The Weekly Eater

By Nadine Kam
Star-Bulletin

Thursday, January 23, 1997

---

What’s bueno in ’Nalo
isn’t on Monsarrat

I'VE long listened to people wax ecstatic about Bueno Nalo in Waimanalo. I, too, have been won over by the restaurant's rustic little building, colorful hacienda decor and friendly service.

As for the food, I always thought Bueno Nalo's simple charms helped people to gloss over imperfections. Sort of like falling in love and playing up the beloved's good points to friends , noticing only later that the object of one's affections may have crooked teeth, a zero bank balance and a penchant for meals of macaroni and cheese (any resemblance to persons living or dead is merely coincidental).

To serve fans in town, Bueno Nalo Diamond Head is now open on Monsarrat Avenue, but before your expectations start racing ahead, take note:

The new Bueno Nalo has none of the old's country charm.

The new Bueno Nalo is more of a take-out than sit-down place. Not that you'd want to hang around anyway because it is cramped and the fluorescent lights are blinding.

Although items such as guacamole and ceviche ($5.25, usually mahimahi) are as fresh as can be expected at a fast-food joint, the rest of it is not much better than shopping mall Mexican fare.

The new restaurant does little to enhance the Bueno Nalo name, although I can understand the desire to use it. How many would have showed up on opening day if it were called Dorito's?

People did show up to see the new Bueno Nalo, and it's doing brisk business with a university-age crowd. The young tend to be most tolerant of this sort of ersatz ethnic cuisine, anyway.

ON the menu are salads, lots of tortilla-wrapped morsels and Mexican pizzas ($6.50) - flour tortillas baked with a your choice of $1.50 toppings such as guacamole, green chiles, shredded beef, black beans and chicken.

I was told the Topopo Salad ($6.75 small/$7.95 grande) was excellent. In reality, it was nothing more than a pile of iceberg lettuce, two halves of a boiled egg, processed cheddar and a handful of black olive slices with a peppery chile vinaigrette.

Basic plates are simply dressed with the same said lettuce, a few black olive slices and an insipid tomato paste. (What happened to Bueno Nalo's salsa?)

Stuffed Jalapenos ($5.25) are a decent starter. These deep-fried nuggets are filled with a cream cheese-black bean mixture. Big appetites will be better served by an order of Nachos Grande ($5.95), topped with shredded chicken or beef, cheese, guacamole and sour cream.

A Chimichanga that should have been filled with Chile Verde ($5.25 regular/$8.25 grande), featured instead, a sweet, gelatinous green goo. There should have been pork in the filling also, but if there was, it must have been ground into a fine talc. Oh well, at least the crisp tortilla shell topped with melted cheese was tasty. Maybe they could just omit the filling and call it a quesadilla.

You do get a meaty payoff if you order chicken or beef burritos ($3.25 regular to $8.25 grande) or chimichangas ($5.25/$8.95). Other choices are mahi, black beans with rice, veggies and beans with cheese.

The best dish by far was the Sizzling Fajitas ($9.95) with mahi. Where the other dishes tended to taste flat and institutional, here the fish was actually spiced up.

Try the new Bueno Nalo, but better to save up some gas money and drive out to the original.

Bueno Nalo Diamond Head

Where: 3045 Monsarrat Ave.
Hours: 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. weekdays, to 10 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays; open from 11 a.m. on Sundays
Prices: About $12 to $18 for two
Call: 735-8818 or fax 735-6256

- excellent;
- very good, exceeds expectations;
- average;
- below average.