Every island has one: the plain-looking lunch counter that out-cooks the fancy places. On Maui it is Tin Roof, chef Sheldon Simeon’s takeout window in a Kahului industrial park, five minutes from the airport and fifteen from the bungalows. The line is long, the menu is short, a bowl costs less than a resort cocktail, and the mochiko chicken is the single dish our guests quote back to us most often.
What makes Tin Roof Maui worth the detour
Tin Roof is run by Sheldon Simeon and his wife Janice. Simeon is a two-time Top Chef finalist and twice the show’s fan favorite, and he could be cooking anywhere; he chose a takeout counter in Kahului that he describes as a new-generation mom and pop shop. The food is the local comfort cooking he grew up with, made with fish, produce and beef from Maui farmers, fishermen and ranchers.
The menu is a short list of rice bowls and daily specials. Mochiko chicken is the star: chicken thighs in a sweet rice-flour batter, fried crisp, sauced, and finished with a little bag of mochi crunch you shake over the top. The poke bowl and the pork belly bowl round out the regulars, and the specials board moves with whatever came in that week.
Simeon’s first big Maui kitchen was Star Noodle in Lahaina, which he ran when it opened in 2010, so this counter comes with real pedigree. If you are working through the island’s food greats, our restaurant guide lines up the rest of the list.