Kiawe Grill B.B.Q. & Burgers
Last night I was in the mood to have Indian food. India Bazaar came recommended to me by some vegetarian neighbors that enjoy Indian food. Unfortunately, when I got there, it was almost closing time. Not wanting to drive around looking for a place to eat, I ended up across the parking lot at Kiawe Grill.
What really caught my eye, was the sign in the window advertising exotic meat burgers (i.e. ostrich and buffalo)! So inside I go...
This place has a non-descript interior and the menu board is quite difficult to read. My friend and I decided to try one dish each, so we ordered one ostrich plate (US$6.95)...
and one Kobe beef plate (US$6.95)...
The actual presentation of the food was quite unexpected. What I was expecting was a burger and fries, with vegetable dishes on the side. Instead I got an 8-ounce kiawe-grilled patty on white rice, with a choice of 3 vegetable side dishes. The vegetables were all self-serve and there were quite a few selections...
(sorry for the blurry picture)
The vegetables were the sort that you could get in any Korean "fast food" establishment, and that was also a bit of a shock. I enjoyed all of the ones that we sampled except for the chop chae (clear noodles with beef and vegetables). The noodles were undercooked and almost flavorless.
The burgers themselves were quite good! Kiawe wood is used to grill all the meat and burgers served here. This wood is one of the most frequently used in Hawaii for grilling. The flavor that it imparts on the food is similar to that of mesquite. This definitely takes the burger's flavor to the next level. I also liked the fact that not a lot of salt was used to season the meat (as far as I could tell) although there was a generous amount of pepper and other spices used.
Next time, instead of ordering a plate, I'll order the burger and add on an order of the thick steak-cut fries! That would have probably made this meal a lot more enjoyable.
Kiawe Grill B.B.Q. & Burgers
2334 South King Street
Telephone: 808.955.5500
Oh I would like burgers on rice, if the seasoning was appropriate of course.
Posted by: umami | May 16, 2004 at 05:33 AM
Umami, the seasoning was appropriate. I guess I'm so used to eating burgers on a bun, unless it's like meatloaf or something.
Posted by: Reid | May 17, 2004 at 12:40 AM
COULD YOU PLEASE PUT UP THE MENU AND PRICES FOR KIAWE GRILL ON THE INTERNET.OUR OFFICE WANTS TO ORDER AND WE ALWAYS LOSE THE MENU.WE ENUP CALLING TWICE.
Posted by: MOSQUITO YAMASAKI | March 10, 2006 at 10:31 AM
Has this place moved?
Posted by: tgsak | June 09, 2006 at 03:20 PM
kiawe is mesquite.
Posted by: Baba | April 15, 2007 at 05:08 PM
Went to this place back 2006,excellent bugers.I tryed the buffalo and the ostrich two defferent trips.There are two of these places,one in kahlihi and the other is on the othere side of town,sorry not shure but it was near a L&L.I live on the mainland now so my names and locations are bad,but is accros the street where the old aloha stadium was.Thanks for all the good post
Posted by: Bill T | August 30, 2007 at 07:58 AM
there is one that opened in pearl ridge on kam highway...
Posted by: suz | December 19, 2007 at 10:50 AM
As tgsak correctly stated, kiawe is mesquite. Both are regional names for the algeroba tree (Prosopis julifota). Lucky you live Hawaii. Here in the Florida Panhandle (a.k.a. Redneck Riviera and L.A.=Lower Alabama)we only have pecan and various sub-species of white oak to use in our smokers. I would trade all our superb oysters and shrimp for even a mediocre Friday laulau & kalua plate lunch. Don't let the Mainland franchises nudge the local eateries out of the market. Support kamaaina cooks. Keep Hawaii local, y'all.
Posted by: Rev. Wesley T. Kan | April 02, 2008 at 06:16 AM
Hello All,
I am writing this review just to warn everyone about the bad food poisoning I got after eating at this establishment as well as trying to contact a manager or the owner of the company and never receiving any calls back.
I went to eat at the Kiawe Grill in Aiea at about 8pm. The girl was nice took my order, i chose my vegetables, etc. I received my plate didnt really look inside and went home.
When I went home, there was something red that had leaked out on into the package. I immediately thought that the Kim Chee I had put in the vegetable container was leaking out, I am not sure what it was but it was not in my food but only on the bottom of the container. So I decided to eat my food and vegetables. Only now I think back and realize that it could've been "blood" on the bottom of my container and I was retarded enough to go thru eating the food.
The seaweed tasted really wierd and was not fresh so I put that to the side and ate everything else plus the buffalo burger I ordered.
One day later I started to experience severe stomach cramps and diarrhea. It lasted about 2 weeks long. In the meantime I contacted Kiawe Grill Aiea just to let them know what had happened and to make sure that it didnt happen to anyone else.
The girl who answered the phone hung up and me after I asked for the Manager who she said his name was Jason. I then called back again, and it rang and rang for 7+ times until finally someone answered. She was very nice, took my information down and told me who had hung up on me early. She then explained that Jason (whom now I know is the owner of this establishment) would call me back the next day since he was not in.
As of today I have not received a call back from Jason Chong the owner of Kiawe Grill. I have reported this to the Hawaii Department of Health.
I just hope that this does not happen to anyone else at it was horrible. I love this place and I feel really disappointed that someone could not at least just call me back.
Posted by: gina | September 02, 2008 at 04:50 PM