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Restaurant Review – Kevin's Two Boots By:
Kevin McQuarrie Off
the main drag in Kailua is a small and quaint café tucked away in the
corner of a quasi strip mall. My companion and I made our way to the
Kainehe Street restaurant to try out the Cajun food and famous ribs at
Kevin’s Two Boots (known in the take-out business as Kevin’s Rib
Crib). We got a bit lost, but our perseverance was well worth the effort
as the food was everything we had hoped for and more. Kevin’s
Two Boots is small and colorful, with pink walls and a Mardi Gras motif.
Frank Sinatra was the music on tap when we arrived, which created a
laid-back yet jazzy feel to the restaurant. The garden patio style table
we sat at could have used some placemats or a tablecloth to soften the
feel, but then again we were going to be dining on messy ribs and catfish
– white tablecloths probably weren’t in order. We
arrived at 5:30 p.m., just after the restaurant opened for dinner, and had
the place to ourselves, except for another couple dining early. Kevin does
take reservations, which I would suggest on the weekend, but for
weeknights they seem able to accommodate most walk-ins. I
was hungry, so we wasted no time and ordered our fare for the night. Our
salads arrived quickly, and were the freshest mix of organic greens I’ve
had on the island. I chose the house dressing, Garlic Parmesan Ranch,
which had a wonderful garlic kick that stayed Our
appetizer arrived after we had completed our salads, which I prefer
because I do not enjoy juggling my salad with the other food on the table.
It’s nice to have time between the courses. We ordered the Catfish
Strips and tartar sauce ($5.95). The fish was coated in a flavorsome corn
meal and pepper batter; while it made the strips look dry it was quite the
opposite, and gave the fish an excellent flaky texture. The fish was not
over-filling, as some fried foods can be, which was good because our main
meal was about to be served. For
my main course, I decided to have the Louisiana Jambalaya ($12.95) with
the add-in Shrimp ($3.00). A tasty piece of cornbread accompanied my
Jambalaya, and this was just what I needed to take the spicy edge off my
meal. The shrimp add-in worked very well with the chicken and sausage, and
provided a little more substance to the dish. The blend of spices, onions
and peppers in the Jambalaya gave the dish more than enough flavor to
clear my sinuses – which is how I gauge the authenticity of Cajun food. My
companion decided to go for the specialty of the house – 1/2 Rack of
Baby Back Ribs ($16.95) with the Spicy Hot Cajun sauce. I really wanted to
taste these special ribs but didn’t order them because of the mess
usually involved with consuming them. If
your image of eating ribs is anything like mine, you envision dozens of
napkins, maybe a bib, and those little square packets of wet wipes. While
our server did bring us a basket containing several napkins and the little
wet wipes, they were not necessary When
I finally decided to reach across the table and taste the ribs, I was
envious that I hadn’t ordered the Baby Back Ribs. I thought the Spicy
Hot Cajun sauce was savory and when I return to Kevin’s that is how I
will order the Ribs, although they also offer a Honey BBQ sauce if the
spicy style is not for you. The Ribs come with a scoop of white rice, a
scoop of potato salad, a cup of first-class brown sugar beans and a slice
of corn-bread – we were not going home hungry tonight. Even
though we stuffed ourselves, I didn’t want to miss out on the dessert
menu. We chose to take a piece of the famous Sweet Potato Cheesecake
($4.50) home for a midnight snack. When I arrived home, it wasn’t even
close to midnight, but I had to get a taste of this cheesecake. It looked
like a miniature tartlet; our server had packed up a container of pecans
and a very sweet praline sauce to drizzle over the little cake. I decided
that even if all the other food we had eaten had been less than impressive
(which it was not) I would still go back to Kevin’s just for the
cheesecake. One bite and it was understandable why this sweet delight is
one of Kevin’s scrumptious specialties. It was not too heavy, and I
loved the flaky crust that surrounded the cheesecake pie. Maybe next time
I’ll order dessert first to make sure I have enough room! |
