(or, most of it!)

the freshest poke bowls i will probably ever have, from the back of a liquor store, gobbled up on the beach under the dreamy influence of westbound jetlag. it was our very first stop and it was the perfect stop.

spam musubi. tons of it, and not nearly enough.

a spring break-style fishbowl cocktail with four straws at a restaurant called --wait for it-- humuhumunukunukuapua'a. (now say it out loud! you can do it.)

a man made out of fondant who starred in the fanciest turn down service on earth. lily and i named him don. i miss don.

millions of garlic and onion macadamia nuts. i kept them in the glove compartment, right next to my map, just in case anyone got hangry.

a very coconutty squash soup that is making me wish i had a squash right this very moment. we all wore flower crowns while we ate it and it was part of a beautiful supper club called feast, which was so whimsical and great.

saigon fries: peanuts, cilantro, hoisin, aioli, and sriracha on crinkly fries, slayyyyyyyy meeeeeee.

perfectly crispy pork belly from the magic mind of jimmy bannos, jr., who was on the island at the same time we were. it was so fun running into a part of chicago so far from home!

a mountain of croissants after an early morning spent watching the sun rise from above the clouds, on the mars-like dormant volcano, haleakala. we groggily ate our croissants in lily's childhood yard, which felt right out of willy wonka, if willy wonka was a tropical fruit factory.

wedding cake flavored shave ice on a bed of mochi and macadamia ice cream, under a blanket of condensed milk. it was the best afternoon pick-me-up. i wonder what it would take to get someone from maui to come and open up a shave ice place in grand forks. we have so much snow, i can make the mochi, and whatever wedding cake flavored syrup is, i'm sure we can make it happen, right?

the new object of my obsession: japanese breakfast. my rice cooker has gotten a workout in the days since i've been back! sushi rice, miso, pickles, furikake. and i've been adding an egg and an avocado. so tasty.

taro leaf pesto, goat cheese tempura, gnocchi mac and cheese, and many other delights at cane and canoe.

a deliciously doughy rhubarb empanada from the cutest little place in the cutest little town.

shakshuka! it wasn't on many menus on maui, but obviously when i spotted it i went for it. and it was filled with chickpeas! i'm into this. gonna add chickpeas to my next shakshuka.

one of the thousands of taro breeds in existence (did you know so many existed?!) at this beautiful taro farm.

a new-to-me fruit, the longan! chewy, lychee-like, totally cute.

a big juicy pineapple freshly yanked from the ground, chopped with a machete, and enjoyed near the presence of a one-legged rooster. and then washed down with macadamia nut rum.

...and when we weren't eating, we were singing and laughing and telling secrets in hot tubs. and listening to the bird calls from the hammock grove and attempting to dance hula. we strolled through lavender fields and swam in the ocean and even made new whale friends and goat friends! believe what everyone says, maui is a dream. i loved it so much and i can't wait to be back.

-yeh!

thank you, maui visitors and convection bureau, for a magnificent week in maui. and further thank yous to: incase, paia inn, feast hawaii, trilogy, and of course to the wonderful bbs of #slamsquad2016! check out alana's, steph's, and lily's recaps!