Hawai'i Dining

Date of Visit: 5-30-10 @10:30am
The Skinny:Colleen’s is a local eatery in Haiku town that always seems to please. They keep the menu simple and use fresh local ingredients. Today we went for Sunday breakfast. Unlike other places on Sunday it is not overwhelmed by the church crowd, just a lot of locals like wind surfers and the Sunday morning yoga crowd. I had the Smoked Salmon Omelet with wheat toast and roasted potatoes. The omelet is filled with a generous portion of smoked sliced salmon, sweated onions and diced tomatoes. Swiss cheese is added before it is flipped. On top they put just the right amount of hollandaise sauce and a sprinkling of capers. This was a most decadent and satisfying omelet. The potatoes (wax not russets) are quartered and roasted so the outside is crispy and the inside soft and moist. All is needed is a little sprinkling of salt (which they let you do since they are not seasoned). The wheat toast was well buttered and served with jelly. With a big cup of Kona coffee it was a most satisfying breakfast.
The Best Thing: Great food in a relaxed atmosphere.
The Worst Thing: I don’t know yet.
My Recommendation: Make a point to go there!

Date of Visit: 5-8-10 @9:30am
The Skinny: Look, I know Charley’s is frequented by a music icon, Willie Nelson. I know they had a very bad fire two Christmases ago and they had to rebuild the place. I also know the bar is very popular but I want to talk about their award winning “Best Breakfast on Maui.” This is the 4th time I have had breakfast there in the last 5 years and I’m always un-impressed. I guess that is why I go so infrequently. Well, today I thought I would give them another chance. I ordered their signature Eggs Benedict with Canadian bacon, sliced tomato, toast, orange juice, a side of potatoes, and a cup of coffee. After a 40 minute wait it was served. The “homemade” hollandaise sauce was tepid. Maybe because the order was sitting on the counter for 20 minutes or the batch they made earlier in the morning was almost gone. I don’t know but the service has always been very slow there. I found the potatoes barely warm and the toast not buttered (nor offered at the table). At least they have Smuckers jellies. When you look around the dinning room you realize that it is mostly tourists eating there, not locals. To me that says it all. Sorry Charley!
The Best Thing: You can have a drink in the bar at 9am (not like I did that)
The Worst Thing: A sub-par breakfast that is incredibly slow to come.
My Recommendation: Forget the hype and skip it.