Pu’uloa Diner

Living out here in the Boone docks, I was excited to see an eatery opening in the area. Although I think we all had high hopes, this place is a major let down. This diner is obviously family owned and it looks like they didn’t do much research or preparation before opening. The staff seemed to all be young, inexperienced kids. My order was wrong so I can’t comment on the ribs which is what we really wanted. What I did get was brisket, Mac salad and pepper slaw. The brisket wad spicy which I don’t mind but it was too hot for my son. The sides were both good but I doubt they were made on sight. Nothing fancy here but decent, overpriced food

To start, The people were great. Very friendly and made conversation. My 2 year old son and I were the only ones in there ordering at 5:30pm, and I now see why. They had no sign on the door but the first thing they told me when I walked in the door was «cash only tonight we don’t know whats wrong with our credit card machine». I originally wanted the BBQ chicken and mashed potatoes. They apparently didn’t receive their chicken so they were out. They hadn’t made the mash potatoes yet because «they weren’t serving meatloaf that night» So I opted for the brisket and double fries. I am pleased with the fact that they lowered their prices to 10.42 $ with tax a dinner plate due to the fact that I was horridly disappointed in the brisket. It was very dry and chewy. I had to saw it with a knife. I expected brisket, maybe not ‘down home southern brisket’ but tasty edible tender well smoked brisket. It was smokey alright! That is practically all you tasted like they added too much ‘bottled smoke flavor’ Their BBQ sauce was delicious and the bed of rice they laid it on wasn’t half bad. I just think if you are going to serve rice as a staple with everything yous serve it should probably be cooked correctly, especially in Hawaii. The french fries were bagged and frozen and put into the fryer as I asked for them. The fries surprisingly, were what I enjoyed most about my dinner last night. Over all, I will consider trying it again, just not their brisket since it is so close to my house. If nothing else I will be back to pick up a side of quick french fries.

Womp womp they closed…

I’m improving their review because they deliver and it took about 10 minutes to get my food. But for deliveries they only take cash

Last night I ordered the smoked brisket plate for approx. $ 14. Very disappointing to see undercooked rice again served. The brisket was smoked flavored but a far cry from actually being properly smoked by mere absence of the reddish «smoke rings». Brisket was more of a smoked steak; very tough and difficult to chew; not juicy and tender as expected. Okay, twice I patronized this establishment and same result. Product being sold are a true indicator that lack of experience is the root cause. Sorry, get some professional help or you will lose potential repeat customers. The rule for smoking meats is low and slow… enough said.