Earlier this week, Spoon Hawaii was invited to attend a social media event at Raising Cane’s days before its coveted Honolulu grand opening at the Hale Mahana location, which is mere blocks away from the UH Mānoa campus. Before you line up to score your first Caniac Combo on the island the day of Cane’s grand opening, we’ve taken note of some things to look forward to in the meantime.
The Establishment
This Cane’s isn’t your typical dingy fast food restaurant. The interior is fun, bright, and flashy without seeming tacky. Each piece of decor—from the disco ball to the brand’s iconic dog—is a nod to a part of the history of the company’s humble beginnings.
The numerous community boards are a hallmark of Raising Cane’s involvement within the local community, no matter the location. Supporting the community financially and physically in the six areas of active lifestyle, entrepreneurship, business development, education, pet welfare, feeding the hungry and everything else is the company’s mission. Even before the restaurant’s official opening, employees have already begun volunteering at the Hawaii Food Bank and other causes.
The Food
If the restaurant itself doesn’t impress you, the ambrosial quality food will. To those already familiar with Raising Cane’s, we now understand your adoration. Here are our thoughts upon tasting the Box Combo: the crinkle-cut french fries had a surprisingly delightful crispy exterior and thick fluffy interior—a miracle for someone who was traumatized by wet, rubbery elementary school crinkle-cut fries—the chicken tenders were phenomenally breaded and textured, the Texas toast just the right amount of buttery and soft, the coleslaw was delicious (this is coming from a former adamant coleslaw hater), and the sauce—the legendary Raising Cane’s sauce was unlike any other sauce I’ve tasted in my life. I dipped everything in this sauce and it’s so good (I’ll even let you in on a recipe dupe if you just can’t wait for opening day).
In addition to Cane’s foolproof 4-piece chicken tender Box Combo, the menu also offers chicken sandwich combos, kids’ combos, a 3 Finger Combo, a 6-piece tender Caniac Combo, and daily fresh-squeezed lemonade and sweet tea/unsweetened tea. All combos can be customized with substitutions to your liking, so if you’re feeling like gorging on fries (we all have those days), swap out the coleslaw for extra fries and let the carb-binging marathon commence.
Cane’s also has you covered for large parties and football season. Their tailgate chicken tender boxes—available in quantities from 25 to 100 pieces—and gallon jugs of lemonade and sweet tea that can be ordered with a reusable ice chest bag—are essential for game day, parties, meetings, and any other event with lots of hungry people.
Raising Cane’s first-timers, this fried chicken and all its glorious sides will amaze you, so be sure not to miss out. Being minutes away from UH (and it’s surrounding bars), there’s no doubt that the first Cane’s in Hawaii will be a hit joint. Much thanks to Lance Rae, Panda Marketing, and Raising Cane’s Hawaii for hosting us.
Will we be seeing you at the grand opening?