'Ono Kine Grindz

Ken's House of Pancakes - Hilo, Hawaii

I'm sure that everyone who's visited Hilo has been to Ken's at least once.  Ken's is close to the airport and to all the major hotels that line Banyan Drive AND it's open 24-hours.

On my most recent visit to Hilo, I stopped at Ken's for a quick bite to eat before heading out for the day.  At 7:00 am, the tiny parking lot was already full and after circling around a few times, I was lucky enough to snag a spot.  Once inside, I was quickly whisked away to a table and placed my order for this....

This was the "original loco moco" (US$5.95) consisting of two scoops rice, a 5 ounce lean "home grown" beef patty, brown gravy and two eggs.  Two things about this loco moco -- first, the beef patty.  Unlike the beef patties that are normally associated with loco mocos, this one has that slightly smokey, charred flavor, like it was cooked on an actual grill.  And second, the eggs.  Piercing the thin layer over the yolks makes for delicious eating when the gooey yolk comes in contact with the thick gravy.

Otherwise, you can always choose something a little more straighforward.  How's this?

The Hobo (US$7.55), consists of two eggs scrambled with diced ham, onions and potatoes, then topped with hollandaise sauce.  This time, I chose to enjoy this with some hash browns and a fluffly stack of pancakes.

Although parking here is always an issue, the food is not.  At Ken's, simple homestyle food is served up efficiently and at reasonable prices.  Popular with both locals and with tourists alike, when visiting Hilo, a visit to Ken's is a must.

Ken's House of Pancakes
1730 Kamehameha Avenue
Hilo, Hawaii
Telephone: 808.935.8711

Café Laufer

A couple of days ago, a friend of mine asked if I wanted to meet for coffee at Café Laufer in Kaimuki.  Since I haven't been here in a while, I gladly accepted.

Café Laufer is located on a stretch of Waialae Avenue that is somewhat of a mini "restaurant row".  On the corner is Happy Days, a Chinese restaurant and right next door is Maguro-Ya, a Japanese one.  On the other side of Café Laufer, you'll find Big City Diner.

Inside, it's quite bright, especially those two "trees" made out of hundreds of tiny Christmas tree lights.  There's ample seating here and besides the baked goods and coffee, Café Laufer also offers a small selection of hot food items and salads.

To go with my coffee (US$1.95 including one refill), I decided to have the cherry sour cream tart (US$4.25).

There was lots of cherry filling here.  It was topped with a thin layer of sour cream and some whipped cream swirls.  The crust, in my opinion, was a little under-baked and the cherry filling seemed like it came from a can.  In all honesty, I thought that the filling would have been made with fresh cherries.  I was quite disappointed.

My friend ordered the cheesecake (US$4.25) to go along with her cup of coffee.

The topping on the cheesecake was strawberry, also canned.  I didn't have this, but I was told that it was just OK.

You'd think that with the premium prices that this place charges, you'd have the freshest, most wonderful tasting pastries and desserts.  Instead, the tart I had was mediocre and not worth the price I paid.  By the way, after being seated, no one ever came to our table to check on us.  In fact, I never got that coffee refill that was included in the price I paid for my coffee.  Maybe that's why I haven't been here in a while.

Café Laufer
3565 Waialae Avenue Suite 107
Telephone:  808.735.7717

Like Like Drive Inn

This post is for Moira over there in the UK who told me to "Quit posting photos of loco moco!" a while back when I posted about the loco moco at  Byron's Drive-In.

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Since I was having a hard time re-adjusting to life in Hawaii, I got hungry at midnight.  There aren't too many places open at that time of the night, and I really didn't feel like driving too far, so I ended up at Like Like Drive Inn.  Besides, I was doing this for Moira.  *smile*

Like Like Drive Inn has long been a favorite of many, especially those seeking late night eats.  It's one of the few coffee shop/restaurants in the Honolulu area that are open 24 hours.

Unfortunately for me, I didn't get to sit in the main dining area, but I did sit with a few friends off to the side.  Here's a picture of the interior that shows the counter set up.

So what did I order?  Do you really have to ask?  I ordered the loco moco (US$7.20), of course.

A large saimin bowl is filled with white rice, then topped by a huge hamburger patty.  It's all covered in brown gravy and served with two over easy eggs on top.  By the way, if you're on a low fat, low cholesterol diet, this is not what you should be ordering!

The loco moco here was just OK.  The rice, I felt, was a little under-cooked.  The hamburger patty was good, but the gravy is where it really fell apart.  There was no real flavor to the gravy at all, just a slight buttery taste.  One of my friends had the hamburger steak and another one had the hot turkey sandwich, and both made similar comments about the gravy as well.  It's a shame because this loco moco was quite costly compared to most other places.

Besides the steep cost for the food, Like Like doesn't offer free refills on coffee like most other places.  Better food, and better value can be held elsewhere.

Like Like Drive Inn
745 Keeaumoku Street
Telephone:  808.941.2515

Wailana Coffee House

Looking for some late night eats?  Well, I often get hungry in the middle of the night and don't feel like cooking, but I can't normally think of a place that's open.  And unlike other cities, like Las Vegas, Los Angeles or New York City, where you can easily find a decent 24-hour restaurant or coffeeshop, Hawaii is somewhat limited in it's late night dining options.  This past weekend, I developed a craving for pancakes at midnight.  I tried Liliha Bakery, but the wait was too long.  Instead, I went to Wailana Coffee House.

This place has been around for as long as I can remember, and I used to be a regular here in the mid-80s.  The restaurant is spacious and reminds me of any number of coffee shops or diners that I have eaten in, or will eat in, at some point in my life.

Since I was craving pancakes, I decided on having the jamboree breakfast (US$5.45).  This includes two eggs cooked to your liking, two slices of bacon, all-you-can-eat pancakes and a bottomless cup of coffee.  Isn't that a bargain?

The first serving of three pancakes arrives.  I add just a little butter and top them with some boysenberry syrup.  The pancakes are light and fluffy and just a bit crispy around the edges.  Just the way I like it.

I ordered my two eggs scrambled and instead of bacon...you guessed it!  Spam®!  For some reason, I've been craving Spam® lately.  I can go for months without eating it, then suddenly, I'll have to eat it.  In just a matter of days, I've already managed to fit this into my diet twice.  Besides, Spam® is considered standard breakfast fare for us here in Hawaii.  We eat Spam® as often as those in the states eat bacon, which is why I asked for the substitution.  Besides, breakfast would be incomplete without it.

This is better than your average breakfast, especially since you get as many delicious pancakes as you can wolf down.  So I normally try to come here when I'm hungry.  You can eat and eat until your heart's content.  Wailana Coffee House serves more than just breakfast fare though.  They have a full menu, including some delicious fried chicken, burgers and omelettes.  And the best part about it all, is that I can have my breakfast any time of day that I choose.

Wailana Coffee House
1860 Ala Moana Boulevard
Telephone:  808.955.1764

Kapiolani Coffee Shop at Kam Bowl

Who would have ever thought of eating at a bowling alley?  Not me, that's for sure.  I've been told many, many times that the oxtail soup here was the best around.  So I decided that I needed to find out for myself just how good the oxtail soup was.

The restaurant inside Kam Bowl is actually Kapiolani Coffee Shop.  A few of the tables are occupied when I get here at about 2:00 pm and there are people here eating the oxtail soup, even if it's almost 90°F outside!

After I'm seated, I placed my order for the oxtail soup (US$9.95) and waited.  Three minutes later, the steaming bowl of oxtail soup arrived along with two scoops rice. 

The bowl was filled with clear, beefy broth, meaty oxtails, tender peanuts and garnished with lots of cilantro (Chinese parsley) and green onions.  The soup was perfectly seasoned and the meat was just falling off the bones.  I could taste the subtle flavors of ginger and star anise.  My only wish was that they had trimmed more of the fat off of the oxtails prior to cooking.  There was a little more fat here than I would have preferred.  Other then that, this was just about perfect.

Add some freshly grated ginger and shoyu to your bowl, sit back and enjoy!  You've got quite a nice sized meal here.  Now, I couldn't tell you if this was the best bowl of oxtail soup that I had ever eaten, but it sure was good.  And although it was a little pricey, it was worth it.  Especially since I didn't have to spend hours cooking it. 

Kapiolani Coffee Shop at Kam Bowl
1520 North School Street
Telephone:  808.845.3687

Anna Miller's 24-Hour Restaurant

A couple of weeks ago I posted about Bravo Restaurant and was asked by Santos about Anna Miller's strawberry pie.  Since then, I've been trying to keep the urge to eat the fresh strawberry pie at bay...today, I caved in to my cravings!  URGH!

I made the twenty minute drive from my house to Anna Miller's in Aiea.

This is a huge coffeeshop/restaurant/bakery that is open 24 hours a day.  Many years back, they were known for their fruit pies:  cherry, peach, apple, etc.  It was only more recently (I would say maybe the last 10 years or so) that they became known almost exclusively for their fresh strawberry pie.  So much so, that it's become their signature. 

And here it is...the fresh strawberry pie still sitting in the box (US$10.95).

Doesn't that look good?  The only thing wrong about this pie today was the crust.  I felt it was a little undercooked.  Other than that, the pie was delicious (after removing some of the whipped cream of course!).  The strawberries were nice and plump...and contrary to what your eyes may be telling you, this pie is not as sweet as it looks (again, with some of the whipped cream removed!).

Now that I've had my fix, what am I going to do with the remaining 7 pieces of the pie?

Anna Miller's 24-Hour Restaurant
Pearlridge Centre
98-115 Kaonohi Street
Telephone:  808.487.2421

Liliha Bakery

Liliha Bakery has been in business for over half a century, and more than 40 of those years, have been spent at its current location at the corner of North Kuakini and Aipaako Street.

When I arrived at the bakery yesterday (at about 5:00 pm), there was a huge crowd that was waiting in line to order.  I pulled a number (I was number #76, they were on #63) and waited for my turn to order. 

If you ask anyone about this place, the first words out of their mouths will be "coco puffs".  Guaranteed!  And that's exactly what I was there to buy (US$.90 each).

The puff pastry is filled with a sort of chocolaty filling (similar to chocolate pudding) and topped with a healthy serving of the bakery's legendary chantilly frosting. 

The chantilly frosting is similar in flavor to buttercream frosting, but is much richer and more buttery.  One taste and you'll be hooked.  I guess that's what makes this the bakery's biggest seller.  In fact, they've been known to sell several thousands of these little puff pastries daily!

Liliha Bakery
515 North Kuakini Street
Telephone:  808.531.1651