The quest for the best teriyaki sirloin…

November 8th, 2007

When we came to the islands for our honeymoon, we went to Duke’s Canoe Club on Kauai and I had my first (and certainly not my last) teriyaki sirloin. I was instantly hooked. When we went to a decent restaurant, if teriyaki sirloin was on the menu…I was ordering it! Some of the best I’ve had were at Duke’s, Kimos on Maui, Leilani’s on the Beach, Kalaheo Steakhouse, The Chart House and Hilton Kauai Beach Resort. Of course the first 3 restaurants are all owned by TS Restaurants so when you get a good formula going, don’t mess with it. If you know the menu at one of those three restaurants, you know it for all three. But something perplexes me, why would Kimos yank this delectable item from their menu?? Yep, despite it still being listed on their online menu, we went to get it and they didn’t have it anymore so we left. Luckily Leilani’s on the Beach had it and it was actually a tad better. The Chart House is long closed from its idyllic oceanfront location on Kona Bay to make way for the high brow favorite…Hooters. Yeah. This beautiful location is now a backdrop for hootin’ and hollerin’ men looking for boobies and we don’t mean the red footed variety. But if you ask any local, they’ll still reference “turn right just past the old Chart House” so you’d better know it’s on Waterfront Row or you might be screwed direction wise!

I was sad to see that the quality of Duke’s teriyaki sirloin has gone slightly downhill when we were there in May. I was surprised that the Hilton’s version was actually a little more flavorful. There’s nothing like being able to taste the ginger and garlic that accompany the shoyu/sugar based sauce. It’s all a delicate balance which made me wonder…have I had THE best teriyaki sirloin Hawaii has to offer? That’s where you come in.

If you’re a teriyaki enthusiast like me, in your opinion, who has the best teriyaki sirloin in the islands?