W & M Bar-B-Q Burgers

Everyone knows that I like burgers.  I especially like barbecue burgers, or teriyaki burgers (or teri burgers) as we sometimes call them.  Today, I decided to go to the place that I think serves the best B.B.Q. burgers, W & M Bar-B-Q Burger.  If you're wondering just how good this place is, it's been in business since the early 1950's and in it's current location since the 80's!

Driving down, or up, Waialae Avenue, it's located near City Mill.  You may even be able to make out their sign when you're driving by...if you have good eyesight!

Actually, the sign is very small.  If you don't know where to turn, you may just miss the entrance to the small parking lot.  All of the spaces in the parking lot were full (there are 6 or 7 spaces), but I was lucky that someone was leaving as I was entering.  It was lunch time so it was crowded, but then again, every time I've been here, it's been crowded. 

I ordered the B.B.Q. Royal (US$2.95) and an order of french fries (US$1.65) and since there's no seating anywhere, this meal was to go.  While I was waiting for my food, like all these others, I took a quick peek at the food preparation. 

There was one woman who manned the grill.  She would dip a burger into the B.B.Q. sauce, then place it on the grill.  When it was time to flip the burger over, she would dip it into the B.B.Q. sauce again before putting it back on the grill.  The cheese was also dipped into the B.B.Q. sauce before being placed on the burger which was still on the grill.  Maybe this was being done to give the burger more B.B.Q flavor, but it certainly helped the cheese to begin melting.

A second woman was assembling all the burgers.  She had to work quickly as there was only a limited amount of counter space and lots of hungry customers!

About 10 minutes later, my name was called and I was off with my lunch.  Since it was a nice day, I decided to have lunch near the beach.  And here it is....

The B.B.Q. Royal is topped with lettuce, tomato, onion and cheese (I opted for no onions).  The burgers are dressed with your choice of mayonnaise, ketchup, relish and mustard (I opted for no mustard). 

The flame-broiled burger was delicious and juicy.  The B.B.Q. sauce was nice and sweet.  I'm glad I ate this right away, otherwise, more of the bun would have been soaked by all that sauce.  The repeated "dipping" of the patty in the barbecue sauce is why this burger had so much flavor.

The french fries were crisp and crunchy on the outside, and moist on the inside.  These were just lightly salted (I should have asked for unsalted) and not too greasy.  They must have been drained quite well.  Even the paper bag that this was given to me in was free of grease spots.

W & M only serves B.B.Q. burgers and B.B.Q. steak (teriyaki steak) sandwiches, so if you're in the mood for one, your best would be to come here.  And oh, look closely for the sign, you don't want to miss it!

W & M Bar-B-Q Burgers
3104 Waialae Avenue
Telephone:  808.734.3350

Comments

[MrsTweety]

Yummy.. yummy.. drool.. drool.. and drooling still..!!! i love a good burger.. and teriyaki steak burgers.. ;) Thank you .. for sharing.. :)

[MBS]

Wow, W&M! I remember going there with my dad when I was a kid, and he used to go there when he was a student at UHM!

The food is great. They specialize in only a few things, which is why their food is sooo good! Local-style comfort food! Yumm!

Hey Reid, what about their crab salad? I LOVE their crab salad.

My father thinks that W&M isn't as good anymore since papasan (darn, I forgot his name--the "W" in W&M) retired to take care of his wife. I heard his daughter took over things.

[anthony]

Great. I was going to have people over for beers and burgers next Friday and now I'm super inspired.
No onions? : )

[Reid]

Hi MrsTweety,

You're welcome. This is actually really good! I love the flavor of the B.B.Q. (teriyaki) sauce that they use here. I that's what really makes it special!

Hi MBS,

Thank you for stopping by my blog.

I've been going to W&M for years, and many people that I know still consider it the best B.B.Q. burger around. I know what you mean though. The quality may have gone down a just a little, but their B.B.Q. burgers are still a lot better than the teriburgers at Saint Louis Drive In across the street.

I was going to have the crab salad, but I decided to have a light lunch...otherwise, I think I would have ordered a double as well.

BTW...I guess you can relate W & M to In-N-Out, they specialize in one thing and stick to the game plan. They shouldn't have to please everyone, they just have to please those of us who want to eat what they offer!

Hi Anthony,

For some reason, beer and burgers sound like a great match...even though I don't drink. Now onions I'm really particular about. I can eat sweet onions if they are cooked well, but I can't stand the taste of onions raw. Why? Dunno to tell you the truth.

[MBS]

Reid:

I definitely think that W&M serves the best teri-cheeseburger in town! And I guess a lot of people also think so, because they are always busy in spite of the awful parking. Lord knows how much more business they would get if they were located at the Pizza Hut across the street (I assume they are still there). I just wish the burger was bigger!

I currently live in LA, but I return home every Christmas and W&M is the first places I visit (the next is either Gina's or Big City Diner).

Btw, thanks for your blog. I now have a list of cool local places to eat when I fly home this December!

[Clinton]

Reid,

Thanks for the nostalgic review. I still remember W&M up near 9th Avenue(?) when we used to walk home from St. Patrick school in the '50s. The plain hamburgers were just 24 cents, the fries were 11 cents, and the fruit punch was a nickel. Isn't that dating myself or what? The thing I remember about their hamburgers were that the bun was toasted crisp on the inside and the fries were limp and soft because we soaked the insides of the white waxed-paper bag with ketchup.

Last year on our last visit back home we finally located their new location (and you're right, it's hard to find the place), but I was disappointed since it was not the same hamburger of years ago. It was more the contemporary version of the old style...but then it was good. Alas, time marches on.

[Reid]

Hi MBS,

I wish the burger were bigger too, however, you can now order it with an extra patty if you'd like! The charge is an additional $1.95. For that price, I'd probably just get another burger.

I honestly wish they would move to a bigger location (perhaps they should swap spots with Saint Louis Drive In), that way everyone would have a chance to eat!

I'm glad you get to visit every year, and you've just listed 2 of my other favorite places to eat at (Gina's & Big City Diner).

Hi Clinton,

I know what you mean about the burgers not being the same. I guess when the restaurant was passed from father to daughter some changes were bound to occur. The bun is no longer toasted and although the fries are still served in a waxed paper bag, they are thicker and much crisper.

The other place that I remember making good teriburgers was Pee Wee's Drive In across the street from Washington Intermediate School. I haven't been there since they changed ownership and most likely the menu several years back. Maybe I should check it out soon.

[Clinton]

Reid,

Am not familiar with Pee Wee's but on a trip back couple of years ago, I was looking for Washington Saimin on Piikoi and King St. near Washington Intermediate. I was told by my cousin that it had just folded up and gone. What a disappointment!

Maybe someday soon you can evaluate good saimin stands which still remain like Boulevard on Dillingham or some other local hangouts still remaining. Is Tanoue's still around? Where are the good old mama-san saimin stands anymore? It's sort of like looking for the Holy Grail...

[MBS]

Peewees--if I remember correctly, Peewee's is near the old Cinerama movie theatre (now some sort of Jiffy Lube, ugh). I think Washington Saimin was the one kinda near McKinley, right? They close a while ago.

I'm not sure if there are any real saimin places left. I was a big Shiro's fan when I was a kid, but I think they're gone too--well, I'm almost sure. I plan on looking for them next month!

I think Reid had a saimin place in his blog somewhere...

[Reid]

Hi Clinton,

Sadly, Washington Saimin was quite bad before they actually closed up shop a while back. I went there and it was nothing like I had remembered. For really good saimin, you should check out Palace Saimin. I did a post on it here:

http://onokinegrindz.typepad.com/ono_kine_grindz/2004/05/palace_saimin.html

I've actually been eating at Palace Saimin since the 70s and the place hasn't changed one bit.

Sadly, Tanoue's has been closed for quite sometime now...

Hi MBS,

Yes, it is located near the old Cinerama Theater which is now a Checkers Auto Parts store!

Shiro's is still around. You can still find Shiro's at the Waimalu Shopping Center (I think it's next to Marujyu Market). I haven't been there in ages!

[alan]

I drive by this place a couple times each week and never even noticed. Even today, I stopped at City Mill, oblivious to W&M right next door. Next time, I'm getting myself a BBQ Royal. Thanks for the tip!

[MBS]

If you go to W&M, DON'T PARK AT CITY MILL! They will tow!

[Reid]

Hi alan,

Thanks for dropping by. Many people that I know drive right past W & M daily and had no clue either. If you go there, please do not park at City Mill as they will tow your car.

Hi MBS,

Thanks for the warning!

[FatMan Seoul]

This post made me walk all the way in the cold of winter's night to the nearest McD and part with 2 Big Macs worth of $ - just thought I'd share that with you, Reid, if only because it may make me feel less guilty about myself.

[Reid]

Hi FatMan,

Sorry to have to keep doing this to you! =(

I know you really don't like McD's and simply don't have much choice...especially for the prices you have to pay there.

Too bad we can't do a "trading spaces" sometime. I see some of the yummy things you eat, go look for some, can't find it, then settle for less that I want, for a lot more money.

Life's trade-offs. *sigh*

[pieman]

Hey Reid, there's something about your burger posts that has me so envious. I know, on ocsasion, maybe in the privacy of your own room, you salivate over noodlepie's offerings, but our burger blogs have opened my 'non-yank' eyes to the hidden paradise that is burger-world. Mor please.

BTW - do you get hotdogs in Hawaii? Any good? If you haven;tg alreayd blogged them, please do. I recently discovered a 'dog seller here in Saigon and will be hitting it a demain.

[pieman]

Reid, also, I just googled your site for hot dogs, but I don't think it's picking up your site only. I got results from all over. You may need to reconfigure. I have the code somewhere if you need it.

[Reid]

Hi Noodlepie,

To tell you the truth, for some reason, Hawaii is not really big on hot dogs. There is one little, and I mean little, stand that I may blog about. I was going to try to make it there tomorrow night after work if they are still open. By the way, there are a couple more burger places left for me to blog about. Stay tuned.

The Google search in the upper right corner is what I was told to add to my blog along with AdSense. It doesn't search only my blog. I'm not sure if it's something that I can remove or not.

[pieman]

Re: Adsense. I think I was given an option to to this, but there is a workaround where it only searches your site. If you wanna change it- let me know. Meanwhile, I will stay tuned...

[lopaka]

ayone know any good saimin places in portland, oregon

[Mark B]

I live in Portland Oregon now but everytime I go back home I head right to this place right after the plane has landed. Simply the best. They have some plate lunch places here now but most of them don't do the good kine burgers.

[rylan]

i think they have good burgers and crispy fries yum yum

[Haku]

I love W&M!! Thanks for having the phone # on the entry, you just saved me the cost of a 411 information call. Keep it up

[Faye]

I have been enjoying these burgers since 1959/1960 when the burgers were .20 and .05 drink. We used get a quarter everyday and afterschool walk to W&M when it was on 9th Avenue and have a burger and drink.

Simply da best..

[very disappointed]

I have stopped going to W&M since they started overcooking the hamburgers. I asked them about this and they said that the hamburgers need to be thouroughly cooked for health reasons. Yes good, but they are overcooking the burgers.