KEKAHA – “This is such a nice mango tree,” Dominique Quinette said as she leaned toward the serving bar located in the shade of an old mango tree at the junction of the road leading up to the Waimea Canyon
KEKAHA – “This is such a nice mango tree,” Dominique Quinette said as she
leaned toward the serving bar located in the shade of an old mango tree at the
junction of the road leading up to the Waimea Canyon in Kekaha.
“You heard
of a shoe company from New York?” Quinette queried. “They liked the tree,
too. They had their girls here.” She pointed to an area near the serving
bar.
“I don’t know their name, but they were taking pictures here, and they
had their girls right here, standing and taking pictures,” she said.
The
infatuation with the aged tree gave birth to the name of the business, Under
the Mango Tree Grill and Gallery, that opened its boughs for business about
three weeks ago.
Jose Bulatao, longtime resident of Kekaha, said the
Quinettes-Rick and Dominique-had come looking for a place to rent.
“They
helped clean up the place,” he explained.
But the couple didn’t stop
there. They continued to spruce up the location at the Kekaha junction in the
shadow of the former Takanishi store, whose only remains are a single standing
wall, the remainder a victim of Hurricane Iniki in 1992.
Bulatao explained
the Quinettes “restored a fish pond from the 1940s which was located on the
property.”
The soothing trickle of water rippling over rocks was evidence
of the new life given to the sunken pool which sought attention by producing
splashes of color from water lilies and goldfish that lazed in the westside
heat.
Behind the quaint serving bar, a small shed covered in bright
splashes of color beckoned for its share of attention.
“An old man used to
live here,” Dominique Quinette offered as she volunteered a tour of ongoing
work being done to the low-ceilinged building. As she opened the doors, the
character of the building gushed out, its character bathed in the warm light of
tinted skylights that dominated the roof.
“This is going to be the gallery.
We’re going to have an opening some time in October,” she said, her arms
sweeping the expanse of the small building, its interior punctuated smartly by
partitions.
But, the secret of the junction is “the lemonade,” said
Bulatao. “You have to try the passion fruit lemonade, if it’s still in
season.”
“You want lemonade?” Quinette asked as she reached for a shaker,
its outside speckled with condensation from the Kekaha heat. “I’m going to make
one for myself, anyway.”
Evelyn Olores, director of the Kekaha
Neighborhood Center, interrupted, “You have to try the puka dog.”
“Puka in
Hawaiian means hole,” a placard on the serving bar explained to
visitors.
The basic puka dog calls for a fresh roll, clearly more
substantial than a conventional hot dog bun, skewered using a special device
that sits alongside a covered grill, and the resulting puka filled with a
polish sausage cooked in the covered grill.
From this basic combination,
Dominque Quinette has developed an exotic palette of offerings, including a
mango-lemon puka dog and a pineapple-papaya passion dog.
An Aioli puka
features the combination garnished with a special garlic-lemon mayonnaise. And
for those who think that heat beats the heat, there is a Volcano Dog with a
special Jalapeno pepper dressing.
The rolls, baked fresh daily from Rollin
‘N Dough, another local business situated just down the road, features the
culinary expertise of Lynn Jackson, the daughter of Kekaha residents Carol and
the late Jerry Santos of Traveler’s Den fame.
Bulatao interjected that
Lynn and her husband Robert Jackson have returned from San Diego, Calif., where
Lynn furthered her baking skills before taking over the location formerly
occupied by the Kekaha eatery.
“Don’t forget our opening,” Dominque
Quinette sang in parting, her voice anxious for a return visit from departing
patrons.
Under the mango tree. Only in Kekaha.
Staff photographer
Dennis Fujimoto can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 253).
