Thanks Sandy. After experiencing the plate lunch in Honolulu several years ago, I have stopped at L&L in Las Vegas several times. I’m fine with the chicken katsu, so I’m sure I will be stopping by Da Kine.

signman, looks like you are making a list! Da Kine is good. My wife is from Hawaii and is a distant relative of the founder of the L&L Drive In. But she doesn’t think the place that have landed on the mainlane compare with local places on the islands. I can’t tell the difference, I think it’s a state of mind.

Da Kine is located on the second floor of a strip mall in Pacific Beach on Mission Blvd. about a block from the ocean. If you like rice, Chicken Katsu, Teriaki Chicken, or Kalua Pork (similar to Mexican Carnitas), you’ll enjoy it. It’s a take out place with nothing fancy. Perfect for the beach. I just drove by it last week on Labor Day weekend on our way to try out our first Fatburger which is just up the street. We don’t make it to the plate lunch places often as we prefer sushi so we end up at local Japanese places. Here are some links to Da Kines http://www.dakines.com/ and L&L http://www.hawaiianbarbecue.com/

I like the Loco Moco. She likes the Spam Musube. If they are preapring Lau Lau, try it!

Sandy, How about Da Kine in San Diego?

There’s a big difference between Roy’s and L&L’s! The restaurants are upscale and the plate lunches are like take out.

If you make it to Hawaii try ZIppy’s chili. Or you can order their products and have them shipped to the mainland…

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A new restaurant appeared on my radar…. Kona Grill! But they are not in California yet….

http://www.konagrill.com/index.htm

Elise…..never tried King’s—-didn’t know that much about the restaurant portion of it. I will have to try it some time.

Caje——that’s exactly the place I’m referring to. L & L’s seems to have a big following. I try to go there often these days. Thanks for the website—–I now found out that they have a place less than 3 miles from me. Yum!

L&L’s is probably one of the better "plate lunch" style chains, and they have a few restaurants on the mainland.

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Here’s a site listing Hawaiian places in California, but it hasn’t been updated in a few years, so some of the places have closed.

http://alohaworld.com/platelunch/

Ed: What about King’s on Sepulveda in Torrance, off Hawthorne Blvd…owned by the family who makes King’s Hawaiian Bread (still baked in beautiful downtown Gardena)? I haven’t been there in a long time myself.

Out here in CA, we have many. My favorites are The Loft at Lahaina, a mini-chain with my fqvorite one on Sepulveda Bl. in Manhattan Beach. Good BBQ beef, excellent fried chicken and lots of specialties such as chicken long rice and katsu curry. They are a nice, sit down place but still reasonable and with good "plate lunches". It’s a favorite place to take friends who want hawaiian but with nice atmosphere. My other favorite is L&L Hawaiian Barbecue, mainly a take out place. They do have several locations and are part of a chain headquartered in Hawaii. I usually go to the one in the Marukai food Court in Costa Mesa. Good plate lunches, very good BBQ Short Ribs and terriyaki chicken. As is typical, lots of food for little money—–plate lunches come with cabbage salad, macaroni salad and rice. Other goodies such as spam musabi are always available.

Hawaiian? You can get Spam anywhere…[:D]

TRADER VIC’S is located in the Palmer House Hilton in Chicago. It’s been there since the late ’40s and still going strong.

www.roys-restaurants.com

Roy’s have a neat website and have several locations in the USA. Sounds a bit pricey but if they are managed and franchised by Outback, my guess is they are very good. They also have a price fix menu. My experience with Outback is they tend to operate above the scale for a chain and tend to be very consistent. They also franchise or manage a Italian group that tends to be next door. They are also very good. I think they are called Carrabba’s.

Paul E. Smith
Knoxville, TN

Roy’s, one of Hawaii’s great restaurant mini-chains, is now franchised by the Outback folks and has about 20 outposts on the Mainland. I haven’t tried any of these franchised Roy’s yet but I have heard good things from others who love Roy’s from Hawaii and have tried the franchises.

Here is a link to a site that had several listings for Hawaiian restaurants in the lower 48. It seems like there should be more. I have never had the pleasure of authentic Hawaiian food, when I think of a Hawaiian themed restaurant, Don-the- beachcomber with tiki lights come to mind, but I am sure most places are not like that!

http://www.geocities.com/~olelo/fl-foodandrestaurants.html#b

Johnmessner, Amy & I also visited Lulu’s Hawaiian Ice Cream Shack in Simi Valley, CA last month. We chronicled it in Part II of our trip report here, if you missed it: http://www.roadfood.com/Forums/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=24486

Tasty stuff, though obviously not as fab as in HI. I was impressed, though, that Lulu’s prepared adzuki beans (only on weekends in winter, and sadly we went on a Thursday) for the shave ice. [:p] Chris