Aloha Grill – Huntington Beach, CA

“I heard the pounding of the drums not far away…” Meet (meat?) the “Hawaiian Drums”…the best chicken wings on the planet.
Hawaiian Drums…It’s ALL about the Hawaiian Drums…I’ve had nothing to do, and a craving for these things, and made the hour plus trip to Huntington Beach just to have these. These mysterious drums are the best chicken wings I’ve ever had in my life.
They’re only the “drumstick” part of the wing, not the other part, so it’s like little chicken legs, and you don’t have to fuss with the other part with no meat.

Described in the menu as “Marinated Chicken drumettes, slow roasted then tossed in a spicy cherry char siu with pineapple and green onions” , Hawaiian Drums are an appetizer on the menu, but it’s the main reason I’ve been coming to the place for the last 5 years since I stumbled on it with a friend. First off, they’re roasted not fried, which sets them apart from most other chicken wing dishes. Second, the sauce. Char Siu, a Chinese BBQ sauce most commonly used on BBQ Pork and classic Spare Ribs, is the main ingredient, but the cherry flavor,green onions, pineapple and mysterious other ingredients makes these things SO ONO.(One thing tho’ they’re not at all spicy, that’s ok by me, but the description is misleading) Add to that the price…$5.95 for a big ass plate…no meal necessary, this IS the meal.

Hungry yet ? Maui Wowie Egg Rolls w/fried wontons and mango salsa.

Oh, they have other stuff too like the not too imaginitively named Maui Wowie Egg Rolls…basically, an egg roll filled with seared ahi tuna, mac nuts, green onions, cabbage,carrots, served up with some teri-style dipping sauce, big fried wonton chips and a mango salsa on the side…pretty ono.

To tell you the truth, I’ve never gotten to a main course, due to the Hawaiian Drums stopping me dead in my tracks, but they have some interesting items including some of the Hawaiian standards, Kalua Pork, Loco Moco, Teri Chicken Hawaiian Plate, all served up with one scoop rice, one scoop macaroni salad, as well as Fish and burgers.

Don’t be fooled by the bland, stripmall frontage…. Inside the scene gets way better…

Tiki greets you at the front door…always a good thing to see walking in

Big Bamboo…Inside the Aloha Grill

Tiki decor, bamboo furniture and overall classic Polynesian style. This Place gets the Tikiyaki “2 shakas”. The only negative I can say about this place is that, like most of the Eating establishments on Main St and alot of the South Bay’s beach town areas, The Aloha Grill has the dreaded Sports Bar thing going on with “the game” blasting from many tv’s placed around the restaurant, and the even more dreaded drunk sportsfan knuckleheads cheering at the game way too loudly in the bar area.

On this particular outing, after we were finished and outside there was a ruckus at the front door with some big fatass yelling profanities at the employees who asked him to leave, no doubt for being rude and loud. So my 15 year old had to endure hearing this dumbshit hurl a string of profanities including the “C word at the emmployees as he was storming out. Nice ! Unfortunately, the South Bay is filled with these kind of knuckleheads. Instant Idiot…Just add alcohol.

That aside, the Aloha Grill is a mandatory stop every time I’m in HB.

ALoha Grill
221 Main St
Huntington Beach, CA
http://www.alohagrill.com