There's no shortage of good restaurants in the Westside. But there's never enough restaurants created with the heart and soul that Chef Makani Gerardi brings to Pono Burger.A native of Hawaii, Chef Makani named Pono Burger for the Hawaiian word meaning “to do things with integrity” or “to do things the right way;" while her food
philosophy is simple: use organic and farm fresh ingredients.
While the menu is purely Hawaii, the ingredients aren't. Chef Makani sources local artisanal food vendors to bring the best ingredients to Pono Burger. Committed to the farm-to-table movement, I also spotted an herb garden outside the restaurant.
Celebrating it's one year anniversary, Chef Makani planned a special celebration dinner where I was able to preview speciality burgers and other items that will only be available for a limited time. 
Starting with the Farmers Market Salad, which had a healthy helping of La OvejaNegra organic Manchego cheese and organic Santa Barbara pistachios, the Dijon-apple vinaigrette was an absolutely perfect touch of flavor on an otherwise light salad.
For dinner, we were given three sliders of the seasonal burgers available this spring, including: The Paniolo, The Palani and my favorite, The Kahiki burger, which was made with an organic beef patty, organic roasted red bell peppers & RaselHanout grilled eggplant, housemadetzatziki sauce, organic cucumber strings with a citrus mint drizzle.
For a non-burger eater (oooppss - did I just say that?!), The Kahiki burger had a refreshing flavor with
a light bite. It didn't feel foo heavy or overly dressed, unlike the other two burgers which both had Niman Ranch Bacon. For my tastebuds, The Kahiki was a perfect spring burger: full of flavor but otherwise not a heavy burger.
To accompany the sliders we tasted two types of pomme frites, the organic russet and the sweet potato. Both fries were seasoned perfectly and just enough crispiness to munch on them the entire evening. But the winner was really the garlic aioli. It was perfection!To end our meal, we were given an option of one of three shakes: Organic Strawberry, Salted Caramel with Niman Ranch bacon bits or Hot Fudge. Normally I don't go for the tried and true, but our waitress was very persistent about the strawberry shake. Not being one to turn any type of berry away, I took her suggestion and ordered the Organic Strawberry shake.
Sweet, but not to sweet. Enough strawberries to really give you the berry taste, but not too much to where you are biting into berries. The vanilla ice cream was there, but only served to compliment the shake, not overpower the sweetness of the fruit. It was the perfect ending to a beautiful evening.
Going back to Chef Makani: she did a great job of bringing Hawaii to Santa Monica. Her warm personality and attention to detail is felt in every aspect of the restaurant.
The atmosphere of Pono Burger is absolutely welcoming. The space is not only historical but completely restored with an island feel. It is a true Westside restaurant: California casual, but with an upscale and unique menu you wont find elsewhere.Pono Burgers829 BroadwaySanta Monica, CA (310) 584-7005
Reservations: Not necessary
Hours: Sunday - Thursday 11:00am-9:00pm
Friday - Saturday: 11:00am-11:00pmFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/PonoBurgerTwitter: https://www.twitter.com/PonoBurger
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