After the huge fanfare and excitement when Target burst onto the Kapolei shopping scene last March, the rest of Kapolei Commons has been somewhat slow to follow.

What we have been eagerly awaiting is the opening of Aloha Salads. The sign has been whetting our appetites for month.

It finally happened on Monday, July 6. We managed to get there on Friday and went back yesterday. Greetings Aloha Salads, you are a welcome addition to Kapolei's food choices and have been warmly embraced.

My father-in-law was still here, so I took him for a new Kapolei adventure. We met my friend Catherine and her son for our inaugural Aloha Salad. Good thing we got there early because by the time we left it was crowded and it wasn't even noon yet.

Service was friendly, the salads were delicious and the company was grand.

The concept is simple: choose a salad or sandwich from their menu or design one of your own. It reminds me of the restaurant Ingredient we visited in Kansas City last March, but on a much smaller scale.

While their "Signature Salads" are intriguing, with a beautiful combination of vegetables and cheeses and proteins, I couldn't resist designing my own, especially when I saw jicama on the menu. That's a rare item in these parts.

The salads were more delicious yesterday and the place even more crowded. I'm getting better at picking my toppings. The service was still very friendly, but much slower. I see a few kinks in the system that slows them down when there is a crowd.

The big menu over the counter only lists the Signature Salads and Subs. They need a list of topping choices and salad dressings so that each customer does not have to ask, kind of like Subway. Choices are on the printed menu, but it is small and hard to find and read. The server has to spend too much time explaining the choices to each customer.

I went with my sister to a restaurant in Cambridge, MA last summer that wouldn't seat you until you had ordered. That way they didn't have to wait for people to decide and moved the massive crowd along quite nicely. I don't suggest such an aggressive approach, but perhaps they can design something for similar results with a bit more aloha.

The biggest delay was the protein. My daughter ordered steak on her salad and we had to wait for them to cook it. While fresh, it took a long time and made us somewhat impatient. They should print that on the menu so that if somebody is in a hurry they know that they will have to wait a bit longer.

I like the big glass water jug on the counter so that customers can help themselves. It is refreshing and efficient at the same time.

We enjoyed our salads very much, so much that we did not have room for Yogurt at the new Menchies right next door. We will have to save that for another trip.