Hawaii became the 50th state of the United States in March 1959. Hawaii has a wide range of food available. Before annexation, Hawaii received immigrants from China, Japan, the Philippines, Korea and Portugal, and all have contributed to local cuisine over the years. Today, immigrants from around the world come to Hawaii, bringing with them their own cuisines and adding flavor to the state's cultural stew.
Local "Grinds"
Modern Hawaiian food (called "grinds" locally) is on fried and barbecued meats such as pork, beef and chicken. Fish is also very popular, often served raw as sashimi or in a fish salad called poke (pronounced "POH-kay"). A "plate lunch" is an inexpensive menu item that features meat or fish such as chicken katsu (fried chicken breast) or kalbi ribs, along with two scoops of rice and macaroni salad. Other local specialties include malasadas (fried Portuguese sugar doughnuts), spam musubi (spam and rice wrapped with seaweed) and loco moco (hamburger patties and fried eggs served over rice with gravy).
Pacific Rim
Homegrown Hawaiian chefs like Roy Yamaguchi, Sam Choy and Alan Wong were on the forefront of a new gourmet trend that fused Asian, Hawaiian and global foods into what has become know as Pacific Rim cuisine. Now firmly established, the cuisine is defined by high-quality local produce, seafood and meats prepared with a variety of local and global methods. A classic example is Roy's Blackened Ahi with Spicy Soy Mustard Butter Sauce.
Asian
Many types of Asian food are readily available in Hawaii, including Chinese, Japanese, Filipino, Thai and Korean. Sushi restaurants are very popular throughout the islands because of easy access to high-quality fresh fish (like the popular mahi-mahi) and seafood.
American
Most major fast food restaurants have a presence in Hawaii, including McDonald's (which serves spam---Hawaii consumes the most spam in the country), Burger King, Taco Bell, Wendy's, Pizza Hut and Domino's. Many of the state's tourist areas are now dominated by corporate American restaurants such as Bubba Gump Shrimp Company, Outback Steakhouse, Romano's Macaroni Grill and Cheesecake Factory.
Mexican and More
There are a number of quality Mexican restaurants in Hawaii, due in part to the popularity of the cuisine as well as the immigration of Mexicans to Hawaii. Because Hawaii is a cultural melting pot, Italian, French and Indian food can also be found.
About The Author
Bryan Fryklund is the author of The Golf Fanatic's Guide to Hawaii and Adventure Guide: Hawaii the Big Island. He now lives in Colorado where he has taken his golf fanaticism to new highs in the Rocky Mountains. Fryklund earned a Bachelor of Arts in English and textual studies from Syracuse University.
