Let me start by saying that I’m not really into hotel dining. Yes, I’ve had great meals at Morimoto (although that seems to be slipping) and yes, I enjoy a long meal with great wine and then a short slow walk back to a nice hotel room. But really, for the food itself, hotels just never really rank up there.

Lineage is right smack in the hotel zone of Wailea, just not in a hotel. It’s in the uber-fancy Shops at Wailea mall. But it’s not quite in the main mall – it’s just off to the north side abutting the Island Gourmet Markets, and upscale ABC store with the same ownership as Lineage – ABC Stores.

I think I’m making Lineage sound bad. It’s in Wailea. It’s in a mall. But not quite. And it’s owned by the parent company of ABC Stores. So even with all of that going against it, I’m going to tell you that Lineage is most definitely in my CGW (Can’t Go Wrong) club, which means that you can really truly order anything on the menu and you’ll be in at least very good shape, if not truly excellent shape.

The menu does change over time, but it was originally designed with Sheldon Simeon, a local Maui celebrity chef. And his touch is still evident in the food coming out of the kitchen.

I’d say highlights are the egg and croquette appetizers, and the fish of the day (generally offered steamed or fried – fried wins hands down, but steamed is still great), the mountain veggies over whatever crisp starched they’re serving, the fried chicken, and the noodles (usually two options – one with lobster and the other without). I will say that I kinda hate getting Maine lobster on Maui because Maine is more than 5,000 miles away and we’ve got everything you could want living in the water right here, but I get it. And it’s good.

Bottom line on the food though: get what looks good to you on the menu, and talk to your server about what they like. You will -not- be disappointed.

Further, their drink list is excellent, they usually have a fine and local beer selection, and their desserts are another surprise altogether.

Make reservations for this place pretty far ahead of time – it gets booked up weeks if not months in advance. And get a table outside. I don’t see any reason to sit inside here ever, frankly.

Lineage is heavenly.