'Ono Kine Grindz

Bob's Big Boy

A slice of Americana right in my own backyard, Bob's Big Boy has been serving locals since the mid-70's.  One of just a few late night eateries around, Bob's serves up an eclectic mix of local favorites, diner classics and a small assortment of ethnic dishes too.

Mix combination (US$8.95).

On the plate, you'll find mahi mahi, teriyaki chicken and a small bowl of hearty beef stew.

Hot turkey open-faced turkey sandwich (US$8.95).

   Bob's Big Boy
   2828 Pa'a Street
   Telephone: 808.833.3440

The Eggbert's - Kapa'a, Hawaii

Banana pancakes (full stack, US$8.20).

Cheese and tomato omelette (US$7.95).

The Eggbert's Family Specialty Restaurant
Coconut Market Place
4-484 Kuhio Highway
Kapa'a, Hawaii
Telephone: 808.823.6799

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

Grand Café & Bakery

After returning to Hawaii from my trip to Singapore, I was on my way to the post office to collect my mail.  I noticed a couple men standing outside the old Wing Coffee Building, and I saw that it had been converted to a restaurant.  Looking in through the window, it seemed to have drawn quite a nice sized crowd, so I made a mental note to stop by here one day for lunch. 

Grand Café and Bakery has been open for a little over a month or so, and judging by the crowds, they've been doing some brisk business.  When I arrived with a friend, we were told the wait would be about 10 minutes for a table (actual wait time was 15 minutes).

While waiting, I decided to take a look at the baked goods in the chiller up front.  There were cakes, danish pastries, cream puffs and other goodies....  I spotted one that I wanted to try, and decided that if I had enough time left over, I would order some dessert (I didn't have time).

The friend that came along had the meatloaf (US$7.75).

The individual bacon-wrapped meatloaf was served with a red wine reduction and was made using ground beef, pork and veal (!).  I was told that it was very delicious, though the portion was sized a bit small.

I had the Grand Café Reuben grill (US$7.75).  I had really wanted to have the chips (Utz potato chips), but unfortunately, they were already sold out.  Instead, I had to settle for the cole slaw.

The Reuben sandwich was filled with lots of meaty corned beef, a bit of sauerkraut and Russian dressing.  It was all topped with some nicely melted Swiss cheese.  The rye bread was nicely toasted and had a wonderful flavor without being too buttery.  The corned beef, for the most part, was lean.  In fact, a great thing was done with this sandwich.  When I opened it up to have a look, the lean slices of corned beef were on top, with the fattier pieces below.  It made it easy for me to remove some of the fatty pieces of corned beef for a slightly "healthier" sandwich.  The cole slaw here was great.  Not being a cole slaw fan, this was extremely fresh tasting and contained very little mayonaisse or vinegar.  It was actually refreshing.

Since it took a while for us to be seated, for us to place our order, and for our food to actually arrive, I was out of time and could not order the dessert that I was hoping to.  Instead, I took it home with me so that I could have it after dinner.

What did I get?  The chocolate cake (US$4.00).  When I inquired at the counter, I was asked if I was going to eat this alone.  "Of course," I replied.  The gentleman at the counter looked shocked.  He explained that most people "share" the desserts, Well, he obviously didn't know me!  He then offered that the chocolate cake was made with pure chocolate, not cocoa powder.  I was immediately impressed, and happy, that I had made such a wise choice.

After dinner, I attempted to eat this huge slice of chocolate cake.  It was three layers high, with an equal amount of chocolatey frosting.  The cake was moist and dense, and because it was made with real chocolate, it was very chocolate-y, but not at all sweet.  It was by far, the best chocolate cake that I've ever tasted.

According to some information on the menu, the Grand Café and Bakery was originally founded back in 1923.  Many of the recipes used in preparing the food date back to this era.  The food here is excellent, and a pretty good value considering the quality of the food, the atmosphere and the service.  This is definitely a place that I'd continue to visit for years to come.

Grand Café & Bakery
31 North Pauahi Street
Telephone:  808.531.0001

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

Zippy's

Ask anyone in Hawaii about a "local" style fast food restaurant, and you can easily bet that Zippy's will be one of the names out of their mouths.  What started almost 40 years ago as a single drive-in restaurant has grown to 23 locations, a successful catering business, a successful mail order business, bakeries, okazuyas and the best benefit chili around.

(I had no photo of a Zippy's Restaurant.  This one is from a news article available on the internet.  I'll update this website once I have a photo of my own to publish.) Photo by Ayumi Nakanishi, Honolulu Star-Bulletin

So today's meal is a small chili with rice...

Perfectly seasoned, meaty and just mildly spicy, Zippy's chili is one of the best around.  Sold by schools and other groups as fund-raisers, Zippy's Benefit Chili is sold in enormous volumes (approximately 75 tons a month!).  I would almost guarantee that this is Zippy's top seller.  You can also get vegetarian chili (good) and chili with no beans (what's chili without the beans?).

I also chose another Zippy's classic, the Zip Pac.

It's a bento that includes (from top to bottom):  teriyaki beef, Spam®, deep fried mahi mahi (tartar sauce on the side) and fried chicken thigh.  The teriyaki beef is pretty standard.  The Spam®?  Seeing from my other bento posts, you know this is a local favorite.  The mahi mahi is deep fried and super crunchy.  Moist and flakey with just the right amount of batter.  And the chicken...well, it's another one of Zippy's most favored menu items.  Crisp and golden brown on the outside, moist and juicy on the inside.  The chicken is absolutely delicious and a must try!

Zippy's Restaurants are open 24-hours a day, 7 days a week.  So if you get those late night hunger pangs, head on over to Zippy's, Hawaii's answer to quick, convenient and delicious fast food. 

Zippy's Restaurants
McCully Location
1725 South King Street
Telephone:  808.973.0877

KC Drive Inn

UPDATE:  March 2005
KC Drive Inn has closed.

Several weeks ago, I heard that the KC Drive Inn might be closing soon and that the property was up for sale.  Now since this could happen at anytime, and without sufficient notice, I decided to make a trip there.

KC Drive Inn has been open since the 1929 and used to be located on corner of Kapiolani and Kalakaua where the Hard Rock Cafe now stands.  The restaurant has been in it's currently location since the early 1980's. 

Regarded by most to be the first drive-in restaurant to open in Hawaii, KC Drive Inn is known for the waffle hot dogs and ono ono shakes.  So tonight, I ordered a waffle hot dog with homemade chili (US$3.70).

For those of you who haven't had this, the waffle hot dog is a must try.  The hot dog is actually cooked inside of a crunchy, golden brown waffle.  In fact, if I didn't have this with the homemade chili, I would probably want to spread some butter on this and load up on the maple syrup!  This would actually be great for breakfast.  The chili, while nice and meaty, didn't have the kind of spicy flavor that I normally like.  Next time, I would probably order the waffle hot dog plain with a side of eggs!

In addition to the signature waffle hot dogs, KC Drive Inn also serves saimin, oxtail soup, hamburgers and a wide range of plate lunches.  The food is great and an excellent value.  I guess that's what's kept them in business for more than 70 years. 

KC Drive Inn
1029 Kapahulu Avenue
Telephone:  808.737.5581

Eggs 'n Things

I spent most of last night trying to get caught up on some office work.  By the time I was done, I realized that it was past 10:30 pm and I still hadn't eaten dinner.  I wondered where I could go to eat...after all, the choices are pretty limited at that hour.  Then I thought about Eggs 'n Things.

Located in Waikiki, this shop is definitely for night owls.  It's closed when most of us are awake, and open when we should be sleeping!  I along with a few others, apparently, felt like eating breakfast food in the middle of the night.

After I was seated, I was handed the menu BOARD.  Yes, the menu is plastered onto a wooden board!  I guess this is so you won't walk out with it.  On one side, the menu is in English, with the other being Japanese.

(The English side.)

After looking over the menu for about 15 minutes, I finally made up my mind to have the sour cream blueberry crepes Suzettes (US$8.00).

(Sorry for the dark picture.)

The menu describes the Crepes Suzettes as "A gourmet's choice, delicate, thin pancakes rolled and filled with special fillings, sprinkled with powdered sugar."...and that's exactly how they arrived. 

I got three of crepes filled with fresh blueberries and sour cream.  The crepe itself was light and fluffy with the edges being slightly crisp and crunchy.  The filling was the perfect compliment to the crepe...but the three of them, proved to be too much for me to finish.  I ended up taking one and a half home for breakfast the next morning.

This is how it looked after I warmed them in the oven.

While definitely not inexpensive, the meal was worth it.  The food was excellent and the portion was more than enough for me.   In fact, most of the people here last night were seen sharing one plate between them. 

The only disappointing thing for me was the service.  Even though there was an abundance of empty tables, I still waited more than 5 minutes for someone to come over and seat me.  Once that was done, I had to wait about another 10 minutes for them to deliver a menu board (it wasn't given to me when I was seated).  After I had placed my order, the food took several minutes to arrive.  All in all, I was here for close to an hour!

Would I come here again?  For the food, absolutely.  For the service, probably not.  Although if you're a night owl, you would be hard pressed to find a meal as good as this as so late an hour.

Eggs 'n Things
1911B Kalakaua Avenue
Telephone:  808.949.0820