Street Burger — Focus on the Table

Aaron and Kristin Leikam’s Street Burger opened a couple months ago, and became an instant hit with local residents and visitors. Aaron is a seasoned chef and Kristin was the creative energy behind their last business, Cakes by Kristin.

OK, Kaua‘i. I want to tell you about a great local business owned by good people doing good things with food.

“We want to bring the focus back to the table, family and friends,” said Aaron Leikam. He and his wife, Kristin, recently opened the upscale Street Burger in Wailua. The new restaurant, as the name suggests, focuses on high-quality burgers.

Kristin and Aaron, hands-on restaurateurs who have worked all over the country pursuing culinary careers, intended Street Burger to be a place where people can go often, feel comfy and have conversations rather than looking at TVs or smartphones. It’s very much like a neighborhood place with a fresh urban feel. Its décor is rustic, upscale and casual.

Breakside Brewery’s Lunchbreak ISA (India Session Ale) out of Portland, and Maui Brewing Company’s always enjoyable Coconut Porter.

And they are giving homage to the collection of good culinary efforts on the island. They use Passion Bakery’s delicious breads, cut their potato fries by hand, make all their condiments in-house and handcraft their burgers with the best available ingredients. You can usually find Aaron at farmers markets daydreaming over island grown produce, which he takes home, researches and creates flavor combinations for new burgers.

All the meat served at Street Burger comes from Makaweli Meat Company — harvested from 100 percent grass-fed Kaua‘i cattle.

At the time of this article, there were 17 handcrafted burgers on the menu, with more probably coming soon. Many of them follow a regional theme, like the Italian with prosciutto, mozzarella and pesto; the Southern with fried green tomato, pimento cheese and greens; the Texan with Texas chili, charred onion and cheddar; and the Wailua with spam and jalapeno-pineapple marmalade. Some are classics, like Mushroom Swiss and Bacon BBQ.

The burgers and flavors are filling, but won’t destroy you and make you feel heavy. You can taste the quality.

But there’s more!

The Napa Burger on the left, with blue cheese, cabernet onions, port reduction and spinach, and the signature Street Burger, with a little bit of everything: cured pork belly, fried egg, arugula, blue cheese and fizzled onions.

You can also have a veggie burger, salads, gourmet fries and starters, all with fresh farm ingredients and house-made dressings and dips. The desserts, as you would expect, are all made in house, and you must save room for them.

Street Burger offers more than 20 beers on tap. The servers are knowledgeable of the different beers and can offer pairing suggestions.

Street Burger is at 4-369 Kuhio Hwy in Wailua, across Kinipopo Shopping Village. They are open for lunch and dinner Tuesday through Saturday. Reservations for six or more are accepted.

Visit www.streetburgerkauai.com for more information.

• Anni Caporuscio is a food lover and can be found daily at her Kapa‘a business, Small Town Coffee.