Fat Boys (Kailua)

Fat Boys in Kailua is one of my favorite places to go for lunch on the weekend. It's affordable and tasty, and the owners are nice people too.

It's basically a good quality plate lunch place. In terms of quality, I would say it's above Grace's and Rainbows, but slightly below Kakaako Kitchen (mainly because Kakaako Kitchen has brown rice as an option, and their tossed salad consists of Nalo Greens -- Fat Boys has brown rice, but you have to pay extra, and it's some kind of microwavable rice and not something that they cooked fresh). However, if there was a Fat Boys in town, I would definitely go there as much as or more than I go to Kakaako Kitchen.

So what's so good about Fat Boys? Just about everything! I don't think I've had a bad meal yet. They are probably best known for their garlic chicken. Some people would argue that Mitsu-ken still has the best garlic chicken, but after my last taste of Mitsu-ken's chicken, I would say that Fat Boys might have surpassed them. It seems like Mitsu-ken's quality is inconsistent, and while the chicken does taste incredible at times, I've had some not-so-good chicken from there too.

On my last visit, I had the chili, which is also a regular item at Fat Boys. While waiting in line on another visit, I heard a lady ordering the chili and she said to one of the owners, "has anyone told you that your chili is better than Zippy's?" To which the owner replied, "a few people." Well, I wholeheartedly agree! Personally, I have always thought that Zippy's chili is overrated. I like it, but I never really understood what the big fuss was about it. Fat Boys chili is thick and hearty (and yes, it has beans in it, which I like), with a few chunks of veggies like onions and green peppers.

Their plates come with either mac or tossed salad, and they are very accommodating toward special requests such as "all rice" or "all tossed" or "can you put a little curry gravy over the rice, please?" Most of their plates come in mini versions. A regular plate usually comes with two scoops of rice, and a mini with one scoop.

Oh, and if you live in Kailua (they're also opening a Waipio location soon) and need bentos for a picnic or some other outing, stop ordering Zip Pacs!! You will find a much better value with a Fat Boy Bento: rice w/ furikake, mahi, hot dog, teri beef, spam, and garlic chicken, all for about $5.75. The portion is pretty huge too. I've never finished a whole one.

Fat Boys also has some great seafood specials. I like anything stuffed with their crab mixture. They also have fried poke on occasion, which is good, but I still prefer the stuffed fish. And their burgers are also quite excellent as well.

That's not all...they also serve breakfast! They have the standard items, but their fried rice is one of my favorites. Rainbows is still my number one fave, but I think Fat Boys is a close second! Fat Boys fried rice is a little lighter and not as greasy as rainbows, but it has good flavor and nice ingredients. It's also very reasonably priced, at about $4.75, and that includes 2 eggs.

In addition to all of the great food, the owners are just plain nice guys, and I like to patronize places that are locally owned and operated, where the owners and workers take the time to get to know their customers. These guys fit the bill perfectly. So if you're ever in Kailua, go check 'em out! It can get a bit crowded in their tiny space, but it's well worth the wait!