Dine & Dash at New Diner's Drive-In - 24/7 Eats in Kalihi
Hawaii Diner Staff & The Ozawa Family
October 2005

I first heard about New Diner's Drive-In at HawaiiThreads.com in their Kaukau forum. The positive comments by several members lead me to include New Diner's in the Burger Wars. Their Monster Half-Pounder Cheeseburger surprised many by its strong showing, finishing tied for second with Teddy's Bigger Burgers and Nico's at Pier 38. This result prompted me to make a second visit to try some of the other dishes for which they are better known.

I was joined in this dining venture by Ryan, Jen and Alex Ozawa. When you're going to eat local-style plate lunch food, you need serious reinforcements and the Ozawa's are proven eaters with good food knowledge and a great willing attitude to try it all.

We ordered Mochiko Chicken ($4.95), Loco Moco ($3.95), the aforementioned Cheeseburger with Fries ($5.45) and a Combo Plate with Kalbi and Pork Cutlet ($7.25) and a Deep Fried Mahi Mahi Plate ($6.95).

Regarding the standard side dishes one can expect with plate lunches, the basic macaroni salad is average and the rice is as well. The classic brown gravy which gets poured over many items is somewhat better than average. It's important to remember that this is budget food and from that perspective, it's easy to see why they have a good reputation for decent food at an unbeatable price.

The Loco Moco was outstanding. It benefited from having two very tasty hamburger patties which are probably the same as the ones used in the award-winning cheeseburger. The gravy which we've already mentioned is poured over the meat and rice and the entire dish is topped with two large eggs over easy. All of us were overwhelmed by the sheer volume of this dish and the overall taste was noticeably better than others. At $3.95, it would be hard to find a better loco moco at a better price.

We were surprised at the kalbi in the Combo Plate. It has an unusual vinegar taste which I normally associate with certain Filipino dishes. The pork cutlet portion of the combo plate wasn't particularly tasty and the coating was coming off. The Mochiko Chicken also had a strong vinegar flavor and had the same problem with the coating not adhering properly to the chicken.

The Deep Fried Mahi Mahi was excellent. The fish pieces, while not particularly thick, were still moist and flavorful. This is the one breaded or coated dish where the coating adhered well. The fish was also not greasy at all which indicated that the oil was the optimum temperature for frying.

While most people order take-out at New Diner's, they do have a dining area with large booths available though it is a bit jumbled. Nonetheless, it is comfortable and air conditioned and they had booster seats available for children. They also offer party platters at reasonable prices, so if you need to feed a crowd without a lot of money, they are worth considering.

Our consensus was that New Diner's Drive-In is a good choice if you need to fuel up with hearty food cheaply. You can't go wrong with the cheeseburger, loco moco or the fried mahi mahi. And, given their unusual status of being open 24 hours a day, they are quite possibly the best choice for inexpensive, decent food depending on what time you get hungry.

New Diner's Drive-In
1333 N King St
Kalihi, Honolulu
842-0344
Open 24 Hours