Food & Travel Diary

For me and my partner, the best part of Maui was not the sunny beaches of Ka’anapali nor the historic colonial architecture of Lahaina, but the dramatic jungle of the Hana Highway. I had a ball driving our rental car along the tight twists and turns of the road, and we made many stops to take pictures of waterfalls and shop at roadside stands.

We had enjoyed brunch of breakfast burritos and quesadillas at Café Mambo in Paia, where we saw at least three establishments advertising that they packed picnic lunches for people driving the scenic Hana Highway through Maui’s North Shore. But we had heard of a tiny barbecue stand where we were determined to have lunch. “Up in Smoke” is located between mileposts 28 and 29, and we had been told they served excellent baby back ribs and grilled corn on the cob.

It was a bit of a shock when we finally found the place. We had been expecting to find a restaurant. Instead, it was more like an open-air gypsy caravan parked in front of a picnic shelter.

I don’t know whether they were under new management, or whether the chef had simply changed to a different menu, but when we finally found the place, they were serving tacos instead of ribs. We had a choice of pork, fish or chicken tacos, all mesquite grilled.

Corn on the cob was no longer in season, but there was a surprise option of breadfruit baked in banana leaves. Our “Kalua pig” tacos, stuffed into soft flour tortillas and topped with grated cheese, tomato salsa and shredded cabbage, were wonderful, although I confess to leaving most of the bland breadfruit behind.

The Kalua pork was pretty good, but nowhere near as wonderful as the pulled pork sandwiches we had enjoyed earlier for lunch on Molokai at the Kaulapu’u Cookhouse.

If you should be driving the Hana Highway, another highly recommended stop is at the Hana Fantasy Company, growers and exporters of exotic Hawaiian tropical flowers. They had a self-serve stand at the side of the road where you could pick up a bunch of the most gorgeous flowers we’d ever seen five dollars.

We were sad to leave the tropical magic of Maui and return to a snowy Vancouver winter, but Maui — and especially the Hana Highway area — is one of those places you keep in the back of your mind whenever you buy a lottery ticket.