There are many activities that should not be performed on an empty stomach, including swimming, surgery, and swimming 30 minutes after having your appendix removed. Acquire activity fuel with today's Groupon: for $8, you get two combination lunch plates, salads, or entrees at Lanikai Grill Hawaiian BBQ in South Jordan (up to a $19 value).
Lanikai Grill proprietors Phil and Jenine Felipe imbue their Polynesian eatery with a sensory smorgasbord of hawaiian barbecue favorites and Asian cuisine inspired by their own Tongan upbringing. A quick perusal of Lanikai Grill's menu spotlights innovative fusion fare, including the plate lunch specialties served with two scoops of rice and a side of macaroni salad. Food should be tasted, not heard, so insert the hawaiian barbecue short ribs, covered in spices and blackened to a crispy crunch, into your mouth instead of into a tape player ($8.50). The seafood combo couples mahi-mahi with deep-fried shrimp in a perfect marriage of sea salt and understanding ($9.50). Vegetable-based victuals are represented by a selection of hearty salads (all $7.50), including the Kamehameha featuring diced barbecue pork, romaine lettuce, cherry tomatoes, black olives, red onions, and cubed mangos basking under the cool, creamy canopy of a smooth mango dressing.
Reviews
Lanikai Grill Hawaiian BBQ was reviewed by Deseret News and featured in Salt Lake City Weekly. Six Yelpers give it an average of 3.5 stars, four Citysearchers give it an average of 4.5 stars, and 70% of Urbaspooners like it.
- Lupulu, kalua pork, and barbecued beef are other specialties at Lanikai, as are very friendly faces. – Salt Lake City Weekly
- One of my favorites! Consistently great food and nice people. – KLS, Urbanspoon
Lanikai Grill
The owners' menu of traditional Polynesian dishes hearkens back to their upbringing on Hawaii. Within an open-air kitchen, the staff grills and fries fresh ingredients and assemble them into lunch plates inspired by Hawaii's diverse immigrant population. Techniques and flavors borrowed from Japanese, Korean, and Indian cuisines are woven into Polynesian favorites, such as frybread, barbecue pork, and chicken-curry rice bowls. Through the tall windows of the exhibition storefront, sunshine spills in to bathe the eatery's goldenrod walls in natural light and allow diners to wear their mining helmets solely as fashion statements.