The Inouyes Invent Loco Moco
from The Food of Paradise by Rachel Laudan
(University of Hawaii Press, 1996)
“Loco moco,” so the story goes, was invented in 1949 by the owners of the Lincoln Grill, a small cafe in the port and plantation town of Hilo on the Hawaii island. Local teenagers clamored for something different from American sandwiches and less time-consuming to prepare than many Asian foods. Mr. and Mrs. Richard Inouye had rice and hamburger patties on their menu and Mr. Inouye had learned to make sauces and gravies when he worked at the Royal Hawaiian Hotel in Waikiki. So they piled two scoops of rice into a bowl, topped it with a hamburger patty and a fried egg, and then they poured a generous helping of gravy over the whole lot.
The teenagers chose the name. The nickname of the first boy to eat loco moco was Loco (crazy in Portuguese and Hawaiian pidgin). Moco rhymed with loco and sounded good. Loco Moco is now served statewide in small local restaurants.
One of the best versions I’ve had is at Hana Hou Restaurant the southernmost restaurant in the United States, located in Na’alehu on Hawaii Island. If you have their Loco Moco for breakfast, you won’t need–or perhaps be able–to eat until the next day.