For business owner Nick Toguchi, taco rice is both, comfort food and nostalgic.
“Growing up, my mom would make taco rice for me and my brother,” he says. “My parents were born and raised in Okinawa.”
Taco rice is an Okinawan comfort food that features ground beef with taco seasoning served over warm rice and topped with tomatoes, fresh lettuce and cheese. Toguchi was inspired to open a place specializing in the fusion dish to encourage more people to try it.
“It’s two familiar flavors,” he says. “Everyone’s had tacos before.”
Taco Rice Hawaiʻi opened on Kalākaua Avenue in the former space of Do-ne Japanese Food, which was known for its teishoku. While Do-ne featured dine-in seating, Taco Rice Hawaiʻi is more of a takeout spot, complete with an order window.
If you enter the store to get your order, you’ll immediately noticed the Okinawan-themed decorations, including Orion beer and shisa (guardian Okinawan lion-dog) statues.
The business’s beef taco rice ($11.99) comes with sour cream and salsa on the side. Customers can add toppings for an additional charge, including black olives, cilantro, onions and pickled jalapenos (49 cents each).
A vegetarian/vegan taco rice — made with soy meat, fresh veggies and taco seasoning — will soon be added to the menu.
While the dish isn’t found at many restaurants on Oʻahu, Toguchi says Izakaya Naru has it.
“Theirs is a hot stone bowl version,” he says.
While the menu is primarily focused on taco rice, the biz also offers a petite acai bowl ($7.99). Toguchi says customers can expect more menu items next month with dishes like nachos and salads — “whatever variant we can make with these toppings.”
Finally, parking: Customer parking is available in back of the store (entrance on Kalākaua Avenue). Keep your eyes peeled for Taco Rice’s white-and-yellow checkered-printed wall, and you’ll be able to spot the parking entrance.
CONTACT
Taco Rice Hawaiʻi
1614 Kalākaua Ave., Honolulu
Instagram: @tacoricehawaii
Open 11 a.m.-7 p.m. Tuesdays to Saturdays
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Kelli Shiroma Braiotta can be reached at kelli@alohastatedaily.com.
