Leoda’s is one of my favorite spots in the Hawaiian islands, so when the opportunity arose to pay them another visit I jumped on it. The drive from Kahului Airport to the west side of Maui takes you right past this local culinary gold mine, just about at the point in time you are tired of waiting in traffic.

Why hello there. It’s nice to see you again.

” The flaky messiness of the pies were part of the charm “

From the outside, Leoda’s didn’t look any different from the last time I visited. Same dirt parking lot, same glass case full of goodness, same awesome people working behind the counter. The spousal unit and I were already too full from the day’s previous eat-tastic adventures, so we just ordered a couple of apple handheld pies and a loaf of bread to bring back to the condo.

Leoda’s scratch-made bread made some great toast throughout the week.

Much later that evening, we managed to have enough room in our stomachs for a bit of dessert – out came the handheld pies. We were a little disappointed that Leoda’s changed their formula; the pies are now glazed and not dusted with baker’s sugar like they used to be. The glazing is undoubtedly easier to handle and tidier to consume than the sugar, but the flaky messiness of the pies were part of the charm.

I have to admit, the new glaze does a good job of keeping the pie in one piece.

The flavor of the filling and the crust was every bit as delicious as we remembered… but that last little bit of “wow” just seemed to be missing. Maybe we were remembering our previous experience more fondly than it actually occurred, but it seems Leoda’s has taken a teeny, tiny step backwards.

It’s really all about the filling, and that’s just as awesome as ever.

The good news is that they were so amazingly good to begin with, this minor setback really doesn’t make much difference. Leoda’s rating of 999 out of 1,000 tiny, angel-trained unicorns has been reduced somewhat – now they rank only around 950 unicorns. I still love Leoda’s, but I hope the sugared topping comes back one day.

Leoda’s Kitchen and Pie Shop
820 Olowalu Village Road
Lahaina, HI 96761
(808) 662-3600
www.leodas.com

I’m trying one of these next time. Promise.