#4 Kua 'Aina Sandwich Shop, Ward Centers

Kua 'Aina Sandwich Shop
Ward Centers

Category: Gourmet Burgers

Menu Item: 1/3 lb Cheeseburger, Small French Fries

Price: $7.50 Cheeseburger, $2.25 Fries

Burger Size: 1/3 lb (~5.3 oz.)

Bun: Kaiser Roll (Also available in Multi-Grain Wheat or Heart Rye)

Cheese: Cheddar (also available in Swiss, American, Monterey Jack and Provolone)

Toppings: Lettuce, Tomatoes, Onions, Mayonnaise

Description:

Although you can phone order from Kua 'Aina's menu (for take-out I assume), I categorized Kua 'Aina as a "Gourmet Burger" place because I haven't really seen anyone order food "to go" from here and the environment seems built for the dine-in burger experience. After you walk in and place your order, they give you your drink and call your name when your order is ready. While I was waiting I took a picture of the table setup.

Shouldn't all burger restaurants have this setup?

As you can probably tell from my other posts, I am not a huge fan of condiments, but I found it interesting that they have a roll of paper towels on every table. It turned out to be very convenient as I usually just dive into my burgers head first and create a huge thunderstorm of a mess. Definitely a plus for those.

Kua 'Aina 1/3 lb Cheeseburger

For this review I ordered a 1/3 lb cheeseburger and a small order of fries. The burger came on a kaiser roll and was topped with lettuce, tomatoes, grilled onions, and cheddar cheese. It also came with a carrot stick. The burger was good, but the bun was hard to bite into and chewing it was a bit of a jaw workout. The toppings were fresh and the burger patty was cooked medium and was very juicy. You can tell that the burger was cooked on a gas grill though, as it didn't have that smoky flavor like Kiawe Grill did. The carrot stick seemed a little out of place, but it was nice to have somethin different with my burger.

Look at those... fries?

Ah, the Kua 'Aina french fries. The fries are shoe string style and I love french fries any way you make em, so they aren't a big deal to me. However, a lot of people are opinionated on this topic so I'll leave it up to you to decide if you like them or not. So far, people I have spoken with are split 50/50 on the fries from Kua 'Aina. Half of them hate it and the other half like it, or don't really mind. They aren't my favorite, but I don't think they're as bad as everyone says they are. Plus, they don't come with the burger, so if you don't like them, you don't have to order them.

Verdict:

Kua 'Aina is a very unique burger place to eat at. The local environment, paper towels at the table and carrot stick with your burger are all pluses while the shoe string fries and kaiser roll bun are a little questionable. While I don't think this is the best cheeseburger and fries I've ever eaten, it is far from the worst. I left my table very full and satisfied and at a decent price. This is definitely a place you should try at least once to see if you like it.

Grade: B

Kua 'Aina Sandwich Shop

1200 Ala Moana Boulevard, Honolulu
808-591-9133

Mon-Thu,Sun 10:30am-9:30pm, Fri-Sat 10:30am-11pm

http://www.kua-aina.com/