Easy ‘Que – Kailua Town Shopping Center

On the corner of Kailua Road and Hamakua Drive, you’ll find Easy ‘Que: a restaurant that specializes in Hawaiian style BBQ. Although Easy ‘Que carries some BBQ staples such as macaroni and cheese, tater tots, and cornbread, they also carry original items such as Brussel chips and braised red cabbage! In addition, they have three unique house-made sauces: Crack Seed, Kailua Green, and Over Easy. The experience at Easy ‘Que is truly only one you can find there. I was thoroughly impressed, so let’s get right into it.

My friend and I got the Endless Summer (gin, cocchi rosa, watermelon shrub) and the Alcoholic Slushy (rotating flavors – we chose the POG). The Endless Summer was refreshing and not overly sweet while the Alcoholic Slushy tasted just like juice. Don’t let that fool you though: these drinks packed a punch! We were already feeling the drinks before the food came.

As for food, I decided on the KFC “Kailua Fried Chicken” sandwich with mac and cheese. The menu states that the sandwich prep time is 15 minutes, which went by pretty quickly. When it came out, I laughed and said to my friend, “Oh my god, how am I gonna finish this thing?” I had to cut it in half and squish it together to take a bite!

If you aren’t already drooling, my friend decided on the kalbi brisket plate with tater tots, cornbread, and Brussel chips. I’ll let this photo speak for itself. Look at that texture! If I remember correctly, the brisket is marinated in a shoyu-based sauce. He loved the flavor and said it went well with his sides.

Everything we had was good on its own, but what set it even more apart from other experiences was the house-made sauces. My favorite was the Kailua Green (if you know me or read my other blogs, this shouldn’t surprise you) while my friend’s favorite was the Crack Seed. The Kailua Green sauce is like a Thai Curry sauce with fresh herbs. It was a nice touch to the fried chicken and gave it a fresh taste. Honestly, I would have bought the bottle if I could. The Crack Seed was a li-hing sauce that complimented the kalbi by giving it some sweetness and a little spice. The other sauce was good too (more on the sweet side) but we couldn’t stop reaching for the other two.

If you’re looking for a unique BBQ experience, I highly recommend giving Easy ‘Que a try. The servers are very helpful and it’s obvious that they’re proud about what they sell. I’m already planning my next trip to Kailua to try more of the menu!

Do you love BBQ? What’s your favorite place?