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La Isla Burrito, a closer look
Aloha!
 See the official La Isla Burrito site! |
Check La Isla's status with the Yelper's! |
 Mari Taketa checks out La Isla Burrito for Metromix |
3/8/10 - The property formerly held by two excellent Japanese bento shops, first Imari then Iga, is now home to an also-small, also-very casual Mexican eatery called La Isla Burrito. Situated right across the street from giant Wal-Mart/Sam's Club on Keeaumoku, you can usually find metered parking right on Keeaumoku itself, but if not, it is part of the SamSung Plaza, so they do have a paid lot available as well.
Though it looks and feels like one of those day-time eateries popular for lunch and basically closed before the sun sets, owner Stewart Shirasu makes sure that La Isla Burrito stays open till 10 pm Monday-Thursday and an incredulous 2am on Friday and Saturday (closed Sunday). Late-night Mexican? I've never heard the term before! Upon further investigation, and thanks to Bruce Asato of the Advertiser, we see why the twilight hours - Mr. Shirasu is also owner of Club 939 just up the street! You know - former Club Rose? After all, we are located on the Bermuda Girlie-Bar Triangle of Kapiolani, Sheridan, and Keeaumoku, right?
The property has always been easy to miss while driving by, even in the Iga and Imari day's, but now, no longer, as there's a giant banner above to help plot your course:
Only a few tables lie inside, including two bar stools and two, count 'em, two, regular tables (one 4-seater and one 2-seater!). Good friend Da Gooch and I were lucky enough to find a stool open for lunch, and while there, a steady supply of customers came and went, mostly packing take-out meals.
That's the owner there, presiding over his domain:
A small flat-screen hangs in one corner, although probably not big enough to wanna see your favorite game on, while a counter-top houses condiments and self-serve salsa containers:
As you can see, that-there's the real thing - no jar'd stuff here, for sure! Always a good omen!
Offered chips to begin with, I didn't even think to ask, nor did I check on the receipt, if they came with an extra charge or not. But no worries, as you gotta have chips when presented with real salsa, right?
Da Gooch and I struggled over the menu a bit, which is not the largest, but still, carries with it enough variety to keep things interesting - burrito, torta, carnita, carne asada, fajita, ranchera, chile verde, taco, chimichanga, enchilada, quesadilla, taquito, nacho's, not to mention breakfast meals, which can include breakfast burritos, chilaquiles, huevos rancheros, chorizo w/potato and eggs, Spanish rice, and several egg/meat plates.
Owner Stewart says the island burrito is their most popular meal:
Dis buggah was pretty darn laaahge, and also came with the option of cheese and rojo (red) or verde (green) sauces over, kinda like an enchilada, that can be eaten with fork and knife instead of a plain, hand-held variety. A basic burrito, with beans, rice, cheese, guac, and sour cream, will set you back five bucks, while the infusion of chicken or beef will cost another dollar; pork or steak, another two.
Since it was their most popular item, I had to order it, but in all truth, I really don't care at all for any burrito with rice and beans included inside. The meal-in-one route just doesn't suit me very well. I'd rather have a large burrito stuffed with meat and veggies instead of starch and legumes, as in a steak-filled burrito from Diego's. BTW, haven't been there (Diego's) in a while, but I've heard they're using a lesser quality steak these days? Just hearsay, though, so don't go spreading rumors. But it does make me curious - I've got several Mexican eateries on my scope right now, and a return visit to Diego's is definitely in the works.
But getting back to our burrito, which came with tender, tasty pieces of grilled chicken, I only wish it had a bit more bird!
Just one of those unfortunate circumstances regarding living in the islands, is all. I mean, ingredients just don't come cheap here, so I guess the most expensive item - chicken - needed be curtailed in order to remain viable as an eatery. In fact, it was difficult even tasting much chicken at all since the major taste sensations came instead from rice and beans. Double-bummer is, I'm not particularly fond of re-fried beans as a whole. I do find them complementary of Mexican foods as a whole, but for me, only in small portions - once past that particular threshhold and saturation point, I start going catabolic. Nevertheless, if you have no problems with rice and beans, this may yet be your ticket for a truly giant, quick, inexpensive (Hawaii standards!) bite.
Me, I found the carne asada, listed here as a Mexican Steak Plate, much better. It was actually recommended as the Owners' favorite:
Fresh salsa fresca, fresh guacamole, fresh chiles and other grilled vegetables, decent Spanish rice and beans, but how was the steak? Well, as stated, I liked it much better than our burrito, and it did come decently well-flavored and bold, with Mexican spices redolent throughout the meat. Slices were cut thin, almost like the size of a thicker, plate-lunch-style teriyaki beef, each piece going down in cahoots with any or all of the colorful sauces and sides. Also served with a warm flour or corn tortilla, the plate as a whole was enjoyable but not spectacular, and at $7.50, reasonable, as well.
But the one dish Da Gooch and I were especially pleased with was their carnitas, or roasted pork. It came with the same sides, and at the same price, as their carne asada, but without the addition of veggies and cheese mixed-in with meat. Tender and fall-apart soft, the highly-flavored chunks of pork were delicious, coming first roasted then seared on a grill, for that twice-cooked, charred taste and texture:
Though the carnitas plate is probably the only thing we had that I'd come back for, there are two other dishes that also show a lot of promise - first, their torta, or Mexican sandwich, looks and sounds really enticing, especially after seeing Advertiser contributor Mari Taketa's look on Metromix (link above), as does their chili verde, a kind of stew. A friendly, jovial guy next-door to our table described himself as well-versed in Mexican cuisine, and said he thoroughly enjoyed the pork chili verde he was dining on. It sure did look good, anyway.
With everything on the menu capped at $7.50, I'd say La Isla Burrito is definitely worth checking out. They've been getting razed quite a bit from the Yelper's (link above), but I think it mostly stems from a few glowing reviews (I won't name who!) by established restaurant critics, who've set-up waaay too much of an expectation, and also because lots of folks are naturally inclined towards the familiar face of a burrito, which, though being the most popular item, is probably the weakest link on the menu, as far as I'm concerned.
There's been a rash of inexpensive Mexican eateries these days that have definitely raised the bar for Mexican food in the islands, and I've got my eye on several of them - four more to be exact, three of which are not yet even listed in the Mexican section of the main pages yet. Expect to see them here soon, though!
Hope you had a wonderful weekend! Weather hasn't been cooperating much, but hey, we do need rain, ey?
Take care, and Aloha till next time!
Aku
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Comments:
Marissa (3/10/10) - Hello! I love your blog!! ive been a reader for a few months now but this is the first time commenting.. You do an excellent job with reviews and your pics.. I just wanted to stop by and say you have a great site and keep doing what you do! -Marissa
Aku (3/10/10) - Aaah, thanks Marissa! I don't get too many comments, so it's always good to hear stuff like that! Little bit o 'luv makes the world go round, ey? I'm feelin' it! Thanks so much!
Sagemom (3/10/10) - I love Mexican food...think I'll have to try there one day.
Aku (3/10/10) - Just wait a week or two longer, since I'm in the process of visiting and doing Closer Looks on no less than 4 other relatively new Mexican eateries! I know we'll never be like the Mainland, but still, they're about as good as you can get here!
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