MARY FURR -- DINING OUT

L & L Hawaiian Barbeque, at Beach Boulevard and Utica Avenue, is a

casual place among a cluster of eating choices, not quite a restaurant.

It’s of the “give your order and take a number” variety with a limited

menu, but what great new tastes for Huntington Beach!

Its popular fast-food style is imported from the islands -- the

Newland Center location is the second in the United States -- and its

citrus marinade and sauce makes the food addictive. Everything is served

in Styrofoam, ready for take out for the office, beach, home video or one

of the inside or outside tables. Combo plates ($6.29-$7.29) and the plate

lunches (mini $3.69; regular $5.69-$5.89) all have a scoop of some of the

best steamed rice this side of Japan, thanks to chef Matt Morita,

mayonnaisy macaroni salad and a pile of shredded cabbage on which your

meat, chicken or seafood selection rests. According to co-owner Kiva

Morita, chicken katsu is chicken breast butterflied and battered, then

folded back together, dipped in batter and fried, which results in an

extra light crispiness on the tender meat. It’s the crustiness that is so

distinctive and the lively citrus dipping sauce that goes with it.

A combo plate barbecue mix ($6.29) is more ordinary but still has that

Hawaiian flavor. Piled on the plate are two thick, grilled chicken

breasts; two pieces of thin, marinated beef; and two strips of short ribs

-- satisfying but still light.

A beef dish that Kiva says is really popular is loco moco

($3.89-$5.89) -- a selection that would do for breakfast or lunch. A

thick hamburger patty and egg (any style) rests on top of beefy gravy --

as hearty as a hungry surfer could want.

Another robust dish back in favor with diners now is the Hawaiian

barbecue pork chop ($3.79-$5.79), the wonderfully flavored, lean chop has

plenty of meat and little bone.

For a lighter lunch, saimin -- noodle soup ($2.79-$3.99) -- is

perfect, lots of tangled thin noodles in a clear beef broth to which you

may add either chicken, beef, shrimp or vegetables. The vegetable choice

is thick with bright broccoli flowers, onions and carrots, the chicken

katsu has lots of marble-size, breaded chicken pieces with onion bits

floating on top.

Fish, a sure bet in any of the islands, is an excellent choice here.

Three lightly battered slices of mahi-mahi ($3.99-$5.99) top the

rough-cut cabbage with an excellent pinkish tartar sauce that was so good

we mixed it with the cabbage for an impromptu salad. Four tail-on fried

shrimp ($3.99-$5.99) are naked and unbattered but brushed with that

citrusy Hawaiian sauce. A good cocktail-type sauce would have been a

welcome addition.

Sandwiches, burgers and salads are available but no desserts -- fresh

assorted fruit ($2.79) can be a good substitute. Matt and Kiva Morita,

along with co-owners Derryck and Elaine Tom, have all enjoyed the

distinctive taste of Hawaiian barbecue in the islands. Matt and Kiva,

from San Gabriel Valley, settled in Huntington Beach 18 years ago, when

she was a designer for St. John Knits. Now her uniform is the bright

orange shirts of L & L Hawaiian Barbeque.

She loves the change of career and welcomes the diners who pour into

the busy cafe, which opened a month ago.

* MARY FURR is the Independent restaurant critic. If you have comments

or suggestions for her, call (562) 493-5062.

FYI

o7 L & L Hawaiian Barbequef7

WHERE: 19692 Beach Blvd., Huntington Beach, in the Newland Center

PHONE/FAX: (714) 968-1898

HOURS: 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 10 a.m to 10 p.m.

Friday and Saturday, and 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday

MISC.: Credit cards