justin "Co-Founder of Menuism - always ready to eat!"

Casuelita’s is easy to miss when you’re driving by so be vigilent for the small door at the corner. The parking during happy hour (4-6) was pretty good, just make sure to pay the meter. Once you walk in the first thing you see is a smallish bar but there’s a much larger second floor that has a very spacious back room that you can use for private events.

The food was good and varied, but not as flavorful as I thought it would be…maybe false expectations? The standouts here are the rum-based drinks – they really don’t skimp on the rum. They have all kinds of rum flavors and plenty of mixed drinks that are truly tasty and potent. Next time I come here I’m getting the rum flight (which isn’t discounted during happy hour). If you like rum, you gotta check it out.

Since being introduced to Blue Marlin, I’ve only ordered one kind of dish here: the omrice.

What is an omrice?
Think omelet + rice. First they take a special kind of rice and cook it in some broth along with some chicken (so it’s moist and tasty). Then they use some special eggs and make a huge omelet with the rice as filling. The eggs are light and fluffy and it’s always perfectly formed. Every bite has egg and rice in it. It’s got a creamy, almost cheesy texture.

As a bonus, the omrice can come with a number of toppings: chicken or pork katsu, sliced beef, sea urchin, shrimp, or whatever they have as a special.

This is one of my favorite foods now. I love omrice!

As for the rest of the restaurant, the cuisine is basically home-style japanese. There’s a bunch of odd pastas (risotto, spaghetti) and lots of sea urchin dishes. I’ve heard the risotto is pretty good. The parking lot is valet, but I’ve never had trouble parking either on Sawtelle or on a side street.

I wouldn’t exactly call King’s Hawaiian a nice restaurant, but it definitely feels nicer than a normal American diner. The front has a bakery that sells the breads and cakes they’re known for (if you’re not familiar, go to a supermarket and look for King’s Hawaiian dinner rolls) and the back has a diner that makes you feel like you’re in a diner in Hawaii (maybe a bit nicer, but the Hawaiian feel is there).

The cuisine is distinctly Hawaiian – a blend of Korean bbq, Japanese home cooking, and potato/macaroni salad (yum). The food is on par with my expectations and price range. The best part is getting some guava/passion fruit cake and breads to go.