| 
Last week in this
column, I wrote about the award-winning Mexican food and ambience
at Salt Lake’s beloved Red Iguana. This week, I thought
I’d turn my attention to a Mexican eatery whose origins
are also south of the border. In this case though, I mean way
south. For about as long as I’ve known of the Red Iguana,
I’ve also been hearing reports about Maui Tacos. Beginning
in the mid-90s, I’d get intermittent accounts from visitors
to Hawaii and friends with property in Maui about a unique place
there serving Mexican food with a Hawaiian flare. Almost all of
them came to pretty much the same conclusion: “When you’re
in Maui, you’ve got to try Maui Tacos! It’s cheap
and a nice change from the usual stuff.” One particular
Maui Tacos customer/fan sent an e-mail saying, “It’s
not a trip to Maui without a trip to Maui Tacos!” I suppose
my reaction was to file the information away but also wonder why
anyone would want to eat tacos in Maui?
As the name implies, Maui Tacos is a Hawaiian
Island creation. The brief history of Maui Tacos begins in 1988
when Mark Ellman, a California chef, moved to Hawaii and opened
Avalon restaurant in Lahaina, Maui. Chef Ellman’s Avalon
featured Pacific Rim cuisine and, from all reports, was a critical
and financial success. But, as with most of us who’ve lived
and eaten in the West and Southwest of the United States—in
his case, California, Mark Ellman found himself craving the killer
Mexican food he’d taken for granted in the Golden State.
“I lived in Los Angeles where authentic Mexican food was
always just around the corner,” says Ellman. I can certainly
relate, as I had to wean myself from burritos and tacos upon moving
from Colorado to New York City in the 1980s.
Where Chef Ellman differs from me, however,
is that he tackled his Mexican-food jones head-on by taking matters
into his own hands and opening the first Maui taco shop, in Napili
on Maui. In a sense, Ellman created a new fusion cuisine, although
not the one we might normally think of. “I set out to create
a restaurant fusing traditional Mexican fare with the exotic flavors
from the islands. The result was Maui Tacos.”
The success of Maui Tacos in Napili was quickly
followed by new locations on Maui, the Big Island and Oahu, after
which Ellman decided to take his Hawaiian-style taco enterprise
north to the mainland. Today, there are about 20 Maui Tacos stores
(led by President/CEO Bill Hoppe) operating in Hawaii, but also
ranging from Alabama to Idaho and from New Jersey to Minnesota,
with about twice that many new restaurants planned to open in
the next few years. The newest Maui Tacos location is in Sugar
House on 2100 South.
The interior of Maui Tacos is predictable—think
Café Rio, but with slightly more of a surf theme. It’s
light on kitsch, though, which is a good thing. And although the
young, good-spirited kids working behind the counter probably
get sick of listening to it, I get a real kick from the Hawaiian
music that plays continuously at Maui Tacos. Again, not kitschy,
but where else are you going to hear the Pahinui Brothers in Zion?
It’s a colorful fast-food-style franchise
restaurant with a few tables and seats along a counter—nothing
special about that. But what is special is the quality of the
fast food at Maui Tacos. Everything I’ve eaten there has
tasted very fresh, but especially the signature fish tacos and
burritos. The Hookipa burrito ($5.99) in particular, stuffed with
chunks of grilled fresh island fish, rice, black beans and a dab
of sour cream is terrific. I’d recommend springing for an
extra 79 cents, though, to have your burrito smothered in Maui
Tacos’ unique enchilada-style sauce. Or, just douse it with
any of the half-dozen or so free fresh salsas from Maui Tacos
salsa bar. My favorites are the tangy Hula Heat red chile salsa
made from arbol chiles, the smoky Maui Firedancer chipotle chile
salsa, and the zippy and acidic tomatillo-based green salsa called
Maui Mex. On the other hand, I found the Pineapple Passion to
be a bit watery and the Hola Aloha salsa to be only a slight step
up from ketchup.
There are a handful of vegetarian burritos
and tacos offered at Maui Tacos, most featuring black beans, potatoes,
rice, cheese, tomato and lettuce in one or another combination.
But abiding vegetarians at Maui Tacos will unfortunately miss
out on the best flavor of all, which is anything (burritos, enchiladas,
quesadillas and soft or hard tacos) made with Chef Ellman’s
signature slow-cooked Hawaiian barbecued pork. The shredded pork
is moist and tender, with a wonderful blend of sweetness, spice
and smoke flavors. It’s especially good atop the huge taco
salad ($5.49) at Maui Tacos, a salad that will probably get you
through both lunch and dinner. You’ll need to be content
with water and soft drinks at Maui Tacos though; no Mai Tai cocktails
or Mexican beers are served at this surf shop.
But then, there’s no Don Ho to endure
either.
MAUI TACOS 790 E. 2100 South, 486-2313. Open
daily for lunch and dinner
|
