OMG Great Food

[Rob Tucker]

Oh Macuu,

Make an exception! Hit an ATM. Check it out and support the local venture.

[kalakoa]

quote:

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Originally posted by macuu222

We never carry cash anymore and will wait until they do before trying their food!

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Wow.

I can't imagine living in Puna without cash -- if can't get things like roadside panadijas, might as well just live in Hilo (or on Oahu).

[birdmove]

We are tentatively going to try this place for lunch on Saturday.

Jon in Keaau/HPP

[terracore]

Anybody know what the hours are? Do they have early dinner?

[Rob Tucker]

quote:

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Originally posted by macuu222

We're hoping they start accepting debit and credit cards soon. We never carry cash anymore and will wait until they do before trying their food!

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Debit and credit cards are hard to afford for a small business with reasonable prices. The CC companies take a percentage of sales and just to maintain the ability to take CCs has a monthly maintenance fee. The smaller the business, the higher the fee.

If you want to support a local business or tip a waitress..... cash is best.

[Carey]

We went there last Saturday at 5-ishy (we were on a search for RTV -& ended up empty handed & hungry...not positive on the time)..., saw another Punaweb couple that were finishing... they have lunch & dinner, we had a couple of their specials, the smoked pork sandwich & the chicken salad...sandwich was a sweeter BBQ & had coleslaw on it (may have been a sweet coleslaw) The salad was a nice mix of baby greens - the chicken was a tad saltier I would have chosen, but I never have used much to any salt...so take the saltiness with a grain of....
Over all good food for the price

The cafe owners talked to us, they are leasing the space from KYBC, and allow KYBC to use a portion of their space (not sure if the mobile cafe will be used now...). The decor is still KFC, but luckily that KFC was done in a more cafe style than some, so it works...

There are ATMs in the area, so no huge problem is you do not have cash...Some small restaurant owners in Hilo end up placing an ATM in their facility to overcome the transaction cost ...

[terracore]

It costs less to take credit cards than checks. Especially if you're struggling and have thin margins, one bad check can wipe out an entire day's profits. People will also spend a lot more money if they are putting it on plastic than if they are limited to cash on hand. Even cash has it's problems. Dishonest or even just incompetant employees can skim off as much money (or more) than the credit card transaction fees and one robbery can set a merchant back weeks. When I can, I pay with plastic and tip with cash.

[terracore]

So we just ate lunch there. You can see pics of our entrees:

http://e-z-caps.com/images/chicken.jpg
http://e-z-caps.com/images/porks.jpg

And the menu:

http://e-z-caps.com/images/menu.jpg

The service was great, the place was clean. I had the chicken plate lunch with grilled vegetables, wife had the "pork two ways" special. (I orginally wanted the penne pasta with chicken, but they were out of penne pasta... it happens, even though Longs probably sells penne pasta and they share a parking lot).

Everything had great flavor, the vegetables were fresh (and high quality) but one thing that I could not overlook was that the food was so salty. If it had any more salt, I would not have been able to eat it. We will definitely return, hopefully by then they will have the salt thing worked out.

Overall we were impressed. As for value, we got three entrees plus generous tip for $36. And extra salt at no charge.

[csgray]

Maukamakai was the solution to the eternal "What to do about dinner?" question for us tonight. It was a great meal, grand opening with the more permanent menu is at the end of the month. Please support this place, fresh local food made by a local family,made with real love and aloha, what more could you want?

Thomas has been cooking here on the Big Island for a long time, it is wonderful to see him with his own place, and his son Kaimi has always wanted to follow in his dad's footsteps, so please support this ohana and their dream. In return they will feed you well!

Carol

[Rob Tucker]

Anybody else try this lately?