The Pint & Cork; Wailea, Maui

Although only open for two months (as of this writing), The Pint & Cork (TP&C) at The Shops at Wailea seems to be going strong. This is probably due to the venue being the only really decent place to watch sports in all of south Maui and that it's conveniently located next to shops husbands would rather not be dragged into.

Although the ten or so big screen televisions showing all sports all the time might beg for this place to be labelled a sports bar, the interior - with its 'tique wood and brick walls - speak to something more closely resembling a wine bar. In this regard, TP&C is probably one of the

The view as you walk in.

most aptly named places you'll ever drink at. Featuring 16 taps on rotation (none of them particularly impressive if you drink at Maui Brewing Co. as often as I do, though MBC beers are offered here) and a respectable variety of wine, to say nothing of the cocktail menu, there is plenty to sate your thirst and for much less than what nearby hotels will charge. Are far as getting your drink on is concerned, TP&C pretty much has you covered. That is, unless you're a beer snob. Then you might want to try Monkeypod Kitchen just up the road.

Interestingly, TP&C bills itself as a gastropub. Well, maybe in Maui this is true but I haven't eaten anything at TP&C that I haven't found better somewhere else. Their garlic fries, for example, are indeed very garlicky but they pale in comparison to Gannon's Volcano fries down in Makena. The pork sliders? Much better from Horhitos Mobile Taqueria's food truck. The burger? Way better at 5 Palms closer to Kihei. I'm not saying the food is bad, just that there is better tasting food nearby. I should say, though, that the food is still pretty darn good and you'll pay a heck of a lot less than you would dining at the hotel restaurants which are over-hyped to put it mildly.

As for the atmosphere, it is friendly. The staff doesn't ignore you to nearly the same degree most

TV's, lot's of 'em.

Maui food venues operate and for that I'm thankful. It should be noted that even at half capacity, TP&C is very noisy, so you might want to consider that before gently and quietly breaking up with your other half after they've spent entirely too much on a Coach purse next door. On a related note, TP&C does have a very small patio and a balcony area for a little bit more privacy. And, although I haven't been there for it, I understand TP&C is open to 2am(!) daily and features live music on Thursday, Friday and Saturday.

Walk over to TP&C from your hotel or pay for parking at the Shops which has been in effect for almost a year now. Free 1 hour parking. Parking validated if you make $25+ in purchases.


Directions: The Shops at Wailea are sandwiched between the Marriot and The Grand Wailea on Wailea Alanui Drive. TP&C is on the upper deck on the south side of the shops next to Tiffany and Co.

Sssssliders.

Garlicky fries.

Migrant - Wailea, South Maui

To say Migrant is underwhelming is to be as fair as possible. The restaurant, situated at the Marriot in Wailea, is the brainchild of an award winning chef who competed on Top Chef: Seattle. One of Maui’s latest “in” food places to be is supposed to feature “a modern take on Filipino cuisine with seasonal, local ingredients,” which apparently means lots of salt. But I’ll get to that.

My wife and I arrived in the early evening, having made reservations based on Migrant’s good word-of-mouth. (As it is currently off season for the hotel, one usually need not make reservations for restaurants. But, you never know.) While we were on time, there wasn’t a hostess in sight as we lined up behind another couple. The hostess came along and finally sat the couple ahead of us, only to promptly disappear again; in fact, we never saw her again. Five minutes later – which is a long time even for “Island Time” a manager came along and seated us. Our server, also on Island Time, eventually came along so we could order drinks which he promptly got wrong. Being local, I understand good help is hard to find, but maybe Mercury was in retrograde or I had offended a local god somehow, resulting in especially bad service.

Onto the menu which was printed in a font so small I thought it was a legal document. Squinting, I could see that there wasn't much to choose from as all the ingredients are locally sourced, giving the chef little to work with. In fact, this night saw that the locally sourced hanger steak was off the menu much to my wife’s disappointment. We wound up opting for a cabbage salad, the 'OG' garlic noodles, some kind of brisket and noodle dish that was replacing the hanger steak, and the chicken and waffles. Well, the cabbage salad was drenched in a kalbi dressing so salty I thought it had walked straight out of the ocean. The brisket and noodle dish were also ridiculously salty. While I understand that hotel restaurants must cater to Mainlanders who have no sense for herbs and spices, the attempt to placate the average tourist with sodium might as well result in that tourist’s death. Meanwhile, the chicken and waffles came from two different worlds that when combined produced a taste that was…what's a negative synonym for 'interesting'? This is to say that the whole time I was eating it, I couldn’t decide if I liked it. Individually, both were fine for what they were, but to taste the chicken and the waffle together was just; I can’t adequately describe it. At least it wasn’t salty. Nor were the garlic noodles which somehow were almost salt free. I gave these noodles a thumbs up just for this fact.

Like any hotel restaurant, Migrant is nicely decorated but doesn’t exactly stand out in a crowded field despite its bold color patterns. In fact, nothing about Migrant stands out, so I’m not sure why this place comes so highly recommended. Maybe it has a nice view from the terrace in the daytime. Maybe its allure rests on the shoulders of its celebrity chef.

Directions: 3700 Wailea Alanui Dr, Kihei, HI 96753 at the Marriot in Wailea. Stay to the right of the lobby as you walk straight past the valet area, but stay to the left of the staircase that leads down to the pool area. You’ll come to a bar and hostess stand and should be able to see the ocean from there. Hours are 4pm-10pm. 25% off Kamaaina discount. 

What Ales You, Kihei

If the brew gods have anything to say about it, south Maui just may yet become a brew lovers paradise. The latest entrant on the brewing scene is Kihei’s “What Ales You” tap-room located in The Triangle. (The Triangle, if you don’t know, is the area adjacent to Foodland in central Kihei, across the street from Kalama Park.) Basically, if you like beer – we’re not talking Budweiser or PBR here – you have to visit this quaint little place. I was a little skeptical at first since I knew the owner had taken over the dumpy space used by “Pita Paradise.” However, the location has been sincerely cleaned up and decked out with modern outdoor décor (no sore butts and this patio!). Inside is a bit more demur with only five small tables and a 13-seat bar, but at least it’s clean, a bonus for any establishment in The Triangle. There are also 3 TV screens above the bar and another off in a corner, just in case you need your sports fix.

I don’t really think people come to a tap-room to watch games; hopefully, they come for the beer. There are eight standing taps and another eight on rotation, all of which are microbrews and diverse enough to satisfy almost any palate. (I say ‘almost’ because there was no porter today, and no ale house is complete without at least one porter, I say. I realize porters aren’t popular nowadays, but still.) Essentially, with 16 beer on tap, this makes “What Ales You” the place to go when Maui Brewing Company is over-crowed (which is often lately) and Monkeypod Kitchen is too overrun with tourists who don’t mind paying Monkeypod’s confiscatory prices. But this tap-room has wine, too! Again, there’s a nice selection here though I sampled little of it, though the sip I had of my friend’s glass was quite buttery. As for liquor, you won’t find any here; better luck next door at Tiki Lounge where the bartending is hit or miss. Food is a bit more scarce at this point for “What Ales You” as they only opened in late June but offer some delicious bratwurst and cheese platter pupus (appetizers). Perhaps they will expand the food menu someday, but I can wait until then. They don’t seem to have much in the way of entertainment right now either, but with all the bars in The Triangle, be that as it may. From 4-6pm you’ll hear music splash over from the Tiki Lounge, anyway.

Finally, I’ll say that the staff was super friendly – Stacey, our server, was really sweet and Bucky is a guy who knows his beer. Working in paradise as I do, I know it’s hard to find decent staff in Maui, so I was really happy with how we were treated, service-wise. I’ll definitely be back. I hope you’ll go, too, because I’d like to see this place succeed.

Open 10am-11pm every day. Happy Hour 3-6, if I remember correctly.

Directions: 1913 South Kihei Road, Kihei, Maui, Hawaii 96753. It is behind “Life’s A Beach” and “Fat Daddy’s Smokehouse,” and next to “Tiki Lounge” in the space that used to be “Pita Paradise.”

 

 

Wailea Beach, South Maui

Wailea Beach is a long and wide stretch of soft sand nestled between the Four Seasons and the Grande Wailea in Wailea, south Maui. Whether or not you think this is a good beach depends upon what activities you have in mind. This beach is a great location for sitting and soaking up the sun, playing in the waves thanks to the sandy bottom that extends yards into the water, playing with a ball in the waves, and people watching. If you so desired, there is even enough room in the early hours to set up a volleyball net between the resorts. If you like easily accessible beaches where you can sit or build sand castles in fine, velvety sand, Wailea Beach is a good choice. However, if you are looking for good snorkeling or diving, you may want to seek out another beach.

A view of the south end of the beach.

As Wailea Beach fronts two prominent hotels, the beach and surf can get crowded fast. The beach serves as a popular place for touring kayakers, canoers, and paddle-boarders (SUPs) to shove off. The waves here tend to be somewhat more prone to strong currents than other south Maui beaches. This appears to be the effect of each end of the beach's rocky points being more flat than pointy, as is the case at many other beaches where the arrangement of a beach’s rocky points serve to protect you from currents. This aside, another strike against Wailea Beach is that I have not found the variety of fish or as many turtles as other nearby beaches. The coral is terribly beat up here as well, which I suspect is due to waste run-off from the hotels. The south end of the beach (your left if looking out to sea) features an extensive field of this coral and the water tends to be calmer on this side. Problem is, you have to swim at least 100 yards away from shore to see any remotely colorful coral. The north end of the beach does not have as much coral, which will cause you to stay near the rocky shoreline where the surf is typically rougher. However, if you follow the right side north towards Ulua beach, the water may get rougher but you will be rewarded when you spot the Turtle Town amid the better coral hugging this edge. Overall, this makes the snorkeling better at the north side of the beach as long as you are comfortable snorkeling; if so, attempting to swim in this direction shouldn't be too challenging.

If you don’t mind crowds, I’d say Wailea Beach is a perfectly respectable beach if you don’t want to stray far from your nearby resort, though I contend that there are better beaches a five-to-ten minute car ride away. I would beware of reviews of Wailea Beach that say the snorkeling and diving are fantastic or that this beach is uncrowded; these observations have never been true in my experience. There is a hill behind the south end of the beach near the public parking area that is good spot for a picnic since you can easily spot whales during whale season, or you can just watch the strange characters that walk by on the beach path. If you want to take a walk, the Wailea Beach path is easily accessible from either end of the beach. There are no lifeguards here but the gentlemen staffing the cabanas and activities booth are surely able to help in an emergency. Finally, there is a bathroom facility and rinsing area at the south end of the beach by the public parking lot.

Looking north onto Wailea Beach from the beach path.

Directions

Drive south on Wailea Alanui until you pass the Grande Wailea. The first right past the Grand Wailea is the public access parking lot. If you don’t see any parking in the lower lot, there is a large parking lot hidden to the right after you've made your initial right turn and descended towards the parking lot. Conversely, if you find no parking in the lower lot, the hidden parking lot will be on your left as if you were going to leave the parking lot. If you're driving south and you see the Four Seasons, you've driven past the public parking lot.

Looking south onto Wailea Beach from the beach path.

Po'olenalena Beach, South Maui

Poolenalena Beach from the north looking south

After living in Maui for a year, we finally got around to snorkeling Poolenalena Beach. All I can say is, I wish we’d done it sooner. This is a primo spot: Easy entry, a large field of good coral, lots of turtles usually, and uncrowded in the middle of the (southern end of the) beach. The beach is long and sandy, but divided into two parts by a rocky point that is on your right when you walk in from the public parking area. It is also here that many locals park themselves under the trees on the left for a full day of fishing, BBQ’ing, and talk story, so it can be crowded right off the parking lot on the weekends. The most southern end of the beach can be a little crowded too, with people from the condos there, but this is a very minor complaint. As I said, few people set up in the middle of the beach, so there is definitely room if you like some space between yourself and other people. 

The snorkeling itself was great the last two times we went, but make note that the southern end is best, the middle so-so, and the north end (which is the south end of Palauea Beach) is better than average. Entry is easy as again, the beach is sandy with the sand extending at least 50 feet into the water, with the exception of some obviously rocky areas that are easy to avoid. 

Again, the southern end was the best, with numerous turtles since this area is a turtle cleaning station. (With a turtle cleaning station so close to shore, I don’t know why people pay for boat tours that stop here. Lack of research, I guess.) At one point, I’d noted 8 different turtles in less than 15 minutes, to say nothing of the big black fish and eels. And that’s not even going out more than 100 feet from the shoreline! I will say that the visibility the last two times was so-so, but when the sun is out it’s not really a problem. Lots of kayak tours stop and drop off snorklers at the south end of the beach, so it does get crowded for an hour here and there. It doesn’t seem to bother the turtles, though. If you go past the south end to the next beach over, that’s the much hyped Chang’s Beach and frankly, I don’t know what the hype is all about since the coral off Chang’s is really beat up and the fish count is lower, at least when I go that way. Best off staying to the right if snorkeling off Chang’s.

Poolenalena is a criminally under-rated beach, but then, I’ve seen what happens to lesser known beaches when they become popular. Oh, well. Enjoy.

Poolenalena Beach from the South looking north

Directions – South of Wailea Alunui Drive past the Shops at Wailea on Makena Alanui Drive between Wailea Golf Club Dr. & Makena Surf. You will notice a large dirt parking lot on your right (assuming you are driving south). If you can see the water from the road, you’re in the right place. This lot has a sign that says it’s Po’olenalena Park. That helps, too.

GPS Coordinates: 20.663646,-156.441042

 
Facilities: Port-a-potty, shower, no lifeguards.