The Lone Star Cookhouse
1234 Lower Main St
Wailuku, Maui, HI
808-242-6616

Meat  5
Sides  3
Sauce  5
Service  5
Atmosphere  5

Overall  5

Reviewer's Comments:  One of the very few traditional Southwest BBQ joints in the State of Hawaii. This one I HIGHLY recommend!!! When we, (my wife Leilani and I), arrived at the Lone Star Smokehouse in Wailuku, Maui at about 9:15am, we found Lisa Joslin already at work. We introduced ourselves and she immediately took us into the "downstairs", (really, a different building, but down a little slope from the the cafe). The smokers, 3 in number, two large and one about 3/4 the size of the other two, and the size of very large commercial refrigerators. Built by her husband, Robert Joslin, a mechanical engineer who moved here from Houston, Texas. The "pits" are all stainless steel, with about 4 large rack shelves in each, a huge water pan in the bottom, and an electric element running front to back in the bottom, just above the water pan. Wood, kiawe, is placed in the element pan. Temperature is set between 180 and 190, and nekkid packer-trimmed or CAB briskets are placed on the shelves for about 16 hours in the big smokers and about 10 hours in the smaller one. (It runs a bit hotter). We went back into the cafe, and Lisa said she wanted to get us a "little taster". She came back with a plate filled with nice smokey, warm brisket, some smoked Italian sausage, and a bowl of some of the best Q sauce I've ever found out here in Hawaii. We tucked into this platterful of brisket and sausage and had our breakfast, (burp)!!! It is REALLY good! Lisa and husband Robert are doing a real good job of educating the local market to our favorite food - at least on the Island of Maui. BTW, CFS plays a prominent role on the menu, for all you Texans. For all you non-Texans, that's Chicken Fried Steak, the National dish of the Great State of Texas!!! I didn't get a chance to try that, ( I AM a connosieur!), but will, next trip. If you're headed out this way, let me know and I'll put up a map of how to get to the Lone Star Smokehouse!

Reviewed By:  Bill Martin  ( bmartin@pixi.com ) on 10/12/97

Smokehouse BBQ
Lahaina Maui:

Meat  0
Sides  0
Sauce  0
Service  0
Atmosphere  0

Overall  0

Reviewer's Comments:  Under no circumstances waste your time or your hunger on this place. Unfriendly, sterile. Has a commercial gas fired smoker, but not willing to show you around. I don't think they got instructions as to how to use the smoker when they bought it, used. Also, no one has explained to them the difference between BBQ and the stuff the Korean restaurants serve. The young man who waited our table, son of the owners, told us they "had some secrets", when I asked for a tour of the pit. Eventually, I asked if he would give my card to his dad, and explain that I would like to meet him. After a long wait, the owner, Joe Lacop, came to the table. This is a family who bought a nine-year-old gas-fired smoker with a box for wood chunks to make smoke; plus a gas grill. They apparently have no real feel for the traditions of smoked meats and Q. I never did get a tour of the "pit". The pork sandwich is just sliced roast pork, served with a lukewarm coleslaw swimming in liquid sauce of some sort, and a ketchup based "bbq" sauce. The ribs we saw going to another table looked grilled rather than smoked. The hot sauce they offer for their "smoked" meat is an asian originated sauce called Dragon Sauce. No smell of smoke in the building. All smoking is done with Kiawe, (mesquite). No brisket, or CFS appears on the menu

Reviewed By:  Bill Martin  ( bmartin@pixi.com ) on 10/12/97

Dixie Grill
404 Ward Ave
Honolulu, Hi
808-596-8359

Meat  4.5
Sides  3.5
Sauce  4
Service  5
Atmosphere  5

Overall  4.5

Reviewer's Comments:  They have 2 vertical electric smokers and they use Keawe wood which is pretty strong.I had Memphis Riblets to start. They were excellant; tender and juicy. I think they had a lifgt mustard glaze. 6@ 4 inch riblets were $6.95 ala carte. I moved on to try a pulled pork and pulled chicken plater for $5.95. The serving was generous. It was more shreaded than pulled, but excellant flavor. The pork is better than the chicken. The sides are good but nothing special. The slaw was a little soft; not really soggy but getting there. The Beans were good with a little mustard flavor. The sauces are a real treat; They give you a wooden box like a 6 pak It has 6 bottles of different sauces including Memphis, Eastern Carolina, Savannah, Kansas City, Southwest Texas and Hawaiian that has a little Mango and Guava. They are all good but "Different strokes for different folks" as they say.The atmosphere is low key with a lot of energy in the personnel. It is open air on 2 sides of an old Bldg. in the middle of a commercial business section of Honolulu. At lunch and dinner it is crowded and it holds about 100 people. A good place to go with some friends. They use a lot of paper hand towels and have a large, about 8 foot metal trough against one wall to wash your hands before leaving.

Reviewed By:  Ed Slavish ( slavish@pixi.com ) on Feb. 27, 1998.

Dixie Grill
404 Ward Ave.
Honolulu, HI
(808) 596-8359

Meat: 4
Sides: 4
Sauce: 5
Service: 2
Atmosphere: 4

Overall: 4

Comments: The babybacks were good, especially with the tangy Carolina Mustard sauce. They give you a six-pack  of various barbeque sauces and so you're able to sample the different ones. The sauces are available for sale individually as well as in a pack of six. The atmosphere was fun and everyone that ordered a "screaming mai tai" was greeted with a yell from the waitress delivering the drinks. The only reason we gave the service a "2" was because of a lack of bibs, which are clearly a necessity at any genuine rib house, especially since the ribs are so tender and juicy added in with a serving of barbeque sauce and you have a real accident waiting to happen, We'd suggest bringing your own bib or wear a dark shirt. The wait for a table took awhile but somehow it was comfortably bearable because the friendly people there make you feel welcome. Since Hawaii is about as far away from the traditional southern rib culture as one can get, Dixie fares quite well in the authenticity department.

Reviewed By:  Janet Kruse-Hammond (jayinhawaii@hotmail.com) on 10/15/98