"All right!!!- 24 Hour Grinds!!!!"

Name:Liliha Bakery & Coffee Shop
Address: 515 N. Kuakini Street (Corner of N. Kuakini and Aipaako-across Pizza Hut)
Call: 531-1651
Plate Lunch Prices: $5.20- $6.50
Hours: 24 Hours except 8:00 pm Sunday thru 8:00 am Tuesday
Macaroni salad alternative? Yes- tomatoes w/mayo on lettuce bed
Specialties: Stew Bowl; breakfast eggs, mahimahi, veal cutlet

AND I SEZ:

Once upon a time bakery/ coffee shop combos were plentiful in Honolulu. Examples would be Kelly's on Nimitz, Kamehameha Bakery and Tropics Bakery in Kaimuki, Dutch Girl Bakery in Liliha, Kings Bakery in McCully. Some were open late at night, some were open 24 hours- all had their following. Tropics was noted for their Chantilly cake and sandwiches made with bakery buns. Kings was the 24 hour spot to get your sweetbread french toast or saimin fix.

Many a middle-ager can remember going to Kings Bakery or Kellys to get a late night snack after a long night at La Manchas, Point After, Hawaiian Hut , Oasis or any other disco. Here it was- 3:00 am in the morning, groups of guys and gals hashing over that night's high points and low points over a pancake sandwich or a bowl of hot saimin. The really depressed singles would usually pour their hearts out over a beef cutlet or teri beef plate.

Now they're all gone- except for Liliha Bakery & Coffee Shop. Walking into Liliha Bakery is like stepping into a 60's time warp. Not much has changed, the bakery products are still great (Remember the cocoa puffs?) and the counter service coffee shop is excellent! As it was in the past, Liliha Bakery is one of the cleanest establishments around, and the waitresses are always nice. The coffee shop side is like a mainland diner with only the counter service portion. There are seats for about twenty people so it's usually crowded with people waitng for an opening. Weekend breakfasts command the longest wait. The food is cooked right in front of you on a grill. I remember a professor telling us that the key to marketing a product is , " don't sell the steak, sell the sizzle", just like Queen's BBQ except more elaborate and fun. Liliha Bakery certainly takes advantage of this.The sounds and smells of grilled mahimahi, pancakes or eggs and sausage takes the experience to a higher level.

The mahimahi ($6.50) and veal patty ($5.20) plates are outstanding. They come with rice, butter roll, and a choice of mac, potato or tomato salad. They're pretty consistent with the cooking, the mahimahi was tender, not dry and flaky.The veal patty was tasty with a nice brown gravy over the rice and veal. The tomato salad consists of a leaf of iceburg lettuce with several slices of tomato and a glob of mayo. The potato salad is pretty good and better than most.

Veal Patty w/tomato salad, gravy on the rice

Although I haven't tried it, I understand the Beef or Curry Stew is delicious. They serve either stew in a bowl with rice on a side plate ( Kind of like ox tail soup). It could feed two light eaters.

Da Famous Liliha Bakery Cocoa Puffs