Maui Express: 8750 Santa Fe   Posted by at 4:17 pm Jan 182008
From the outside, this place has the aura of a failed attempt at
chain fast food written all over it. And the name is confusing.
All I know about hawaiian cuisine is that they bury whole pigs
in firepits where they cook for hours on end. That sounds like a
whole lotta delicious to me, but Maui Express is a storefront in
an ugly strip mall next to a Mr. Goodcents.  Moreover, when you
walk in the place, there is a white dude in a mall-bought
Hawaiian shirt behind the counter. Now, this gentleman was very
friendly and efficient, I really appreciate that. But he had
that cult-like way of staring through you found among
fundamentalist christians and nerdy white guys who only date
quiet asian girls. I’m pegging this guy for both.  The menu at
Maui Express is really small, and is definitively Japanese in
orientation. That makes sense, given the history and ethnic
composition of Hawaii. Foremost among the menu items are
“bowls.” Basically these are Rice,