Hawaii: 20 cheap eats under $20 on Maui
Hawaii: 20 cheap Maui eats under $20
Hawaii: 20 cheap Oahu eats under $20
We didn't love . . . a $5.95 charge to split a meal.
Cafe O'Lei, 2439 S. Kihei Road (upstairs at Rainbow Mall), Kihei, (808) 891-1368; or 1333 Maui Lani Parkway, Kahului, (808) 877-0073; www.cafeoleirestaurants.com.
Price: $6.35 to $25.95
Scoping it out: Maui is one of the last places you might look for a good slice of New York-style pizza, but this open-air pizzeria in Kihei has the recipe. For 18 years, Shaka has dished up hoagies, hot and cold sandwiches, cheese steaks, calzone, Stromboli and New York- and Sicilian-style pizzas. Magazines, local newspapers and guidebooks (including Frommer's) have listed it as having the best pizza in Maui. We liked it too. The crust is light, and the toppings are generous. Try the Maui pineapple and ham or the white cheese and spinach varieties.
We loved . . . pizza by the slice for $2.97.
We didn't love . . . the traffic noise from busy Kihei Road, which can be daunting.
Shaka Sandwich & Pizza Inc., 1770 S. Kihei Road, Kihei; (808) 874-0331.
16. JAWZ TACOS
Price: $6.75 to $12.95
Scoping it out: Baja-style tacos go Hawaiian here. Jawz is a strip-mall cafe in Kihei (also operating two taco trucks at Big Beach daily) that will help satisfy your need for a Mexican beer, chips and a good jolt of salsa. Diners order fast-food-style at a counter, but the dining room has an appealing tropical ambience, with floral tablecloths, beach murals and plants. The salsa bay is one of the most interesting we've seen, with roasted jalapeño, serrano, habanero, corn and chipotle salsas. The menu runs the Mexican food gamut, including fajitas, burritos, quesadillas and fish and meat tacos. But don't expect California-style Mexican food or you'll be disappointed. This has its own very different style.
We loved. . . the enchilada pie and the many varieties of salsa.
We didn't love . . . the mounds of salad and paucity of protein on the tacos.
Jawz Tacos, Azeka Mall, 1279 S. Kihei Road, Kihei; (808) 874-TACO (874-8226), www.jawzfishtacos.com
17. ALEXANDER'S FAMOUS FISH CO.
Price: $7.95 to $13.95
Scoping it out: Chickens graze in the breezeway at Alexander's Famous Fish Co., a rustic highway stand on the main drag in Kihei. Nearby, patrons sit at resin tables, wolfing down fish and chips. A mural of a hula dancer decorates the walls. Alexander's doesn't offer much in the way of ambience, but the fish is fresh and perfectly cooked, not dry or mushy. The takeout stand specializes in local fish: ahi, ono and mahi. Order it fried or grilled. There are also fish tacos, sandwiches, salads, shrimp, fried chicken and ribs. Most people take the food to go, but some eat it there. Just don't be surprised if a chicken hops by looking for a handout.
We loved . . . the simple menu and fast service.
We didn't love . . . that it may be a little too plain and laid-back.
Alexander's Famous Fish Co., 1913 S. Kihei Road, Kihei; (808) 874-0788.
18. SERPICO'S
Price: $6.75 to $17.25
Scoping it out: What's a nice New Jersey family doing in Upcountry Maui, tossing pizza dough, layering lasagna noodles and cooking up tennis-ball-sized meatballs? Serpico's Pizzeria & Restaurant, a 10-table Italian eatery in Pukalani, offers a fine, low-cost family stop on the way home from Haleakala National Park. This is a plain-wrap kind of place, where the chairs and tables are mismatched, but the food is big-city Italian. Owner Charles Clark was in the pizzeria biz for 32 years before visiting Maui on vacation with the kids. (He and wife Miriam have six.) No one wanted to go home, so he opened Serpico's.
We loved. . . the meatballs and the pizza, which is hand-tossed, East Coast-style.
We didn't love. . . the decor. Serpico's needs a little ambience.
Serpico's, 7 Aewa Place, Pukalani; (808) 572-8498, www.serpico
19. PAIA FISH MARKET
Price: $8.50 to $17.95
Scoping it out: This is a popular place in a popular town. Paia, a one-time sugar plantation town turned New Age settlement, is one of the last stops on the North Shore road to Hana, so things can get hectic, especially on weekends. Seafood, of course, is the specialty at Paia Fish Market. Order at a counter; you have your choice of various seafoods prepared as a steak, in a sandwich or a taco, and you can have it fried, charbroiled, sautéed in butter with garlic and lemon, or blackened Cajun-style. (Burgers are also available.) Eat at a picnic table or take the food to go. This low-key diner is a tourist favorite; when we visited late on a Saturday afternoon, 16 people were in line ahead of us. But the fish is well-prepared and very fresh.
We loved. . . the ahi and the mahi-mahi.
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