Hawaii's best hot dogs at Puka Dog.

There's plenty of good food on Kauai, but not a lot of inexpensive choices. Puka Dog in the Poipu Village Shopping Center isn't exactly cheap - $7 is pretty steep for a hot dog - but it is one of the few places on the island where you can eat lunch for about ten bucks. Plus, it's enjoyable.

In Hawaiian, "puka" means hole, and that's the gimmick here. A conventional bun is impaled using a device that looks like something from the Spanish Inquisition. The process toasts the inside of the bun and creates a receptacle for the dog and its condiments. Which makes the whole meal highly portable.

The menu is basically two choices: a veggie dog or a Polish sausage. Once you've chosen the vehicle, you select a secret garlic lemon sauce -- they range from mild to hot, hot habanero. Add a tropical relish - we like mango or pineapple, but you can also opt for papaya, coconut, banana, or starfruit. Then you just pick a bag of chips and a beverage.

Service is friendly, but far from speedy -- we waited about 30 minutes for a dog and a lemonade. And seating is pretty limited. But the dogs are really good and big enough to split.

The Poipu location is only open until 6PM, so it's perfect for a late afternoon snack to tide you over until dinner. And the new Waikiki Town Center outlet is open until 10PM.

Our Puka Dog was well worth the wait. The sausage was juicy and flavorful, the bun soft and toasty, and the condiments were simultaneously salty, sweet, savory, and hot.

If you're looking for an affordable nosh on Kauai, give Puka Dog a try. For more information, visit http://www.pukadog.com

Find more Poipu restaurants here.