North Shore Hawaiian Bar & Grill is super accommodating; makes diners feel like stars
By CRYSTAL PETROCELLI
Get Out

Wait: We walked into the lonely, new- kid-on-an-old-block North Shore Hawaiian Bar & Grill at 8:30 p.m. on a Wednesday.

Service: When I’m the only one in a restaurant, I feel one of two ways: burden-like or celebrity-esque. Service scarcely falls in the middle and, thankfully, this night it was all about me. The enthusiastic manager gave us the lowdown on Hawaiian cuisine complete with personal tales of sizable island kin (6’8” grandmas and the like). Menu suggestions went beyond the ho-hum “This is good, that’s good” and staffers stopped by a half a dozen times to check up on us.

What we liked: Hawaiian-style eateries pride themselves on massive portions at family-friendly prices and North Shore follows tradition. Every dinner plate comes with two scoops of super-sticky white rice, buttery corn-off-the-cob, a large dinner roll and either macaroni salad, green salad or steamed veggies. Sides alone could quell most hungers but there’s heaps of meat to eat as well. Our starters — crispy shrimp (six big, lightly fried ones with tartar sauce) and barbecue beef saimin (uses Hawaii’s best-selling noodle soup mix) — were both delicious.

Our main plates were a mix of chicken katsu (a bit fatty but the thin breading and sticky, sweet, ketchup-based dipping sauce made it tough to resist), barbecue chicken (marinated-to-the-point-of- tenderness with dark grill marks) and kalua pork (shredded pork with a strong smoky flavor). Out of the three, it was the barbecue chicken that kept me coming back for more.

Scene: There’s no doubt you’re in a Hawaiian joint — the walls are dotted with surf photos and bunches of bamboo, a palm-plastered beach photo murals one corner and servers wear touristy tropical shirts. The island’s own version of MTV loops local bands on a small TV near the entry.

Bathroom break: Urinals are nasty and due to a busted lady’s loo, I had to be in the same room with one. Yuck.

Tab for two: $38 with tax and tip for crispy shrimp ($5.99), Hawaiian barbecue beef saimin ($4.99), kalua pork ($7.99), chicken combo ($7.99) and two Hawaiian Sun drinks ($1.30 each).

If work weren’t buying: This is the ultimate food for the budget-minded, the kind of meal that tastes that much better after you get the bill.

Spam’s down — this is the place for low- cost island treats

By CHRIS PAGE
Get Out

Wait: We arrived at 8:30 on a Monday night — a half-hour before closing — and were immediately seated in the empty dining room.

Service: We loved our server, Brittany, a darling young gal who, from behind an enceinte belly, led us through the menu of Hawaiian staples such as loco moco — two hamburger patties, eggs, gravy, rice and macaroni salad — and other varieties of what Hawaiians call “plate lunch”: lots of protein, lots of starch. When my companion and I decided to go whole-hog and order an “ohana meal” (read: family meal, for four peeps, with a triple-heap of entrées), she was quick to advise, “I’m pregnant, and I wouldn’t even be able to eat all that!” Service — from kitchen to Brit to covering our table with heaping plates — was speedy.

What we liked: We weren’t wowed by the three entrées we sampled — lightly fried but ordinary chicken with a thick, tasty, mild curry sauce; gristly but crunchy barbecue short ribs; fried, near-flavorless mahi mahi — in our ohana meal, but the macaroni salad and our appetizers were delish: cream- cheesy crab puffs, deep-fried sweet banana pudding wontons and a Hawaiian specialty, Spam musubi. The musubi is like a large nigiri sushi, with clumpy rice hiding a slice of salty Spam inside a chewy wrapper of seaweed. It was our first time with Spam, and though we won’t be rushing out to buy some in the supermarket anytime soon (does Spam stand for “spoiled ham?”), we wouldn’t mind bellying up to another order of musubi.

Scene: OK, we haven’t been to Hawaii yet, so North Shore’s tropical decor reminded us “SpongeBob” fans of dear Bikini Bottom (which leads us to suggest the eatery as a children’s party place). We were mostly preoccupied with televisions at both ends of the restaurant: one in back showing billiard pros performing tricks, and one in front showing Hawaiian music videos: essentially low-budget vids of lumpy Hawaiian guys lip-synching to syncopated pop.

Bathroom break: North Shore’s men’s room is plain and well-stocked, but a little grimy. It’s a few missed cleanings and a burnt-out lightbulb away from being “Silent Hill.” I just pretended it was a beachside public loo.
Tab for two: $48 with tax and tip for banana lumpia ($1.99), Spam musubi ($2.69), crab puffs ($3.99), ohana meal ($24.99) and a Hawaiian Sun green tea ($1.30).

If work weren’t buying: Management is promising live bands (and, egad, karaoke) sometime in the future, so we’ll probably be back for that, and we’ll certainly be back for the low-cost, high-energy plate lunches. Only we won’t make the mistake of ordering the whopping ohana meal. Take it from Brittany: “Maybe next time,” she told us, grinning as she removed plates of barely dented food, “you’ll listen to your waitress.”

North Shore Hawaiian Bar & Grill
393 W. Warner Road, Chandler

Major cross streets: Warner Road and Arizona Avenue Hours: 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily
Reservations accepted: Yes
Health report: Not available
Kid friendly: Yes
Web site: No