Kona Hawaiian BBQ highlights the Hawaiian plate lunch

When you think of Hawaiian food, what comes to mind?

You might envision the iconic Spam musubi, an ahi tuna poke bowl or syrupy shaved ice at the beach. Others might think of a whole hog unearthed at a luau in front of a crowd sporting leis. Or perhaps you’re reminded of the loco moco, a burger patty smothered with mushroom gravy and a runny fried egg yolk over rice.

All of these could be accurate. Modern Hawaiian cuisine is hard to nail down because it’s an evolving mix of Asian, North American and Polynesian island food, a mishmash of cultures that settled the archipelago. Visit Hawaii today, and you’re as likely to find Japanese kare curry and Filipino lumpia or pancit as you are pineapple Dole Whip soft serve.

Where many of these food traditions come together is the Hawaiian plate lunch, a meal format even more common on the islands than poke, which usually looks like this: scoops of both white rice and macaroni salad, plus a cooked protein that ranges from fried seafood to grilled meats to braised, slow-cooked cuts.

These lunch platters are exactly what Kona Hawaiian BBQ specializes in, offering a taste of island fare around Denver since 2022, now in three locations around town.

And while Denver has plenty of poke, this style of humble Hawaiian food is harder to come by. Ohana Island Kitchen in LoHi is mostly about the fresh fish, but offers a kalua pork plate with a solid macaroni salad. Kealoha’s BBQ is a downtown cart that offers excellent grilled meat plates, but only twice a week. There’s Today Hawaiian BBQ in Thornton, and No Ke Aloha in Aurora, which reviewers praise. L&L Hawaiian BBQ is a respected Honolulu chain that came over to the mainland; now there are two locations in Aurora and one downtown.

There’s a familiar experience to most of these Hawaiian barbecue places: fast-casual counter service, similar menu items and playful nods to the islands. At Kona Hawaiian BBQ, surfboard and sea-turtle murals adorn the walls, a kitschy but fun reminder of the tropics. When you walk up to the register, there’s a row of imported Hawaiian Sun canned drinks: take your pick of guava, passion fruit or mango-orange nectar for around two bucks.

The default order here is a Kona plate, which follows the standard formula: two scoops of rice, one scoop of macaroni salad, your protein choices and some steamed vegetables, which are usually a few broccoli florets or sautéed cabbage.

Your main decision is choosing a protein. First, there’s the grilled chicken and beef, which come glazed in either a house barbecue or teriyaki sauce. Consider upgrading to the kalbi short ribs, which are cut across the bone into thin slabs, Korean style, that maximize surface area for the marinade and grill.

The kalua pork is braised and shredded into fine strands, achieving a texture somewhere between pork floss and pulled pork. If you’re feeling something crunchy and fried, the shrimp, white fish or chicken katsu all come breaded in a crispy panko crust.

While the menu mostly sticks to classic plate lunch options (even offering grilled spam and eggs), the Kona Fire Chicken is a house invention, a spicy stir-fry of chicken and onion slices coated in a red chile-flecked sauce.

If you’d rather cut back on the carbs, the Aloha plates swap out the macaroni salad for a bed of mixed greens. But if you’re with others or taking this back home to the kids, the family meal is a value spread of ample rice, macaroni salad and three full to-go cartons of meats. It’s advertised to feed four, but four grown adults would be hard-pressed to take it down without leftovers (we tried).

Indeed, this type of food is generally great for feeding a group, not just because of the portions or the simple, crowd-pleasing flavors, but because of the unfussy format. Cater a picnic or house party, and the assembly is self-explanatory.

The same easy appeal applies to the appetizers. It’s not like you’ll need these to fill up, but who can resist an order of crab rangoons, fried dumplings, or crispy shrimp?

And, of course, there’s Spam musubi, just like at every convenience stop on Oahu. A pair is $6, well worth the reminder that seared Spam really is tasty, especially when it’s wrapped in a crisp nori sheet, whose salty, oceanic flavor is enough to tide you over until you can finally make that trip to Honolulu.

Kona Hawaiian BBQ is located at 4505 Peoria St. and is open from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m Monday through Thursday, and 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Additional locations in Arvada, Longmont and Johnstown. Hours vary by location. For more information, visit konahawaiianbbq.com.