Starfruit Relish and Lilikoi Mustard. How can I resist?

Bourdain did it. Does this mean I had to do it too?

Nah, but the place was so close so we had to try it out. I originally saw the Puka-Dog on No Reservations. Anthony actually liked it. The “puka” means a hole. The hole goes in the bun, along with the dog, and some lovely sauces.

There are two locations of this Hawaiian Style Dog one on O’ahu called Hula-Dog and the other on Kaua’i called Puka-Dog. Lucky for us the Kaua’i location was in Poipu about two blocks from our hotel.

The restaurant is simple. The menu is self-explanatory.

Don’t over think it. Just order like this…

Pick a dog style: Polish Sausage or Veggie Dog.

Pick a Garlic Lemon Secret Sauce: Original, Spicy, or Hot.

Pick a Relish: Tropical or Traditional.

The Tropical: Kauai Special (Mango Relish), Pineapple Field (Pineapple Relish), Poihale Sunset (Papaya Relish), Coconut Beach (Coconut Relish), Waimea Canyon (Banana Relish), Na Pali Cruise (Starfruit Relish).

The Traditional: Ketchup, Sweet Relish, Yellow Mustard, Dijon Mustard, and Lillikoi Mustard.

The entire space is almost outdoors in a food cart kind of fashion, but with a roof and a few tables. The staff greeted us with the “aloha spirit” and prepared our orders quickly. We found things were really speedy when you left a tip…

The sweet Hawaiian style bun is toasted on a custom toaster made for Puka-Dog which makes the “puka” and toasts the bun at the same time.

Unique, original, and very tasty. This one was the starfruit relish with the lillikoi mustard and the spicy garlic sauce.

The first bite…

and he was hooked. The bread is soft , the polish is juicy. The sauce was tangy, sweet, and popped with some spice from the mustard.

Pursing of the lips is always a good sign.

I am a crunchy-salty addict. So I had to try the Maui Style Onion kettle chips.

They were decent. We also had some tasty hand shaken lemonade, but the star was the Puka-Dog.

Pretty trees in the courtyard.

Afterwards we needed to get some of the gelato next door at Papalani Gelato.

Chad doesn’t like gelato at all… I think I had a bite or two. Nom Nom.

The Puka-Dog. If you like wieners and are looking for something different when in Kaua’i or O’ahu give it a try. We actually ate there three times! During our other visits we tried the coconut and the pineapple, but we found we liked the starfruit the best.

Puka-Dog, 2360 Kiahuna Plantation Dr. Koloa, Hawaii 96756