Last week I wrote about a few restaurants that are long gone and the dishes readers wished they could still order and dine on. Since then my inbox has been flooded with more nominations and memories. Here are some of them.
Kuhio Grill
Peter Sybinsky said, “Two other restaurants we especially miss were the Kuhio Grill (2648 S. King St.) and McCully Chop Suey (2005 S. King St.). Kuhio Grill had the best range of pupus for an evening out with friends from UH. Its old wood floors and dirty windows belied the great food within.
“Each person would put down $10 in the center of the table, which was for beer and tip ($1.25 Kirin was my favorite), and the pupus came free.
“Portuguese sausage, sashimi, shoyu ahi, tempura, sliced steak, kalua pig/ cabbage were usually part of the deal. After three beers another round of bills in the center of the table would bring more beer and a greater variety of pupus.
“I courted my wife at McCully Chop Suey. She was from the Philippines and loved Chinese food. Our earliest memories were of steaming shrimp chop suey, beef vegetable and hot, crispy gau gee.
“An inexpensive pleasure was necessary on a graduate student’s budget, and McCully Chop Suey certainly fit the bill. My wife and I returned there on their last day of operation, I think in 2006, for a final meal — and thanks for all the memories.”
Edo Shokudo
Eric Nagamine said: “Here are three places I miss that I haven’t seen mentioned. Edo Shokudo, a Japanese restaurant at 1419 S. King St. around where Sushi Sasabune is today.
“They used to make a frittery battered shrimp tempura that I’ve never seen elsewhere in Hawaii. They were there from at least the early 1960s till the late ’70s and moved to Palolo before closing for good.
“The other place was Hana Chicken on Sheridan Street with their pressure- cooked chicken and musubi boxes.
“The final place had no name that I can remember. Kids who lived in the McCully area used to just call it the ‘Back Store,’ because it was in the back of Washington Intermediate.
“They sold snacks and candies, but their main draw was two hamburgers, a package of chips and a Green River drink for a dollar.”
Edo Shokudo had an interesting history. A son of sumotori Edozakura, James Sakamoto, owned it. He said it took him four months to perfect his mom’s shrimp tempura recipe.
“Da Backstore” was actually named Waiola Burgers but also called the “Candy Shop.” It was owned by Richard and Ellen Ishii.
M’s Ranch House
Kathleen Sattler said that when she was a kid, she enjoyed going “waaaay out in the country to M’s Ranch House in Aina Haina. It had a huge fish tank at the front door that had a big eel or two skulking in an out of the coral. I was mesmerized!
“There was a whole fresh pineapple at each table with spears inside and marshmallow sauce to dip them in, and cheesy bread sticks, too.
“When you were pau, kids could go to the front door by the fish tank and take home a neat prize from the pirates’ chest. Good fun!”
Tom Conger said M’s Ranch House (later shortened to just Ranch House) had a 72-ounce steak that, if you could finish in one hour, was manuahi (free).
“One night I accompanied my friends ‘Granty-boy’ and ‘Power John Stowell’ while they tried to conquer the challenge. Turned out, you had to also eat bread, salad, fruit and some kine veggies — and if you managed to finish, apple pie for dessert.
“Well, this thick slab of meat comes out from the kitchen, about the size of a whole meat loaf, barely rare (you could ask to have it rewarmed but not more cooked), and those two suckers made essentially no headway.
“Each still had enough beef before them to feed a decent pau hana party, and they finally gave up and had to pay something like $16.95.”
Crouching Lion Inn
Ken Goldstein said the Crouching Lion Inn was a favorite when he and his wife, Linda, moved to Honolulu from New Orleans 30 years ago.
“As we drove around the island, we spotted Crouching Lion Inn overlooking Kahana Bay and stopped in for dinner and drinks. Everyone seemed to be eating the same thing, because we couldn’t smell anything else except their Slavonic Steak.”
The fillet was marinated overnight in olive oil, salt, pepper and herbs, then pan-seared until rare, sliced, then sauteed in butter and garlic until done.
“That quickly became our favorite dish, too, and we ate there every time we were in town, and then almost weekly, once we relocated. Their drinks were wonderful, and I’m sure that their other food offerings were great, too, but we never ate anything except their steak.
“So, we were shocked when we showed up one week and it was no longer on their menu! I never really got an answer on why they stopped offering it, but it wasn’t long after that when the restaurant closed down. We heard that a sushi distributor bought the facility, but we’ve never been back. We love sushi but it isn’t Slavonic Steak!”
Myogaya Restaurant
Drusilla Tanaka said: “My 97-year-old mother, Jeanette Setsuko Arashiro Akamine, asked me to submit her memories of her parents’ eatery, Myogaya Restaurant, located at 1237-1239 Nuuanu Ave., where Kukui Plaza now stands.
“Here is her story: Before World War II, Myogaya Restaurant on Nuuanu Avenue was surrounded by flower shops and retail stores, like S.M. Iida. There were boarding rooms on the second floors of the stores and shops, and many of the residents were frequent diners at Myogaya.
“A bowl of saimin was 25 cents, and a stick of BBQ meat (five pieces on a stick) grilled over charcoal was 10 cents.
“Among the house favorites were hekka, oyako donburi, chopped steak, but the most popular was the ‘Myogaya Special.’
“This entree consisted of fresh island pork, onion, celery, bamboo shoots, fresh tomato, string beans, and topped with slices of myoga (a flavorful tuber in the ginger family), all simmered in a special sauce made from dried shrimp, dashi konbu (kelp), soy sauce, brown sugar and water.
“Served over a bed of hot rice, it was a complete meal — protein, starch and veggies — for 75 cents. If Myogaya were still open today, I’d order the Myogaya Special but with chicken instead of pork!
“During the war, business was reduced to serving breakfast and lunch because of the required blackout in the evenings. The serving of beer and wine was suspended because my father, an alien, lost his liquor license under martial law.
“Thereafter, applicants for the liquor license had to be U.S. citizens and be able to speak English. After the war I became ‘of age’ and met the other requirements, so I applied and was successful in obtaining a dispenser general license, even though I did not work in the bar.
“By this time many of the newly discharged veterans of the 100th Infantry Battalion were regular patrons at Myogaya, as their clubhouse/ dormitory was just a couple of blocks away.
“My parents’ business prospered with my mother as the chief cook until urban redevelopment targeted the area in the early 1960s, which forced the spacious restaurant and bar to move into a tiny ‘delicatessen’ on Kalakaua Avenue near Washington Middle School. Shave ice and hot dogs were the bestsellers there!”
Which now-gone Hawaii restaurant do you wish was still open? What dish would you order today, if you could?
———
Bob Sigall is the author of the five “Companies We Keep” books. Send him your questions or suggestions at Sigall@Yahoo.com.
Correction: The name of sumotori Edozakura was misspelled in an earlier version of this column.