Alex P.
Yelp
Tourist oriented places are rarely worth mentioning. In fact, they typically represent a segment of dining plagued by mediocrity, exhausted waiters and inflated prices. Yes, of course I am referring to that restaurant by the Eiffel Tower. And certainly calling out that place at the zoo that slaps together an attempt at a hot dog. And without doubt, the Senior Frog's next to the cruise port in a Caribbean Island where dreams get drowned with cheap tequila.
But, all rules have exceptions and the pleasure of being proven wrong is difficult to put into words. On Road to Hana, Maui's main tourist attraction, there is this little gem that serves what can be labeled, without much hesitation, as one of the best ice creams ever made. Both the Ube and the Coconut flavors are truly remarkable. There is a complexity and length to both of them, where every tiny spoon lasts as long as a sip of a top notch Pomerol. In other words, phenomenal.
It's served from a hippie truck, colorful yet sadly no longer running. There is plentiful space to enjoy the ice cream if there is a consideration of preventing the rental car from becoming a moving ice cream bowl. Glen Bruce Simkins, a former executive chef who left Boston for a more relaxed life in Maui started Coconut Glen's and the passion poured into this project is clear in every bite. He incorporated medicinal local plants into the ice cream, perhaps partially explaining its incredibly complex flavor.
This is a wonderful small business with a treat that will get embedded into the memory of every passer by. It bluntly breaks all preconceptions of enjoying a meal next to tourist attractions, crafting pure joy for the visitors to Maui.
