Friday, March 30, 2012

Pineapple Hill?

Do any old Maui hands remember a restaurant called Pineapple Hill up in the hills on Maui Pine land? Is the Plantation House Pineapple Hill renamed?



Pineapple Hill?


I remember it but never ate there. Plantation House is a higher end restaurant, beautifull views, great food.



Pineapple Hill?


The old Pineapple Hill restaurant opened in 1964 and was located at the historic plantation home of the late D.T. Fleming who was one of the early pioneers in establishing pineapple, mango, lychee, and other exotic plants on Maui. A mile long lane of Norfolk pines he planted lead to the restaurant.





The specialty of the house was the Shrimp Tahitian, gigantic shrimp baked in their shells with wine, herbs, and cheese. I would kill to find this recipe. Been searching for over 30 years. I enjoyed it many times when my parents and I would take our yearly trip to Maui in the early 70%26#39;s. A bittersweet memory, as now both my parents and Pineapple Hill are gone.





I believe it%26#39;s now called Flemmings. It was located on Simpson Way off Office Rd. in Kapalua. Hope this helps.




Mermaid, does this sound close? Had me curious so I googled it.





SHRIMP TAHITIAN





8 oz. butter



36 prowns (21/25 count per lb.)



2 oz. cubed white onion



8 oz. sherry



2 tsp. garlic powder



1 tsp. salt



1 tsp. pepper



1 c. diced tomatoes



2 tsp. chopped parsley



2 c. Parmesan cheese



8 oz. mushrooms





Saute prawns and white onions over medium heat in butter until half done. Add sherry, garlic, salt and pepper. Cook until almost done. Add mushrooms, tomatoes and 1 cup Parmesan cheese. Stir until cheese melts. Sprinkle remaining cheese on top of mixture and place in oven to brown.




Pineapple Hill closed in 1996 and I believe burned down since behind the gates the only thing remaining is the slab. My first time dining here was in 1969. I came back to this area 30 years later and still enjoy the great beaches and snorkeling areas. Back in 1969 we were about the only people at most of the beaches, Napili, Kapalua, Slaughter House and Honolua. I remember an old Japanese man had an Orchid house on one of the points which I believe where Napili Kai is today by Merrimans. Their is a grave on the Napili Kai property but I am not sure if it is his site.




All things come back....Pineapple Grill is now located at the Bay Golf Course were Jamisons used to be. Its really completely different but a good restaurant anyway.





Plantation House is going strong at the Plantation golf course club house.





Merriman%26#39;s opened in the old Bay Club. This is a must go restaurant. If nothing else, go for sunset on the deck. Its the best spot on Maui to take in the fiery end of the day and have a nice drink.




Pineapple Hill Restaurant was at the top of pineapple hill in the old plantation house built around 1905. Pineapple Hill Restaurant closed and the Kapalua Resort said they were tearing it down ';because it was in such bad condition';. My question was why was it in such bad condition when the restaurant had been paying rent and maintenance on the building. So it was just a planned deterioration. After Kapalua tore down the house they revealed their plans to build a brand new plush spa on the site.



Pineapple Grill Restaurant is at the bottom of pineapple hill and is very nice but not connected to the old Pineapple Hill Restaurant. Pineapple Grill has been quite a few restaurants including the Grill and Bar (we called it the Gorilla Bar).




Thanks for the update! It%26#39;s too bad they let it fall apart since it was such a great location and had all of the history. They should have made it a museum rather then tear it down. My mother in law lives in Kauai on Puakea Golf course and thay also have an old plantation residence that is also in the same situation and slowly deteriorating. It%26#39;s sad that these old haomes can%26#39;t be saved.




Agreed. Nothing replaces the historic feeling of an old gracious property. Plus the old plantation style homes were designed for this climate. They took advantage of the breezes and created shady porches. Saw them build new buildings in the same area that don%26#39;t take advantage of the breezes and have such shallow eaves the rain will blow directly into the hotel/condos. Wouldn%26#39;t want to pay their maintenance and reconstruction costs. The rows of pine trees were planted as wind breaks to try and protect the top soil. Good old simple ideas that worked for over 100 years, but now they tear them down. Rockerfella%26#39;s Kapalua Bay Hotel built in the 1970%26#39;s has been torn down at the base of the pineapple hill. I stayed in it just weeks before it closed. The brass was polished, the glass was clean and the soaring ceiling lobbies would never be built with todays construction costs.




And now we have the Ritz residences above Kapalua that blocked the view from some of the Kapalua Bay Villas and hover above the large home on the point. I am still looking through all of our old 8 mm films to find some of the old Kapalua pictures.




Thanks for the recipe. Sounds good, but it%26#39;s not the one. The shrimp at Pineapple Hill were huge, and they left the shells on. Maybe like 5-6 per pound. I have several Maui cookbooks and other recipes from it were given but not the shrimp Tahitian. Maybe an old retired chef or waitress will see this and respond some day. Thanks for trying!

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