Aloha Grill

Having had more than a few wonderful memories revolving around plate lunches while I was in Hawai'i, I was excited to hear from my ex pat friend Bronwyn that there was a plate lunch place opening in Lincoln Park.

After soccer practice I bundled the kids into the car and braved the construction on Clark street to check out Aloha Grill. I know I've been in this space before which is a couple doors north of Deming but for the life of me I cannot recall what was there.

We were the only people in the place when we entered but by the time we left it was packed so definitely good timing on my part Ivan who took our order is the son of the owner and moved here from HI 4 years ago. Apparently the father had been working in other unnamed restaurants and wanted to share the simple home style cooking he missed here.

I ordered the kalua pork with cabbage plate and a side of spam musubi, my daughter had the chicken katsu and my son had the Hawai'ian BBQ chicken plate. Each meal came with two scoops of rice and a scoop of simple macaroni salad, thinly dressed with mayo and bits of what look like carrot.

The katsu chicken was wonderful, moist and with a great panko breading they import from HI, maybe the best thing we ordered. THe BBQ chicken was a generous portion of chicken breast grilled and with a glaze. I liked it, nice flavour and a bit of char. I didn't notice any frozen taste or anything like that. The spam musubi was nice, real sushi rice and a slice of Spam with a wide belt of nori, I skipped the nori as it was a little chewy for me, the taste was there so no harm no foul. You get two pieces for $2.95 which makes a nice snack, they are wrapped in plastic wrap just like I remember!
The kalua pig was perfect texture wise and the cabbage was a great combo ( I like cabbage YMMV) but there was a definite taste of Liquid Smoke:(

I talked to Ivan and recommended losing the Liquid Smoke and tossing a banana leaf into the pot as they seemed to get everything else right and just leaving that out would make it extremely good. He was very cheerful and open and thanked me for the comments. He mentioned plans to be involved with the Hawai'ian community in Chicago and to even offer specials in the future based on demand such as lomi lomi salmon, tako poke, and others. I put in my request for long rice noodles:)

Speaking of comments, in the short time I was there, at least 20% of the patrons were either ex pats or had lived there in some form or another. Ivan confirmed that they are getting a large Hawai'ian contingent who are hungry for the food of home. I was also quite pleased to see them breaking the cycle I see in Lincoln Park of cough Hemas cough tinier portions and higher prices. I've got plenty of leftovers for dinner tonight! They also had canned Hawai'ian fruit juices but for some reason I skipped them even though I loved them when I was there.

All in all a nice place in a hard to park destination but I will certainly go back to try other things on the menu but will avoid things that have Liquid Smoke in them....shudder.

Aloha Grill
Hawai'ian BBQ
2534 N. Clark St.
Chicago IL 60614
773-935-6828

M-Th 10:30-10:00PM
Fr-Sa 10:30-10:30PM
Sun 11:00-9:00PM

Was it where the Johnny Rockets was?

It's one door north of the corner in a small storefront. I think JR was on the corner, no?

Now if only someone could bring over the saimin (noodle soup) from Hamura's Saimin Stand on Kaua'i, not to mention the lilikoi pie....

Octarine, did you happen to notice if Aloha Grill also offered Shoyu chicken?

No shoyu chicken, just their "BBQ" grilled , katsu, and a cutlet with brown gravy. THey do have curry katsu and saimin noodles with your choice of spam, bbq chicken, bbq beef or plain.

Is it at the former location of the Beach Shack, near the Quizno's and the futon store? I think there's a Blockbuster on the opposite corner, at the intersection with Wrightwood.

Octarine wrote:I ordered the kalua pork with cabbage plate and a side of spam musubi

Octarine,

I've always wanted to try spam musubi, even went so far as to cull recipes from Al Gore's internet until I found a good one, if that's possible. But never could bring myself to make the recipe.

Now it looks as if I have no excuse. I wonder if I will be saying ono grinds or Oh No grinds.

Enjoy,
Gary
--
Rec.food.cooking
9/1/98

Spam MUSUBI

For 20 musubi:

4 cups uncooked Japanese rice (the kind that sticks together after cooking)
Appropriate amount of water to cook rice (about 4 cups)
5 sheets of sushi nori (seaweed in big squares)
1 can of Spam or Spam lite
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup rice wine (mirin or aji-mirin)

Cook rice in rice cooker for best results, allow approximately 20-25min.
If no rice cooker is available pour rice and water into a large saucepan
that is made from heavy material. Heat water and rice until boiling then
immediately turn down and simmer for approxiamately 20-25 min. or until
soft. Boil soy sauce, sugar and rice wine. After it boils, turn off
flame. Cut Spam into 1/4 in. wide slices. Fry in pan. Soak fried Spam in
soy sauce mixture. Line a musubi-maker with a piece of waxed paper that
is the same size as the sushi nori. Then place sushi nori inside so that
both edges stick straight up. Spread cooked rice across bottom of musubi
maker, on top of nori. 1/4 in. high is fine. Place two pieces of Spam in
musubi maker on top of rice. Spam should cover most of the length of the
musubi maker. Spread more cooked rice on top of Spam. About 1/4 in high.
Fold over one side of the nori. Use musubi maker insert to press down on
top of nori, rice and Spam. Fold over other side of nori and press down.
Remove musubi log from maker, but leave wax paper for next use. Cut each
log into four pieces.

To be honest, I would make my own musubi before buying it again. Or perhaps assemble isthe better term. I'd pick up some sushi rice from Sea Ranch, fry up some 1/4" slices of spam and use a nice fresh piece of nori. The chewy nori is not my thing so that alone makes me want to DIY.

Yes, it is the old beach shack location.

Hi, I tried the Aloha Grill this week and I have to say it was pretty good. I was afraid they were going to "Mainland it up" but the barbeque mix plate was pretty good and the portions large (that's pretty important when it comes to a plate lunch). The kal-bi wasn't the quality you would get if you ordered at a good Korean place but hey, it's a plate lunch and it was still pretty tasty. Nice folks behind the counter as well.
Here's a photo I took of my lunch:
http://dirtynerdluv.typepad.com/photos/ ... /plate.JPG
I think it might be the only place in Chicago where you can get a fried slice of Spam as a side order ($1). Having grown up in Hawaii, I'm really glad they are around. Now if they would only move to Lincoln Square. Oh, and the woman at the asian candy store right next door said they (the candy store) are closing soon. Too bad, they even have dried, candied seeds, another Hawaii favorite.

andrewc wrote:I think it might be the only place in Chicago where you can get a fried slice of Spam as a side order ($1).

Andrew,

Quite possibly true, but Tea Leaf Cafe has spam and eggs on the menu.


Tea Leaf is a bubble tea emporium which caters to the younger Chinatown set and, from observation only, serves a wide variety of good looking coffee chop food with an Asian twist.

Happy Cafe, on Wentworth just South of the Post Office, which had at least three different menus last time I was there, has similar type offerings, including various spam preparations.

Happy Cafe has, or at least they had, that most memorable of Asian inspired dishes, stir fried hot dog w/eggs and a side of rice.

Enjoy,
Gary

Tea Leaf Cafe
(312) 808-3668
2336 S Wentworth Ave
Chicago, IL 60616
Actually on 23rd Place

Happy Cafe
2351 S. Wentworth
312-842-1818

oh good to know. thanks! i've been in chicago for awhile but i'm always learning something new on this board.

Octarine wrote:The kalua pig was perfect texture wise and the cabbage was a great combo ( I like cabbage YMMV) but there was a definite taste of Liquid Smoke:(

I talked to Ivan and recommended losing the Liquid Smoke and tossing a banana leaf into the pot as they seemed to get everything else right and just leaving that out would make it extremely good.

I somehow missed this thread in October but came to it via the recent Spam discussion. I visited Aloha Grill last month, just before the Tribune reviewed it (four forks). I agree with Octarine's comments and only wish I'd read them before ordering. Unfortunately the kalua pork is still flavored with liquid smoke (not dominating but clearly present). When asked how everything was, I also suggested leaving it out. Other than that problem I liked Aloha quite a bit and would happily return. Next time I might even work up the courage to order Spam musubi (I can say with some certainty it's not something I'll be making at home).

I've been eager to try this place ever since I heard about its opening, as I really enjoyed the plate lunches on my visit to Hawaii last year. Finally got around to trying it last week.

My friend and I shared the Seafood/BBQ Combo (fried shrimp, fried mahi mahi, and we chose the BBQ beef) and a bowl of saimin w/ SPAM.

As mentioned before, the combo came w/ two scoops of rice and a scoop of macaroni salad. The mac salad, which is something I usually enjoy, was rather bland and disappointing. The fried shrimp was also nothing to write home about, and my friend thought it tasted a bit like it had been fried in old oil. The mahi mahi, though, was fresh and quite good. I'm not usually a fan of batter-fried seafood, but they managed to keep it to a light crisp coating. I liked the beef best since I tend to favor sweet-savory flavors. Kind of reminded us of Korean bulgogi.

The saimin was OK. I was hoping for something close to what I had at Hamura's Saimin in Kauai. Aloha's broth was not nearly as flavorful, but then again, saimin is the speciality at Hamura's.

Still, it was a pretty satisfying meal, and I look forward to going back and trying some of their other dishes. I hope they consider adding Shoyu chicken to the menu as well, as that was another favorite of mine.

Aloha Grill was pretty darn decent last month, but it was just.. 'okay'....

I still wish L&L would franchise a Hawaiian BBQ joint right @ UIC (perhaps next to the never-to-open Joy Yee's on Halsted?)... I ate @ 2 L&L's in LA during Xmas, and the Pork Katsu/Terriyaki chicken were both more flavorful/plentiful @ L&L. Not to mention they have dispensible terriyaki 'sauce' coming out of a coffee thermos

I have no basis on which to evaluate Aloha's authenticity, since I've never been to Hawaii, but I'm always game for something new, especially examples of every day foods from a given place. So I got carry-out from Aloha last night.

I asked the counterperson to hook me up with "something that would make me want to come back." He suggested the Hawaiian BBQ Mix Plate and a BBQ Chicken Musubi. The plate consisted of beef, short ribs and chicken. The same chicken (thigh meat cut from the bone, formed into a rectangle, and glazed with sauce) was on both the plate and the musubi, so at least from the standpoint of variety, that wasn't a great suggestion. I should have had the Spam.

Standard sides with the plate were sticky rice and macaroni salad. Some shredded cabbage was included, more as a garnish.

Noting the complaints about Liquid Smoke in some of the comments above, I detected no smoke of any kind in any of the meats on my plate. The main taste came from the sauce, seemingly the same for all of the meats, used as a marinade or perhaps just as a glaze. The meat was cut thin so the sauce permeated it. The sauce was sweet, reminding me of teriyaki. From observing the preparation, and from the fact that order to pick up took less than 5 minutes, everything is pre-cooked and just reheated on the griddle prior to serving.

My meal was certainly filling. Nothing was offensive but nothing thrilled me either. I think I will go back, but only to try some of the other dishes. This particular selection didn't recommend a repeat. It was enoyable primarily for the taste it provided of another culture.

Associate and I split a couple plate lunches, the chicken katsu and Hawaiian BBQ Mix.

Katsu had light breading on it and was not greasy. Quite good.

Hawaiian BBQ mix contained marinated chicken, short ribs and grilled beef. The short ribs and chicken didn’t have the heavy (but delicious) marinated taste of what one get’s in HI, but the beef was close.

The mac salad was good.

I will go back and try other items.

The servings are HUGE as is to be expected w/a plate lunch, but these are serious sized, share one dish w/two people and not go hungry.

I'm so glad this came up in my search! I'm moving in the neighborhood and stumbled across this while acclimating to my new surroundings. Too bad I had dinner at Oodles of Noodles...otherwise I would have loved to eat here instead!

I visited Hawaii/Honolulu this past spring and loved it. I really miss the fresh poke and hopefully Aloha Grill will someday offer it. I'm curious to try the "Loco Moco"....a comfort dish of the islands which includes 2 hamburger patties and 2 fried eggs over rice, then slathered in a brown gravy. For some, it's not exactly the prettiest dish...but it sure is awesome late night food. My Hawaiian friends do admit it's an acquired taste and I liked it a lot. (Maybe I just have a hankering for rice bowls.)

Thank you for sharing your thoughts on this place. It's definitely helpful and I'll be taking your recommendations the next time I'm too lazy to cook.

Based on this, we walked over after church at St Paul's UCC - today was St Paul's Intergenerational Orchestra performance.

Did nobody think to mention Aloha Grill is counter service, not sit-down? No biggie, but I hate walking in surprised like this.

We didn't order very adventurously (2 servings of Pork Katsu with Fries for Thing 1 & 2, Mini BBQ Chicken for MrsF, Mini Chicken Katsu with a side of Curry Sauce for me), but we ate very, very well -- for lunch, we brought nearly half of what we ordered home. The mini-sized entrees will probably be enough for dinner for all but the most serious chowhounds.

Fried items are all very crisp and clean tasting, sauces are good (although the tonkatsu is not as strongly flavored as bottled Japanese versions).

After ordering, I realized I should have ordered the shrimp burger or kalua pork (not available as mini), but I'm a sucker for katsu curry. The saimin noodles sounded good too.

If I'm in the neighborhood, I would try this again... if there weren't so many other choices I'd like to try too.

JoelF wrote:Did nobody think to mention Aloha Grill is counter service, not sit-down? No biggie, but I hate walking in surprised like this.

Do you mean there's no seating? Or just that you order at the counter?

LAZ wrote:Do you mean there's no seating? Or just that you order at the counter?

Not sure if you're unfamiliar or just asking to affirm the previous poster's familiarity, but there is actual seating in the restaurant; you're not "waited on" as a traditional waiter might but the cashier has always brought the food to my table if I was eating in.

Not sure how long they've been doing this but the lat time I was in for lunch, I saw that they are now serving breakfast as well. It was mostly standard fare - eggs & bacon, etc. However Spam is an option as well. Spam & eggs!

ViaChgo, Aloha Grill is still serving breakfast!

Can I get my spam & eggs without spam?

As a Hawaii girl born and raised, I was really excited about Aloha Grill. I took my family there when they were in town for my wedding, and everyone was happy with what they ordered. I had tofu katsu curry, which was nicely fried, but I wasn't crazy about the curry sauce. It had a cinnamon-like flavor to it. I'm normally open to new flavors, but when I have a plate lunch, I want it to taste like the local food I grew up with. Next time, I'll have the plain tofu katsu and test out their katsu sauce.

They have the macaroni salad right on, and it's fun that they have local canned drinks and Spam musubi (even though I don't eat meat these days, it's nice to see it there). What they really should get, if they don't already have it, is Portuguese sausage. I don't know what the "real" Portuguese name is, but it's always just Portuguese sausage in Hawaii. Oh, and for anyone who wants to make their own Spam musubi--you don't have to go through the trouble of making sushi rice--plain sticky rice will do, and that's the most common way in Hawaii. Some people put furikake (seaweed rice seasoning) in it to jazz it up.

I'd be excited if they had lomi salmon or poke (or fried poke--mmmm). Yum! Maybe some kim chee too. And no plate lunch place should be without its own version of beef stew! My mouth is watering!

jesteinf wrote:Can I get my spam & eggs without spam?

It hasn't got much spam in it.

okay... I think I'm hooked on Aloha Grill. I've eaten there twice this past week and I'm not sick of it yet. My fave is the Loco Moco ~ 2 beef patties on top of rice, then covered in gravy with a fried egg on top of it all and of course, served with macaroni salad. It reminded me of my days in Honolulu.

Mr. Foodie seems to like the Hawaiian BBQ mix plate ~ BBQ beef, chicken and short ribs, served over rice with macaroni salad.

We also like the Seafood & BBQ Platter ~ fried mahi mahi, shrimp and your choice of BBQ beef, chicken or short rib.

For drinks, I would recommend lilikoi juice (passion fruit).

I wish they'd open another location. I only get a chance to visit here when I go to my headache doctor. Is there anything "hawaiian" on the west side?

There is a new place (as of Nov 2005) that is hawaiian -

The Tiki Terrace
1 S. Wolf Road
Prospect Heights, IL 60070
www.thetikiterrace.com


funny you asked about other hawaiian places tonight because mr. foodie and I went out there earlier tonight.... only to find out the place is closed on monday. (website and voicemail did not reflect hours!)

funny you asked about other hawaiian places tonight because mr. foodie and I went out there earlier tonight.... only to find out the place is closed on monday. (website and voicemail did not reflect hours!)

have you had a chance to dine at tiki terrace? awaiting a fellow foodie's thoughts... TIA!