It is obvious that Kailua-Kona is a tourist town, and the main dining question for me in any tourist-filled town is "Where do the locals eat?" and where can I find unique, local cuisine. After driving around Kona for about 20 minutes and avoiding the obvious tourist dining choices, we located this L&L Drive-Inn in a strip mall near the center of town and located next to a Baskin Robbins 31 Flavors. Not tucked away anywhere romantic or undiscovered, this is local, everyday Hawaiian food at its down-to-earth best.
Every-day eating at this place consists of a mix of fast food drive in food like burgers, with Hawaiin favorites like Saimin, SPAM, and Japanese/Korean favorites. The fact that everything is served in styrofoam containers emphasizes how un-touristy this place is.
A soup-noodle dish called Saimin was an interesting discovery that we found throughout Island eateries. It is a lot like the instant Ramen you make at home, but this has a much more flavorful soup base with bits of Chinese BBQ Pork and SPAM. Another delicious fast-food item there was the Chicken Katsu, like you'd find at any Japanese resturaunt. The Katsu here was hot and crisp, and served with tangy Katsu Sauce (served in a tiny plastic cup), in typical "Plate Lunch" fashion with two scoops of rice, and one scoop of macaroni salad.
This was a cheap, non-fancy, yet original find and we enjoyed talking with the happy, boisterous Hawaiian families who were also eating dinner there. This place is a chain, so look out for other locations thoughout Hawaii!