So I need to make a confession before I start talking about Bubba Kahuna’s, I didn’t intend on coming here and trying their food. I was actually looking to go to a sandwich shop 2 doors down, a friend of mine had told me about this place called PITA PIT, and I was going to try their sandwiches, but it happened to be closed, so I went here instead. Let me also say that this isn’t a sandwich shop, but a pizza and barbecue place. I usually don’t put as much expectation on places that aren’t just sandwich shops, because a lot of the time they don’t emphasize their sandwich menu. When it comes to pizza places, they usually carry sandwiches because it’s easy to keep ingredients on hand and it provides something different for people who don’t want pizza or wings. One thing I do enjoy about sandwiches at pizza places is that they have some great ovens (hopefully) so they tend to do really nice hot sandwiches. The decor was very reminiscent of the Islands Fine Burgers restaurants, with the tropical island theme. I went with a Louisiana sausage sandwich, which was on a toasted french roll with mayo, mustard, lettuce, tomato, onion, and provolone. When I first saw it on the menu, I thought it might’ve been like an andouille sausage, but I feel like it had more of a hot dog feel (if that makes any sense) and closer to a Louisiana hot link. The sandwich itself wasn’t anything revolutionary, but I enjoyed it. The meat was split long ways, and the skins of it made it almost impossible to take a bite without pulling the whole sausage from the sandwich. The lettuce was wilting under that sausage, and I felt that all the extra stuff put in the sandwich didn’t do anything to enhance to the flavor of it. The sausage is has a nice heat to it, and it really did overpower the cheese and produce. I think I would’ve enjoyed getting rid of all the excess and just have the sausage with some grilled onions and whole grain mustard. Just goes to show that you really don’t need to be too clever to make a great tasting sandwich, there wasn’t anything out of the ordinary in this sandwich, but it was still enjoyable. The Slaw that came with the sandwiches was really nice, It was creamy and had some nice vinegar flavors, but what really set it off was the black pepper. I honestly would’ve been happy to ditch the produce in the sandwich and add the slaw into the sandwich.
I really should’ve tried their barbecue sandwiches, but I noticed that they aren’t actually on the sandwich menu board, but the BBQ pit menu board. I guess I’ve got another excuse to try this place again, I really wouldn’t mind it because the restaurant had a nice environment with very friendly staff. For those of you who have not been to Dana Point, it is a very pleasant coastal town with a lot of relaxing charm and Bubba Kahuna’s is a nice little place to bring people. They have some arcades machines in the corner (a throwback to my childhood at other pizza places) and I think I counted 12 different T.V.s for the sports crowd. I had a moment of confusion when trying to find the bathroom (it was only half a second, I swear) where I wasn’t sure what bathroom was the men’s and which one was the women’s, that is until I noticed the mermaid on top of the women’s bathroom sign. Pricing is a hair higher than other places, but it’s nothing unreasonable. The sandwich and a drink cost me about $12, you pay a little more for their BBQ pit stuff, but their signature stuff would naturally be more pricey. I will definitely be back, because I think I haven’t had their best yet.
