16th
So I went to Hawaii, and high upon the list of to-do’s was eat local hawaiian bbq. Nuff said, Day 2 (day after the night we arrived) we cam across some local side of the road (to Hana in Maui) smokin’ swine. We saw the hand written-sign “best bbq” on one curve, and the shack was there on the next curve…. Ka Haku’s Smoke Shack
The proprieter of this establishment (Ka Haku himself perhaps) was behind the grill when we approached, and his special lady friend (SLF) manning the counter/register.
After thorough examination of the menu, the Chef jubilantly came up to the counter and asked what we wanted to sample. The SLF honestly told us to tell him we wanted to “sample everything”. So we said we’d like “to sample everything” and the Chef obliged. Mahi Mahi, Pork Ribs, and Chiken, It was all amazing (surely the freshness of Maui was not obscuring our taste buds) so we ordered the sample platter of Mahi and Pork, which came with a heaping scoop of rice and greens that were described as sauted ferns.
Everything was killer, inclusive of the fern. The side of the road location overlooking an overlooking switchback on the scenic Hana highway. Chef owned the land (well his family did, so he did too really) and had just recently cultivated the whole area of the bbq area for customers/visitors, including picnic tables.
Ka Haku’s definitely gets a half slab for doing it right over on the islands. If you ever find yourself in Maui on the road to hana with a craving for swine and / or some bbq, keep an open eye around mile marker 11 (just in front of the botanical gardens entrance) and hit up Ka Haku’s to get served up some great bbq mahi mahi from a really friendly chef/owner and his SLF.
