Spirit of Aloha | Articles | Adventures in Dining | February 2001

Adventures in Dining
by Sarah Mossman

Cajun Cuisine in Kailua

Kevin's Two Boots, tucked away on a side street in Kailua, O'ahu, serves Cajun food prepared with passion and the kind of knowledge that is in your bones

Kevin Tate makes his ribs "fall off the bone" soft because of his grandfather, who had no teeth.

Louisiana natives have a wonderful word-"lagniappe" (pronounced lan-yap). It's when you go to get something and you get a "little extra" thrown in. A pleasant bit more than you really expected. That's what happens when you find Kevin's Two Boots, a small Kailua neighborhood restaurant located down a side street, tucked into the back of a nondescript shopping center.

Cajun food, that blistering cuisine born of the melding of French, Indian, African-American and Spanish roots in the bayous of Acadian country, is almost an oddity in Hawai'i. What's more, highly regional cuisine doesn't always translate well to Hawai'i's pan-Asian population used to Mainland-style fast food and plate lunches. That is, until you get a taste of Kevin's Two Boots.

It works because the food is prepared with passion and the kind of knowledge that is in your bones.

Kevin Tate, a Louisiana native, showed up in Hawai'i in 1983 on a three-week vacation and fell in love with the Islands. After a series of odd jobs, Kevin found himself cooking up a storm at the University of Hawai'i, then at Hawai'i Pacific University, and eventually got into catering. In January of this year, Kevin's Two Boots opened (named after the "two boots" of Louisiana and Italy-his favorite cuisines).

The restaurant itself, with its rose-running-to-mauve walls, black tablecloths, French lace curtains, dime-store art and Mardi Gras motif, has do-it-yourself decorating written all over it. On the tables are "throws," the prized, plastic beads and doubloons thrown from Mardi Gras parade floats. And all of it is spotless.

The menu itself is classic Cajun-grilled catfish, Cajun salmon and beef, seafood gumbo, or gumbo with just chicken and sausage, shrimp etouffee, jambalaya, spicy Creole vegetables with okra, corn and peppers, and, of course, Kevin's Honey BBQ Baby Back Ribs. Kevin likes to say that they are so soft they "fall off the bone" on account of his grandfather, who had no teeth. He used to tell Kevin that if he couldn't eat them, they just weren't soft enough.

I'm there that night alone, sitting at a small table at the window, feeling quite comfortable and not in the least bit ignored. It's obvious that I can't order enough to get a fair sampling, but I try. What I can't taste, I will order to go, to take home for my husband, who was unable to come. The menu lists appetizers like Spicy Cajun Riblets and Crabmeat Au Gratin served with garlic toasts, and complete dinners that include a fresh garden salad with Kevin's homemade Garlic Parmesan Ranch dressing.

I order the special of the day, Jambalaya with Cajun Chicken. The Jambalaya is a sort of Acadian paella, boneless chicken chunks and smoked sausage simmered in rice, spices, onions and bell peppers. The result is a hearty dish begging you to eat more than you ought to.

The fresh green salad arrives first on that "something extra"-a chilled salad plate. It's refreshing before the assault of Cajun spice. Next comes the large dinner plate with the Jambalaya and a moist, delicious chicken breast (becoming a rarity these days) rubbed with spices, then grilled. On the side is a mixture of the Cajun vegetables, a small corn muffin that Kevin refers to as a corn cake, and a scoop of his "potato casserole," which to me is indistinguishable from good ol' mashed potatoes. It is tasty fare and I challenge anyone to finish his plate, given the size of the portions.

Kevin offers only two desserts, but who needs more, when they have all the hallmarks of being passed down from generation to generation. I order the Sweet Potato Praline Cheesecake, which Kevin makes himself. What I get is a humungous wedge of sweetness dripping with praline sauce. I can only eat a third of it, but there is no way I'm not going to take the remainder home.

The other dessert is a carrot cake attributed to someone named Vince, served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. It promises to be moist and generous, too.

Dinner over, I pack up my take-out of Honey BBQ Baby Back Ribs, potato salad, brown sugar baked beans and corn cakes, and I'm gone. Two seconds after I get home, my husband is sitting at the dining table up to his ears in BBQ sauce, and looking mighty happy. I guess he got a little more than he expected, too.

Kevin's Two Boots
35 Kainehe St., Kailua, O'ahu
230-8111
Dinner Tuesday-Saturday 5:30-9 p.m., Sunday 5-9 p.m., closed Monday.
Parking available, major credit cards, reservations for parties for four or more, BYOB.

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