Big Island Grinds

I’m very sorry guys, I just had to do this again. I woke up this morning craving for a loco moco, not just any loco moco… it had to be a Blane’s loco moco. I’ve featured their loco bowl in the past at the Industrial location, but this time I got the loco plate at the Downtown location.

I was thinking of getting a mix plate with katsu for sake of variety, but I could not deny my loco moco craving (sorry kelly!). There must be something in the gravy that makes it addicting.

The plate ($6.25) is a double loco moco with mac salad and miso soup. It’s a small price to pay for a happy stomach all day long.

All of their take-out plates are served this way, with a styrofoam cup of miso soup anchored to the top of the plate with a thin rubber band. Brilliant idea, I think! The miso soup looks like it could fall easily, but the rubber band actually does support it fairly well and can withstand the bumps and turns on the seat of my car.

And without further ado, here it is in all it’s gravy glory!

*gives you a few minutes to stare and drool*

Here’s the miso soup.

And one more closeup.

This loco may be even a little better than the Industrial location, based on this experience. Or maybe it was because I was craving it so much?

In any case, the loco moco plate is just amazing. The two burgers were very tender and had a great taste; gravy was plentiful and soothing to the soul; eggs were well cooked; mac salad was good and mayonaissey, which went really well eaten with the loco moco.. and the miso soup was nice for in between bites.

I’m so happy right now.

Blane’s Drive Inn
217 Waianuenue Ave
Hilo, Hawaii 96720
Menu Hotline: (808) 969-6677, Phone: 969-9494

Ken’s House of Pancakes is a legend in Hilo. Located on the corner of a busy intersection near the hotels and the airport, locals and tourists alike flock to this seemingly always busy restaurant for their huge fluffy 3-egg omelettes, sumo sized saimins and loco mocos, burgers, oxtail stew, and a whole array of local and American foods. Also, where else can you go for a sit-down meal at 3am in the morning in Hilo? Ken’s is the only place!

Here is a sampling of their menu. Notice the Sumo Moco at the bottom!

From the menu:
“Sumo” Moco - This is a serious “bell ringer”. 6 scoops rice, choice of spam (4), 5 oz. Lean “Home Grown” beef patty (2), or 6 oz. mahi-mahi. Gravy + 3 eggs any style. *drool*

Ken’s has a relatively new thing going on that when anyone orders a “Sumo” menu item such as the Sumo Moco or the Sumo Min (a huge amount of saimin and garnishes), they ring this bell really loud…

…and all the waitresses/waiters yell a resounding, “SUMO”!!!!!!! They seem to have gotten it down to a science already, with perfect timing. Even the regulars join in and yell “SUMO”!!!! It gets especially louder as the clubbing-folk stumble in after the night is over.

The people at Ken’s are very warm and full of the aloha spirit. Even at the most crowded times, you can see that they are under pressure, but they still keep their cool and are nice and attentive. It feels like a big family in there.

On this visit, we sat at the counter since there were no seats available. The cooks and waitresses were going at it full blast.

Here’s their counter setup. The ketchup and tabasco is offered when the food comes.

I ordered the “Pocho” (under $7).

3 eggs with portuguese sausage, onions, and cheddar cheese. Don’t mistake this for one of their omelettes… their omelettes are bigger and fluffier. I ordered this since I wasn’t feeling hungry enough for their huge omelettes. The eggs were soft and the portuguese sausage was tasty. I put shoyu and tabasco all over.

It also came with pancakes.

Ken’s pancakes are deliciously fluffy and yummy. They also have coconut and lilikoi syrup by request, which is a great option! Although these aren’t the best pancakes I’ve had, they are still very good.

Also ordered was their Oxtail Stew (~$10).

The oxtails are extremely tender and the tomato-based stew has a deep, rich flavor. The serving is very generous, with lots of oxtail. Carrots and celery accompany the oxtails. On the side is mac salad and 2 scoops rice. Tabasco is highly recommended for dis one! I know you guys stay drooling already!

On another visit, I had a loco moco, which I just have to include here!

Ken’s loco moco is one of the better loco mocos in Hilo. The hamburger patty is big and freshly grilled. The gravy is homemade and is lighter (in color) than the regular packaged brown gravy used by most places, but it also tastes better than most places. The gravy matches the loco really well. The eggs (it came with two, but you can’t really tell in the picture) were cooked just right. At $5.45, it’s a more expensive loco moco, but still a good deal for a nice sit-down place.

Also really good are Ken’s fries, served by the basket (shown halfway eaten already).

The fries are really crisp on the outside and tender on the inside. Excellent.

A pancake house has to have good coffee, and Ken’s coffee is always hot, fresh, and rich.

They keep a thermos container full of coffee at your table so that you can drink as much as you like.

Hilo is very lucky to have Ken’s House of Pancakes and I couldn’t wait to feature them on here.

Ken’s House of Pancakes
1730 Kamehameha Ave.
Hilo , HI 96720
(808) 538-1877
Open 24 hours.

Hungry? Got two bucks? Well take a look at this:

Yes, a hamburger loco moco for $1.90. Freddy’s has got to have the best loco moco value in Hilo!

Freddy’s has a nice eating area with big windows providing lots of natural light.

The service was very friendly and quick.

“One hamburga loco. Sunny side up. Thanks. :)”

Isn’t it a beauty?

Slide your plate a little to the right and the loco moco condiments are right there.

You gotta put on da shoyu, ketchup, and tabasco, or you’re not having the full loco moco experience!

Overall, this loco moco is very satisfying and tastes very good, but for the picky details…

• Burger: Good size and taste was good. Based on the texture I could tell this was a premade burger, but it still tasted good in the overall picture.
• Gravy: Standard brown gravy. Good amount given. Flavor was nothing special, but it was just right.
• Egg: Perfectly cooked nice quality egg.
• Rice: Good rice! Cooked just right.

Freddy’s loco moco is a very decent loco moco. They cut some corners to make it cheaper (like the burger), but the beauty of a loco moco is that it is a cheap, fast, and satisfying meal. So, this is a perfect representation of the essence of a true loco moco.

For those who want to dine in, Freddy’s has a restaurant area on the side.

Freddy’s is also famous for their sandwiches, which are very big, fresh and delicious. Their plate lunches are also very good. I hope to feature more food from here in the future.

Freddy’s Restaurant/Drive-In
454 Manono St
Hilo, Hawaii
(808) 935-1108

My good Filipino friend was really excited to show me this simple dish he learned. He told me about it and I was instantly excited too! Anything with bagoong has to be good. *grin*

So, on a sunny Sunday morning, we headed down to Marcy’s Variety Store, which specializes in Filipino foods.

Look at their selection of bagoong! It took a good deal of searching to find the one that my friend needed.

The bagoong we used was Lingayan Brand’s Fish Sauce. It has a smooth, slightly thick consistency and smells very fishy. Other kinds of fish bagoong should work, too. We also got a bag of eggplants from Marcy’s. The thin eggplants work better in this recipe.

For this dish, the eggplants need to be grilled until the skin is charred. The ideal way to do this would be over a real flame, but we were hungry so we just tried the electric stove.

Just make sure to keep moving the eggplant around until the eggplant is charred all over. After the eggplant is charred, you should be able to easily scrape off the burnt skin with a fork. You can leave the stems on.

Next, scramble enough eggs to soak all the eggplant in. We used four eggs for about seven eggplants. Then, pour in a small amount of the bagoong. We eyeballed the amount, but it looked like about one tablespoon, maybe, but just trust your bagoong instincts.

Once the egg batter is all ready, mix in all the eggplants.

Now you’re ready to cook! Put some oil in a hot pan and then place the eggplants in the pan. Then you can pour in the rest of the egg batter.

Cook the eggplant and eggs like an omelette, scraping the cooked eggs to the center and letting the uncooked egg run to the outside. After a few minutes, the “eggplant omelette” should be ready to flip. The secret to a good flip is to go all the way with confidence! Otherwise, you could flip it section by section.

After just a few seconds after the flip, slide it onto a plate, and you’re all set to grind! No forget da rice!

Easy lang and masarap!

On a non-food related note, Marcy’s also rents out Filipino movies. My friend rented a this DVD called “Mr. Suave“. Very funny (and strange) movie! It also has english subtitles, thankfully. Hoy! hoy! hoy! hoy! hoy! hoy!

Marcy’s Variety Store
266 Makaala Street, Hilo, HI 96720
(808) 935-5889

Located right in downtown Hilo next to Hilo’s Farmer’s Market lies Reuben’s Mexican Restaurant. The restaurant is run by a wonderful Mexican family, and you can taste the love in all the food, which makes this place my favorite place for Mexican food on the Big Island. Reuben’s food taste so soo good, and their margaritas are very very generous with the tequila. I try to frequent here at least once a week.

Here’s the entrance to Reuben’s. Notice the help wanted ad. I want to apply just to learn how they make their food.

It was pretty packed on a Saturday night, so make reservations if you come after 7pm. They are closed on Sunday.

The bar with loads of different tequilas and beers.

Tequila shot menu.

I ordered my usual double margarita on the rocks. The double actually means 3-5 shots of tequila. I see them pouring it and they just keep pouring!

…

They serve salsa verde to every table. It’s very hot and flavorful. It goes great with their chips and with most of their dishes. One taste and you’ll know that this is no Taco Bell.

I ordered the beef nachos ($6.00).

The beef nachos are amazing. The beef is very tender and full of flavor, like they stewed it for hours. The chips are homemade and taste so crisp and fresh. I like to pour on the hot sauce and sprinkle pepper as I go. You don’t know how good this tasted since I missed lunch today!

From another visit, a Beef Enchilada with beans and rice ($7.00).

The beef enchiladas are very tasty with the same tender beef used in the nachos and the enchilada sauce is just wonderful, bringing everything together. The beans and rice are equally ono, too… the beans have a really rich moist flavor.

Paying…

Reuben also makes great chicken flautas, pork chile verde, guacamole, chile relenos, and more! The prices are very reasonable.

Thank you Reuben. See you next week.

Reuben’s Mexican Food
336 Kamehameha Ave
Hilo, Hawaii 96720
(808) 961-2552

Yet another loco moco review from Big Island Grinds!

This time, I went to K’s Drive In since it’s right down the street from me. K’s looks like an old-fashioned type of drive in with lots of open seating. I’m pretty sure K’s has been here for a long time.

Sorry about the photo quality… it was night time.

Here is the order window with specials on the side. They are famous for their fried rice w/korean chicken (first item on menu), which I can say is very good!

Here’s their loco moco!

Another view…

Loco Moco essentials… minus the Tabasco!

Da Review

• Burger: A bit disappointing. The texture was mushy and the flavor was not that great.
• Gravy: Taste like standard loco moco gravy, but it was a little too salty. It was too thin too.
• Eggs: Just ok. They were a little tough since they overcooked it too much.
• Rice: A little mushy.
• Price: $2.20

Beer run? How convenient. Kadota Liquors has an excellent wine selection as well!

K’s Drive In’s loco moco isn’t a good measure to judge their food by. I would definitely recommend the Fried Rice w/Korean Chicken and also any of their Filipino specials. They get plenny ono local kine style plate lunches! I’ll review again.

K’s Drive In
194 Hualalai Street
Hilo, HI 96720
(808) 935-5573