Jack's Inn breakfast spot — Restaurant in Maui

It was 1990-something when my friend told me we were going to eat at Jack's Inn. Fine. After we walked in, I walked right out. There were more condiments on the wall than in the containers. So why the change of heart? Because I'm on a mission to find Maui's best saimin now that my beloved Archie's in Wailuku is long gone.

ATMOSPHERE: They're located in a small warehouse-looking building in the Kahului Industrial Park on the west side of Alamaha between Hanamau & Hanakai. Seating is a mix of tables and booths in a very casual setting made bright and even a bit cheery with lots of natural light via the plentiful windows. Condiments were all in their containers this time, thankfully!

MENU: Breakfast selections, local-style plate lunches, saimin, dry mein, burgers, sandwiches, simple salads.

FOOD: Super Saimin Pictures from fellow Yelpers made this an easy decision, thank you! The noodles were cooked perfectly chewy and were possibly the local Iwamoto brand which are a thicker-style noodle. The clear broth was a traditional porky-vegetable saimin flavor, not overly salty and served searing hot. An abundance of toppings included a hard boiled egg, broccoli & cauliflower florets, kamaboko (fish cake), julienned carrots, two homemade pork-filled won tuns, super tender bits of shredded pork and green onions. Generous portion size. Not the best bowl I've had but it's definitely in my top five.

Roast Pork The photos of this dish are a mixed bag with some looking mouth-watering and some unadorned, the latter of which I received. While I prefer shredded pork, these were sliced. Most of the pieces were tender with just a few tough parts and a low amount of fat. The medium-colored gravy was tasty and the two scoops of rice were cooked perfectly. The side of buttered corn went well with the dish but was way too minimal. Come to find out they forgot my macaroni salad that was supposed to come with the plate.

Dry Mein (mini) I did takeout for this as I wanted to compare them to Maui's infamous Sam Sato's. While Jack's version doesn't come with any bean sprouts or soup for dipping, it tasted similar, meaning it's lightly-seasoned, so I still had to add a generous amount of shoyu and black pepper to satisfy my tastebuds. The roast pork topping was more generous and isn't a char siu-style.

Fry Rice Special Their version of fried rice was okay in the flavor department and far from the best I've had. The only meat mixed in was diced ham so a lack of salt and seasoning were very apparent. The rice was topped with a single egg (cooking style of your choice) and a red "Maui hot dog" accompanied. Affordable and forgettable.

Corned Beef Patty Mmm, this was good! While I love it canned, this one is fresh. The patty was thick, seasoned perfectly and didn't fall apart while eating it. A lather of plain old ketchup made it even better.

SERVICE: A "wait to be seated" sign was posted but it turned out to be a seat yourself deal. Being that it was my first time here and the place was full, I waited. A lady sitting at one of the booths who I thought was a customer but was actually a worker on break, asked if I was a party of one, in which I replied "yes". She said "Come sit here" while pointing to the seat across her. Confused, I reconfirmed "Here?" and pointing to the seat. "Yes" she replied, and said her break was done and that she'd be leaving soon. LOL! That's the kind of place this is; from-the-heart, mom and pop service, and I loved it!

When you're ready to pay, take note of your table number and head to the cashier.

TIP: Open for breakfast and lunch, closed Sundays, cash only.

OVERALL: Clean interior, nice menu, friendly service and good saimin, but I have yet to find my...

Wonderful experience. Situated in a more industrial setting, Jack's is obviously patronized mostly by locals. Be prepared for their "cash only" policy, but you won't need a lot. We kept our selections simple for breakfast; two plates with two eggs served to order, toast (choose wheat or white), hubby got bacon but I tried the Portuguese sausage. As an afterthought we tacked on a banana pancake to share. Pancake was amazing; slices of banana in a fritter-like pancake, very thick but amazingly fluffy, and the best part being the light crispy exterior. Hubby reports he like the sausage better than his choice of bacon because he can order bacon any ol' time. Soft drinks are sold by the glass, but $2.75 for a large is pretty much equivalent to the smaller glasses with one refill that one typically gets. The staff was friendly and the atmosphere was laid back. Overall we left full and satisfied spending only $22 before tip. Definitely returning before heading home to...

Last of the local eateries that I grew up with. If your a local from Maui you know what I mean. This is Maui local comfort food. I love the menu. It is so diverse and the specials that they do everyday are incredible. The service has suffered in the last few years because of some new younger employees. I tolerate it because I hope that by bringing in some new younger workers that this hole in the wall comfort food joint will be around for a while. I know when I used to live in the mainland that this was one of my first stops when I would come back home. I don't think I have had a bad meal from here ever. My only issue has ever been poor service from New employees. But the owners try hard and are actually in the restaurant every day and always try and take care of me. My favorite is the dry mein . But there are no bad meals here just...