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I don't know about today's Zippy's but they were quite popular when I lived on Oahu in the mid 70s. I usually got their saimin late night. As julieb said, they were fast food, Hawaiian style and were well loved. They had a very big menu even then, but all fast. Their fried chicken was pretty good too. They even had pizza, as I recall, but I don't think they still do. They were an institution even then but only had a very few stores. I actually only remember their being one but could have been one on the windward side too. The Zippy's I remember would do well in many places on the mainland, IMHO.
Pua`a
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The saimin is great and I guess since they sell 200,000 lbs of chili a month,quite a few don't agree with Jerry Carr's assessment.
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quote:
Originally posted by Obie
The saimin is great and I guess since they sell 200,000 lbs of chili a month,quite a few don't agree with Jerry Carr's assessment.
I'm an admitted chili snob, Obie. LOL. I know they sell enormous amounts of the stuff, and I really did try it, but it was too sweet for my native Texan palate. And I agree 100% about the saimin!
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Zippy's started out as a window service only plate lunch/saimin stand back in the late seventies? It was awhile ago. It was a place you'd go past to pick up beach food or after surfing or when you wanted something tasty late at night.
I forget where Zippy's first location was, but they've expanded to just about all over Oahu. They started out as an order window service only, then they added sit down areas, then nicer sit down areas and then table service and eventually evolved into a fairly nice casual restaurant chain. All locally owned as far as I know.
Very local menu, very local style food. No, their chili will not be what you are expecting if you are using mainland chili as a standard. Just consider it "Hawaiian Surfer Bean Dish" and try it again. If you think of it as "chili" you will be undoubtedly expecting something other than what you will find in your mouth when trying it. Chili spaghetti or chili rice is standard and probably not likely to be found on the mainland, either. Their "barbecue" or "BBQ" will be the ginger/soy type of BBQ so don't think mainland style red sauce type BBQ when ordering it.
Their chili is a local favorite but won't be what you are expecting if you didn't grow up with Zippy's chili. Actually, a lot of their food may not be what you are expecting although they've mainstreamed (mainland version anyway) somewhat over the years. They are a great alternate to the fast food chains proliferating on our island.
On Oahu they have a main kitchen which does a lot of the cooking as well as smaller kitchens at each location and a good bakery, too.
They also will become part of the community, which is more than Wal-Mart ever does. Zippy's is good people, they are from the islands and understand islands.
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Zippys food is just OK but its quick...convienent...cheap...
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Pua`a
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And they have a 10% Senior discount
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Yeah, I've lived on Oahu for 20 years it's and eaten there a handfull of times. Nothing to write home about IMO. Tho it's nice to have another option and to give people choices PLUS some more jobs on the island. Let me know when costco opens up!
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zippy's chili...yum. [
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Carrie Rojo
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Zip pack (spelling ?) or Surf pack...yum (bento style plate lunch). Their burgers aren't bad either.
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