Dining Out Oahu: Rainbow Drive-In, Kapahulu, Oahu, Hawaii

 

Rainbow Drive-In is an Oahu institution.  It was opened in 1961.

From their website:  Their philosophy was to serve generous portions of hearty, simple food that appealed to working-class people. 

Rainbow Drive-In continues this tradition by serving food that reflects Hawaii’s immigrant culture. It has played a key role in the creation of “plate lunch” culture of Hawaii and their menu items continue to be iconic Hawaii dishes.

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Rainbow Drive-In has remained a family-owned business and is now operated by the 3rd generation of the Ifuku family.
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Rainbow Drive-In continues to serve local comfort food with aloha and takes pride in every plate they serve.

After hiking to the summit of Diamond Head, we were definitely ready for a hearty, authentic, working class meal.  We were not disappointed.  

Since we hadn't walked far enough that day, we strolled the 1.5 miles from the hotel to the Drive-In.

There's nothing fancy here.  If you're looking for fine dining and cloth napkins, you need to go in a different direction.

You walk up to one of three windows to place your order.

Now these ladies don't have time for you to study the menu.  Do you homework online before you go so you can place your order and move along.  They'll call you back up to the window to pick up your food when it's ready.

There's picnic tables on one side of the building and tables/chairs on the other side.

If you decide you need to use the restroom?  You'll need to go back to the window and request the key.  The key?  It's attached to a large metal stirring spoon.  You won't be leaving with the key.

But back to the food.  Sweet Harold DID his research and knew he wanted to try their chili.  When he realized chili fries were an option, they were ordered immediately.

This chili was all that we had hoped it would be.  Full of flavor (and beans!) with a nice little kick of heat.  

Now you may, or may not, be familiar with the iconic "plate lunch" which is so popular in Hawaii.  A plate lunch is a traditional, casual meal consisting of a hot protein entrée paired with two scoops of white rice and a scoop of creamy macaroni salad.

Sweet Harold went big time and ordered the "Mixed Plate" with gravy.  What's on the Mixed Plate with Gravy?  Glad you asked!  There's a piece of boneless chicken (fried) covered in gravy, a piece of fried Mahi Mahi, and a serving of BBQ Beef marinated in their BBQ Sauce (Teriyaki) and then seared on the grill.

The fish was lightly coated and pan fried.  It was well-seasoned and very tender and fresh.

The beef had a tangy flavor from the teriyaki marinade and was thinly sliced and very tender.  The chicken was lightly breaded as well and completely covered in brown gravy.  His plate included the required mac salad and white rice.

Now my lunch!  I went with the BBQ pork because I had to try BBQ pork while in Hawaii, right?

As you can see, this is NOT the typical BBQ pork that we're familiar with here in the South.  It was very thinly sliced and lightly glazed with the same teriyaki sauce as the beef.

I enjoyed this very different version of BBQ pork.  I also had the white rice and mac salad.

Speaking of Hawaiian Mac Salad here's a brief explanation:

Hawaii-Style Mac Salad: Overcooked Pasta: The elbow macaroni is cooked soft and mushy (not al dente) so it absorbs the dressing deeply.

Specific Mayo: Traditionally requires Best Foods or Hellmann's mayonnaise, often thinned with a splash of milk.

Flavor Balance: Uses apple cider vinegar or pickle juice balanced with a touch of sugar, plus grated carrots and onion juice. It typically skips mustard

See how creamy this is?  There's nothing dry or bland here?  I am obsessed with this mac salad.

He loved his lunch and so did I.....so much so that we were sad to learn that they have a daily special and on this particular day it was roast pork!

So what did we do?  We ordered one to carry back to the room to have for dinner!  When Harold went back to the window to order, he asked if we could have three mac salads instead of one mac salad and two rice servings.  He was told that was fine, but there would be an extra charge.  We were FINE with that!

This meal was as delicious as our lunch meal.  If you ever have an opportunity to order a Plate Lunch, please do!

  

Dining Out Oahu: Poké Bar, Waikiki, Oahu, Hawaii

 

Now when you're in Hawaii, what better place than to dine on  Poké.  If you're unfamiliar with the term, think of poke as sushi in a bowl! 🍣🥢 

Fresh ahi tuna, rice, crunchy toppings, and flavorful sauces all piled together for one delicious Hawaiian meal. This was one of our tasty discoveries in Waikiki!

Here's one of their menus.

I'll stop here and let you know what each of us selected as our "starting point."  I had the Firecracker and Sweet Harold had the O.G.

We were very hungry so we decided that we would order a regular instead of a small.  We should have ordered a small. The regular was a very generous serving.

Now look at how fun it is when you get to your place in line to order!

It's like a Sushi or Poké Jersey Mike's or Subway!  We both selected white rice as the base.

For my Firecracker Bowl it automatically includes Ahi Tuna, white and green onion, cucumber, masago (masago is the tiny, vibrant orange roe (eggs) of the capelin fish, commonly used as a finishing garnish, texture booster, or mixed into sauces for poke bowls), spicy mayo, and sweet chili and house sauces.  I opted to add seaweed, dried garlic, dried onions, and extra sesame seeds.

This was one of my most favorite meals of the entire trip!  Everything was extremely fresh, flavorful, and spicy!  

Now, let's see what Sweet Harold enjoyed!

The O.G. has Ahi Tuna, edaname, white/green onion, masago, Ponzu (citrus based sauce), and House sauce. He added crab to his along with the dried onion and dried garlic.  He adores sesame seeds so he requested extra of those. Yum!

Doesn't he look happy?

I really wish we had these types of restaurants nearby.  I'd love to splurge on them occasionally.

Dining Out Oahu: Teddy's Bigger Burgers, Waikiki, Oahu, Hawaii

 

Teddy's Bigger Burgers was located a half block from Park Shore Waikiki, our hotel while we were visiting. After spending the morning at the Honolulu Zoo which was located across the street from Park Shore, we decided we'd give them a try for lunch.

When we walked in, the decor caught my eye immediately.  Bright, bold, and definitely In Your Face sort of decor.

And then I spied the menu board.

Seriously, what could possibly go wrong with two citizens of Alabama looking at this and then realizing that we were expected to use a kiosk to order?

LATER, we realized that we could have ordered at the counter, but really, where would the fun be in that decision?

So we attempted to select our burgers, our toppings, our bun, our condiments, our fries, our drinks.  I thought we had done a great job!  I really did.  Until our food arrived and all the things I had happily checked in the way of condiments were actually DELETING THEM FROM THE BURGERS.  Sigh.

However, because we are "go with the flow" kind of people, we decided all those extras like lettuce, tomatoes, etc. would have taken away from the flavor of the actual burger, right?

Now the ONE thing that Sweet Harold did want was grilled pineapple, so we went back and requested some for him to add ....yes, I know the employees were probably shaking their heads, but oh well.

Now, I always like to get buffalo sauce to dunk my fries.  Well, of course, I thought since it was listed under "sides" it would be served, well, on the side.  Nope, it was on the burger.  But honestly?  It was delicious on the burger.  😊

The buns were soft and toasted.  The double ground chuck was delicious and well-seasoned and cooked on a grill.  The fries were served HOT and were seasoned deliciously.

Did we receive what we (mistakenly) thought we ordered? Nope.  Was it a delicious lunch?  Most definitely!

And as with most all restaurant in Oahu, it's open air and we did have a few visitors who wished to dine alongside us!

Dining Out Oahu, Goofy Cafe & Dine, Waikiki, Oahu, Hawaii

We had a big breakfast on Friday morning, so lunch was late, which meant by eating later for lunch we saved money on dinner.  Whew.

Anyway, mid-afternoon we decided we'd venture out and try a place that would be near the hotel, but we'd be able to dine outdoors.

Goofy Cafe and Dine checked both of those boxes.  It was located about a block from our hotel adjacent to the Twin Fin Hotel and facing the beachfront.  We were given the option of dining indoors or on the covered patio and, of course, we chose to eat outside.

Here's a picture of the menu...it was happy hour, so small plates for the win.

Sweet Harold wanted to try the Lemon Butter Garlic Shrimp and was excited to discover that he had 10 shrimp instead of the 8 listed on the menu!

True to their name, they were loaded with lemon, butter, AND garlic.  Shrimp is his most favorite food of all, so he was in heaven.

He also decided he wanted to try some Truffle Fries.  They were nicely seasoned with black pepper, salt, parmesan, AND truffle oil.

And for me?  I had to try the Spicy Ahi Nachos.  I was quick to inquire as to the avocado listed on the menu and our server assured me that they would not have any avocado anywhere near my serving.  Yes, it is a sad thing to be allergic to avocado in any shape or form.

This was a generous serving of fresh ahi tuna tossed with a spicy mayo along with onion slivers and pickled jalapenos.

YUM!  The little green onion garnish added a nice little freshness.

Now we were dining outdoors, but one thing we've learned since we've been here is that birds, pigeons, chickens.....they all have free reign and are all more than happy to dine with you.

Dining Out Oahu: Cheeseburger in Paradise, Waikiki, Oahu Hawaii

 

We ventured out yesterday morning in search of breakfast.  There are coffee shops galore, but we were hungry and ready to eat!

We came across this menu board and everything sounded delicious!

Before we get to the food, I have to show you the interior of this fun restaurant!

Now if these photos didn't get you into island vibe, nothing will!

Check out the breakfast options including the mimosa flight!

Before we get into our breakfast selections let me tell you this....Sweet Harold adores pineapple.  I like the "flavor" of pineapple (think drinks, punches, candy, etc.), but don't care for eating actual pineapple.  Yes, I know.  But it is what it is.  

When he spied a Hawaiian Omelet on the menu, he didn't look at the menu a minute more.  

So here is his three-egg Hawaiian Omelet complete with cheddar, Portuguese sausage, and pineapple.  His verdict? He LOVED it.  So much in fact that he has mentioned numerous times since yesterday how good that omelet was!  Who would have thought?

Look at the paper umbrella in the toast.  That has to make you smile at breakfast, right?

There wasn't just a random piece of pineapple here or there....this omelet was full of diced pineapple.  He loved it.  I suppose we'll be trying this once we return home.

I chose two scrambled eggs with hashbrowns, toast, and Portuguese sausage. This type of sausage is a major staple in Hawaii.  Even McDonald's has it on their breakfast menu!  It's a little like our smoked sausage, but it milder and a little sweet.  I thoroughly enjoyed my breakfast!

The eggs were so light and fluffy.  The hashbrowns were crispy and lightly browned...so good.

I fell in love with the Portuguese Sausage.  In fact, I'd go so far to say it's right there with my adoration of my beloved Conecuh sausage.

We enjoyed our time with the crew at Cheeseburger in Paradise.  The food was served hot and fresh and Lauren, our server, was the BEST.