Location: Pearl City
My coworker and I were stuck in Pearl City for lunch last week, so we decided to try Just Tacos because it was the only restaurant neither of us had been to yet in the sea of sub-par chain restaurants within a half-mile strip-mall-infested radius. My New Mexican friend will be disappointed in me for saying this, but my standards for Mexican food are practically nonexistent. Hawaii doesn't really have Mexican food (or Mexicans, for that matter) - and why should it? We've got Asian food.
When we entered, more than half of the customers were in the military. How painfully predictable. We sat down in one of the dark booths and ordered a flauta and beef quesadilla. Flautas seem to be the same as taquitos, but perhaps there's more of a distinction in places with actual Mexican food. My beef quesadilla was exactly what I expected - cheesy, beefy, and better than Taco Bell. That's about all I can say. Theoretically, it was an appetizer, but the dish was rather large (four slices of cheesy goodness and even a side of rice), in case you needed more reminder that you're in America, not south of the border. The meal left me satisfied, both because it met my low standards and because it confirmed my inability to appreciate Mexican food.
