George "lowsrc" A.'s Profile

DUO is really not your a-typical seafood and steakhouse. Located inside the Four Seasons Wailea, Maui resort on the ground floor  you'll find the two head "awesome chef dudes" shaking up the beef's status quo! I gave DUO the 5'th star because combining their amazing meal, along with breath taking views of the ocean, Four Season, and our sunset during dinner - it really does deserve the last star.

We had DUO's "Three way" haiku  tomato salad, honey-saffron, parsley & tomato aioli, brined Maui onions and House cut DUO fries - sweet & russet potatoes, truffle mayonnaise, béarnaise dip, as our starters. The tomato salad was so delicious, even my daughters who are not big veggie eaters gobbled up and licked the plate clean, ending with "Papa, can we make this at home next week, please?!"

Our main course was the Washimi Hawaiian Origin American style Kobe Beef N.Y., with twice baked red potato truffle infusion. Melt in your mouth delicious'ness. Having had the fortune of sampling Kobegyu, Omigyu, Wagyu and various Australian and American counterparts in Japan and throughout North America, I can say DUO's Hawaiin steak was spot on.

Our steaks were accompanied by local sustainable Kula Sweet Corn side and White Cheddar Truffle Mac & Cheese. The corn was so crisp, so sweat with the right balance of sea salt and a smitten of butter it literally cracked and was juicy in your mouth. White Cheddar alone would have been enough, but no - must add truffle to make this traditional meat accompaniment be the best it could be. Rich, creamy, soulfully flavored. Mac & Cheese, really doesn't get much better than DUO's.

Lastly, be sure to check out the foyer bar with its chic contemporary decor and crowd of beautiful people, and take a peek into the state-of-the-art open kitchen.

// spoiler alert //

Surprise! DUO ends their meals with daily flavored cotton candy. Ours last night was Sour Apple. Quite the unexpected treat. Not knowing about this before hand made it all the more special.

Ono Pop, popped! (blush)

Yep - my first try at an Ono Pop per my girlfriend Mistress Koza's recommendation, and it was amazing. Joe and Josh, the bra's who brought the concept to Hawaií take popsicles to a whole new level.

Flavors like:

* I'iwi Ali'i - Kula Strawberries and organic Meyer lemons from Big Island.
* Pepper Pitt - A half cup of backyard habanero in 5 gallons of ripe, organic Oahu mangoes.
* Honey Girl Pitt - Honey Girl is a little less type-A, and a little bit more of a sweet-hearted tomboy living down on the plantation. Opposite of Pepper Pitt ;-)
* Moka Anisette - Dark Chocolate Chinese five spice lick, yo!
* Lilikoi 50-50 - passion fruit with vanilla lilikoi sherbert.

...and so many more flavors.

Check'em out here (http://www.onopops.com...), then taste their treats around the islands.

SO utterly ONO!

My kids first shaved ice / Kakikori experience, and I couldn't have asked for anything more... it was like a pristine blue glass block of frozen water, perfectly planed on the sharpest blades known to mankind, producing beyond paper, no feather thin, and light shavings of snowflake white gold.

Topped off with pure sweet goodness of your own selection.

By far - best kakikori I've ever had on either side of the Pacific's and totally word the brain freeze!

Granola'y Crunchy to the extreme - too much so.

This local "farmers market" store is more like a hippie trading post with sparse product, catering only to the fringe of the youth and non-local folk clinging to what they consider to be a Maui lifestyle.

We bought cereal which was expired (our bad, but was stocked on the shelves, so perhaps not?!). Utter disappointment. Especially for our kids.

I expected more with a name like "Island Press Coffee." I had in mind, cold brew, slow syphoned filted brewing techniques, or private roasts, based on locally sustainable sources right here on the island.

What you have is a makeshift "bar" which happens to have an espresso machine, a few coolers, and ton of hard liquor and tourist crap.

Being a shareholder in Whole Paych$ck, I was super happy to find a Whole Foods local in Maui.

Their selection of fresh local fruit was great - reminded me of back home in California, and also they had a good selection of bulk bin items.

They went to good lengths to source local products, and did a good job of highlighting where these local products are from and why they were selected. Be sure to check out their posters and photos of the local sustainable providers back by the meat area, just next to the dairy section.

Tasty find - they make their own Kombucha, with original flavors - give it a try at the bakery bar area.

They also highlighted locally caught fresh fish - tasty!

Anything and more you needed to source your cabinets in your Maui condo can be had here in Kahului. So stock up!

Needing a hearty meal to kickstart your beach'going aloha day?!

Just roll out of bed and hit up the Castway for a delicious local take on Loco Moco. Good gravy, well balanced protein patty, two well cooked eggs, and a clean well cooked portion of Japanese white rice.

Service is friendly, and attentive. Staff assertive and willing to go the extra lengths to fend off dive bombing bird attacks as they attempted to taste our savory morsels. Kapu yo!

Super good for the kids too - their Keiki options are tasty.

We went here to savor some of the photos posted to Yelp!, but when ordering the Fish Sandwich, it turned out to be "just OK."

We showed the cashier some of the photos and she said "no, we don't have that here" and I said, these were taken here and are from your menu.

All and all the Fish Sandwich was tasty, but could have used more greens on it to balance out the bun / protein portion.

If you must - it's OK, but only if you're in a bind, and in the area needing sustenance to support your beach-going fun activities.

Freaking Godzilla'sized portions - way TOO big, but extremely delicious!

We especially enjoyed Andrew Zimmern's Bizarre Foods from the Travel Channel inspired "Fried Spam Musubi." Well moistened with sweet shoyu and maui greens, with the perfect crisp coating of panko making a mouth watering "kari kari" tasty savory treat.

Saimen was yummy and broth perfectly balanced with dashi flavoring.

The Mahi Mahi fish sandwich was delicious, but again, to epic of a portion, i had to leave 2/3's on the plate and ask for extra greens, tomato, and sweet maui onion to balance it out. I'd recommend you do the same, very ono!

Kid friendly - awesome attentive service. Large seating area and big booths for large families with little ones.

Go. Eat. Be Happy!

Solid 4 stars. It saves you a drive to Kahului to eat at Sam Sato's when you are in Kã'anapalì.

We really enjoyed their flavors of local flair, like their pickle jar. Daikon, carrots, shitake, kyuri slivers, and sweet Maui onion bits, all well prepared and marinated in a classic pop-off clamp down mason jar.

Other memorable bits include their Vietnamese crapé with tasty massive ground pork, shrimp, fresh greens and herbs. Japanese-style kara'age fried chicken, tiny, super crispy on the outside, flavorful and moist on the inside, with accents of ginger, soy sauce and sea salt.

I can go on and on, try everything they have to offer including their Gaps Ramen, a tonkotsu based taken broth with greens, osen tamago, menma, and chashu pork slices.

Cherry on top did us was the Shepard Fiery Obey original artwork pieces, especially the one in the bathrooms.

Lastly, nab one of their original tees, screen printed on American Apparel cotton.

Star Noodles no ka 'oi!

**best to make reservations during peak times, around dinner...