Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 27, Number 8, 1 August 2010 — Stopping in at Highway Inn [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Stopping in at Highway Inn

By Lisa Asato KaWai Ola Stepping into Highway Inn on a Sunday afternoon, its sleepy-feeling parking lot belies how modern - and abuzz with activity - the restaurant is within. An hour before closing and all of its 19 tables are taken, many with big groups, and the counter seating too is occupied, by a young family with children. A good sign in any restaurant is how happy the staff seems, and this Waipahu eatery exudes a welcoming feeling. The laughter and ease of the people behind the counter who sign you in for a table and later show you to your seat, sets a niee tone to enjoy a meal by. That rubs off on the customers, who are allowed to sit, unrushed, through their meals even when closing time is within reach. Not having been here in awhile, my friend and I pore

over the menu. And as a table of four men next to us devour their Hawaiian plates and a whole fried akule - whieh looked delicious, we decide to split the "super" $9.65 laulau combination plate so we'U have room for some sides: the teri-beef like pipipūlehu BBQ for $5.40, a regular beef stew for $5.25 and regular orders of rice for $1.50 eaeh. The main dish, served on a cafeteria-style plate reminiscent of small-kid days, comes with lomi salmon (served with an iee cube to keep it eool), wet pipikaula, haupia and rice, or poi for 30 cents more. The "super" sizing gets you kālua pig for an additional $2. My friend, who's originally from the Midwest and has lived here for a decade, most enjoyed the butterfish in the laulau; his critique of the poi was simply, "Not bad," whieh ean be considered high praise from someone who likes Hawaiian food, "just not all of it."

Named for its original loeation on Farrington Highway, Highway Inn has been serving Hawaiian and American food in Waipahu for 6 1 years, said Vice President Moniea Toguchi, whose grandparents started the business after being interned during the war. Signature dishes include beef stew, dried pipikaula, squid lū'au and pork and ehieken laulau. More modern fare has also been added to the menu, including kālua pig sliders and kālua pig and Okinawan sweet potato quesadilla with fresh papaya salsa, whieh has been a hit with tourists. The restaurant recently undertook renovations, and the space shines with new flooring, an updated interior and a more open feel - it now seats 40 percent more, thanks to a wall being tom down that separated the restaurant and an adjacent seafood market run by the same family. Now, while waiting for a table you ean browse the

market's fresh fish, fruits and vegetables, poke, Hawaiian salt, salted salmon and mueh more. Our waiter gave us a good tip for our next visit: If you want to eat poke with your meal buy it at the poke counter and eat it at your table, it's cheaper than ordering it off the menu. (The counter doesn't take credit cards so bring cash.) Guy Fieri, the spiky hleaeh blonde-haired host of the Food Network show Diners, Driveins and Dives brought national TV exposure in April to the restaurant's homemade laulau and dried beef, or pipikaula, whieh hangs on wires above the stove, lightly dripping marinade, in a process that takes four hours before the meat is fried. "One of the best places for Hawaiian food," said Brian Nu'uhiwa of Kāne'ohe, who stopped in for luneh with wife Robyn after attending to business in the area. "Best beef stew and good pipikaula," says Brian, a former tractor-trailer driver who used to frequent the restaurant during runs. It was his wife's first visit, and she was enjoying the quality and generous portions of the Hawaiian plate. Another highlight for her was the friendly service, she said. "See that young man right there," Robyn asks, referring to 18-year-old waiter Dustin Sautia. "He hasn't stopped smiling since we've been here." ■

Highway Inn 94-226 Leokū St., Waipahu Open Monday to Saturday, 9 a.m. to 8 p.m., with counter service only from 2 to 4:30 p.m., and Sunday 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. $36 luneh fortwo, forone eomho plate, four side dishes, two sodas and tip Also does catering and has a seafood market. 677-4345 info@myhighwayinn.com www.myhighwayinn.com Accepts cash, checks and MasterCard, Visa and Discover. OF NOTE: Highway Inn founders Seiichi and Sachiko "Nancy" Toguchi, who were interned on the U.S. continent during WorId War II, will be inducted into the Hawai'i Restaurant Association Hall of Fame in September. Since 2005, the restaurant has awarded about $25,000 in schoIarships to seniors at Nānākuli, Wai 'anae, Kapolei, Mililani and Waipahu high schooIs based on finaneial need, designed to ren'ard youth who have demonstrated a hard work ethic and the ability to overcome hardship, like the restaurant 's founders.

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Brian Nu'uhiwa enjoys his favorite Highway Inn dishes, beef stew and pipikaula, while wife Robyn enjoys a Hawaiian plate.

My friend and I split the "super" laulau eomho, pictured, so we would have room to order sides including the pipipūlehu BBQ. - Photos: LisaAsato