GREAT EATS HAWAII: HUKILAU RESTAURANT

HUKILAU RESTAURANT

HONOLULU, HI

Had a meeting in downtown Honolulu so we decided to try the Hukilau Restaurant/Sports Bar on Bishop Street for lunch. This is a nice space filled with sports memorabilia and quite a few flat screen t.v.'s. The menu features burgers, sandwiches, fish, steak and entree's. I went with the Teriyaki Steak Sandwich ($13). This thing was a disaster. While the meat was good, serving this as a sandwich doesn't work. The Terriyaki Steak is cut into small pieces and placed on a bun with lettuce, tomato, onion and a blue cheese dressing. What happens is the meat chunks fall out onto the plate. The ones that you get a hold of in your mouth cannot be chewed so you end up taking it out of your mouth and cutting it up with a fork. As you disassemble the sandwich the bun which is covered in teriyaki sauce becomes soggy and you cannot lift it into your mouth. Again you have to put everything on the plate and eat it with a fork. The flavor was good despite the hassle and slight embarrassment of the way I had to eat the thing. This sandwich comes with a very large Caesar Salad or French Fries. I tried the Caesar and liked it despite a bit of a mayo taste to the dressing. My friend enjoyed the Miso Pork ($12). This was a huge clump of pork served with rice and vegetables. I tried the pork and loved it. Would be better if it were broken up a bit or shredded. I liked the look and feel of the Hukilau and will return to try some of their other menu items.