Oahu & Maui, HI

Hawaii twice in six months? Well, who wouldn't love that! When my husband said he was going to be playing a show in Honolulu again, I decided I wasn't going to let him have all the fun and I'd definitely be flying along too. As we've spent time on Oahu before, a group of us thought we could go to Maui after the show; I've never been to Maui before and Caleb and I wanted to try a new island to see what other parts of Hawaii were like. You know what? I bloody love Hawaii!

Yard House

To be fair, I don't love Waikiki or Honolulu. I think of it as a place that if you're American & want to get "tropical" but still want to feel like you're on the mainland, it's the place to go to in Hawaii. It doesn't feel like an island to me (at all) - but it's where the music shows are, so it's where we go for Caleb. When there, we tried a few local bits, but a bunch of them didn't really have many GF options. So, instead one night to celebrate our friend's birthday, we embraced the americanness of it all and went to Yard House. We love Yard House and I wish they'd hurry up and open one in Columbus. They have a GF menu, which isn't huge, but it's got some bits on there that are great and if you want a non-local, staple that you know will be good, then it's the place to go. When I travel, I love to try local places as much as I can, but sometimes you need a quick meal that you know won't poison you. Let me also recommend the deviled eggs; they are ridiculously good and I ordered another portion straight away after trying them! I love candied bacon!!!

Coconuts Fish Cafe

After jumping islands our first stop in Maui, whilst we waited for our Airbnb to be ready, was a recommendation by my friend Rowdy (who comes to Maui often.) Full disclosure, after staying here for a few days, I think this place is more of an institution as I definitely saw lots of people wearing their t-shirts and I think it's basically just one of those places that is decent, but has more of a hype thing fueling their visitors. I didn't eat what they're famous for (the Fish Tacos) but I did get a steak salad, which basically came with everything they put on the tacos. Their menu clearly labeled everything that was GF, so that made life easy and when I told the server, he made sure the chefs in the back knew it was an allergy. This place doesn't like you to change up the dishes, so everyone gets the same thing on their tacos, whether you like it or not and this also meant I couldn't ask for no mango salsa on my salad (crazy of me, but I don't like Mango!) The salad itself was tasty, but it wasn't the best I've ever had and I would only go here if you eat fish & you like your tacos to be piled high with a ton of saucy items. 

Beach Street Shaved Ice & Wow Wow

So, we all know me & my love for açaí bowls, and if I'm in Hawaii? Of course I'm going to have one... or three. This time I checked out two different places (one visited twice) and was happily pleased. Directly opposite where we were staying was a joint that made smoothie bowls which you could get chia pudding on, and with that idea, we were sold. I ordered a Paniolo Acai Bowl but asked for no granola because as much as I love oats, my body just can't digest them (even GF ones.) I was sad to see when I got my bowl, it was a lot smaller in height than my friend Rowdy's - because of the no granola. The bowl itself was yummy, but not the best I've ever had and their chia pudding was also yummy, but definitely tasted as if it was made with greek yogurt, so if you're avoiding dairy I wouldn't order it. The second place we visited was Wow Wow who are famous for their lemonade, but should also be famous for their bowls! This was bloody great, my bowl was nice and full and they had almond butter too! I absolutely loved this bowl and I could've eaten here every day; sadly we only visited the day before we left! You should definitely pay them a visit for breakfast!

MonkeyPod

Immediately when you walk through the door, order a No Ka Oi. Do it. By far one of the best cocktails I've ever had, I might have had 5 or 6 of them with dinner - whoops! Ha! This place is in high demand and you will want to book a few days in advance; which we didn't and as a big group had a long wait. Once seated our server was fantastic and went through the entire menu telling me what I could and couldn't eat. I went for the Up Country Special which was a steak with scalloped potatoes (finally some GF scalloped potatoes!) and some veggies and I thoroughly enjoyed my food. I did feel like it was missing a sauce of some kind, but it was still fantastic. Unfortunately the only dessert they offer is pie, so nothing GF, but that was probably a good thing for my waistline! I'd just suggest ordering another cocktail instead! Make sure you definitely visit this place! (Side note, it was very dark in this place, so I didn't manage to get a great photo of my food.) 

Duo Steak & Seafood at the Four Seasons

For a treat, Caleb & I decided to go out for a fancy meal just the two of us, as we like to do this on holiday, especially if we're away with a big group of people. There weren't many expensive options around that we really wanted to try, so we decided on Duo, the steak restaurant at The Four Seasons and boy was it good (and freakin' expensive!)

Our server was great with understanding my allergy and they actually had a full "healthy" menu that was all GF & vegan; which was good to know, but I went there to eat steak, so I didn't pick a lot off this menu - HA! I didn't get a starter, but had a cocktail instead and then I had the filet with a side of truffle hollandaise (special request). We also got the sides of whipped potato and asparagus to share. The steak was glorious and everything was so beautifully cooked. I couldn't recommend this place enough. For dessert we chose off the "healthy" menu (because none of their normal menu desserts were labeled GF) and ordered an avocado chocolate mousse and a lime and strawberry tart. They weren't very big when they arrived, but that was a good thing! The mousse didn't taste the best, I think I've made better avocado choccy mousse at home, but the lime and strawberry tart was SO good. Absolutely perfect. This restaurant was so incredibly great, but it was more expensive than the steak restaurant we go to in Columbus and that is saying something! So, if you want to splurge a lot ($22 for one cocktail!), then definitely go here, but if you want a nice steak and don't want to pay a ton, it might be better to find somewhere else or go to MonkeyPod!

Flatbread & Artisan Ice Cream by Cafe Des Amis

A few of us went here for dinner one night, when a bunch of others were golfing (yawn!) We chose Flatbread because I was told they were great, and then we found out they did GF! We started with a salad, that we added avocado to, because it was pretty basic and then I chose to have their special of the day - roasted potatoes, bacon, cheddar, spring onions and sour cream. I opted to have the sour cream on the side rather than drizzled over it, as it seemed like it might be a bit too much dairy and I added red onions. I didn't realize it wouldn't be a tomato base, so I also asked for some marinara on the side when it came out (their marinara was really delicious.) The server told me to keep the GF pizzas from being contaminated in the brick oven, they put them on foil so the base doesn't touch where the normal pizzas cook. My pizza was great, if a little heavy, but I ate a few slices happily. Later that night my stomach was extremely upset, but I have no idea if it was down to the pizza or the ice cream we ate afterwards. It could have been a combination or just too much dairy, but I did enjoy this place and I would recommend it - just make sure they know it's an allergy so they're using their GF cooking technique! The ice cream we got afterwards was a short walk from the restaurant and they had clearly labelled their flavours with GF or not, and even had vegan options! I chose the Chocolate Fudge, but I didn't love the fudge pieces. The ice-cream itself was fab and if you're looking for something sweet, it's worth the stroll.

Maui Brick Oven 

Lastly, I couldn't do a post without mentioning an amazing find, thanks to a friends' suggestion - Maui Brick Oven! This place is entirely GF and holy smokes, if you're looking for GF beige food, this is THE place to go! I got food from here twice and both times really enjoyed what I was eating. People don't talk enough about when you're GF and rarely getting to eat fast food, especially breaded items and beige pieces of joy. Their chicken strips were ridiculously good and I mean ridiculously. Their fries tasted like McDonalds ones (praise hands) and I even ate mozzarella sticks! On my second visit we also tried a Polynesian Passion pizza (no ham) which was delicious and had a great texture. You could even ask for it in a large size, which NEVER happens for GF pizza! We also got their Chocolate Molten Lava Cake (which they warned us wouldn't be as pretty for take away) and boy was it heaven. I ate it so quickly, I barely had time to get a photo of it. The only disappointing item from here was their mac & cheese, which I don't usually love anyway, but unfortunately a lot of the cheese sauce had run out the box when we were driving home, and when we did taste it, I felt it could have used some more seasoning. If you're looking for a night off from healthy eating and want to try things you never get to usually eat, this is the place to go and although expensive (what GF place isn't) it's definitely worth your time and tastebuds. So go forth my friends and enjoy Maui!