When I heard about this place, it sounded quite odd. "Puke-a dogs?" I said.

"No, it’s ‘poo-ka dogs’" my friend said. Okay, still sounded odd but then I went to the site and looked up what a puka dog was and I have to admit it sounded most interesting.

Located in a blink-and-you'll-miss-it shopping center in Poipu, Puka Dogs' homemade buns are spiked and warmed from the inside out (one end of the bun remains closed to hold the sauces), toasting the inside layer before the bun is filled with a secret garlic lemon sauce (mayo that comes in mild, medium or hot) and topped with either a veggie dog or a polish sausage. Other toppings include various Hawaiian style relishes like starfruit, mango, papaya.

I got the papaya relish on the side as I’m not into the sweet and salty mixture and to me the relishes were more like jelly. If you’re into that, go for it! I just got the secret garlic lemon sauce in mild and medium which was neither tart nor garlicky, but it was good. I didn’t think it was all that spicy so if I ever make it over there again I’m going for the hot. The bread was extremely soft and delicious and I could have easily eaten another bun. Sausage was typical polish sausage fare grilled to sizzling juiciness. You can also choose to get traditional toppings like ketchup and mustard (try the lillikoi mustard).

Fresh squeezed lemonade is also available for purchase as well as chips. This basically is the Hawaiian version of Hot Dog on a Stick - not that that's a bad thing...

Puka Dogs made Travel Channel’s "Top 10 Hot Dogs You Have to Try" list. Watch the video clip from Travel Channel on the Puka Dog site.

www.pukadog.com