Paradise Hawaiian BBQ

Since its creation a decade ago, Tempe Beach Park has become a major event venue. People may complain about the algae in the water or the expensive repairs needed to the dams at each end of the lake, but the park hosts one festival after another from October until May. One of the biggest and best of those events is the Arizona Aloha Festival, which celebrates the little-known fact that the Phoenix Metropolitan Area is home to one of the largest populations of Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders on the United States mainland. Amid the dance performances, exhibitor booths, and outrigger canoes, you’ll find dozens of food vendors selling plate lunches, the popular and hearty meals of Hawaii. Count President Obama among the plate lunch’s fans. All the food vendors at the Aloha Festival are worth trying, but one of the booths drawing the longest lines always belongs to Paradise Hawaiian BBQ.

Fortunately, it’s not necessary to wait for the next festival to enjoy Paradise’s Korean-influenced Hawaiian food. Instead, just visit the actual restaurant, located not far from Tempe Beach Park at Sixth Street and College Avenue, just two block from the Veterans Way / College light rail station. The space has been adapted from a prior use as a burger joint. The decor is a mix of Hawaiian scenery and Sun Devils memorabilia, and flat-screen televisions show sports or news inside, but the patio seems sadly neglected. The photos and signs on the wall near the counter are useful mainly to those already familiar with Hawaiian and Korean food. If they don't make sense, ask at the counter for one of the printed menus or talk to the staff about what to order. If not in the mood to make decisions, just order the day-of-the-week special, such as chicken katsu on Thursdays.

Most customers order the plate lunches at Paradise, and it would be difficult for anyone to walk out hungry after one of these hearty platters. The first step in enjoying one is to select a meat. Almost all are marinated in house-made sauces. A basic grilled preparation (as opposed to the slow smoking of true barbecue) is the starting point with beef, chicken, and pork. A spicy version of each meat is also available for anyone who want to take things up a notch. The Korean influence shows in kalbi, marinated short ribs, and in bibimbap, which combines rice, beef, vegetables, and egg. All of these are served in generous portions. The spicy BBQ chicken is three generous and tender pieces, and most other plate lunches deliver the same bounty.

The plate lunches can be daunting, so half a dozen soups, all of Korean origin, are available as alternatives. All come in generous bowls and the same array of side dishes as the plate lunches, so they're really almost as filling. The soups are all hearty, zesty, and meaty. In fact, even two soups that might sound vegetarian, the tofu soup and the miso soup, actually contain small pieces of meat. That's not unexpected to anyone familiar with Korean cuisine, in which it's common for tofu dishes to be accentuated with meat. There are a handful of fish and shrimp entrees, most of them fried. That approach works well with the fish jun, a Korean preparation involving an egg batter. It's less successful with breaded mahi-mahi since the result doesn't seem far removed from frozen fish sticks. The garlic shrimp are a lighter, more flavorful option.

Whether the entree choice comes from sea or land, the accompaniments are usually two scoops of rice and four sides selected by the customer. The more straightforward options are the macaroni salad, a Hawaiian favorite, and basic vegetables like steamed broccoli and corn. Those are all good, but anyone who believes that fate favors the bold should turn instead to the banchan, traditional Korean side dishes. There's kimchee, or course, but that's only the beginning. These dishes are generally served cold and are often pickled. Choices include seaweed, cucumber, bean sprouts, napa cabbage, and noodles. If all these choices are not enough, it’s even possible to order spam musubi, a Hawaiian snack that reflects the surprisingly important role of the canned lunch meat in island cuisine.

Athough the food comes to the table already abundant in flavor, there’s a small condiment bar with both sriracha and Korean hot sauce tinged with garlic. To extinguish all that heat, Paradise serves fountain sodas and the fruity Hawaiian Sun canned drinks made from real cane sugar. A selection of draft and bottled beer is also available. There isn’t much in the way of dessert, and it’s hard to imagine most customers having room after plowing through a plate lunch. Although there's no kid's menu, Paradise is a good choice for hungry little ones. There are high chairs available, and since the restaurant is a family business, it's not unusual to see three generations on the premises.The Aloha Festival may happen only once a year, but a Hawaiian plate lunch is always just a short walk or train ride away in Tempe.

580 S. College Ave., #103, Tempe, AZ 85281 | Map
(480) 621-7373