Rainbow Drive-In is a street-food stop in Kapahulu, Honolulu.
Rainbow Drive-In in Kapahulu Honolulu is the canonical Hawaii plate lunch counter since 1961, slinging loco moco, BBQ beef and boneless chicken plates from a window onto Kanaina.
Tip: No inside seating, eat at the picnic tables. Mix plate is the move for a first-timer.
Address: 3308 Kanaina Avenue, Honolulu, HI 96815
Leonard's Malasadamobile on Kalanianaole Highway in Honolulu Kai is the mobile food truck arm of the 1952 Leonard's Bakery, frying the canonical Hawaii malasada on the side of the road.
Try: Sugar malasada straight from the fryer
Tip: Five-minute fryer-to-bag turnaround. Sugar plain is the move; haupia rotates.
Ted's Bakery at Sunset Beach on Oahu's North Shore, an hour from Honolulu, runs a plate lunch counter alongside the pie case with garlic shrimp, loco moco and fried rice.
Try: Chocolate haupia cream pie and garlic shrimp plate
Tip: The chocolate haupia pie is the canonical North Shore order; pies sell by the slice or whole.
Waiola Shave Ice in Kapahulu Honolulu has shaved the city's finest-grain shave ice since 1940, with house syrups and the canonical strawberry condensed milk over vanilla ice cream order.
Try: Strawberry condensed milk shave ice
Tip: Strawberry condensed milk is the move; cash and card. Mokihana Street relocation in 2013.
Giovanni's Shrimp Truck in Kahuku on Oahu's North Shore, an hour from Honolulu, has slung butter-garlic shrimp scampi since 1993 and parked its graffiti-tagged white truck in Kahuku in 1995.
Try: Garlic butter shrimp scampi over rice
Tip: Twelve shrimp over two scoops rice with caramelized garlic; queue 30 to 45 minutes. Bring cash for shorter lines.
Romy's Kahuku Prawns on the North Shore an hour from Honolulu farms its own shrimp and prawns on the property and serves them butterfly-cut from the lunch wagon out front.
Try: Sweet shrimp and prawns from the farm next door
Tip: Order the spicy prawn plate over rice; the sweet shrimp size up larger than the truck competitors down the road.
Jenny's Shrimp on Kamehameha Highway in Haleiwa, an hour from Honolulu, is the lunch wagon the former Macky's head chef opened after Macky's closed in 2018 with the same butterflied garlic shrimp.
Try: Garlic butter shrimp plate
Tip: Order the spicy garlic if you want heat; the coconut shrimp is a sleeper.
