My culinary expectations for my family members holiday to Maui have been small. Not simply because there isn’t great foods on the island—looking at you, Tin Roof and Sam Sato’s—but simply because we have been 8 grown ups, two young children, and a single rented Chevy Impala keeping near the resorts of Kā‘anapali. I steeled myself for a 7 days of 5 p.m. *White Lotus–*design resort dinners. But a scorching idea led us to book a reservation at Waicoco, the recently opened restaurant at the Westin Kā‘anapali. The chef, Chris Kajioka (who co-owns the restaurant with Mourad Lahlou of San Francisco’s Aziza and Mourad), did excursions at Eating places You Have Listened to Of on the mainland right before returning dwelling to Hawaii to open up his very own James Beard–recognized places. That type of chef-y tasting menu approach can be challenging to translate to a hotel restaurant the dimension of a football discipline, but Kajioka and his crew killed it. We ate “ohana design,” sharing spouse and children-fashion platters of warm Hawaiian rolls flecked with crystals of salt, rosy pink seared ahi, and umami-prosperous black garlic Sun Noodles. The total spouse and children was joyful, from the 4-12 months-aged (who bogarted the rolls) to the 74-year-outdated (who beloved the mai tais). Vacation resort eating throughout the significant season is normally not some thing to generate property about, which is just why Waicoco was between my most memorable meals of the calendar year. —MacKenzie Chung Fegan, senior commerce editor
Kasama
1001 N Winchester Ave, Chicago
As a person who cannot make it quite far into the working day with no caffeine, I find myself fairly allergic to breakfast experiences that include extensive traces. But the hold out (down the block) for breakfast at Kasama in Chicago was worthy of each individual moment, and I’d do it once more for a flavor of that garlicky sinangag with tocino. The Filipino-inflected menu is entire of remarkable breakfast sandwiches (I lucked into a handful of bites of the longanisa, egg, and cheese) and thoughtful pastries, like a miniature ube and huckleberry-filled consider on a gâteau Basque. Upcoming time I go I’ll nab a desk within the cozy, inviting restaurant for some espresso and savory treats and then get as a lot of pastries as I can carry to go. —Anna Hezel, Epicurious senior editor
Myers + Chang
I went to Boston with my spouse and children for my brother’s college tour weekend, and I was decided to squeeze in a number of good meals although there. We ended up at Myers + Chang, and it’s a scarce location that all four of us have been equally energized to consume at. Going for walks into chef-proprietor Joanne Chang’s restaurant and getting warmly greeted felt like staying welcomed into a friend’s property for a dinner bash. Ravenous immediately after traveling, we requested almost the full menu: lemony shrimp dumplings, crackly scallion pancakes, wok-roasted lemongrass mussels, crispy tofu with pickled jalapeño, chewy udon noodles in a black bean oyster sauce (that experienced us savoring the dregs of sauce at the bottom of the bowl with a spoon). Each dish was a highlight, and there wasn’t a single skip in our purchase. Warm, bustling, and with provider that gives you just the proper sum of time to linger among small plates, it’s the kind of put that encourages unfettered laughter and effortless dialogue. I just cannot hold out to go to once more. —Antara Sinha, associate cooking editor