Note: The BarFlys are vacationing in Hawaii. SF posts will return soon; in the meantime, hope you enjoy these travel-related posts.

With a three-hour time difference, noshing at the Merriman’s bar at a late dinner time was really more of a midnight snack for us. Perhaps due to the tourist nature of the isle, diners tend to eat early and kitchens close by 9 or 10 pm; so, we did our job to help close out the bar this evening.

We started off with a round of cocktails: a Negroni over ice and a Nakano Farm Cucumber & Gin (Hendricks gin, cucumber, apple schnapps, lemon). The bartender coated the bottom of the latter drink with tabasco which added some surprisingly good heat:

The Kalua Pig and Sweet Onion Quesadilla was served with house-fermented kimchee and a mango chile sauce for dipping. The almost 2:1 pork to cheese ratio received no arguments from us:

“Fish and Chips” turned out to be crispy panko-crusted Mahi Mahi and chips made from local eggplant (in place of potatoes). The tartar sauce contained some sweet corn which was a great addition:

The Beef and Applewood Bacon Sliders were served with oozing blue cheese sauce on soft house-made brioche:

We ended the evening with another one of those addictively spicy cucumber and gin drinks and the house-specialty Mai Tai topped with lilikoi fruit foam:

This was a great way to start our tropical vacation. The Kapalua location (site of former Bay Club) allowed for pleasant evening breezes to circulate through the open floor-to-ceiling patio doors, reminding us that we were indeed far from home.

http://www.merrimanshawaii.com/maui.htm