By the time I got in line, everything was sold out except lasagna and chicken.  The guy in front of me ordered the last two servings of hamburger steak.  Their menu was even taken down.  Bummers.

“What kine chicken you get?” , I asked.  ”Katsu, Spicy Korean, Spicy BBQ, Cutlet w/gravy”, this big but friendly man replied.   I took a cutlet with gravy.  $5 bucks.

What a happy surprise when I opened my plate!  They put in a hamburger steak too!  Awesome.  The cutlet was the highlight.  Soft and juicy and very fresh and crispy outside.  Gravy was good.  Not too salty.  Hamburger steak was average… a little tough, but I wasn’t complaining.  Mac salad was really good.  It may seem like a simple thing, but it takes skill and passion to make a well balanced mac salad.

Definitely will be back.  Just a little earlier next time!

Koji’s Bento! So easy to miss… just a small hole in the wall near the Hilo Farmer’s Market. This place has been here forever… they are famous for their homestyle loco mocos, but offer all kine local comfort foods. Took a few snaps of their menus…

Here it is… Koji’s Deluxe Loco ($6.50)!

My good friend introduced this to me back in college days and it’s exactly how I remember it. 2 hamburger patties, 2 eggs, portugese sausage, kim chee, and mac salad. (btw, this was ready in less than 3 minutes… they are so fast here). Isn’t it a thing of beauty? Sure, it may not be the most gourmet loco, but judging it as a whole with the great homemade kim chee and mac salad, it truly is amazing.

Another must try… the best hangover cure ever… Koji’s Breakfast Burger:

Homestyle teri burger, egg, crispy bacon, lettuce, tomato, grilled onions on a fresh sweet bread bun.  Super good.

Koji’s Bento Korner Inc.
52 Ponahawai St
Hilo, HI 96720

(808) 935-1417

Readers have been telling me that Maona has some mean grinds. Finally made it here! A little 2-man operated lunch counter right next to the Farmer’s Market.

Their menu is simple but looks so good! Unfortunately, they were already out of rice. They are known to have some good plate lunches so we were bummed.

We just went for some sandwiches. Blackjack burger ($6.50).

Mahi burger ($6.50).

The covers on these plates could barely stay closed. Huge burgers and huge amount of crispy homemade fries. My burger was thick and juicy with a nice spice rub. Nice grill marks. Best $6.50 I’ve spent on a burger! Bev’s mahi was super fresh and perfectly seasoned. Only thing is that it could’ve used a little more mahi.

Definitely will be back for their plate lunches!

Along with the chicken they had a lot of other local style plate lunches.  Outside on the grass, there are nice peaceful benches to sit on too.  Nice stop before heading out to Waimea or Kona.

What a deal: 3 pieces of chicken, 3 huge potato wedges, and a soft dinner roll all for only $4.99! (it was on special, regular price is $5.99).  Hoooo da tasty, crispy, perfectly seasoned and super juicy!  Bev liked it because it was “not too oily and fatty and crunchy all around…. and not the hard kine crunchy where you going break your teeth… just right crunchy”.

I got da plate lunch because I felt like rice.  It was winnaz too!  I think getting the box is a better deal though.

We are definitely going back here next time we pass this side.  Some of the best fried chicken on the island and super nice workers!

Minit Stop
36-2266 Mamaloha Hwy
Laupahoehoe
(808) 962-0422

Visiting this place today brought back my passion in food blogging, something I’ve missed for a long time. In fact, I was so excited to share with you guys about this place I couldn’t wait (even though I still have a backlist of places I still need to write about). Hawaiian Style Cafe is my new favorite place for SERIOUS GRINDZ.

Brah!!! Just look at my breakfast, “Da Tita Mok” ($8.25):

Huge thick flame-broiled hamburger patty, 2 thick slices of spam, moist and crunchy chicken cutlet, 1 egg, grilled onions, fried rice, and rich tasty brown gravy over everything.

It tasted just as good as it looked. The hamburger patty was great quality local beef and fresh. It was actually on the leaner side but still very moist and meaty. Kind of like Ken’s burger but thicker and more moist. The chicken cutlet was my favorite. So moist and crispy on the outside and perfect with the gravy, which was very rich and homemade-tasting. Fried rice was really good too… not too salty and it didn’t overpower the rest of the dish. Grilled onions was a good touch and the spam was cooked just right. My only complaint was that the egg was a little overcooked on the bottom, but it was still nice and yolky. Wow. Quantity and quality.

95%

Bev ordered two pancakes ($2.25/each pancake) but we actually shared everything.

HUGE HUGE HUGE. I liked these. Soft. Spongy. Moist. I do wish they had a bit more cake-like texture because it was a little too spongy/bouncy. I also wish that it was more crisp on the edges. I still would order these again. They were so soft and tasty.

Here’s the specials menu that was up (they even have “Stew Luau”! aka Beef Luau):

Here’s the Breakfast & Lunch Menu:

How was the service? Friendly, local-style, like walking into your favorite Aunty’s kitchen… but very slow and sometimes forgetful (they were really busy). If you are in a rush to go somewhere, don’t come here. This is somewhere to go when you have all morning to eat and digest and all afternoon to sleep. One thing we missed was that you need to sign-in to the right of the door then wait until there are free seats.

The food made it all worth it though. I can’t wait to go back! I wish they were in Hilo!

Hawaiian Style Cafe
65-1290 Kawaihae Rd, Kamuela, HI 96743 (map)
(808) 885-4295

The Kilauea Loco here is da grindz! It uses chili instead of the usual gravy and burger. Only 4.75.

And of course, because this is Big Island Grinds, the Merrie Monarch Hawaiian Plate ($8.50):

Kalua Pig & Cabbage, chicken long rice, poi, lomi salmon, white rice and haupia w/taro. Time to grind. Everything was delicious! Poi could’ve been moa sour, but that’s just my preference. Other than that, I really enjoyed it, especially while watching the beautiful hula dancers.

You can also see the entire photo set here.

I found a couple of old photos from Ling’s Chop Suey House back from my starving student days. And as lots of locals know, Ling’s has amazingly massive oyster chicken plates. Howz dis??? Hardly can fit in da plate!

This is so not healthy! But it is sooo good! The chicken is super crisp and moist. The sauce is light and not too sweet. The only thing is I wish it had a bit more oyster flavor. Other than that, it’s awesome and can feed you 3 times. This work of art costs only about $8-$9.

I’m making myself hungry! I have to stop now.

Ling’s Chop Suey House
Puainako Centre
Hilo, HI 96720
(808) 981-1689

Taking advantage of the long weekend, Bev and I went camping at Punalu’u Black Sand Beach on the south side of the Island. I hardly drive down there, so almost every time I do, I gotta stop by the Hirano store in Glenwood, which is after passing Mountain View and before Volcano. They have some mean grinds!

The people that work here are so friendly. It seems that the more remote an area is, the friendlier they get. Inside the store is all your regular stuff… drinks, chips, snacks, etc. And in one corner they have a menu offering plate lunches, sandwiches, hot dogs, and best of all their offerings… chili bowls!

Hirano Store Chili Bowl with Rice ($3.00), loaded with goodness! It’s a unique kind of style… a bit soupy, but still very hearty. The flavor and consistency sort of remind me of a Portuguese Bean Soup, but spicier with chili flavors.

It went wonderfully with their $.85 hot dog on a sweet bread bun.

Very satisfying… ready to continue driving!

• Some photos of our camping trip (flickr)

Hirano Store
Glenwood
808-968-6522

I’ve posted before about Sputnik’s wonderfully soft butter rolls and delicious buttermilk rolls, but never actually went inside until recently. They are also famous for their special burgers. Looks like a research job for Big Island Grinds!

The menu was written on a dry erase board and had a small selection of plate lunches along with “Sputnik Burgers”. There were a lot of people inside, but mostly waiting for their orders, so I didn’t have to wait long to order.

The sputnik burger selection was Teri Beef, Turkey Ham, and Tuna. We chose a Teri Beef and Turkey Ham. We also ordered a chili bowl just in case the burgers weren’t enough to fill us up.

Pretty interesting burgers huh? It looks sort of like a baked manapua, but it feels much softer and the filling is spread out more evenly rather than it being all in the center. What a clever idea! It also tasted great. I think the bread made it happen — it was so soft and had a sweet “fresh baked” taste, maybe a little like sweet bread. The fillings also complimented the bread. The teri burger had a filling of finely ground hamburger with a sweet and tangy flavor. The turkey ham one had a nice strong salty ham flavor, finely chopped. Very easy to eat, but not enough! I would need 2 or 3 of these to make a meal. Bev did fine with just one though.

I must also note that these burgers also make wonderful omiyage (gifts). You can purchase them in bulk chilled to bring on the plane.

We also shared a chili bowl. It was pretty bad actually. Way too sweet — it tasted like sweet relish mixed with meat and beans. It also had way too much rice and just a thin layer of chili. I hate it when places make the chili to rice ratio like 1 part chili 10 parts rice.

While waiting for our order, most people were ordering their plate lunches. They seemed pretty popular. I would come back again to try their plate lunches and definitely come back for more Sputnik Burgers and Butter Rolls! Be warned though, the butter rolls are only available on Friday.

Sputniks
811 Laukapu St. B-10
Hilo, HI 96720
(808) 961-2066