So we glided down on Saddle Road in the rain in the dark into the dim, yellow glow of the streetlights of Hilo. We turned right at Hilo Bay, drove by Bayfront Park, passed signs for Liliuokalani Gardens and turned right on Highway 11, prepared for a final climb up toward Kileauea and Ira Ono’s Volcano Garden Arts guest cottage.
But we were hungry, and there on the corner we spied Ken’s House of Pancakes (jammin’ since 1971).
Frankly, we didn’t know what we were doing. We were just hungry, and the lights were on, and the parking lot was pretty full, so we pulled in for something to eat. As it turns out, we couldn’t have chosen a better place.
The building is a long, one story diner kind of thing. As I remember it (caveat lector), there’s a bar where you can eat if you’re on your own. And there’s a visible kitchen in the back. And there are many booths where you can sit in groups. We sat in a booth.
The menu was daunting. There was a little bit of everything: breakfast, omelets listed separately from breakfast, entrees, nite meals, island favorites, desserts… We chose loco moco. Trudy had Ono Loco. I had Corned Beef Hash Loco.
Our eyes went wide when the food arrived, and in no time at all our hunger was … poof. It was the best loco we had ever eaten. It was the first loco we had ever eaten. And if I ever have it again, it needs to be at Ken’s.