This is part of a series of five excerpts from a book I like very much by Jessica Ferracane and Yvonne Biegel, "50 Thrifty Maui Restaurants". Foodies trolling for blue collar grubs should dig in. And a hat tip to the folks at Watermark Publishing who agreed to the excerpts. If you buy the book through these links, I will get a small cut so help me help them help you ;).

Da Kitchen Express

We took a break from snorkelingat Kama‘ole Beach Park and walked across the street in our “slippahs” and swimsuits to an unassuming eatery, Da Kitchen Express, at the back of Rainbow Mall. We joined other locals grabbing take-out or dining in for lunch. The restaurant packs ’em in, because it packs on heaping portions of local-style food. Our favorite is the Hawaiian Plate Lunch ($9.75)—a pork laulau (pork wrapped in ti and taro leaves and steamed so the flavors seep into the meat) served with kalua (smoked) pork, chicken long rice and lomilomi salmon. It’s the restaurant version of a lu‘au without the hula dancers and drums. The Teriyaki Plate is several pieces of chicken marinated in teriyaki sauce and charbroiled to seal in the flavor ($7.25). All plate lunches are served with two scoops of sticky white rice and potato macaroni salad mixed with mayonnaise, or a healthier alternative of mixed greens. The meat portions of the plate lunch are also served in sandwiches on a toasted onion bun—Teriyaki Chicken Sandwich ($6.75), Kalua Pork Sandwich ($7.25) or Mahimahi Fish Sandwich ($7.75.) Add cheese or a side order of French fries for only $2. There are no substitutions allowed. Even we were surprised to hear that Da Kitchen serves breakfast from 9 to 11 a.m. The DaKine Omelet is choice at $6.85, with a combination of tomato, mushroom, onion, cheese and Portuguese sausage, served with home fries or rice. Da best!

NOTE There is another location at Kaahumanu Center in Kahului (808/871-7782). Lunch gets crowded on weekdays.
CUISINE: Local and Hawaiian food
LOCATION: 2439 S. Kıhei Rd., Kıhei (map/reviews), (808/875-7782)
HOURS: Daily, 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.
ALCOHOL No
PLASTIC A, D, DC, MC, JCB, V

—Alex, 10/03/06