Cheap Eats in Hawaii: Richie's Drive Inn in Honolulu

Originating in the plantation days of Hawaiian history in the late 1800s and early 1900s, the plate lunch has become a staple of Hawaii fast food choices for local residents. Japanese, Korean, Chinese, Filipino, and Hawaiian workers ate together during lunch breaks in the sugar cane and pineapple fields, and by sharing their favorite ethnic dishes with one another, the plate lunch, specifically the version called "mixed plate," was born.

The staples of a Hawaii plate lunch are two scoops of rice and a scoop of macaroni salad. Popular plate lunch choices can include various main dish entrees such as hamburger steak (American), char siu pork (Chinese), chicken adobo (Filipino), beef teriyaki (Japanese), kalbi ribs (Korean), and kalua pig (Hawaiian).

My all-time favorite is chicken katsu (Japanese), which, simply put, is battered and deep fried breasts of chicken cut into strips. The chicken is eaten by dunking individual strips into a tangy ketchup-like katsu sauce. Delicious. Or as we say here in Hawaii, ono!

Today, plate lunches are available at an array of drive-ins and restaurants in Hawaii. So popular has the plate lunch become that there are a plethora of plate lunch restaurants in the continental United States. One website lists over 60 plate lunch establishments in Los Angeles county alone.

One of the most prolific plate lunch restaurants is L& L Hawaiian Barbecue. Founded in 1976, L&L has over 200 restaurants in business in Hawaii, California, Washington, Nevada, Arizona, Colorado, Oregon, Utah, Texas and New York, according to the L&L website.

As a lifelong Hawaii resident, I have patronized scores of plate lunch establishments. Back in the 1970s in my high school days , my favorites were Kenny's Burgerhouse (now out of business but which served an awesome roast pork plate back in the day) and Diner's Drive-In (with two locations still in operation on Oahu and where my love for chicken katsu was born).

In the 90s, my plate lunch place du jour was L&L. With over 30 L&L franchises to choose from on my home island of Oahu, I never had to travel far to get a plate lunch, specifically the chicken katsu plate, the best I've ever eaten.

Now in the new millennium, I'm married (and hence on a tighter budget), and there are times my wife and I don't want to bother with cooking, so we often head to a little-known but humbly fantastic place called Richie's Drive Inn in Kalihi, which is one of the few establishments with drive-thru plate lunch service.

For those expecting a sparkling clean establishment with neat bathrooms, I'd say still go to Richie's but stick to the drive-thru. Yes, the dining area is dingy but
you can pick up your food and head to one of the nearby parks or beaches or home to chow down.

Another great feature of Richie's are the prices. With the average plate lunch there priced under $5, you'll be paying a buck less than you would at other places. And for some places, like plate lunch joints at Honolulu Airport, several bucks less.

If you are hungry, not too picky about your food choice, and want a bargain, try the chili combo plate. You'll get the staples of two scoops rice, a scoop of mac salad, a hot dog, and a sea of chili slathered over it all, plus a medium soft drink for just $4.35.

If you want something healthier, try the barbecue chicken plate. This will cost four bucks and some change. Richie's trademark plate is its boneless chicken. A bargain and more than plenty to eat for under $5.

Richie's is open till 11pm. Since it is located in a rougher neighborhood in Honolulu, if you swing by there after 9pm, I'd suggest using the drive thru. No problems in the day for dine in service. Richie's opens early in the morning for breakfast service. Yes, there are breakfast plate lunches, too.

Richie's is located on 1178 N King Street in Honolulu. Call (808) 842-4004 for take-out orders. You can call by phone, order, and pick up at the drive thru.