While on Oahu, we loved trying plate lunches at many local favorites. One such place we enjoyed was Rainbow Drive-In. Apparently for more than 60 years and they have served some of the cheapest and best plate lunches to Hawaii and the world.
This was also the place that we first tried the island staple – loco moco. It consists of white rice, topped with a hamburger patty, a fried egg, and brown gravy. The egg thing was a little weird to me, but the rest was pretty good.
Original owners Seiju and Ayako Ifuku had a philosophy which was to serve plates with generous portions of hearty, simple food with two scoops of rice and a side of macaroni salad at a reasonable price. Happily this tradition continues to be the restaurant philosophy today, 60 years later.
Rainbow Drive-In was also fortunate to be featured on shows such as The Food Network’s Diners, Drive Ins and Dives, CBS’ Hawaii 5-0 and Magnum PI, as well as on Netflix’s Terrace House. Mention Rainbow Drive-In and most people will know where you are talking about.
We also heard that this was a former favorite of Obama. I can see why, as it was really good. We went there a few times during our visit and kept wondering if we would see secret service men come up to order food (Obama was in town the same time we were in town) but nope, no sightings there, lol. On a side note, we did see some of his entourage while exploring the area, but that’s another post, lol.
