“Try Da Burger Wing Hub in Wahiawa, a few doors down from Shige’s!” a trusted fellow foodie recently messaged me on Instagram.
“Did you go recently? Did you like it?” I answered.
Since I didn’t get an immediate response, I figured I’d better check it out for myself.
Da Burger Wing Hub & Bar celebrated its grand opening on Aug. 10. As its name implies, it’s known for its burgers and chicken wings. While the biz is currently called Da Burger Wing Hub Crafted Burgers and Wings, its eventual name will be Da Burger Wing Hub & Bar — once its liquor license comes in, according to Arjay Mijares, who co-owns the business with Richelle Mae Decena.
“It was our dream to open up a small burger joint that offers fresh flavors and options for customers,” Mijares says. “We will have TVs to showcase sports channels and other shows. We are working on our liquor license to offer handcrafted drinks, drafts, bottled and can beers, and mimosas and bloody marys during brunch.”
The eatery’s casual ambiance definitely reminded me of a neighborhood sports bar — one where you could watch the game with friends, but not worry about it getting too rowdy to enjoy a lunch with the family.
First up: those fried smoked chicken wings. There were ample flavors, in terms of sauces and rubs. You can get four wings with one sauce/rub for $13, or eight wings with two flavors for $21 (additional sauce/rub flavors available for $1 each). Popular options included lemon pepper, salt and pepper, and Thai peanut — which brings some heat, according to our server.
“Four wings for $13 is kind of steep,” I thought. But that was before I saw the size of the wings.
These aren’t your typical bar pupu — they were whole chicken wings, which justified the price. We chose the lemon pepper seasoning, which seemed like a safe bet (I can’t handle a lot of spice, thus eliminating habanero, Thai chile and honey chile). The chicken meat was tender, and the seasoning was balanced (not too lemony).
“We do not want to be like other restaurants; our vision is to be original and offer something that no one has,” Mijares says.
A Juicy Lucy burger is typically one that features cheese stuffed inside the patty, resulting in a gooey, melty center and an overall delicious — albeit messy — meal. The cheese-stuffed burger patty is amiss in this Juicy Lucy ($18), but it was still a hit. This bestseller had an 8-ounce patty topped with cheddar cheese, lettuce, tomato, homemade spicy queso sauce, avocado and chile aioli. There was a slight kick thanks to the queso, and this was probably the most avocado I’ve seen in a burger.
Other popular burgers included black and blue ($18), portobello ($18) and barbecue ($18). The chili smash ($18) — two 4-ounce patties with feta cheese, green chile salsa, provolone cheese and spicy queso — caught my eye, as did the ginger sesame beef burger ($18), which came with spinach, ginger slaw and Sriracha aioli. These are ideal if you’re craving creative flavor combos.
I’ll admit I prefer sandwiches to burgers, so when it came to selecting one from the menu, I was indecisive. I ended up getting both the reuben sandwich ($15) and the French dip ($18) . The reuben comprised corned beef, sauerkraut, Thousand Island dressing, Swiss cheese and ground mustard on marbly rye bread. It was flavorful, but keep in mind this version features corned beef (not pastrami, if you have a preference). The French dip featured a French baguette packed with roast beef and provolone, and came with horseradish sauce and au jus for dipping. The au jus was flavorful — if anything, just a tad salty — which is essential, since the meat had no other sauces on it.
I was eyeing the Cubano ($18) — a medley of pulled pork, ham, homemade sweet pickles, sweet mustard spread, and provolone and pepper jack cheeses in a hoagie roll — but I decided to save that for a future visit.
All burgers and sandwiches came with waffle fries, which is one of my favorite types of fries. It took every ounce of willpower to not devour the majority of the fries between bites of the burger.
Dessert options included creme brulee ($8) and churro cheesecake ($10); both were housemade. The churro cheesecake was unique — it wasn’t a typical churro-flavored New York-style cheesecake, but instead featured a cheesecake filling and a cinnamon topping.
“We wanted to be original with our churro and put a twist on a cheesecake,” Mijares says.
If you have a sweet tooth, check out the eatery’s brunch menu, available from 9 a.m. to noon Fridays to Sundays. It features chocolate croissant bread pudding ($15), burrata toast with a poached egg ($15), and chicken and croffles ($17).
“We have live music on the weekends and will showcase sports, like football (on TV),” Mijares says. “We want to bring the Waikiki vibe to Wahiawa, especially to Wahiawa residents and the military.”
Da Burger Wing Hub & Bar
Address
93 N. Kamehameha Hwy. Ste. 102, Wahiawa
Phone
808-312-4248
Hours
11 a.m.-8 p.m.
Mondays-Thursdays,
9 a.m.-8 p.m.
Fridays-Saturdays,
9 a.m.-6 p.m. Sundays
Instagram
@daburgerwinghub
Price: $ $
Parking: Free parking in the lot
