Where do you go for great food in Hilo?

[Chas]

We had dinner on two different occasions at the Volcano House restaurant inside the park a couple of months ago. Not cheap but it was excellent.

[terracore]

We ate there once over a year ago and concur the food was excellent and the service was okay. If anybody is planning to go, make sure you book your reservation for after the park money collector goes home for the night because you have to pay to get into the park even if you're just going to the restaurant a stone's throw from the park entrance.

The only thing I didn't like was that when I booked my reservation I asked if I could get a table with a good view and they told me first dibs on those tables went to the hotel guests. I guess I understand that, I just wished they kept their policy of throwing locals under the "table with a view bus" a secret.

[descodave]

We actually ended up going to Kaleos in Pahoa and had an excellent dinner, great service, a nice ambiance, & live music! We have eaten here before & it was just "okay", but the other night it was great!

[terracore]

We ate at http://alohamondays.com/ today for the first time.

Have been meaning to try it for awhile, but for those who don't know, you have to pre-order your food on the internet and select a time to pick it up. (no dine-in) Check out the web site for more info. They are open 4 days a week and the menu changes weekly or more often.

1st impression: Easy to view menu and order online.
2nd impression: No signage, kind of hard to find because it doesn't look like an eatery. Hint: establishment is listed as being on Kilauea, however the entrance is on Lono St.
3rd impression: Smells good as I enter, interior is chaos. No clear "counter" or place to go to get help.
4th impression: Somebody quickly offers to help me.
5th impression: We were there to pickup our food at the designated (by web site) time, however food wasn't made yet.
6th impression: There is no place inside to wait for the food, they invited us to go outside and wait and they would bring it out. No chairs or benches, so we wait in car.
7th impression: Sitting in car. Wondering how the whole concept of how you can't come in to order works, yet when you pre-order on the internet, food takes just as long or longer than traditional ordering.
8th impression: Food shows up in a paper bag and smells good. We drive to Reed's Bay to eat it.
8.5th impression: They don't sell beverages, so extra stop along the way.
9th impression: When we get to Reed's Bay, food is lukewarm.
10th impression: My wife ordered soup, it came with a fork.
11th impression: My $13 sandwich tastes and portions like a $6 sandwich, slaw tastes like plain cabbage.
12th impression: Wife can't stop raving about quality/taste of seafood soup and quantity of seafood in the soup.

So the review is a mixed bag. If we were to do it all over again, we would have made a few changes (got beverages beforehand, planned on the food not being ready (don't try to get food when you're on a timed lunch break), etc. My food certainly wasn't anything I'd ever order again but my wife really liked what she got. I guess with a menu that changes each week its like trying a different restaurant each time. As always any restaurant experience is just a snapshot in it's existence, YMMV.

[dmbwest]

Terracore,

Assuming you got the Cheese Steak ? Sorry man ... I know how exciting it is to be hungry and looking forward to one of those.

Question please ... What did they use for the roll ? How was that ? Did they toast it ? Was the cheese cooked in wit the steak ?

And I said wit on purpose ..

aloha,
pog

[terracore]

quote:

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Originally posted by pog

Terracore,

Assuming you got the Cheese Steak ? Sorry man ... I know how exciting it is to be hungry and looking forward to one of those.

Question please ... What did they use for the roll ? How was that ? Did they toast it ? Was the cheese cooked in wit the steak ?

And I said wit on purpose ..

aloha,
pog

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The bread was awesome and the cheese was melted on top of the filling. The cheese was really good. My disappointment about the cheese steak is that it was really salty and so much ginger. (I actually love ginger) I was okay with the "Hilo Cheese Steak" instead of the Philly variety concept, it was just too much salt, ginger, and fish sauce (or whatever it was) for my liking.