Two scoops white rice, a scoop mac salad and a generous portion of a protein like teriyaki beef, chicken katsu or grilled fish—and you have the quintessential plate lunch in Hawaiʻi. The plate lunch—or mixed plate—is a symbol of the Islands’ plantation era when workers from different backgrounds shared home-cooked meals, resulting in a blend […]
Eating your way through Hawaiʻi is always better in good company. Whether that means with an adventurous friend who’ll try anything, or posted up across your social media to give your virtual circle a taste, these are all the local favorites we seriously love to “like.” 1. Hawaiian Plate A Hawaiian plate with poi, laulau,
Food and travel go hand-in-hand. That’s why it was so easy for me, a former food editor and longtime food writer, to make the transition to editor of HAWAIʻI Magazine several years ago. (I’m now the editor at large.) To me, there’s no better way to experience a new place than through its cuisine—and Oʻahu
Highway Inn has been a staple in Hawai‘i for traditional Hawaiian and local fare for almost 75 years, making it one of the first stops for homesick friends and relatives visiting from out of state. It’s also a top choice among visitors looking for a taste of real Hawaiian food and a place where they can eat
Sixty years. Three generations of owners. Countless happy customers. Rainbow Drive-In, opened in 1961, has been the place to go for local comfort foods and affordable plate lunches on Oʻahu—and on Oct. 2, 2021, the iconic drive-in will be hitting the 60-year mark. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Rainbow Drive-In
It should be a rule that if a restaurant (or, in this case, a food truck) gets recommended to you more than five times, the question isn’t if it’s good—it’s how good. When I was first introduced to Island Style Grindz on Hawai‘i Island, I immediately tried to Google when and where I could get
It’s lights out for Like Like Drive Inn, an iconic Hawaiʻi diner that has been slinging out ʻono (delicious) local comfort foods on the corner of Keʻeamoku and Kanunu streets for the past 67 years. Owner Julie Tateyama, who inherited the business from her grandparents James and Alice Nako, said that after closing its dining room in
Drive some of Hawaii’s main thoroughfares and you might notice a curious thing: The presence of restaurants declaring themselves “drive-ins,” although that is clearly not the case. An idea popularized in the 1950s across America and recreated in the Islands with local-style plate lunches, loco moco and saimin, Hawaii drive-in restaurants now operate as traditional
Jim Gusukuma sits at a picnic table near Rainbow Drive-In, his board shorts still damp from his morning surf in nearby Waikiki. A line of customers is already at the takeout window, ordering plates of fried rice, loco mocos and buttermilk pancakes. This is Thursday ritual for Gusukuma, owner of the iconic comfort food haven,
