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Issue 4 Volume 12 talon Lifestyles & entertainment
a Taste of paradise
A
New Hawaiian restaurant pops up, excels
highly anticipated restaurant hit the northland in time to ring in the new year. Hawaiian Bros opened their fourth location on Jan. 7 in North Kansas City after announcing their plans in 2019. The small chain was created by brothers Cameron and Tyler McNie to spread Hawaiian culture to the Midwest, starting with the Kansas City metro area. The menu features a traditional “plate lunch� with variations of their signature combo of meat, white rice, and macaroni salad. Alongside the entrees, other famous Hawaiian treats are for sale as well, including Spam musabi and Dole Whips. Even three days after the grand opening, the restaurant was packed wall to wall to get a taste of what Hawaiian Bros had to offer. At lunch Jan. 10, there was upwards of 30 people in line to order, the staff was relatively quick to get orders in and out for us excited customers. It took about 25 minutes to get through the line and finally receive the food, so even with a rush of people, it was faster service than many sit-down restaurants. I ended up going with the small order of the hulli hulli chicken, which is advertised as their signature dish. The small order came with a significant portion of food, including one scoop of rice, one scoop of macaroni salad and a quarter pound of chicken. Besides the chicken, there were pork and vegetarian options as well. I also ordered the classic pineapple Dole Whip, which was essentially just
pineapple-flavored and non-dairy soft serve ice cream. Once I tasted the food, it was easy to understand why there was so much anticipation for this location to open. The quality of the chicken, rice and macaroni combination is unrivaled to any other fast food setting in the area. The hulli hulli was the perfect amount of fresh, juicy and savory flavors from the teriyaki marinade, though, the macaroni salad surprisingly stole the show with its delicious taste. To top it all off, the Dole Whip was the
ideal sweet yet subtle dessert to finish the meal. Ethnic fast food, other than Mexican or Chinese takeout, is in short supply in the area. These easily accessible and affordable Pacific Island flavors are a game changer for the city. The hype for Hawaiian Bros was certainly warranted after getting to experience what they have to offer. Written by Hailey Milliken photos by hailey milliken
