MOCO MADNESS

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The dish was reportedly created at the Lincoln Grill restaurants in Hilo, Hawaii, in 1949 by its proprietors, Richard Inouye and his wife Nancy, at the request of teenagers from the Lincoln Wreckers Sports club seeking something that differed from a sandwich, was inexpensive, and yet could be quickly prepared and served. They asked Nancy to put some rice in a bowl, a hamburger patty over the rice, and then top it with brown gravy. The egg came later.

 

The teenagers named the dish Loco Moco after one of their members, George Okimoto, whose nickname was "Crazy". George Takahashi, who was studying Spanish at Hilo High School, suggested using Loco, which is Spanish for crazy. They tacked on "moco" which "rhymed with loco and sounded good" and the iconic Loco Moco was born.

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On a few of these pages, I have presented some "spin-offs" of the original dish, some represent the Mainland, some Asia and others are different creations that may actually still be found in Hawaii.

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