FUUD: The best loco moco
November 6th, 2009 by CatOne of the simplest — and iconic — dishes in Hawai'i is the loco moco.
It originated in 1949 in Hilo by the Inouye family who owned Lincoln Grill. A group of hungry teenage athletes wanted something cheap to eat and the owner threw together white rice and a beef patty topped with brown gravy in a saimin bowl. (The fried egg came later.) All for 25 cents.
Today, there are a variety of this dish using everything from Spam to veal jus.
The award-winning loco moco at Rainbow Drive-In. Simple. Just white rice, a beef patty and a fried egg topped with brown gravy.
Dozens of Japanese visitors flock to the drive-in in Kapahulu just for this dish.
Alan Wong's The Pineapple Room in Macy's at Ala Moana Center
boasts two variations. This one is the weekend special: kalua pig hash loco moco with two farm-fresh sunny-side-up eggs on a generous serving of fried rice.
A rich veal jus covers the dish, taking it to the next level.
The June-July issue of Food Network Magazine chose the loco moco at the Hukilau Cafe in La'ie as the best in Hawai'i.
Got a favorite? And what makes this simple dish so good?
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Follow Cat on Twitter @thedailydish or send her an e-mail at cat@thecatdish.com.
Tags: Ala Moana Center, Alan Wong, food, Food Network Magazine, fuud, hawaii, Hilo, Hukilau Cafe, Lincoln Grill, loco moco, Macy's, Rainbow Drive-In, The Pineapple Room, toth
November 6th, 2009 at 5:36 am
I really like the one at the Pineapple Room - the regular Loco Moco, but in my older age, it's too much food and I can only finish half of it before I'm stuffed.
November 6th, 2009 at 6:41 am
Nice review Cat.
Who makes the best Loco-Moco? Me! Hah!
November 6th, 2009 at 6:51 am
Good morning Cat!
Fuud friday pixs!
Yummy! I made Loco Moco for dinner monday night!
November 6th, 2009 at 7:06 am
Loco moco = short for Loco for Mokes with heart disease to eat!
November 6th, 2009 at 7:53 am
Aloha,
Amy's on the Green in Kahuku (now closed), used to make a roast beef loco Moco I still crave. Instead of hamburger they used fork tender roast beef. You could eat part of it for breakfast and save the rest for lunch. I could never eat the whole thing.
November 6th, 2009 at 8:13 am
I like the Chili Moco at Zippy's with the special sauce (aka mayo) on top.
The best part of loco moco is when you break the yolk and it oozes all over. 
November 6th, 2009 at 8:45 am
I know this may sound like heresy, but I was pleasantly surprised how good the loco moco was at Farrell's.
November 6th, 2009 at 8:55 am
Once had the special loco moco at You Hungry. Kalua pig with gravy over a bed of mashed potatoes. So good, but seriously, my stomach hurt for five hours after.
November 6th, 2009 at 9:36 am
Kapiolani Coffee Shop is the best. the one served at Ryan's in Ward Center is also surprizingly good.
November 6th, 2009 at 9:39 am
Oh man, er Oh woman!!! Cat!!! Those pictures are so good.
What makes local moco so good is when you are so deep down hungry that your stomach feels like your throat has been cut. It's that sensation of being close to starving that reaches to the tip of your toes hunger. It frequently comes on like when breakfast was half a bagel and coffee on the fly and all you could get for lunch was a salad. And, you crammed like 12 hours work into six hours after that lunch and you are so hungry that your belt buckle is tapping your spine. You don't want anything fancy, but your wife, g/f or whoever wants a lil somthin fancy. So you maybe go to the Pineapple Room and order that splendiforous loco moco and chew your napkin and try to make nice, but secretly counting the seconds while you wait for it to arrive. And, finally, it does and you inhale it all in 37 seconds! Yum, that was good.
November 6th, 2009 at 9:45 am
my at home loco moco is chili omelet with cheese melted on top along side rice ... when I make the omelet I do the eggs, slide on plate, put chili inside, fold omelet and put chili on top. I leave eggs slightly undergone then I put grated cheese on top then in the microwave for 45 secs. Put rice along side. If, I am deep down hungry I have a bagel w cream cheese on the side.
November 6th, 2009 at 10:16 am
What I want to know is... What's in Rainbow Drive In's gravy? All my favorite dishes there have gravy on them: Boneless chicken, hash and egg, etc.
I thought it was the Red Devil sauce, so I bought a bottle for home. Not the same. It must be the gravy.
Can the The Daily Dish should do a FUUD entry on the Best Brown Gravy?
November 6th, 2009 at 10:19 am
Best Loco Moco is at Raraya Ramen on King St. They use curry instead of brown gravy and they put cheese on the burger. Sounds strange but its gooood
November 6th, 2009 at 10:24 am
I'd have to say that my favorite loco moco is the one from Rainbow Drive-Inn. I also hear that the one from Jack's Restaurant in Aina Haina shopping center is excellent, too. But I have yet to try that one!
I think that what makes a great loco moco is the simplicity of it. You just need white rice that's not too dry, not too soggy, a nice juicy hamburger patty, and some tasty gravy (you need the right proportion of gravy to rice). I know some people who like their egg scrambled, but I prefer mine with a nice runny yolk. Over easy or sunny side up is the way to go for me!
When places get fancy with their loco moco, like Alan Wong (above), I feel like it loses it's "loco moco-ness". I'm not saying it isn't delicious, because those kalua pig and veal jus loco mocos look mighty tasty, but it just doesn't seem like a loco moco in my mind.
November 6th, 2009 at 10:26 am
FUUD Fridays are the stuff of life. A look at those pics makes me feel warm, sleepy, and contented. I feel like a swim in a pool of brown gravy.
November 6th, 2009 at 10:52 am
sprinkle with green onions and BACON !
November 6th, 2009 at 11:45 am
Loco Moco???? Come Hilo
Cafe 100 for their variety They even get Salmon Moco. I order either the Super Loco or Kilauea Loco (Chili instead of patty) all for about $5. No can go wrong. Enough for breakfast and lunch.
Koji's Bento Anyway you like um. 1 patty 1 egg 2 patty 2 egg, supreme, etc.. Koji loco etc. With or w/o mac salad (Try da salad). Kim Chee, with or w/o Portuguese sausage. Gotta get gravy though.
Ken's House of Pancakes get the Sumo Loco. You order this one and the ring the bell and hit the gong. Massive
Loco Moco for the price can't go wrong. And it's filling.
November 6th, 2009 at 3:35 pm
Ynaku is down. Food in Hilo rocks.
November 6th, 2009 at 3:54 pm
As a mainlander who came here 20 years ago, I have been able to get into many, many, many local kine grindz. I have an "open palette!" But LocoMoco never did it for me. But, nothing beats a Spam Musabi after a day at the beach, that's for sure!
http://friendseat.com/Spam-Musabi-Recipe
November 6th, 2009 at 4:19 pm
Kalua pig hash LM with two eggs: Stop right there, you had me at Alan Wong.
November 6th, 2009 at 4:35 pm
best loco moco i ever had was at hilo municipal golf course back in 1987 when i was there for the state high school golf tourney...i always compare that one with every other one that i have ever had
November 6th, 2009 at 5:39 pm
As a Hilo girl (now living in urban Honolulu)...Still love the Loco Moco at Cafe 100 in Hilo...Good with a side of fries and a nutty cone for dessert!
November 7th, 2009 at 1:25 pm
Hey Rodney, lurking and got to answer the cry for better gravy:
When you want to boost gravy, you have to think like a chemist. get everything BROWN, put flour in the pan first and toast it on the bare pan, make it dark brown and then mix in oil/butter next. cook it into the paste that that makes, and
think about slowly getting the oil in it to a certain cooking temp. this changes the taste. butter will brown more, but can burn. olive oil changes when it gets to temp, but does not change color. meat fat can help, by "rendering" little trimmings from beef or pork, or from chopped raw bacon, get them brown.
add onions that are not just transparent, but starting to brown.
add meat stock that has been reduced (that is, almost sticky on the bottom, add liquid to get it dissolved. it will be browner, like the end cut of the roast, where the meat has changed chemically and tastes better).
salting your flours, oils, onions and meats WHILE they are heating to temp, changes their taste.
add a dash of sugar if you like, (part of the secret of great local cooking).
I put in parsley flakes while cooking, and experiment with tastes.
(curry, tomato sauce or paste, mustard all taste different if you get them hot before adding liquid, just in the oil or fat.)
k, lurking again
November 7th, 2009 at 6:52 pm
I'm on a diet. I shouldn't have checked Cat's blog today
November 9th, 2009 at 4:28 pm
Washington Saimin Stand had the best! Well, actually I don't think it was on the menu, but you could special order it... best patty and gravy hands down...
Also liked Diner's and Byron's...
November 10th, 2009 at 4:31 pm
Double ahi loco with Teri sauce instead of gravy from Nori's in Hilo ...
November 18th, 2009 at 5:43 am
good article as usual!