Puka Dog Featured on KGMB9
HAWAII BEST RESTAURANT 2007-2008
In the Waikiki Town Center is the first Oahu outpost of the Kauai cult fast-food favorite Puka Dog. Owners Rick and Dominique Quinette designed their own machine to cook the no-skin Polish sausage. They stick the dog into a bun that’s like a loaf of bread. Also into the Puka goes three sauces a lemon-garlic “secret sauce,” a fruity “relish” and a Hawaiian mustard. It’s a sweet-and-savory combo. The excellent lemonade is squeezed and mixed before your eyes.
Anthony Bourdain visit Puka Dog
Travelocity 2007 Edition
Travelocity and IgoUgo, named Puka Dog Hawaiian Style Hot Dogs a Top insider spot for Hawaiian in its 2007 Edition of Local Secret.
Selected from more than 10,000 Travelocity member entries, Puka Dog Hawaiian Style Hot Dogs made the travel company’s list of favorite Local Finds.
Travel Channel
“ FOOD CRAZY HOT DOG HEAVENS”
Aired since June 2004 every week around USA and the world.
Puka Dog on the Travel Channel
Selected by the Travel Channel & Food Network
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Bon Appetit Magazine
While there isn’t much high-end dining on this Hawaiian Island (and almost everyone already knows about Roy’s and Tide pools, there is a lot of après-beach snacking to be done. After working up an appetite snorkeling or boogie boarding at Poipu Beach, locals swing by PUKA DOG in the Poipu Shopping Village.
Picture this : The grill for the namesake hot dog here has vertical hot metal spikes; doughy rolls are skewered onto the spikes, creating a puka (hole) and a bun that’s toasted both inside and out. One the three sauces (don’t miss the spicy jalapeno) and six tropical-fruits relishes (go for the pineapple) can be piped inside the bun, followed by a crispy grilled Polish Sausage or veggie dog.
2360 Kiahuna Plantation Drive, Koloa, 808 742-6044
Featured in the November 2005 issue. Additional reporting by Dorie Greenspan and Katie O’Kennedy.
Modern Bride
There’s one Kauaian specialty that’s worth traveling 3,000 miles for: “The Puka Dog” says Laurel, who describe it as a Polish sausage slipped into a tube like bun and garnished with a secret garlic-lemon sauce and tropical relish, “papaya and mango are the best,” she said.
Featured Puka Dog in January/ February 2006 edition.
Real Travel Magazine
No lie – these hot dogs are good enough on their own to warrant a trip to the island of Kauai. They’re truly Hawaiian style hot dogs, complete with tropical relishes (pineapple, coconut, mango, etc), a surf board for a menu, and the best lemonade you’ve ever had. Careful, if you eat there once, you’ll be eating there for lunch the rest of your visit!
Review of Puka Dog Best Hot Dogs on the Planet
Mainline Restaurant Guide
I can say with no hesitation that I had the greatest hot dog of my life at Puka Dog . There isn’t much on the menu, but this is THE must-stop restaurant on Kauai. Order your 1/4 pound dog as a polish sausage or veggie, select mild, spicy or hot sauce, and then, the real secret, select from a number of fresh-fruit relishes (mango, papaya, pineapple, coconut, banana, or star fruit). The dog is served in a special bun that, due to a hole on only one side, acts as a little pocked for the glorious sausage. I went with a Polish, Mild, Mango and every bite was a little slice of paradise. Top it off with a glass
of hand-squeezed lemonade, sit back, and enjoy the Puka Bliss.