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King's Pub, a closer look
Aloha!
7/30/09 - Gonna be a quickie today, in 'n out!
Had a hankerin' for pizza the other night, so before picking up wifey from work, I grabbed a hot pie from a little-known hole-in-the-wall inside the Monarch Hotel/Condo in Waikiki. Anyone frequenting Waikiki should be familiar with the building, as it is located on Niu St., which is the street you turn left-on from the Ala Wai, one street before McCully, where you then either make another left to cruuz' Waik's (remember those day'z?) by making another trip down Kalakaua Ave., or go straight, past the Hilton and on-to Ala Moana Blvd. and beyond. It's also the same place that house that most-excellent breakfast/lunch house, Cream Pot.
If you're lucky, you'll find parking on Niu St., fronting the Monarch, but most likely, you'll have to pay $4 per hour - kinda steep. But when I told the waitress I was just gonna pick-up a take-out pizza, she was kind enough to allow me a free parking right there near the entrance. Hallelujah, as that woulda been almost a quarter of the cost of the pizza itself!
I did make my way to the Pub, but not before snapping a few shots of the Choco House, a Japanese izakaya spot I will definitely try soon, as I've been hearing a few good things about this place - decent food, reasonable prices, mostly. Just look for the two tiki's!
But following signs that lead you to the Pub, you'll have to enter through a set of glass doors, after which you'll see the entrance to the place itself almost immediately:
Gotta hand it to the hotel, they know exactly what kinds of food establishments to offer - one white, and one Japanese! While the Choco House was filled exclusively with Japanese tourists, any Japanese tourist walking into King's Pub will likely feel extremely out of place, and would probably have no idea what to do! To tell you the truth, it's kind-of a raunchy-looking place, with dim, red-tinged lighting, an old-school look and feel, and a crowd that mixes Mainland tourists with a smattering of local, male, slightly older regulars who look a little, uh... lonely?
You won't find a pretty-little host or hostess there to greet you at the door, so just make yourself at home and don't be shy when you need something, cuz' you almost get that Mainland sense of feel and place here, where there's no such thing as being reserved - if you don't speak up and account for yourself, you just won't be seen or heard at all! That's actually kinda good for us Asians and locals once-in-a-while, who are not used to such frank openness and often need to speak-out more. But for today, at least, I'll spare you the Asian/Western culture comparisons that most of us here in the islands are already well-familiar with!
After a brief scanning of the entire place, which included a look at the pool table, dart boards, flat-screen's, and old-school, neon lighting beer and tobacco signs, I took a seat at the bar, wondering what to do next. I was hoping for a picturesque corner or wall to take a shot, but unfortunately, people were smattered here and there throughout the bar, and a few of them didn't look like the type particularly open to responding to the word cheez'.
The kind bartender, however, was very friendly and open, and gave me a quick verbal tour of the place, which, believe me, didn't take very long at all, as there's not much more than pizza and the bar, which you see here:
To the left of the bar was a small counter, behind which I found what seemed to be the heart and soul of this place - a cheery, in-your-face, gargantuan-sized personality of epic proportions! Doreen, who runs the food operation here, is one super-friendly gal - reeeaaally friendly, if you know what I mean. Her teasing and flirtatiously-fun ways are much appreciated by everyone here, and can always be found poking jokes and throwing innuendo's out there in grand fashion, with a booming voice and hearty laugh the entire bar can hear. We ended up talking for quite some time while waiting for my pizza, as she heartily ran through some of her interesting experiences of running a lunch wagon and other foodie enterprises here through the years. I'm a great listener, you know, and I always get a high off of listening to people's life experiences when they are open enough to share them. Not the empty gossip-chatter kind, but the real stuff.
But the one thing most apparent in Doreen's stories was that she definitely loves to cook, and can sometimes even be found preparing special meals for certain folks and functions, all of whom have come to appreciate her knack and skills in the kitchen. Despite that fact, and for some reason, here at King's Pub I was surprised to find that pizza is actually the only thing on the menu! No buffalo wings, no mozzarella sticks, no cheese breads - just pizza, and not only that, but there's no menu whatsoever, not even pasted somewhere on the wall! Instead, Doreen or one of her helper's there will kindly explain that there's only a few options available - mushrooms, olives, pepperoni, and sausage - that's it! Here's the works, except without sausage:
The pizza is honest and great here, coming in one size only (although you can order by slice), and with a delicious, herb-filled tomato sauce, a crispy outer crust, and an extra topping of herbs mixed-in with the cheese that does make a pleasant difference. The one possible down-side is the inner sections of crust, which are not crispy-crunchy like the outsides, and just a wee-bit on the denser side. All in all, though, I don't think you'll be disappointed with this pie. In fact, I even read one of the local food writers, a professional, at-that, explain that this is the best pizza on the island! I'd be open to debate on the matter, but it is a pretty darn good pizza, any way you look at it.
Like I said, this'll be a quickie - in 'n out!
So I'm out! Say hello to Doreen when you stop by - you'll love her to bits!
Take care, and Aloha till next time!
Aku
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