- December 14th, 2007
Did any of you guys get to check out the Haleiwa Surf Competition? I did. It was the first surf competition I’ve been to and I had a blast. We took a brake and took a drive down that famous strip on Kamehameha Hwy and embarked upon Rosie’s Cantina.
It was a good size restaurant, with a full bar. I liked the big windows that let in all that natural light.
Having a clear view of all the dust that gathered atop the green pipes right next to a fan was a little troubling but that went away when our chips and salsa arrived.
For some people the chips and salsa can be the deciding factor of the place. Shane can very well be one of these people he loves chips and salsa. Ray’s deciding factor is the rice and beans, if they can make good rice and beans then it’s very likely that they will make good on everything else. As for me, I have no deciding factor. I say equal opportunity for all my friend. But I have to say if my deciding factor was salsa, this place would be a winner. So far, this place has the best salsa as far as I’m concerned. The chips could have been better, but the salsa takes the cake.
I like my salsa chunky, fresh and spicy enough to where I have to take a break from it and find something else to put in my mouth to offset the spiciness. It wasn’t too spicy, but spicy enough and it had a natural sweetness to it from the tomatoes and onions. I liked it so much at the end of my meal I asked for them to put some in a container so I could have so later and they did, free of charge.
Chile verde has to be my all time favorite traditional Mexican dish and for some reason it’s hard find on Oahu. I know Cholos, Cha Cha Cha’s or Tacos Baja didn’t have it so when I saw it on the menu at Rosie’s I had to get it, $12.50. For those of you not really familiar with chile verde, it’s slow roasted pork in a homemade chile verde sauce or green chile sauce. Now just because it says chile doesn’t mean its hot. As a matter of fact, this dish shouldn’t be hot. Just think of kailua pork or laulau, if you like that kind of stuff as I do, you’ll love you some chili verde. Now that pathetic dish to the left side of my plate, that’s it.
I took a close up so you can properly see what I ate. It came with big chunks of onion, peppers in a chile sauce. I’ve never had chili verde like this before. It was still good, very greasy, and not very much. The pork was definitely slow roasted, very soft and tender. I wasn’t a fan of the sauce though. Usually I like to put everything into a corn tortilla and then spread some chile sauce over it for flavor but I didn’t do that with this one. I think it was the greasy sauce that killed this pork for me.
Ray got the Grilled Lightly Marinated Fresh Ahi Burrito, $1495. It came with Spanish rice and choice of refried beans or black beans. He got refried beans. Inside the burrito was refried beans, cheese, cilantro and onion mix. The burrito was covered with cheese and a special home-made sauce. As far as Mexican food on this island goes, this is not too shabby. Everything tasted authentic. Next time he’s gonna switch it up and go with steak instead of fish. Way to live on the edge babe!
This glob of mess is actually Chicken Fajitas, $13.50. Yeah, I know, it doesn’t really look like it to me either. The chicken fajitas I’m use to usually come on a sizzling platter. It came with rice, it’s under there somewhere, choice of beans, guacamole and sour cream. Even though this looks like a pile of sloppy joes, it was still really tasty. I still would of rather it came on a sizzling platter though, for a more dramatic effect and to keep the chicken warm. I liked that it came with chopped tomatoes and green onions for flavor. I didn’t like that they overlaid the rice and for $13.50 I think they could afford to throw in a side of shredded cheese.
Overall, I can see myself coming back to this place. I didn’t like that they only gave three tortillas for the fajitas and chile verde. I prefer my tortillas served in a separate covered tray so it stays fresh and hot. It wasn’t the best Mexican place ever, but as you probably already know, there’s not a whole lot to choose from around here. If your craving Mexican food this place would definitely hit the spot. However, as you can see, prices weren’t that cheap. I suggest sharing and rack up on the chips and salsa. After we were done we got back in the car and made it just in time to catch the end of the Halewia Surf Competition. Here’s some pictures I took. Enjoy.
Oh young love . . .
Obviously he won.
Rosie’s Cantina
66-165 Kamehameha Hwy
Haleiwa, HI 96712
(808) 637-3538
