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| - I was a bit skeptical about trying out Las Vegas's L& L, especially coming from the Bay Area. My last few attempts at Hawaiian food in Sin City haven't been the most favorable, so I was in doubt. I shouldn't have been when it's coming from L & L, after all, they have an award winning "Best Plate Lunch", "Hawaii's #1 Barbecue", "Best Chicken Katsu", and "Best Local Food", and there's a reason they continue opening up more of these chain restaurants.
The BF was craving Hawaiian and it was getting closer to 10 pm on a Sunday night. His only hope was for L & L, as we weren't interested in heading to Aloha Specialties. We were told that our order was for to go only since it was so late, but we were fine with that.
Searching for my pork lau lau (because that's what I always get), I quickly learned I could only get this order a la carte or with the Kahlua & Lau Lau Combo ($8.50 for regular which includes two scoops of rice and one scoop of macaroni salad). So, a la carte, it costs $3.95. I added a scoop of rice (60 cents) and a scoop of mac salad (89 cents). The BF created a combo of his own with Chicken Katsu and the Hawaiian BBQ Short Ribs. With any regular order, you get a free soda fountain drink too.
My pork lau lau and scoop of rice was shoved into a little box. It looked disappointing at first. As I unraveled the ti leaves and revealed my succulent pork and taro leaves, it actually was a heartier portion than I had in mind. I took a bite and was pleasantly surprised. It was rather moist and not dry at all, as with many Hawaiian restaurants. There were nice chunks of pork and its fatty goodness in this dish. My only complaint was that it wasn't hot enough. Even the BF was impressed too.
I was pleasantly surprised with the Chicken Katsu as well. The batter was light and crispy and had a lot of taste. I found myself reaching over to the BF's plate a lot as I enjoyed his dinner. The Short Ribs were damn good too.
Even the mac salad struck a nice chord with me! It wasn't overly mayonnaisy or too tangy, it was just right! And the rice wasn't overly sticky or mashy as I've encountered before. All in all, everything fit so well together in terms of what we ate.
Counter service was okay. The girl was on her cell phone when we walked in, so that's always tacky.
Overall, I was very impressed with L & L on South Maryland Parkway! If I'm craving pork lau lau, chicken katsu, or beef short ribs, you'll find me at this Hawaiian joint!
Update! 03/06/08 - I have since realized that this review was meant for the L & L Hawaiian Barbecue located at Mission Center, 4030 S. Maryland Parkway. However, Yelp HQ can't move this review w/o having me delete it and repost it. Oh well. This review was originally a four though, but now it's a two based on my most recent experience.
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