RESTAURANT REVIEW:

My lunches have been getting a little stale. I seem to be visiting the same places and was in desperate need of expanding my rotation.

Lunch to me, and I am sure to others, is often an afterthought — food to wolf down as we take a break from work. Often I am eating in the car going to an appointment, so my choices are never very good.

I despise fast food, but am often forced to eat it for its convenience. I figured, though, there had to be a better way to spend a half-hour than chomping on a cheeseburger.

I had seen Maui Hawaiian BBQ on visits to Target in the shopping plaza off Beach Boulevard a block or two south of Edinger Avenue. It is wedged in a little storefront between a dentist office and a weightloss clinic.

The inside is small. There are seven tables, but they make the most of the space. Decorated in a Hawaiian motif, there is a surfboard that hangs on the wall near the soda fountain. Other Hawaiian decorations include pictures, wood carvings and a mural.

The menu is filled with chicken, ribs and pork dishes. Of course being a Hawaiian-themed restaurant, there has to be a Spam dish.

Hawaiians became enamored with the mystery meat during World War II. It was a staple of GI diets, and many of the locals worked in military offices and became familiar with it.

It was easily integrated into meals and was popular because it needed no refrigeration and had a long shelf life. Many cabinets in island homes have Spam, and it is a perfect item to have while waiting out a hurricane.

The Spam musubi served at Maui Hawaiian BBQ is a popular creation found in many island restaurants. About a two-inch-long piece of Spam is put atop a half-inch brick of white rice and drizzled with teriyaki sauce. It is then wrapped in seaweed paper.

The saltiness of the Spam mixes well with the rice, though I thought there was a bit too much of the grain and ended up scooping out about half of the rice.

For lunch I had the combination plate. For $7.29 you get to pick two of 11 items, including pork, chicken or ribs. I went with the pork and pineapple chicken. The combo also comes with macaroni salad, steamed rice and vegetables.

The pork is shredded and cooked in spices, then stir-fried with cabbage. The distinctive flavor was a nice surprise, and there is plenty of the meat.

The Maui pineapple chicken is slices of chicken cooked with cabbage and pineapple. The sweetness is not evident unless you mix the cabbage, which is hiding beneath the generous portions of dark meat.

You may not want to mix it up, though. I enjoyed the chicken without the sauce, which I found a bit too sweet for my liking.

The only fault I have with the combination plate is that it is crammed into a Styrofoam box, regardless of whether you eat in or take out. The flavors of the two entrees get mashed together, and it is tough to fully enjoy both separately.

This is a worthy alternative to fast food and definitely a stop I will make in the future. The menu is varied enough that it should take some time before I get bored with it.

MAUI HAWAIIAN BBQ

Address: 16428 Beach Blvd., Westminster

Phone: (714) 596-7299

Cuisine: Hawaiian

Specialty dish: Kalua pork and Lau Lau combo

Alcohol served: None

Dress: Casual

Family friendly: Yes, plenty of things for kids to eat

Credit cards accepted: American Express, Visa and MasterCard

Rating: ** 1/2

JOHN REGER reviews local restaurants for the Independent.