Tl;dr - This place is "so ono." Their kalua pork sliders, street tacos and specials "broke da' mouth" for me!
This longtime local favorite has been a food truck for years, and recently celebrated their first year in a brick-and-mortar restaurant off of Spring Drive in Southeast Reno. I love seeing a business like that succeed, and I love Hawaiian/Hawaiian-inspired food! I've been to Food Truck, they've catered my work luncheons, and I've been to their brick-and-mortar - Kenji's kills it on their grindz.
The service has always been great for me. The people behind Kenji's are all super-cool and laid back. They get super busy during the lunch hour, but don't think they're on "island time." They do a good job of getting orders out to folks as quickly as possible. On top of that, one of them is always around checking to see how the meal is.
I follow their Instagram, @KenjisFoodTruck. Not only is it a place for great "food porn" content, but it's also where they tell people about their monthly specials. If it's popular enough, they'll put it on the menu permanently. This includes their Spam Tacos and Kalua Pork Sliders. I personally love spam, so the tacos already a winner, in my book. The spam is seared, it's topped with cole slaw, onion, cilantro and drizzled with katsu sauce, which creates a nice combination of flavor. I get that some people don't like spam, but this is a pretty amazing Kenji's creation to try. As for the sliders, I highly recommend them. The pork is always tender and flavorful. The cole slaw and chipotle crema are a nice addition to the already decadent slider with great, semi-toasted buns. I love and get them most of the time. It's also a favorite among my friends, family and co-workers I take here. Their February 2020 special is the fantastic Chili Frank Plate Lunch. It's Hawaiian-style chili with a grilled "Redondo's" red hot dog, served with rice and macaroni salad. It was a colder day when I had it, but I think I'd have it constantly. The chili was well-made, and the rice is a great carb to soak up the chili.
Another must-try are their street tacos, on top of the spam tacos I just highlighted. Perhaps, do a sample of all the options to see which ones are your favorite:
*Pork - Kalua Pork, onion, cilantro and queso fresco - My personal favorite that is also the top pick of multiple friends and co-workers. It's one of the more simple, straightforward tacos, but the mix of the already flavorful Kalua Pork with the onion, cilantro and queso fresco made my mouth water upon the first-ever bite I took.
*Steak - Hawaiian-style barbecued beef, onion, cilantro and spicy cucumber mix - it's a great blend of savory, sweet and spicy. I'd say this is a close 2nd favorite.
*Chicken - Hawaiian-style barbecued chicken, onion, cilantro and spicy cucumber mix - a number of comments from folks in my network who's tried it, said the chicken can be slightly dry, but still very good.
*Tofu - onion, cilantro, sweet chili sauce and spicy cucumber mix - This is a great vegetarian option. The grilled tofu with all the above combined is fantastic.
Kenji's has become easily one of my favorite restaurants in town. I highly recommend it! read more