Jane's Fountain - Old School Hawaiian Diner - Best Comfort Food

[@Bebe777333]

Another good review.

[@whatiate2000]

Thanks Bebe! -Bill and Susan

[@EvilTheOne]

By the way, as a Hawaii resident and now retired 39+ year military member, respect and thank you for your service! The fried noodle takes me back to my childhood also. There used to be a place we called Fred's Store in Kalihi, and he made the simplest ono fried noodle I ever ate. Also gone and closed is Height's Drive-Inn in Aiea; they made a fried noodle with teriyaki beef...so ono!

[@whatiate2000]

Thanks for your support of our US Veterans! And thanks for sharing. Your story makes me wish I had tried Fred's or Height's Drive-Inn! It's a shame so many of these old school home-style restaurants are fading away. I'm not too fond of the new places sprouting up that seem to have a "corporatized" tourist menu... Just add Pineapple and you can call it Hawaiian. Or amp it up with Mac Nuts. (although I still remember the first thing I ate when I arrived at HNL in 1985 - Mac Nut Milkshake at the airport!) Those things are tasty and OK, but they don't feed your soul. Just my two cents. -Bill

[@EvilTheOne]

@@whatiate2000 Since the pandemic, so many 'mom & pop' eateries have closed on Oahu. Just in Kalihi alone, long standing places like Meg's, Waiakamilo Drive-Inn, etc...have closed. And most of the eateries from 99 Ranch Market have chosen not to reopen. And unless they can find a new owner, Matsumoto's Okazuya & Restaurant my be closing sometime next year. SAD...

[@whatiate2000]

@@EvilTheOne Yes. Versy sad. Same thing happened to a lot of diners and mom-and-pop shops on the mainland too. Luckily, one of our favorite diners is still open, but they cut their hours. Instead of being open til midnight, they now close at 6:30 PM!! I think all the new restaurants that open up think they have to look like Starbuck to get the tourist $$ -Bill

[@EvilTheOne]

@@whatiate2000 When you mention shortened hours of operation, it does make me think of how some of the businesses in Sand Island and Mapunapuna manages to turn a profit. They do serve an industrial community, and they are focused toward serving breakfast and lunch on weekdays. As a rarity, you'll see some of them open on Saturdays. And then some of the other businesses that are opened through past dinner are having a hard go of it...SAD! I guess location and clientele really does matter a lot.

[@MomwithJesusGOD]

that is one thing i love about hawaii they got all kinds of ethnic foods!!

[@whatiate2000]

Yes. Always lots of new influences, but I worry that the "old school" places are dying out and being replaced by touristy venues, or weird gourmet cafes with a Hawaiin twist. Mark my words, one day, we will see "Chocolate Covered Musubis!" -Bill

[@dpausa]

Hello Bill and Susan . . . . . that cheeseburger ya'll had brought back very fond memories of the very best cheeseburgers i've ever had . . . . it was long ago when i was an undergraduate student at the University of Mississippi (Ole Miss) back in the early to mid 1970s . . . a couple of buddies and i loved hanging out at the local bowling alley which had an area where they had a grill where you order from your typical bowling alley menu . . . my favorite item - - and everybody's favorite item - - were the cheeseburgers that Miss Helen fixed up for all her "boys" . . . they weren't very big . . . you could devour them in 4 or 5 bites . . . they were a bit on the greasy side . . . but, oh, did they taste so, so good . . . . i think it definitely had to do with the extra love that Miss Helen put into each and every cheesebuger that she cooked up on that grill . . . . with Veteran's Day having passed, i send you a belated "thank you, Bill" for your service . . . it's unimaginable what America would be without all you veterans, present and past . . . . . . . . . take care . . . . . . . . . Danny in Mississippi

[@whatiate2000]

Thanks Danny for all your support of our Veterans and our channel. Yea, a good cheeseburger can't be beat! Especially when it's made by hand. You'd think there is no difference between the average chain restaurant beef patty and one fresh made and cooked on a hot grill, but there is. I'm also fond of stopping when I see a fundraiser grilling burgers at Little League Games or supermarket parking lots. Even though it's likely those were frozen patties. -Bill

[@gs547]

The mac salad and the pickled vegetables that come with the meals are delicious. I prefer the chopped steak.

[@whatiate2000]

I haven't had chopped steak in a while! Sounds like somethng I need to get reacquainted with the next time I'm there. Thanks for the tip! -Bill

Hard to find pig's feet soup nowdays...thanka for the head's up!

[@whatiate2000]

It's one of Susan's comfort foods. I never had it growing up. Instead, my mom made Sweet and Sour Pigs Feet... Hmmm I should get her recipe now that I think of it! -Bill

[@karentengan5001]

My old haunts! I worked at L and L and mom worked at Liliha Bakery!

[@whatiate2000]

Thanks for stopping by Karen! Any insights into secret recipes? I know Susan would be interested in how the Liliha Butter rolls are made. I really like the L&L Kalbi and I can't quite get the taste right when I make them at home! -Bill

[@errk25]

Fried noodles was one of my Dad's favorites. He was stationed on Korea, Enewetak, and went through Hawaii. Wonder if one of those places is where he had them first. I love them too.

[@whatiate2000]

Unfortunately, when I was stationed in Hawaii, I did not explore too many of the local places. Just the snack shops on post that made Hawaiian favorites. I miss the burger spot at the Conroy Bowl. They made burgers where you could see them hack off a hunk meat in the walk-in freezer, then grind it up into a burger for you! Went back there thirty years later and they have turned it into an in-service recruiting station! But I loved the fried noodles at the Enlisted Club, just outside the Motor Pool. I'ts a gas station now. -Bill

[@gaylepuou7214]

Janes Fountain use to be on the corner of School and Liliha next to Jimmies Market. They had the best plain burger. It was the best.

[@whatiate2000]

Man! After we posted this video, I was craving a simple cheeseburger and went over to one of my favorite local mom-and-pop shops here in Virginia for lunch. It didn't even compare! They cooked the burger. It was OK. But at Jane's Fountain they give it a good sear at high temperature on the grill, that really brings out the flavor of the meat. In French cooking the term for that is "The Maillard Reaction". Thanks for your input! -Bill

[@veo16]

Great, great restaurant. I usually get the breakfast here. Vienna sausage, eggs and rice. Or even the canned corned beef hash. Can't go wrong. Really miss Bert's Cafe that closed about 15 years ago. Jane's is one of the last spots left. And no new restauranteurs are opening diners like this anymore.

[@whatiate2000]

Thanks for that! It's a shame all the old restaurants can't be continued by another generation, and usually get replaced by a Starbucks. Like the Joni Mitchel song "Big Yellow Taxi", They paved Paradise and put up a Parking Lot! -Bill kzbin.info/www/bejne/qJLXgp-cqcR6a8Usi=RQSgbsHwK6mOE9f_

[@Charly-in-the-808]

Jane’s usually gives a dish of hot mustard with their noods. You can ask next time. They did look kinda dry but very old school kine. Nice review!

[@whatiate2000]

Thanks Charly. I never thought to eat noods with mustard. I'll have to ask Susan about that. Until now, I only thought Mustard was for biscuits! Thanks -Bill kzbin.info/www/bejne/lV7Oi594r9uhbMUsi=3WzgTXAjLot8XWWh

[@E9ONE1]

ALOHA & MAHALO🤙

[@whatiate2000]

Aloha! Mahalos for stopping by! -Bill and Susan

[@gilbertahsam643]

My wife and I was there in oahu in July. And I ate for a week was Lau Lau and poi and poki . And Chinese food kinda expensive but up here in Ohio we don't have that.

[@whatiate2000]

Gilbert, Susan feels your pain, as a Hawaiian local displaced to the Mainland East Coast. She's learned to make her own Portuguese Sweet Bread, lau Lau, Loco Moco and Kalua pig. -Bill

[@gilbertahsam643]

@whatiate2000 we moved because of all the taxes that Hawaii gives to there people. Our car registration is $60 a yr with no safety check. And there's more about Hawaii I disagree with. Retired and living a dream life ✨️ with vacations every year. With a beautiful home and free of debt. Thank you for the video showing awesome 👌

[@whatiate2000]

@@gilbertahsam643 I agree. Hawaii is nice to visit, but the taxes make it hard to live there. Susan also left for better economic opportunity, but misses "home". -Bill

[@annettefujii7331]

Wish I could be there!

[@whatiate2000]

Hi Annette! Thanks for stopping by! Have you been there? What's your favorite menu item? -Bill

[@annettefujii7331]

@@whatiate2000 Sadly no. Sweet and sour greens with pork. Yum. Pig feet. Dbl yum.

[@happycazimero1349]

There ain’t no pretty way of eating pigs feet you just gotta grab it and eat it

[@whatiate2000]

Yea. As long as we all understand and respect each other for that! It's not like we're eating an Ortolan, where we have to cover our faces and mouths! Thanks for stopping by and commenting! -Bill www.reddit.com/r/oddlyterrifying/comments/vvx92e/people_eating_the_traditional_french_meal_of/?rdt=64621

[@TimTim-lv2ol]

The noodle looks bland and does it doesn’t look appetizing.

[@whatiate2000]

Tim, Thanks for stopping by. It was not what I was expecting or looking for. I think for someone who grew up there, it's a touch of home. Susan who grew up in that area thought it was good. I'm from Jersey. I was looking for something that some old ladies made for me up in Schofield over 30 years ago, where they fried the noodles on a grill and threw in some shreds of thin sliced beef, then tossed some finely shredded carrot and onion (maybe some green bell pepper too) with drizzles of oyster sauce, soy sauce and a dash of sesame oil. I thought Janes's Fountain was ok, only after I put on some black pepper and soy sauce. Susan is aghast when I share "Noodle Kugel" with her. I crave that from time to time as my Aunti in NJ learned to make it from a Jewish neighbor and she made it for me every Sunday (Noodle Kugel - made with Flat Egg Noodles,, apples, orange marmalade, raisins, shredded carrots, and sour cream - Susan finds it bland and odd.) I think I only miss Kugel because I miss my Auntie. Enjoy the little things while you can. Just my two cents. Maybe next time, I'd try the Wun Tun Min (Wonton Mein?) -Bill kzbin.info/www/bejne/qnmVqGmFrd1jobMsi=uxLxIDhiMun_tKWO