Maria Bonita's Authentic Mexican Food

Lunchtime dining options in downtown Honolulu rarely rise above the fast food joints, or the usual Asian fare that's found in Chinatowns across the country.  There are a few power lunch spots, Indigo and Che Pasta come to mind, and a few Italian places to be found, but for the most part, the options, though great, are quite limited.  When Maria Bonita's opened several months ago, I was happy, but also quite skeptical.  What in the world is a Mexican restaurant doing here?

The sign announcing the shop declares this to be authentic Mexican food and the gorgeous photos of the dishes lining the windows in front, makes sure that your mouth starts watering before you find your way inside.

The inside of the restaurant is spacious, with a few booths available for customers who want to eat in.  There is no lighting or air conditioning inside, but the place is clean and has a homey feel.  When I arrived for a very late lunch (3:00 pm), there was no one here.  Lucky me!

After looking over the menu, 13 regular menu items and a couple of specials, I decided to order the #6 -- taco salad plate (US$7.00; ala carte US$5.00).  The taco salad, as well as most of the other menu items, comes with your choice of meat -- shredded chicken, carnitas pork, shredded beef, asada beef (steak), or ground beef -- or veggies (grilled green and red peppers, onions, tomatoes and zucchini).  On this particular occasion, I chose the shredded beef.

A crisp fried flour tortilla was lined with beans and shredded beef, then topped with lettuce, tomato, onions, and cheese.  It was further garnished with some chopped cilantro and a dollop of sour cream and served on a plate with some rice and refried beans.  How does this look?

The crunchy taco shell, crisp lettuce and juicy tomatoes proved to be the perfect compliment to the shredded beef.  Fork tender and well seasoned, the shredded beef used here were more like the chunks of beef found in beef stew.  The refried beans and fluffy rice added just the right touch to round out the meal.

On a subsequent visit, I decided to have the #1 -- tacos (2) plate (US$7.00; ala carte US$5.00).  Again, I chose the shredded beef.

This time I was smart.  I actually snapped a photo of the shredded beef that's used in all the dishes.  Have a look at the chunks of beef that were in this taco.

On my most recent visit, just a couple of days ago, I didn't have time to eat in, so I decided to bring lunch back to the office.  This time, I had the #8 -- burrito plate (US$7.50; ala carte US$5.50).  I was leaning towards the carne asada, but instead, had the shredded beef.  What is it with me?  I guess I'm just a creature of habit. 

The flour tortilla wrapped burrito is filled with rice, beans, and shredded beef.  In addition, there is just a sprinkling of lettuce, tomato, onion, cilantro and cheese.

The flavors of these dishes are similar, with the dishes only being different in their presentation.  The food here is excellent and the service is quick.  On the day that I ordered my food to go, it took all of 5 minutes for me to order, settle the bill, and collect my food.  Even though the prices may seem a bit high, they are in line with what you'd expect to pay at other Mexican eateries around town.

Maria Bonita's
15 North Hotel Street
Telephone:  808.536.6185

Comments

[Oliver]

Hope your line will be back up soon Reid. This seems to be the time of the year where DSL problems accumulate. Sam just recently had her issues with SBC, we had our troubles with T-Online. Hang in there...keeping my fingers crossed.

[Jane]

Hole in the walls are always the best.

[Midge]

Hi, Reid.

That is some seriously delicioso Mexican grub! I agree with everyone else: holes-in-the-wall will DEFINITELY surprise you with the best food.

[Kirk]

Hi Reid - Hope you get all your connectivity issues resolved soon - I know how aggravating that can be. First it's Typepad, now it's your ISP, sheesh! I'm interested in how much this cost!

[michele]

oh my that looks good! what a I wouldnt give for a big old pile of mexican food like that. I miss salsa most of all, I think I'll have to start making my own soon just to get my fix!

[Reid]

Hi Oliver,

Thanks for dropping me a note. The line was back up, but too slow for me to do anything with. Things seem to be working fine now...*sigh*...I have to just update all of these posts.

Hi Jane,

Welcome to the blog!

They indeed are...and this one was no exception.

Hi Midge,

Long time no hear!

Yes, this was indeed some great Mexican food. And I do have to agree with you all, which is why I don't normally visit the fancy spots.

Hi Kirk,

Yes...things seem to be a little bit better now. Thanks for checking on me. I truly appreciate it. The problems seem to be never ending, don't they?

Now, I have a whole lot of catching up to do. *sigh*

Hi Michele,

Nice to hear from you again!

I love Mexican food, but I don't eat it too often. There seems to be an influx of new places opening up here so I have a lot of places to try now.

Hope you get to have some Mexican food all the way over there in Paris.

[Kirk]

Wow 5 bucks for 2 tacos, that's kinda steep!

[Clinton]

Hi Reid,

Passed up all of the Mexican style restaurants last week since my cousin told me that there were no good Mexican places in Hawaii. I took her advice and stuck with the local cuisine instead. Alas, we never made it to Palace saimin but we did try Ono's in Kapahulu this time around. Not bad...but not as I thought it would be. Kakaako Kitchen was OK but my favorite this time was Kua Aina's for the juicy burgers. Oh, one thing I need to mention was the Sunday night buffet at the Ala Moana Hotel...all I gotta say is...#1 for the king crab legs!

[Reid]

Hi Kirk,

Most of the Mexican places here have prices in this range. This is no SoCal you know. =P

Hi Clinton,

I'm glad you had a nice trip back. The Mexican food here can't really compare to some of the places in SoCal. I do like Kua Aina every now and then, but I think they have been hyped a bit too much. As far as Ono's is concerned, it's not my favorite, but it's gotten a lot of publicity and it's close to Waikiki.

[renee]

hi reid! =)
i always end up in chinatown since i'm using public transportation a lot more now --- i wondered about this place (the pix posted outside looked good), but since the surrounding area is kinda sketchy, i've been scared to go in... thanks for posting on it --- i'll definitely make a trip there next week!

[Jo]

How did I miss the "an pan" post? Anyhow, that's a decent sized burrito! The fillings look yummy. I like taco burritos and I make killer fried burritos. I'm not worried about missing out on Mexican when I go east, for sure! Speaking of which, if you ever want to do your own carnitas, let me know. I have a friend (Jewish no less!) who loved my carnitas SO much, that when I knew he would be coming for dinner, I would make an entire roast, just for him! It's very simple.

[Reid]

Hi Renee,

Yes, indeed. That area is quite notorious. But, give this place a try. I'm sure you'll enjoy it. By the way, there is a taco shop called Jus(t) Tacos that opened up on Bishop Street recently. I'm thinking of checking it out soon.

Hi Jo,

An pan? Hmmm. =)

As far as carnitas is concerned. I have a recipe from a Mexican friend of mine that makes some really good carnitas. I would make it at home, but I wouldn't really like to make as much as the recipe requires. *sigh*

If you don't mind, you can e-mail me with your recipe. =) I'd like to see how it compares to the one I have already.

[Jo]

It's in your box! =o)

[renee]

hi reid! =) well, it's unanimous - the office loved the food! =) we had the shredded beef chimichanga, chicken enchiladas, burrito with pork carnitas, and nachos with shredded beef... out of all the meats we tried, we liked the pork the best & of all the forms, the chimichanga (yah, we're suckers for deep fried stuff), but it was surprisingly light. next time i want to order stuff with more fresh veggies (like the salad)... i guess i should have expected (it being a hole-in-the-wall type place) that it would be cash only. i was lucky i had some --- i'm usually carry only plastic. oh, and we went around 12:45pm - it's SUPER busy! but the couple that runs the place is pretty on it - i was impressed.

[Reid]

Hi Jo,

Thanks! =)

Hi Renee,

I'm glad you visited and I'm really glad that you liked it. I have yet to try the chimichanga, but based on your recommendation, I think it's something that I will try next week when I'm there again! =)

And yes, even when they are busy, the food comes out really quick. I'm impressed too.