Hawaiian Drive Inn is a counter-service spot in Daly City known for solid Hawaiian food in very large portions at budget-friendly prices around $15. The menu’s Plates section is the recommended focus. The chicken katsu is peppery and savory, with juicy meat that often needs little dipping sauce, while the macaroni salad is bland and rice is preferred as a swap. The loco moco includes two beef patties and a flavorful gravy, with a sweeter sauce profile and an option to replace mac salad with rice. Spam musubi is discouraged due to poor rice-to-ingredient ratios that make the Spam taste underseasoned.
"The Hawaiian Drive Inn mini-chain has earned a reputation: It's the place to go when you want solid Hawaiian food in gigantic portions, and have a budget of around $15. This small counter-service location in Daly City isn't doing anything to jeopardize that reputation. As always, we suggest focusing on the Plates section of the menu. We always go for the loco moco, or the well-seasoned chicken katsu. Either one should leave you pretty full, but if you do have extra room, go for an order of pretty-good fries instead of the Spam musubi that's too heavy on the rice."
"The chicken katsu is peppery and savory, so you really don't even need the tangy dipping sauce. The meat is mostly juicy, although we have run into a couple of stringier pieces. The macaroni salad, on the other hand, is bland, so we usually ask for an extra scoop of rice instead."
"While we wish the beef patties (you get two) were bigger, the gravy makes up for any shortcomings. If you like your loco moco sauce on the sweeter side, you'll love this version. As with the katsu, ask about swapping the included mac salad with rice."
"The ratios are pretty off. The brick of rice washes out the flavor of the Spam, so every bite tastes underseasoned. Skip this."
Read at The Infatuation
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