While flying from Chicago to Maui yesterday, I realized why trends make their way to Maui more slowly than they do from LA to NYC. First of all, there is nothing like eleven hours on a plane to emphasize how far we are from everything. Secondly, who cares what’s happening elsewhere once you arrive in paradise?

After people light on this tropical splat of land in the middle of the ocean, we tend to quickly forget about the land from whence we traveled. People come to Maui to escape – hoping things will be different here. In Maui, those establishments whose novelty is somewhat old-fashioned, in the tropical isle sense, have always been the most popular. Think Mama’s Fish House or Hula Grill or just start here:

Since everything old is new again, it’s not surprising that many purportedly new food trends are things that have been de rigeur in Maui all along. Community tables, mixed plates, locally sourced foods, farmer’s markets – decidedly dorky, homespun and hippie affected, Maui has always smiled in the face of cynics and fat cats who may have formerly scoffed at our relatively simple approach to culinary arts and life in general.
That said, here’s a list of the top ten food trends – some that have always been big in Maui, along with a few mainland trends we’d like to see take hold locally.

1) Teeny Desserts with Equally Small Price Tags

Mini Desserts an Easy Sell

Rather than one ponderous piece of pie suitable for table wide sharing (I am loathe to double dip once the first piece passes ‘round anyway) how about selling wee slices or dollops for a fraction of the price? If everyone at the table insists they just want “a bite” why not serve bite sized portions priced at $1.50-$3.00/each and let everyone at the table enjoy what they want? This popular concept on the mainland has surely boosted desert sales overall. Besides, minis are always fun.

2) Gourmet Bar Food

Peter Merriman is already on to this trend, based on his announcement of a Gastropub in Kihei slated to open in 2010. Chef Ryan Urig will also be opening a new wine/tapas bar in Honokawai this year – it’s sure to be delicious knowing the Chef’s work at Banyan Tree. Currently, David Paul’s Island Grill offers a meaningful bar menu, as does Ruth’s Chris and the Four Seasons, Wailea. The Ritz Lobby Bar, Aleola serves delectable pizza, salad and house specialties, but the biggest surprise this year might be the delightful al fresco dining experience at Ono, Westin, Kaanapali, which has a terrific tapas menu. Nearby Umalu at the Hyatt, Kaanapali, serves what may well be the island’s best ahi poke pupu.

Although admittedly the tab rings in higher at those establishments serving upscale small dishes than it does at the typical sports bar, for the preponderance of delicious flavors packed into the “great with wine and drinks” dishes, gourmet bar dining is a worthy alternative to a fancy sit-down dinner. It also encourages more casual interactive conversation with friends, which is what bars and great food are all really about. We believe the two should not be mutually exclusive.

Bakon (Bacon) Vodka - For Real

3. Salty Things – The Good, Bad and Ugly

Food snobbery is so passé these days and thank goodness! WCM’s been rolling our eyes for a while now whenever we encounter menus stuffed with so many exotic ingredients it takes longer to read the description than it does to eat dinner. High time we got back to basics – like bacon flavored Vodka and sardine sandwiches. No, seriously. The LA Times reports that J. Walter Thompson, the ad agency that handles Kraft, Nestle and other food giants, has cited sardines and bacon as the next big thing. Come to think of it, I bought bacon flavored chocolate bars last year at the Honokawai Health Food store, of all places! Ahead of the trend…

Meanwhile on Maui, chewing the fat has always been considered good fun and essential local social behavior. Just ask Chef Rich Hinojosa at Westin’s Tropica restaurant, who features a surprising and utterly thrilling little slab of seared salt pork as an appetizer. Sardines may make their way onto more menus as well, since they are low in mercury, high in omega-3 and very inexpensive. Until they do, I recommend kipper snacks with mustard sauce; great with eggs the morning after. Or poke, no matter.

Chef Rich Believes It!

4) Ethnic Co-Mingling

Food Networks’ website lists one top trend as American; the New Ethnic cuisine. Rough translation –  a celebratory collaboration of all the flavorful and often disparate elements that make up our great American melting pot cuisine. Hawaii has long sported this trend, ever since the Plantation Days gave way to the venerable mixed plate, bento lunches, and potluck spreads made up of all that is wonderful from cultures around the world. Witness Cane and Taro’s new menu which offers everything from pasta to poke to eggrolls. We’ll probably see more of that all American variety as restaurateurs stretch to sate every palate under one roof – or under one flag, as the case may be.

Jurg Munch - Most Sustainable Restauranteur

5) Sustainability – Where Do We Even Start?

From the shift from corn to grass fed beef,  to the broad availability of free range fowl and locally coddled eggs, Maui has been all over this trend for quite some time. Jurg Munch from Lahaina Grill, Peter Merriman of Duke’s and Merriman’s, James McDonald at I’o and Pacific`o, the Ryans (Luckey and Urig) of Pineapple Grill and Banyan Tree respectively, Bev Gannon of Joe’s Hali`imaile and the new Gannon’s in Wailea, all practice what they preach in terms of selecting ingredients sourced locally whenever possible. Which is why, although Ruth Chris’ steaks are super succulent, WCM often prefers the Ribeye from Merriman’s, sourced from Hawaiian grass fed beef. We predict the trend will only grow stronger as more and more patrons realize the ultimate benefit of dining on Maui grown products.

6) Wine! Papa’s Got a Brand New Bag

Time to shift that paradigm, wine lovers! Where screw tops and box wines formerly reeked of inferiority, and guaranteed a headache, times have changed. The industry governed for so long by oppressive rules and regulations has finally been turned on its ear by technology. Even in the case of fine vintages, corks are being gradually replaced with more effective and available screw caps. Soon enough wine will be packaged in biodegradable plastic bottles as opposed to glass. Since plastic packaging (biodegradable or not) doesn’t do well for reds, wouldn’t it be great if restaurants or the local wine shop carried huge casks of wine sold by the carafe or fill-your-own containers, as they do in Spain? That would significantly cut down on packaging and cost.

Maui Brewing Company Flavors

Even if that’s a crazy idea for wine, Maui Brewing Company already has a similar option for selling beer. You can buy jugs of brew to go in recyclable, refillable containers at both their Kahana restaurant and the Lahaina Brewery. Check it out the next time you have a party. In general, WCM heartily supports the fill-your-own containers trend and would love to see more shops offering the option on Maui. Kula Lavender gives a free cuppa tea to those who bring their own cup. We think local coffee shops should follow suit. Who doesn’t prefer drinking coffee or tea from your own mug rather than a sorry little Styrofoam cup, eh?

Blackberry Bomb - Good, and Good For Ya

7) Adding Vitamins to Your Shot

We like to drink, we love to eat, so why not marry the two with vitamin enhanced, vodka based cocktails such as Freddie Sconfienza’s Dragonberry Bomb , Winner at the First Annual Mixology Bartending Competition at Lulu’s, Lahaina, Maui. The luscious berry rich drink is just one of many making a big splash on Maui’s bar scene. At Bistro Casanova, bartender supreme, Brandi, curates cocktails made with organically grown, hand harvested mint, basil and other fine upcountry herbs. Try Mala’s delightfully fruity Sangria and you can see the makings of a trend toward lighter and healthier cocktail choices, many of which were also popular back when your dad sported a fake I.D. and David Cassidy hair.

Have Saucepan; Will Cook for Legal Advice

Love to cook? Need some help around the house or the office? Another trend noted at the Food Network which has never left Maui is that age-old concept of “help me move and I’ll buy the pizza and beer.” Also known as “will work for food,” we are getting back in touch with the power of a home cooked meal.

Working to Eat

9) Making Things Real

My partner has insisted for some time that I’m a chef but I have vehemently resisted the notion, ungraciously correcting him each time he makes the claim. “No, I’m merely a good cook,” I counter since I know too many Chefs and believe me, I am not worthy. But recently when his young daughter bragged to a friend that I can make “anything taste good,” I realized that in the end, when it comes to food, isn’t taste all that matters? It’s encouraging to know that in a pinch I can make palatable whatever is available.

Think of it; anyone can make high-fallutin’ ingredients delicious – it’s the French who earned a culinary reputation by learning to transform tripe and tongue into desirable dishes. Contrast that with the Irish, who, content to leave good enough alone, suffer bad food jokes even to this day. (But the Irish are the world’s greatest story-tellers and humorists so they don’t care!) In any case, those local chefs who will continue to make all food taste great, working the best they can with what they have, will never have to worry about the economy or changing tides.

10) Nest Eggs – aka, Grow Your Own

“We’ve got sunlight on the sand, we’ve got moonlight on the sea, we’ve got mangoes and bananas we can pick right off the tree.”
- Rogers and Hammerstein’s South Pacific.

We Never Promised You an Herb Garden

Whether a lanai herb garden or acres of fruit trees, everyone on Maui seems to be growing their own these days – vegetables and herbs, that is. Having had our noses pushed closer to the ground recently by the economy, here in the Garden of Eden with our year round sunshine and perpetual summer temperatures, there’s no excuse not to tend a garden. Whether for your personal use, to barter or trade with other farmers, or to sell outright, the time has never been more ripe for keeping things homegrown. Along with being good for your soul, it’s downright neighborly, nutritionally better for you, and environmentally superior. (Watch for WCM’s series on local growers in 2010.)

11) Continued Discounts, Coupons and Food Deals

As reported in Specialty Food News: Street food will become more popular in 2010, according to trade publication Eat In Eat Out. Supermarkets will continue to push discounts, and restaurants will expand use of their bargain menus. What’s Cooking Maui was actually born with the idea of tracking Maui food deals and although we’ve expanded our content to include reviews, events, news and calendars, we expect the biggest driver to remain our exceptional expertise in ferreting out great food deals. Stay tuned and  here’s to a Happy, Hearty 2010!