You don’t have to wait ‘til St. Paddy’s day to eat corned beef and cabbage. I recently learned this fact stopping by the Dog and Duck in the Kihei Kalama Village. Most of us know the Dog and Duck to be a great nightlife spot in Kihei’s Triangle for trivia, yum yum shots, DJs, and live music for the last 12 years, but you may not know their kitchen pumps out some of the best consistent comfort food hits in South Maui, serves a great breakfast on the weekends, and has a great late night menu too.
In the UK, pubs are more than a place to drink a pint, they are a hub of activity in the community, and a great place to get a bite to eat. In fact, the name pub is short for public house, a home away from home. I sat with owners Chris Turquet and Mick Ryan, expats from the UK, to see what the heartbeat of the Kalama Village pub is all about.
“Every establishment is built, I believe, on what comes out of the kitchen,” says Turquet. “We want to really remind and invite people to come out and try the food. Our chef is back there working hard; I feel like what Ricardo Salinas does is really a work of art: the presentation and everything else. This is not bar food.”
Recently, they redesigned the menu and have a great new presentation. The new, modern look of the menus is easy to read and organized by starters, soup and salad, their specialty dishes (aka the “Dog’s Bollocks”), sandwiches, and sides. The hand cut their fries, and make everything from scratch. The pub favorites are denoted with an Irish flag. The quality is incredible, and the prices are reasonable.
“When you have that work of art, it’s job satisfaction,” says Turquet. “I always feel like it’s being a part of the scene. Everything is fresh; we cut all of our potatoes. Our chips and our mashed potatoes are made fresh daily. This is what we are about. There is no better taste than a real chip, french fry, whatever you want to call them. We don’t use frozen. Everything is made to order. The quality of food is really high.”
Head bartender Brook Fowler takes a lot of pride in what they are doing at Dog and Duck, explaining that they are like a family, and the restaurants in the area all support each other.
“Our goal is always to make this place like a piece of home,” says Turquet. “We are a part of the community. We have a soccer team out of here, we support softball out of here. We are the village pub of Kalama Village. We have been working on a re-invention. A better menu, an appealing atmosphere for both locals and visitors – it’s really comfortable. The people that are looking for a great fish and chips, or prime rib, this is going to be the spot. We have a daily special board that goes up every day.”
The Dog and Duck also added a couple of new food items to their repertoire.
“The Duck’s Favorite Burger, and the Fowl Mouth Burger,” says Fowler. “Those are our two new dishes and they are doing really well. People really love that burger with the egg. They are yummy and we use Maui Cattle Company too. I always tell our guests that the beef is from Maui, and they really love that.”
The Fowl Mouth is served with an egg over a Maui Cattle Company half-pound patty. Then a soft egg bread bun envelops the whole thing. Perfectly seasoned hand-cut fries complete the meal. The Dog and Duck may have tweaked the menu but they were smart to stick with a lot of their fan favorites.
“We changed a few things but we do not want to change our essentials,” says Turquet. We are still known for our bangers and mash, corned beef and cabbage, the pies – the pot pies are good sellers. When you go to the sandwiches the rueben is very popular. People come back for those.”
There is one dish that Fowler recommended, that I had never heard of – their chicken Milanese. This dish is a thin pounded white meat chicken cutlet, dredged in light breadcrumbs and fried to perfection. The Dog and Duck serves theirs with a parsley, garlic, and lemon gremolata that is to die for, along with their famous mashed potatoes and peas. It has quickly moved to the top of my most craved dish list; I cannot get enough of that cutlet and gremolata.
Another hint for South Maui eaters looking for an outstanding morning fix, the Dog and Duck has breakfast on the weekends from at 8-11am: homemade corned beef and hash, eggs benedict, traditional Irish breakfast, pancakes, and omelets. You don’t have to wait in line for an excellent breakfast experience and hair of the dog specials. On Saturdays they serve breakfast till 2pm.
“Come in for breakfast and stay for a pint,” says Turquet. “We only do breakfast on the weekends but it is a really good breakfast. There is no line!”
This Thursday the Dog and Duck kicks off their annual St. Patrick’s four-day weekend celebration starting with trivia night festivities. The pub also has a steady happy hour from 3-7pm daily with $5 yum yums, $3 well drinks, and a selection of $3 beers. Stop in and cozy up to their excellent food and drink at Kihei Kalama Village.
Dog & Duck
1913 S Kihei Rd., Kihei
(808) 875-9669
Open daily
Menu:
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