Dining out: Maui Tacos

MURRAY — I didn't think I'd like Maui Tacos.

I must admit, I am a little tired of the restaurants-serving-giant-burritos trend, especially as it is often crossed with "tropical" or "island" flavors. I further admit to being skeptical of "fusion" cuisines, which can be a weird-tasting, poorly blended mishmash.

However, when fusion is done well (witness Murray's Asian-fusion gem Yamasaki), it's exciting, refreshing, wonderful. And despite the plethora of similar competition out there, Maui Tacos is definitely worth a visit for its fresh flavors, great service and a whimsical, laid-back atmosphere that brings a fresh Hawaiian breeze to Utah.

The Murray location, which we visited for a weeknight dinner with the kids, has a beachy vibe that goes beyond the stereotypical with tabletops that are beautiful National Geographic maps of the Hawaiian islands and a condiment display area that looks like the front end of an ancient, rusty Volkswagen Microbus.

Customer-friendly touches include the free salsa bar and the four-stool eating area along one wall that features pinned-up section fronts of that day's issue of USA Today.

There are standard sides like chips with salsa or rice and beans at Maui Tacos, but because sides come with most orders, we got right into the heart of the menu, ordering the Hana burrito for me and the mango salad, recommended heartily by the staff, for my mom.

The Hana (one of six "surf burritos," all named after places on the island of Maui) featured a huge tortilla piled with lean slow-cooked pork, rolled up with rice, cheese, fresh-cut white onions and cilantro. The pork was moist and tender, and the other ingredients nicely complemented its sweetness. I had it "wet," or smothered with the restaurant's own smoky enchilada-type sauce.

It's sweeter than the stuff you'll get at a regular Mexican restaurant and made the whole dish a little bit too sweet. Because it's just an option, I think next time I'll opt to spoon on some of the salsa offered at the salsa bar, which offers a bunch of varieties, some of them (pineapple passion, for example) unique to this eatery.

The sauce did, however, blend nicely with the melted cheese that was also on top to make a kind of soupy nacho sauce that my 4-year-old and I scooped up on the chips that accompanied my burrito.

Where the Hana was all about big and rich, my mom's mango salad was an explosion of freshness. On a big, soft flour tortilla, which nicely grounded the other flavors, was a melange of black beans, rice, lettuce and (my mom's choice) marinated, grilled mahi mahi, topped with mangi salsa and crispy tortilla strips.