Werewolf Wine Tasting – Merriman’s, Kapalua, Nov. 2nd

In honor of the full moon each month Merriman’s celebrates our lust for wine. On the oceanfront point at Merriman’s Kapalua, with the moon shining down, we are invited to indulge our most primitive instinct… drinking fabulous wine.

Each year one of the biggest and best fine wine distributers in Hawaii, Grand Crew Wine Merchants of Better Brands, conducts its Holiday Showcase Wine Tasting. At this event, sommeliers and wine professionals across the Islands have the opportunity to taste the crème de la crème of the portfolio. Wines from every corner of the globe are showcased, representing dozens of grape varieties and styles. Rather than go through the arduous (yet somewhat rewarding) process of tasting through hundreds of wines, Werewolf Wine Club wants to provide a similar experience with less effort. On Monday, November 2, 2009, Anthony Moore of Grand Crew Wine Merchants rejoins the tasting group to give the best cross section of this fantastic tasting. Putting his head together with Merriman’s sommelier Cass, Anthony has selected the best of the bunch to feature at their monthly meeting.

Think of it as the ultimate cheat sheet to the ultimate tasting. Pound for pound, the best wines of this year’s portfolio.

Reservations: Required. Attendance is limited. Credit card required for reservation.

Cost: $40 per person all inclusive.

Trick AND Treats at Warren and Annabelle’s Dinner Show

At Warren and Annabelle’s, Lahaina, Maui, the stage is set for trickery the moment you arrive. After checking in, you and friends will be escorted into a “waiting room.” There you find yourself befuddled by a riddle that must be solved before you go any further – which only makes your entry into the haute saloon parlor, chamber of resident ghost Annabelle, all the more appealing!

While Annabelle plays your favorite tunes and song requests, guests are invited to relax with pupus and drinks from Warren and Annabelle’s carefully selected menu. Show-goers can order ala carte from the menu or dine as part of a dinner show package known as the Royal Flush.

In addition to show admission, the Royal Flush package includes a combination platter of Gourmet Appetizers served to each guest including: Spicy Crab Cake with sweet chili plum sauce, Coconut Battered Shrimps with a ponzu dipping sauce, Polynesian Chicken Satay with tropical plum sauce, and a Savory Kalua Pork Wrap with Maui pineapple salsa. Guests also receive dessert, either Crème Brulee, White Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake, Key Lime Pie, Hot Apple Pie A La Mode, Classic New York-Style Cheesecake or Chocolate Pots de Crème (see the recipe below!) Additionally, the Royal Flush includes two premium cocktails, specialty drinks, blended drinks, imported and domestic beers, house wines, well drinks, and/or Soft Drinks (gratuity included). It’s a great deal at $94.50, cnosidering show admission is $56.00 per person.

The great food and drinks served at Warren and Annabelle’s are appropriate preparation for the belly laughs you’ll enjoy once summoned into the cozy theater where Warren performs sleight of hand with flawless precision, immense wit, and perfect comedic timing. At each performance four couples are chosen to sit in the coveted “hot seats,” assuring each show proffers a different dynamic and off the cuff humor.

The magic tricks are astounding; but it is Warren’s showmanship and personality that keeps the house packed week after week, year after year. If you’ve never experienced this show, one of Maui’s true entertainment jewels, you owe it to yourself to attend. If you’ve seen Warren time and again, you already realize that great comedy never gets old, and watching Warren in action is always a new delight.

This Week’s Hand Selected Deals 10/12-10/19

Sands of Kahana

If you are a regular reader you know one of WCM’s favorite easy going hang loose restaurants with good food, prices and service is Sands of Kahana. They have always featured terrific Happy Hour incentives for both locals and visitors and now they boast a $3.99 Breakfast Special that makes us forget there ever was a Denny’s in West Maui. The $3.99 special bests the Grand Slam with your choice of two eggs, hash or roasted potatoes, bacon or sausage. The only catch is you have to order between 7:30-8:30, very respectable breakfast hours if you ask us. Add a $2.50 Bloody Mary and spend the rest of the morning on the beach adjacent to the restaurant.

David Paul’s is bustin’ a move with their new $35 three course dinner offer. WCM has set a challenge – to assess once and for all (this month anyway) where Maui residents can eat the best for the least. This was our first stop.

I`o’s Restaurant, Lahaina, has extended their Kama`aina special through October – ½ off entrees, all night, every night. I`o’s definitely ranks high in our search for the best for the least.

Diamond’s Ice Bar and Grill in Kihei, formerly known as Tip-Ups, has revamped their interior and menu to create a more upscale environment for sports, parties, and dining. They are currently running some enticing specials including:
Buy One; Get One Free Entrée between 5-9 p.m. daily.
Buy One: Get One Appetizer Free between 3 p.m.- 7 p.m. daily.
Diamond’s opens at 7 a.m. during Football Season with a $10 Omelets and Mimosa bar until 1:30. They promise it’s kid friendly inside and to prove it are offering 50% discounts on keiki orders.

Sea House Restaurant, one of WCM’s faves, offers 25% kama`aina discounts breakfast, lunch and dinner thru December 19, 2009. Sundays and Mondays take 50% off the second entrée per party of two. Located at the Napili Kai on beautiful Napili Bay, the Zagat rated Sea House is open 7 a.m. – 9 p.m. daily with Happy Hour and $5 pupus from 2-5:30 daily. Mention this article to receive discounts.

Lahaina Coolers continues their Sunday down home dinner specials for $15. Plus, through October it’s Buy One Get One ½ Off for entrees. Open from 8 a.m. – midnight daily, Lahaina Coolers is located at 180 Dickenson Street, Lahaina, Maui.

Mulligan’s on the Blue, where most great Maui musicians eventually take stage, is offering Hawaiian Happy Hour through October. From 4-6 p.m. it’s half price pupus and Hawaiian Beer – and isn’t that the best kind? Don’t forget Industry Night is Wednesday and for all those of you working in the only other real industry on Maui besides real estate, you’ll net 50% drinks and pupus with your hotel or restaurant employee I.D.

Rusty Harpoon, Kaanapali, Maui

Chef Suzzette Metcalfe was scurrying even more than usual last Saturday. A customer had just popped for the live football feed of Sunday’s game as a birthday gift to her husband and Chef wanted to share the news via email with Rusty Harpoon’s faithful football clientele. It was also a good opportunity to share the news of enticing game day specials like discount drinks and pupus.

It was a stunning Kaanapali afternoon with summer breezes wafting through the sizable open-aired dining room overlooking the lush greens of the Kaanapali Golf Course. The sights and scents from our table were as refreshing as the brewskis a gang of golfers enjoyed at Kaanapali’s nineteenth hole, aka Rusty Harpoon.

The restaurant is open early morning to late night and morphs character depending on the time of day. Late nights are jamming with revelers happy to have found something open in this neck of the woods past “Maui midnight;” mornings you’ll run into clean cut golfers or hearty tradesman stopping in for breakfast; early afternoons attract just about everyone; happy hour packs in service industry workers; sports fans rock the house on weekends. Rusty Harpoon’s menu manages to appeal to all modes of its changing personality.

Breakfast, served from 8-11 a.m., boasts a famous Waffle Bar that affords diners the chance to pile on the toppings, whipped cream and nuts to their liking. If that’s too much for your sweet tooth in the morning try a breakfast burrito or Junior’s Famous Fried Rice.
rusty harpoon shrimp

Rusty Harpoon Coconut Shrimp

Lunch, served from 11-5, offers a mix of the familiar and unexpected. Club, Tuna, Burger, Rueben Sandwiches being the former, Louisiana Style “Bouya” (ham, shrimp, chicken, clams, and smoked sausage simmered in spicy New Orleans style red sauce Topped with rice pilaf) being an example of the latter. The Seared Ahi Rollup (fresh Hawaiian Ahi, tomatoes, cucumbers, lettuce and spicy mayo in soft tortilla) and Avo Rolls (recipe in this edition!) bridge the common and surprising with novel use of local flavors.
rusty harpoon brulee

Pineapple Creme Brulee

The dinner menu is extensive and, like lunch, covers the bases by offering tempting selections appealing to the broad variety of people who come here to enjoy themselves. There’s a delicate Ahi Parfait (ahi Tartar layered with guacamole and sour cream garnished with mixed greens and wasabi vinaigrette) and in contrast, the rough and tumble Rusty Harpoon’s Ribs and Wings. Refined palates love the awesome Oyster Suzzette (baked with Parmesan cheese, spinach, crispy bacon with a hint of anise) and everyone seems to have fun with Make Your Own Lettuce Wraps. From Parmesan Meatballs and Linguini to Hawaiian Brochettes to Slow Roasted Prime Rib, dining at the Rusty Harpoon is a little like going to your favorite relative’s for dinner – the one who has keyed in what every member of the family loves best.

It’s not surprising; Chef Metcalfe hails from the Midwest and exudes down to earth charm legion from that region, something she learned from her father who was at the helm of the old Rusty Harpoon. He has since passed on but his daughter is firmly committed to carrying on the tradition of relaxed hospitality. Everyone is welcome and there’s something everyone will enjoy at this table.