INhonolulu Magazine Issue #16 - April 2014 | Page 16

FOOD + DRINK
Review / Hank’s Haute Dogs

A different
kind of dog
Jennifer Yamada
Photos by Justin Iyoki

I

f you watch Diners, Drive-Ins
and Dives like I do, then you
may have seen comfort-food
connoisseur Guy Fieri stop by
Hank’s Haute Dogs in Kaka‘ako to
chow down on the lobster dog—
one of daily specials at the little
hot dog joint.
Little though it may be—and
worthy of the categorical placement within “diners, drive-ins
and dives”—the hot dogs at
Hank’s are also worthy of the titular designation “haute,” which
literally means “high” or “above”
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in French. When applied to Hank’s makes it work.
“haute-cuisine,” for example, this
The brain child of Henry (hence
means “fine dining.” Fine-dining Hank’s) Adaniya, a prominent
dogs? It may seem strange, but restaurateur, Hank's makes a bold

move in attempting to combine
the fine dining arena with the fast
food one.
I arrived around lunchtime on

a Friday and, from the outside,
the restaurant looked crowded.
The inside of the establishment
doesn’t hold more than 20 peo-

ple, but the line went down fairly quickly, and customers waiting
for their orders were out in 5 to 10
minutes. There were various local
newspaper and magazine review
clippings about the establishment
along the yellow walls, which
feature counter seating. Among
these clippings is a giant poster
for Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives.
After the “DDD” episode aired,
Hank’s became extremely popular, with lines of hungry and curious customers routinely stretching out the door.
That was back in 2010. Today,
the place is still going strong,
with both locals and visitors
alike stopping