helps because this is the most expensive restaurant on Maui). Mahalo and grazie to you three sweeties!

For a real cyberspace treat, click on this {link} to Mama’s to hear some fantastic Hawaiian music, view photos, recipes, menu, awards, and more!

Every night is a beautiful sunset, including those that we enjoyed from the lanai (deck) of our hotel room. Below you can see how romantic every evening becomes before drifting off to sleep with the sound of the surf outside your room. As they say, “Maui no ka oi” which translates from Hawaiian into “Maui is the best”.

But truthfully everyone, even though Hawaii is a lovely paradise, there’s really no place like home!

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