The new Stella Blues restaurant has as much to do with the old one as a 60’s VW bus (which I used to drive) and a Lexus E430. Sure some Grateful Dead and other irrelevant posters still hang on now peach walls, but otherwise this restaurant no longer is "on the Western edge of the Grateful Dead Universe." Congratulations to owner Kate Boverman not only for lasting more than 10 years as a stellar Kihei restaurant but changing with the times and gracefully entering the 21^st Century. Stella Blues is much bigger and much better in menu and atmosphere and every respect that counts. No, I really don’t miss the old place at all.

Come for dinner and, beside the big bar, candle-lit bamboo tables let you know most clearly that you can expect appetizers and entrées that have very little resemblance to the Old Stella Blues except that the vegetarian and other meals are as good as you’ll find in Kihei or anywhere in Maui for the price, their beef is still chemical free, fish and vegetables as fresh as ever. From tofu to meatloaf and pork chops, the menu has been upgraded and upscaled, although regular customers can still find breakfast favorites like Tofu Scramble and Macadamia Nut Pancakes and for lunch Stella’s Alfredo, vegetarian lasagna, barbeque baby-back ribs and Alaskan crab cakes.

Best of all, Kate must have heard my dream wish that Stella Blues take its desserts to the Western edge of Onodeliciousness. When you see the dessert tray you’ll know that hippies missed some of the best things in life. 1279 S. Kihei Rd., 874-3770, breakfast 7:30-11am (Sundays 2pm), lunch 11-4pm, dinner 5-10pm.