I am not a great fan of disposable dinnerware, and the one thing I never count the cost of is dining out. These attributes make me a tough customer for Kulia Grill, the dining hall in the John M. Burns Medical School, which opened late last year. There, everything is served on plastic (albeit high-quality, chic black plastic) and the big draw is rock-bottom pricing.

Still, I'd heard good things — particularly about the burgers and the house-made potato chips — as well as about the restaurant's commitment to healthier offerings.

Like the rest of the place, the Grill is a classroom; the cooks come from the Culinary Arts program at Kapi'olani Community College. In particular, this kitchen trains students who take the less-academic, learn-on-the-job route to an American Culinary Federation certified culinarian certificate, as opposed to the two-year associate degree. Most who work there now, however, are recent graduates who are getting job experience and the no-nonsense guidance of chef-instructor Diane Nazarro.

Chef-instructor Grant Sato told me before the opening that the school had high hopes of making this restaurant a destination, along the lines of the Ka 'Ikena fine-dining outlet on the KCC campus. An "American bistro" serving dinners was envisioned, but that effort became mired in a state hiring freeze and other administrative matters. These issues have been settled and Ka 'Ikena, which had been closed in the evenings, reopened for Tuesday-Saturday dinners in April. Sato hopes Kulia-as-bistro may become a reality next year.

Meanwhile, this is not a bad place at all to go for a quick, inexpensive breakfast, lunch or coffee break. Restaurant manager Carol Uyemura said most of their customers come from surrounding businesses, with some dropping by for lunch almost every day.

But first, you have to find it. The new medical school, in case you've missed it, is in Kaka'ako between Ala Moana boulevard and Kaka'ako Waterfront Park, on Ilalo Street. Ilalo branches off Ala Moana at Ward Avenue, or take Cooke, Coral or Keawe makai to Ilalo. The restaurant is in the rear of the Medical Education Building, just 'ewa of the main doors.

As with so many Honolulu restaurants, parking is the challenge. You can park free at Kaka'ako Waterfront Park and hoof it over to the restaurant in under a minute; lots of people have done so. But if Parks Department personnel see you, you will be towed (the park is trying to keep from being inundated by medical school students). On-street parking is virtually non-existent. So the only safe choice is to park in Lot C, 'ewa of the medical school on Ilalo. It'll cost you $3 — and you know how we all are in Hawai'i about paying for parking.

Once you get to the Kulia Grill — the name is a reference to Queen Kapi'olani's motto, "Kulia i ka nu'u," "Strive for the highest" — you'll encounter an upscale cafeteria. The colors are muted tones of earth and sea; the light fixtures are contemporary cones of blue and green, and everything is spiffy. An outdoor seating area overlooks an attractive rock-and-taro lo'i garden.

As with most cafeterias, there's too much noise at busy times, and it's a bit confusing until you've scoped out the two serving lines, figured out where the trays and condiments are, and inspected all the offerings. Avoid going at high noon, when seats become scarce and the din is at its peak.

Noise played a role in an order mixup I encountered. It can be difficult for the order-taker to hear, especially since there's a head-height rack on the counter. So make eye contact and speak clearly. (On the plus side, they correct errors promptly and cheerfully.)

At lunchtime, if you're looking for large prepacked bentos (about $5), sub melts ($7.50) or pizza slices ($2.25), head 'ewa. For hot food, line up diamondhead along the wall. There are also pre-packed salads and sandwiches in the diamondhead area, and a self-serve soup of the day. The veggies and condiments for those much talked-of hamburgers are rather inconveniently across the room in the 'ewa serving bay.

OK, ready now? At lunch, you'll find five or so hot entrees in the $7 range, including starch (white or brown rice, sometimes mashed potatoes or pasta) and vegetables or green salad. There is generally a fresh fish steamed or grilled and there is always a vegetarian option. Specials range from chicken enchiladas to beef Stroganoff, ginger chicken to meatloaf. These are generally not the gravy-washed, salt-soaked dishes of the lunchwagon world but a bit more refined. You can order a mini ($4) or a mixed plate ($7). Entree-size salads, such as Chinese chicken ($3.25), mixed-fruit salad ($2.50) and li-hing apple and pineapple ($3) and soup ($2.25) are also available.

Kulia's famed hamburger ($3.75) is made from North Shore Cattle Company grass-fed beef and served on a buttery bun. Relish, condiments, lettuce, tomato and onion are yours to add. There are cheeseburgers ($4) as well. These burgers are good — meaty and smoky — but they would be outstanding if they were made to order. Instead, they are grilled a few at a time, foil-wrapped and placed in a basket on the counter. My advice: Watch for the basket to be replenished and take a fresh one. A generous portion of house-made potato chips ($1.50) — like Maui's Kitch'n Cook'd chips, only a bit thicker and crunchier, and not burned, a real indulgence — is the perfect accompaniment, but they serve fries, too.

I was impressed with a special of grilled 'ono in an onion-caper-tomato sauce ($7.25): The fish wasn't overdone, the portion was quite large and the sauce was light but tangily good. Not so impressive was linguine with mushroom ragu ($7); the problem here being not that the sauce (a jammy marinara flecked with nice-sized pieces of mushroom) wasn't good, but that you needed lots more of it. Another special, Chinese-style ginger chicken ($7), tasted fine but was served warm rather than the usual cold preparation, and I prefer it the classic way. The vegetables — a frozen medley that was waterlogged and unappetizing in color — were a disaster; ask for a small green salad instead.

As can be predicted from a place that has a connection to KCC's top-notch bake shop, the desserts are outstanding: multi-layered lemon and cream shortcake (only $1.50) delighted me with its rich vanilla frosting, lemon filling and buttery cake. (Although it must be said that this was in no way a shortcake, and a culinary school should be more careful about nomenclature. There's enough misnaming of dishes going on in restaurants as it is.)

As to the morning meal, if you are a fan of breakfast meetings, this is a largely undiscovered gem. The offerings are dirt-cheap and prepared to order ("a la minute" in chef-speak). A smiling young woman named Jasmine made me a bacon, egg and cheese biscuit ($2.50) that put McDonald's to shame, with Jarslberg cheese, fluffy scrambled eggs and thin-sliced bacon on a sweetish biscuit. The menu extends to a breakfast plate (meat, eggs and white or fried rice, $4.50), egg and bacon or sausage croissants ($2.75) or buns ($2.75); breakfast burritos of ground beef, egg, onions and bell pepper ($2.50). I even saw someone get a fried-rice bowl, though it's not on the posted menu. In addition, there are scones and other baked goods, fresh fruit or fruit salad and decent coffee.

Kulia still has some striving to do, but it's on the right track.

Reach Wanda A. Adams at wadams@honoluluadvertiser.com.