For the record, this was not our first trip to Hawai’i—in fact, it was our fifth. But it was the first since a 1996 sojourn to the Big Island and marked the first time we set foot on Maui since 1993. So we were due.

Unlike previous trips, though, we went with another couple. And, unlike previous visits, we relied on tips from former Maui residents and natives and others to find some of the best ono grinds on da island. Even then, we discovered a hidden gem or two on our own. The result was undoubtedly our best dining experience ever in Hawai’i.

Soup Nutz & Java Jazz

OK, so the name doesn’t conjure images of palm trees and rainbows. And nowhere on the menu will you find poi…which is, come to think about it, a good thing. Plus, the place is in a strip mall across the street from some vacation condo buildings. But don’t let all of that fool you: As un-Hawaiian as it sounds, Soup Nutz & Java Jazz is really, really good.

Practically by accident, we stumbled across what we at first thought were two separate establishments, though we soon learned they are in fact one restaurant. (Well, the Java Jazz side is open for breakfast and morning coffee, but the two sides become as one for lunch and dinner.)

Filled with an eclectic décor ranging from original paintings to such memorabilia as a World War I-era German army helmet and numerous Barbie dolls (mostly unclothed), Soup Nutz & Java Jazz is as much a hit with locals as it is with tourists. (For my money, that’s an indicator of a restaurant’s true quality, especially in places like Hawai’i or Las Vegas that are overrun with chains and homogenous joints.) While severely subdued lighting made reading menus difficult—even our server, Salvatore, had to duck outside to get a better view of the bill before presenting it—nothing could mask the great taste of the food.

Menu items included a Thai turkey sandwich and something called a fantapano, a combination of fajitas and a burrito in chicken or beef. Appetizers include fresh sashimi, a grilled three-cheese quesadilla in a tomato tortilla, and baby back ribs. Nightly dinner specials range from spiny lobster tail and filet mignon to chicken picatta and fresh catch of the day.

For our dinner, Mrs. Eater chose salmon with mashed potatoes while I had ono with rice pilaf ($27 each). Both dishes were outstanding; the fish was fresh and firm, broiled to perfection, while the vegetables on the side came straight from the garden, not frozen. In this instance, they went beyond being a garnish to an integral part of the dish. Although we all were too full for dessert after or sumptuous dinner, the laid-back atmosphere and live entertainment (two guys playing guitar) made Soup Nutz & Java Jazz a great venue from which to begin our Maui dining adventure. Dinner for four, including two non-alcoholic beverages, a beer and tax, was $120.31.

• Quality of food: 4 forks
• Value: 5 forks
• Cleanliness: 5 forks
• Ambience: 4 forks
• Friendliness of staff: 5 forks
• Parking: N/A (we walked there from our condo)
• Accessibility: 5 forks

Soup Nutz & Java Jazz is located at 3350 Lower Honoapiilani Road, #3204, Lahaina, Maui, HI 96761. Hours are 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. Phone (808) 667-0787 or visit javajazz.net.

Aloha Mixed Plate

Now this is what one thinks about when one envisions true Hawaiian food: big helpings of meat with scoops of rice and macaroni salad on the side, served surfside on a sunny day. Such was what we found at Aloha Mixed Plate.

As much a celebration of Hawai’i’s diverse cultures as it is a restaurant, Aloha Mixed Plate is about as casual as dining gets in Maui, which is saying a lot. Open-air on a big patio next to a beach, adjacent to the Old Lahaina Luau and across Front Street from the Lahaina Cannery Mall, the place invites you to kick back for a couple of hours to soak up the sun and listen to the crashing surf.

The term “mixed plate” or “plate lunch” harkens back to Hawai’i’s plantation days. Back then, sugar cane and pineapple workers from different ethnic backgrounds—Chinese, Japanese, Filipino, Korean and native Hawaiian—would break for lunch to eat their traditional dishes. Somewhere along the line, they began sharing their food and thus was born the “mixed plate,” which eventually included rice and macaroni salad.

The beach-house atmosphere lends itself to a true Hawaiian-style lunch break, which we did on a balmy Sunday afternoon. Mrs. Eater chose the signature Aloha Mixed Plate, with shoyu chicken, teriyaki beef and mahi mahi ($7.95) while I had the Ali’i Plate, billed as the “royalty of plate lunches” with lau lau (pork wrapped in taro leaves), kalua pig with cabbage, lomi lomi salmon, poi, and haupia (a coconut pudding) for dessert ($12.95). While Mrs. Eater was not all that impressed with her meal (why I do not know, I thought it was all good), she did like mine—especially the lau lau—as did I. The total tab for four, including non-alcoholic smoothies and tax, was $63.96.

• Quality of food: 4 forks
• Value: 5 forks
• Cleanliness: 4 forks
• Ambience: 5 forks
• Friendliness of staff: 3 forks
• Parking: 3 forks
• Accessibility: 5 forks

Aloha Mixed Plate is located at 1285 Front Street, Lahaina, Maui, HI 96761. Hours are 10:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. Phone (808) 661-3322 or visit oldlahainaluau.com/oll_menuAlohaMixedPlate.html.

Mama’s Fish House

Tucked away on Maui’s north shore on the Road to Hana is a place where you could reasonably expect to see Humphrey Bogart come strolling around a corner at any given moment. With its low-slung wood slat ceilings, tikis, bark cloth and bamboo décor and retro-Hawaiian artwork, Mama’s Fish House epitomizes every mainlander’s romantic musings of a picturesque, laid-back Polynesian beachfront “shack.”

But make no mistake: Mama’s is no shack. It also isn’t cheap; there’s no way you can pay for seafood as fresh as what Mama’s offers (the place employs its own fishermen who, essentially, catch your meal and deliver it straight to the kitchen) nor can you find atmosphere like this at chain-restaurant prices. But trust the Eaters on this one, Mama’s is worth every penny…perhaps even the cost of a trip to Maui itself.

To get to Mama’s from the tourist bastions of Ka’anapali and Lahaina, you drive through the little artsy-hippie town of Pa’ia. Once a sugar cane plantation village, Pa’ia has since morphed into a Bohemian paradise of funky galleries and shops. The restaurant and its neighboring inn are at the base of a hill off a curve in the highway (look for the white fishing boat at the driveway entrance); complimentary valet parking is standard. Leaving your vehicle with the valet, you immediately gaze out onto the Pacific Ocean and a sandy beach fronting Mama’s property. (Sunset is the perfect time to visit and be forewarned, reservations made well in advance are a must!)

We were fortunate to be seated a half-hour ahead of our reservation time. And what a table it was: Turning slightly to my right, I had an unobstructed view of the restaurant’s gorgeous beach, complete with tiki torches and an outrigger canoe. Talk about your ambience!

Open both for lunch and dinner, Mama’s features mouthwatering pu pus including ahi poke and sashimi and Tahitian Poisson Cru (ono marinated in limejuice and coconut milk, with Maui onion, cilantro, cucumber and vine-ripened tomato). Other appetizers include Fanny Bay oysters and flying fish caviar, grilled baby Kahakuloa honey lamb chops with papaya, and macadamia nut crab cakes with fire and ice relish. The Eaters and our traveling companions started our evening by sharing seared ahi with pineapple-tamarind sauce and hot mustard ($14) and shrimp won tons with macadamia nut dipping sauce ($16). Both were incredibly, decadently delicious, and set the stage for the fantastic meal to come.

Main courses at Mama’s feature such fresh fish as ahi, opakapaka, ono, opah and mahi mahi. “Hawaiian style” dishes include crispy kalua duck with mango-mui glaze, bouillabaisse, spiny lobster tail and Big Island “Kamuela Pride” New York Steak. For our dinner, Mrs. Eater chose macadamia-crusted mahi mahi stuffed with crab and shrimp, served with fresh asparagus and rice pilaf ($44). I selected the Pua Me Nua Hana, a feast of ono and mahi mahi with Molokai sweet potato, baked banana and grilled pineapple, island fruit (mango, payapa and lychee), half a fresh coconut and poi with lomi lomi salmon ($45), all delivered by our professional and unobtrusive server, Anne-marie.

Without question, this was the best fish Mrs. Eater and I had ever eaten. The moment it hit our tastebuds, we though we had passed through some gastronomic vortex that transported us from our usual humdrum eating habits to a culinary Nirvana. The combination of Mrs. Eater’s mahi mahi with crab and shrimp danced on the palate. My two fish selections complemented each other as well as the kalua pig and fresh fruits. (The sweet potato, though only a single slice, was an unexpected but pleasant treasure.) This was not a meal we rushed through, but savored slowly as the sun set on the Pacific not but a few yards from our table.

We topped off our meal by sharing two desserts, a small cheesecake with a side of crushed pineapple topping ($10) and a Polynesian Black Pearl, chocolate mousse and lilikoi (passion fruit) ice cream encased in rich chocolate, presented in a cookie shell shaped like an open clam ($14). I also delighted in what undoubtedly was the best coffee I have ever had, a rich black concoction grown on Maui and served in a French press ($7), as well as a strong yet flavorful mai tai ($12) and a non-alcoholic pineapple-coconut smoothie ($8). Our total tab for four, including beverages and tax, was $307.48—pricey for a place that welcomes casual aloha attire, to be sure, but worth it for a fabulous meal served in an unrivaled location, the likes of which the Eaters may never have again. In short, dinner at Mama’s was the perfect way to put an exclamation point on a terrific Maui vacation!

• Quality of food: 5 forks
• Value: 5 forks
• Cleanliness: 5 forks
• Ambience: 5+ forks
• Friendliness of staff: 5 forks
• Parking: 5 forks
• Accessibility: 5 forks

Mama’s Fish House is located at 799 Poho Place, Pa’ia, Maui, HI 96779. Hours are 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Phone (808) 579-8488 or e-mail reservations@mamasfishhouse.com. Visit mamasfishhouse.com.