Kahului Ale House
355 E. Kamehameha Ave., Kahului
877-9001
A reader tip on the Maui Time voicemail said there was stuff going down at the Kahului Ale House that I needed to check out. It sounded sincere so I headed to the popular Central Maui sports bar to see what was up.
The Ale House is a family owned and operated business and I was greeted inside by Jerome Metcalfe, the third Metcalfe brother I’ve have had the pleasure to meet.
Having recently relocated to Maui to join other brothers Scott and Chad, Jerome is known as “Tiger.” Taking me on a tour of the kitchen and showing me recent renovations including refurbished tables and a new roof, Tiger assured me the Metcalfe family is working hard to make this the place to be for the Maui ohana.
Getting down to business for me included ordering a big lunch, and my server, Shyann, was on the ball. I’m a sucker for chips and dip so we started with the baked artichoke dip served with corn chips, an excellent pupu. We moved on to the fried calamari served with sweet chili dipping sauce—crispy and tender blended just right and a surprisingly big hit with my one-year-old nephew.
We shared an ahi wrap with a Caesar salad (other side options include fries and coleslaw). The ahi is expertly Cajun-seared, just slightly raw but full of fresh flavor. Lots of crisp lettuce and tomato and a spicy aioli sauce finished out the texture and flavor. More than enough for two, the portions were generous and we came home with leftovers.
Good food is one thing, but something you don’t typically expect at a sports bar is a commitment to recycling, energy efficiency and bringing in organic and locally made products. Scott Metcalfe says it’s all part of long-range planning during these lean economic times—a focus on malama ‘aina, or nurturing and caring for the land and Maui.
The Ale House features local produce on the menu, and they serve gluten-free products like Redbridge beer and gluten-free pizza. They carry three kinds of taro burger from Maui Taro Burger. You can also order organic wine and they carry Deschutes Brewery Green Lakes organic beer and have Maui Brewing Co. brews on tap.
As if you needed another excuse to hit the bar. Maui Time Weekly, Jen Russo
Comments
comments