We spent a full day of activities.
We started at the breakfast table upstairs with the other guests at 8:00 a.m. There is only one sitting at the Old Wailuku Inn at Ulupono at 8:00. It is a seated breakfast. The first course was a bowl of strawberries and blackberries with a scoop of yogurt.
Then the main course was a baked burrito filled with Turkey, cheese, bell pepper, and onion and garnished with sour cream, guacamole sauce, and red chili hot sauce. This was a new dish for us. Tom said the burritos were made the night before and then covered with milk and cheese and stored overnight in the fridge and baked in the morning.
(We do not understand this recipe. I have never heard of marinating an uncooked flour tortilla but we will try to get the recipe or replicate it.) Each burrito was served with a light blueberry scone. Orange juice was served as well as coffee and tea. I drank Earl Grey tea with half and half and sugar. Suzette drank coffee with half and half.
I noticed a plate on the wall emblazoned with the emblem of the Chaine de Rotisseurs
Wikipedia – “La Confrérie de la Chaîne des Rôtisseurs (French pronunciation: [la kɔ̃fʁeʁi də la ʃɛːn de ʁotisœːʁ]) is an international gastronomic society founded in Paris in 1950. The Chaîne is based on the traditions and practices of the old French royal guild of goose roasters, whose authority gradually expanded to the roasting of all poultry, meat and game. It is dedicated to fine cuisine and promoting and developing the gastronomic values while at the same time widening its focus to table art.”
I asked Tom, the owner, who was the member of the Chaine and he said Janis was and then he said his father was a founding member of the Hawaiian chapter of the Chaine and he had been a member until he retired from his corporate food and beverage job. I told Tom my mother had been a Chaine member in Texas and we were interested in food. Tom then quickly mentioned a trip we could take that included a distillery, a goat cheese farm, a lunch place called Kula Bistro in Kula, and Maui Wine. We decided immediately that that sounded like a fun day of activity. Suzette also wanted to go to Costco and a bird preserve by the beach.
As soon as breakfast ended we left for the bird reserve, which was near the golf course. When we arrived there there were a couple of fishermen. We walked into the preserve and saw a few birds, but mostly we saw beautiful large wind swept trees. There was also a 1000 year old habitation that had not been fully restored yet that was mostly a pile of basalt rocks.
We walked about a mile and I was tired, so we decided to drive the back road to Kula because the Ocean Distillery, the Surfing Goat Farm, and the Kula Bistro were all on the old Kula road.
The first place we came to was the Ocean Organic Vodka Distillery. We stopped and took the tour and sampled the rums, the vodka, and gin. We liked the gin that was infused with lime, ginger, lavender, juniper berries, and other botanicals. We bought a bottle of the gin and then drove further on up the road to the Surfing Goat creamery. A lovely woman served us at the window of the small sales area. Suzette decided to buy a firmer goat cheese flavored with caraway seeds and a soft goat chèvre packed in a jar with olive oil and herbs that was frozen, both for $30.00.
The lady was kind enough to let us try the Quark, which is a goat cheese spread filled with lots of olive oil and herbs.
We then drove on into Kula and stopped at the Kula Bistro for lunch at 1:15 . It was filled with patrons. There was a large kitchen and several refrigerated display counters filled with desserts and sandwiches to go.
The menu was extensive serving everything from appetizers to pizzas and pastas to whole meals of sautéed fresh fish and steaks.
We both quickly pick a dish of our liking. Suzette chose an appetizer of broiled calamari steak served with fresh diced tomatoes, capers, basil, in olive oil, very clean, healthy and low cal.
I chose beef tips and wild mushrooms with pappardelle pasta.
We asked our waitress if they served wine and she told us, “It is BYOB. You can go across the street and buy a bottle.”
Which I did, I walked across the street to the Morihara Store, a small Japanese family run grocery store selling an extensive selection of wines and beers and purchased their last bottle of chilled Sauvignon Blanc, a Washington wine named Liquid Light. We had never tasted this wine. It had a citrus nose and flavor but settled down to be a very drinkable wine with the addition of a few ice cubes.
After about twenty minutes and our first glass of wine, our food arrived. I was glad to see a large pasta bowl filled with the wide noodles plus a heavy cream sauce dotted with cubes of beef and slices of mushroom. I have not eaten pappardelle in a long time. I loved the dish and knew it would help recharge my muscles.
Suzette and I traded bites of each dish. I loved the fresh white flesh of the calamari steak that appeared to have been steamed and then sliced into strips.
We enjoyed our meal immensely and relaxed and drank and ate until all the food and wine were gone.
We then drove the road along a high Corniche with splendid views of the island and ocean below.
We stopped several times to take photos. Here are several.
Finally we arrived at Maui Wines, which is located in a historic complex of buildings and an agricultural area started by Americans dating back to the days of Hawaiian rule by kings in the 1840’s
It is located in what Hawaiians call the up country above 3000 feet in elevation. The vineyard grows mainly Chenin Blanc, Viognier, and Syrah.
We did a tasting and liked the Viognier and Chenin Blanc. Maui was sold out of it still Viognier and Chenin Blanc, so we bought a bottle of its Blanc de Blanc sparkling wine made with 100% of its Chenin Blanc and a bottle of its white bland, named Kula, made with mostly its Viognier. Maui imports several grape juices, such as Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. The lady serving us emphasized that developing a winery on Maui was a challenge. The effort started in 1974 and it appears that quality wine finally began being made around 1994.
Suzette then took over driving and the 45 minute drive down the mountain to the Costco near the airport in Wailuku. When we arrived at Costco it was huge and backed with people shopping for Valentine’s Day festivals. We bought French baguettes and a bottle of Joel Gott to eat with our goat cheese. Then Suzette addressed her primary reason for going to Costco, the purchase of a new bathing suit. She soon found Speedo bathing suits. She bought 12 for the spa, explaining that they were cheaper than her wholesale and available two months before they will be offered at the Albuquerque Costco. She then found tie dyed and brightly colored wraps and bought a dozen of them.
We the drove to the small village of Paia down the coast that was bustling with activity. We wanted to go to the Paia Fish Market, but decided we were not hungry and instead went across the street to Milagros and drank pints of Draft Negra Modelo for the happy hour price of $4.00 each. We asked our waitress where we might go to see the sunset and turtles and she recommended a city park about a mile further south. We finished our beers quickly and at about 6:15 drove to the park on a small beach wedged between two areas of houses walled off from the beach. There was a fishermen and folks drinking and kids playing with dogs on the beach as the sun was setting behind a huge wall of clouds overhanging the mountainous portion of the island we had just returned from. But what most immediately captured our interest were sea turtles swimming onto shore to sleep. We watched them ride the waves in and then drag themselves up the beach above the high tide line for about an hour in the twilight.
Finally, after a full day of activity we returned to the Inn and ate a few bites of chèvre on the fresh baked baguette, showered and went to bed by 8:45.
Bon Appetit
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