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Last week I wrote about long-gone restaurants and the dishes readers would like to be able to dine on again. Over 100 readers responded and suggested their favorite places, so here is another installment.
Likelike Drive Inn
Wayne Shiohira said, “My favorite restaurant of the past was the old Like Like Drive Inn, on Keeaumoku Street. Although it was renovated in the 1990s, it’s the original one built in 1953 that I have the fondest memories of.
“People flocked to its central location that was open 24 hours a day. It was usually busy, being close to the Civic Auditorium, the Honolulu Stadium and the Honolulu International Center. It was one of the few places having long tables in the party room that could accommodate a large group.
“I still remember sitting at the soda fountain watching banana splits, peach melbas, strawberry and chocolate sundaes, and ice cream sodas being assembled.
“My dad would take us kids there to visit our mother, who was a night waitress, usually working behind the soda fountain till the wee hours of the morning.
“Sister liked a strawberry ice cream cone, brother got vanilla and not chocolate because of his asthma, and Mom always gave me sherbet because I was a chubby kid. Those are great memories for me to have and cherish as a senior.”
Tasty Broilers
Terry Savage fondly remembers the Tasty Broiler at 808 Smith St. and Nimitz Highway downtown. “It was one of my 1970s favorites,” he said. “Where else could we penny-pinching college kids get a steak for a couple of bucks?”
I went to Tasty Broiler many times as well. Often, when I was going to the University of Hawaii, 10-15 of us students would drive over to its green building for lunch. A tenderloin steak with mushrooms was $3.50, says a 1975 menu that I have.
That came with bread, salad, fruit cocktail, soup, drink and dessert. Mahimahi or ulua was $2.30. A fried half-chicken was $2.30. Lamb chops were $2.55. Lobster tail was $6.
The Willows
Kawika Grant said his favorite was The Willows. Its chicken curry and “sky high” lemon or coconut cream pie were fantastic. Roger Hawley of Maui says there is nothing today like The Willows, which was built around a natural artesian pond in Moiliili. A trip to Hawaii without visiting The Willows, said entertainer Arthur Godfrey, was “just plain unthinkable.”
Best hamburger steaks
Harold Tanaka said, “In the early 1950s we would go to the Varsity Sweet Shop next to Kuni Dry Goods on King Street and University Avenue after Boy Scouts on Saturday.
“For 25 cents we would get one scoop of rice, a hamburger steak patty (made with bread and onions) and gravy all over.
“To this day I’ve never had a more delicious patty and gravy, earning Varsity Sweet Shop a doctorate in my quest for the best hamburger steak and gravy.”
Canlis
Archie J. Thornton says one of his favorite spots for a special occasion or business meeting was Canlis Restaurant, which opened in 1954 at the corner of Kalakaua Avenue and Kalaimoku Street.
“One particular dish that I liked to order was a fresh fish-of-the-day marinated in teriyaki, with tsuyahime rice and ginger. Ono (good tasting … not necessarily the fish).”
Kuhio Grill
Gary Jennings from Nuuanu says, “I came to Honolulu in 1966 to attend the University of Hawaii. We heard there was a small restaurant/bar in Moiliili that had good food, and decided to stop one evening. The staff and waitresses were very friendly, and we ordered a Kirin beer.
“All of a sudden, unordered food started appearing at our table. We were puzzled. The tables around us were receiving corn on the cob, steak, shrimp tempura, and the like, while we were dining on boiled peanuts and dried cuttlefish and strange chips.
“We still haven’t ordered anything. Perplexed, we are left wondering why there was a discrepancy in food and how did we pay for food we didn’t order?
“About a week later we returned. We asked some of the other patrons why they got steak and shrimp while we received the dried cuttlefish.
“They explained the process to us: This was a pupu bar, and the waitresses would prepare the plates for their customers, and the customers in turn would tip the waitresses according to the food they received.
“Once the waitress got to know and trust you, she would respond with upgraded plates of food.
“We finally established a relationship with a waitress who we would ask for upon entering the Kuhio Grill, and we would pay for the Kirins with $20 bills and leave the change on the table.
“All of a sudden, we too were eating the delicious plates that Millie would deliver to our table unannounced. I also learned to use chopsticks, because that was the only eating utensil offered.
“The Kuhio Grill was an unusual phenomenon that we would bring mainland visitors to, so they could experience island life and culture.
They were always amazed and generous once we explained the system.”
Steve Miura remembered the pupu his waitress brought to the table one night: sushi, sashimi, beef tomato, fried fish, clams, corn on the cob, shrimp tempura and crab.
Tin Tin Chop Suey
“Tin Tin Chop Suey on Maunakea Street, just mauka of Hotel Street, was a great place,” Mike McCurdy recalls.
“My favorite there is Hung Too Min served over Hawaiian-style cake noodles, always with a couple of pieces of roast duck, and I usually also order a half-moon dim sum.
“Hung Too Min was mixed shellfish (abalone, shrimp, and scallops) cooked with snow peas, black mushrooms and other vegetables. We enjoyed Tin Tin whenever we had the chance, but a stop there was obligatory in late summer before heading back to the mainland for college.”
Manoa Saimin
Nicholas Hormann, an actor now living in Pasadena, Calif., says, “In the 1950s Manoa Saimin on East Manoa Road served saimin for 50 cents at a Formica counter with six or eight stools. It was the mauka of Manoa Valley Church (now Manoa Valley Theatre).
“The broth was steaming, the noodles tender, the fish cake succulent, the green onions fresh. I went there a lot after school.”
Toyo Superette, Manoa
Alan Shoho said, “My grandfather used to take me to the Toyo Superette in Manoa all the time to get a slush and to play around the store as he delivered vanda orchid lei my grandmother made.
“It was right across from the Manoa Japanese Language School that my grandfather helped found.
“I spent most of my time in Naalehu on the Big Island, but I visited my grandparents, who lived in Manoa during the summers.
“The Hirano Store on the road to Hilo past Volcano National Park had the best hamburgers, because they used to cook them in gravy. It was served in a bun. It used to be so ono.
“I remember my friends and I, when we drove to or from Hilo from Naalehu, would stop by Hirano’s for gas and something to eat. Hirano’s has changed ownership and isn’t the same place I grew up with in the 1960s and 1970s.”
long list
Ray Wong had many favorite restaurants:
Elliott’s Chuckwagon: “The prime rib buffet with some of the best fried chicken, dinner rolls and scalloped potatoes around. Really special: the teriyaki braised beef rib bones.”
Chunky’s Drive-In: “It had a great location across the street from the old Honolulu Stadium. Teri beef, beef cutlet and goulash plate lunches. The hamburgers were 25 cents; cheeseburgers, 30 cents; anchovies beef sandwich, 45 cents; bag of crinkle-cut fries, 15 cents; and a Coke was a dime back in the early to mid-1960s.”
The Pottery Steakhouse: “Back in the 1970s this was a great eatery on Waialae Avenue across from the current Big City Diner. It was run by a European chef and his ceramicist wife. They have a system for ordering the doneness of your steak named after the kiln firing ‘cone’ system. You could buy the ceramic pieces that held your warm garlic bread or baked chicken.”
The Third Floor: “Fine dining establishment at the Hawaiian Regent hotel. The wonderful opener of naan bread with sweet butter or liver mousse pate followed by the venison medallions and the complimentary bonbons on dry ice were a meal to remember.”
Readers — What is your favorite dish from a long-gone local restaurant?
Bob Sigall is the author of the five “Companies We Keep” books. Send him your comments to [email protected].