Courage!

“We are just completing a twelve day trip to Maui, and bought this book while here. We have been coming to Maui for years, and love good food. We therefore have some experience regarding the good restaurants. However, because we bought this book, we happily dined at several restaurants that we would not have otherwise frequented. Examples: The Jacobsons highly recommended a new restaurant (David Paul’s Island Grill) which turned out to be a great find. They also highly recommended Gerard’s, a long-established restaurant in Lahaina that we had not visited for many years. It turned out to be one of our best dining experiences on Maui in many years. Jim and Molly also had the courage to criticize many facets of Merriman’s Kapalua, something that I am sure was difficult to do in light of Peter Merriman’s exulted status as a chef in Hawaii. Unfortunately, their criticisms (which we were not aware of when we ate at Merriman’s as we had not yet purchased the book) were quite accurate and carefully worded. Besides being accurate, the Jacobsons write in a way that is entertaining and plain fun. They are obviously devoted foodies, and their descriptions of some of the dishes that they like best are such that you can almost taste them. As anyone who has been to Maui knows, food is quite expensive over here. You can spend a great deal of money at a mediocre restaurant just as easily as at a great one. This makes the purchase price of this book (about the price of an appetizer at a good Maui restaurant) a bargain. If you like good food, and are coming over here, buy this book!”