The September Nisei Lunch featured a favorite Hawaiian dish, “Loco Moco”.  For those of you that are unfamiliar with this Hawaiian favorite (I find that hard to believe—everyone knows what Loco Moco is … right?), I have provided a description of the dish and a brief history lesson.

A fun fact that I bet most of you didn’t know (I didn’t know): “The dish was reportedly created at the Lincoln Grill restaurants in Hilo, Hawaii, in 1949 by its proprietors, Richard Inouye and his wife, Nancy, at the request of teenagers from the Lincoln Wreckers Sports club seeking something that differed from a sandwich, was inexpensive, and yet could be quickly prepared and served. They asked Nancy to put some rice in a bowl, a hamburger patty over the rice, and then top it with brown gravy. The egg came later. The teenagers named the dish Loco Moco after one of their members, George Okimoto, whose nickname was “Crazy” because of his crazy antics. George Takahashi, who was studying Spanish at Hilo High School, suggested using Loco, which is Spanish for crazy. They tacked on “moco” which “rhymed with loco and sounded good”.  That’s it for the history lesson — and Jim Shinbo’s (NVC Chef) NVC version of the Loco Moco was delicious.

As always, I can’t say enough about a job well done by our Nisei Lunch volunteers.  It is a thankless job at times. However, I do want to recognize all the volunteers for their hard work and dedication.  I know our guests echo that sentiment — Thank You!