When you think hot dog history , Honolulu may not be the first metropolis that comes to nous ( hey , Chicago ! ) , but we ’ve got one dog in particular that has stood the test of clip … and no , it ’s not the Puka Dog .
It ’s just before nightfall in Nuuanu . String lights and Nipponese lanterns are beginning to radiate , and dancers in kimono and yukatas band the wooden bandstand , as the Honpa Hongwanji Hawaii Betsuin bon dancing start to inflame up . But I ’m not here to awkwardly two - step to the meter of taiko drums – not yet , anyway . That ’ll occur later on . Before I can honor my antecedent with my sweet , sweet bon dancing moves , I demand to roll my hands around aKC waffle detent .
You remember them : a mouth-watering hot dog , coat in slightly sweet waffle hitter and toasted to a golden crisp . The KC waffle andiron is a typical island treat that ’s been around for virtually 90 years , and was a Honolulu mainstay at KC Drive Inn , until the old - school eatery close in 2005 . Today the waffle dog primarily lives on – alongside other delicious local comfort foods – during summer bon dance season . It ’s not often that I ’ll wax nostalgic for a piece of center that ’s been pseudo - dear termed a " sordid water dog , " but when I do , my ticker ’s desire is for this delightful local variant .
Flickr/Burt Lum
The waffle dog ’s story begins in the late 1920s . To congeal the scene : Calvin Coolidge is president ; Hawaii is a US territory ; Hollywood ’s first sing movie , The Jazz Singer , has just premiered , Charles Lindbergh is about to make his first solo trajectory across the Atlantic ; and most importantly , Oahu ’s first get - in eating place , KC Drive Inn , open at the corner of Kalakaua and Ala Wai , where servers cede waffle dogs and malts to gondola window on pliant tray .
In 1934 , Jiro Asato purchased the dining car from two men distinguish Knapp and Christensen for $ 350 . Asato – who later de jure exchange his name to KC Jiro Asato , because customers kept foretell him " KC " – had bought , along with the building , the diner ’s name , the " KC " moniker , and the restaurant ’s all - authoritative bent of glimmer waffle frankfurter machine .
Jiro ’s grandson , Dayton Asato , remembers his time working the eating place ’s busiest hours in the seventies , when the restaurant was located in Waikiki and open 23 hour a day ; the eating house would grab both the place - surf and post - disco crowd . " Some customer would ask me if ‘ KC ’ stand for ‘ kissing corner , ’ because couples would make out in the back , " Asato laughs .
Flickr/Charlie Boy Criscola
Dane Okabe also worked at KC Drive Inn while he was in in high spirits school day in the former seventies , at the Waikiki position . He did n’t work the graveyard shift , but has fond memories of attend up the waffle hotdog .
" The first day on the business , they teach you how to make the waffle live hotdog hitter , " pronounce Okabe . He hark back pouring the ingredient into a turgid , round political machine , which kneaded the batter . " When you dump everything in – the eggs , flour , and wampum – you get a passel . peculiarly when you ’re first doing it , you do n’t know what you ’re doing , so you get even more of a mess . you’re able to severalize everybody the first daylight they work because they look all white , like Casper . It was like an introduction . "
" We used to trade probably 200 or 300 hot dogs a daytime , " state Asato , who begin working at the family business organisation when he was 13 geezerhood old . " We would never be able to keep up , so we had to pre - cook back then . "
KC Waffle Dogs
Okabe often man the Gallic tiddler and waffle blistering firedog station during his shift . " It was a hand - burn place , " Okabe laughs . The political machine made six waffle dog at a time , and Okabe recalls that on one particular day , he cope to make something like 80 hot dog in just 45 minute – for a Little League baseball squad who had dropped by without discourage . " We only had 12 in the warmer – actually maybe 18 , because I usually made spare . We just cook them like dotty . A fate of the great unwashed would occur from all over , just for that – for the waffle red-hot dog . "
Okabe remembers a couple who would kibosh by every weekend , push more than 30 miles from Ewa Beach into Ithiel Town for their ritual repast . " She would have a waffle dog , and he ’d have a hamburger deluxe – every Saturday morning , " Okabe say . " I do n’t know for how long … maybe 20 or 30 years . "
Over time , the eating place grew to multiple location , moving the Waikiki location to Kapahulu . A second eatery opened and close in Manoa . As the decades wear on , the waffle dog remained , tissue into the local fabric , continue to serve as a popular treat for mob for generations . But unhappily , the eatery finally closed its door in 2005 , much to the consternation of regulars and break - hard waffle detent lover .
Hawaii’s Favorite Kitchens|Hawaii’s Favorite Kitchens
Luckily , the mourning period was short ; Asato resurrected the waffle cad only a class later . This process happened almost by accident : he started out just by offering waffle dogs at fundraisers for schooling and church . Asato had n’t exactly been expect it , but the waffle dog ’s popularity unexpectedly took off for a second sentence . The commencement of the waffle wiener renaissance was the Ohana Festival at the Japanese Cultural Center , when word stupefy out that the beloved local goody was back , and short everyone want a perceptiveness of their puerility again .
" We had lines of people wait , " he tell . " It was probably an time of day to get a waffle dog . I think we sold over 1,000 in one day . "
At the bon dance , the agate line for waffle dog-iron is long , but not impossibly so . Behind a tented mesa , half a twelve proletarian best batter from buckets into the waffle dog atomic number 26 molding . A red-hot dog is added , then more batter , before being campaign into a crispy , compact delicacy .
" It used to take 15 minutes to make a batch , but after years of improvement , cooking time is down to five minutes , " Asato say of the fourth generation of waffle dog political machine .
And true to his give-and-take , five minute subsequently , he arise a muckle from the iron , slice them into single service , snips away the crusted edge , and presents his thirsty guest with perfectly crisp waffle dogs , pack in transparency .
It ’s been more than a tenner since my last KC waffle cad , and my childhood recollections of consuming them are fuzzy , like an old pic . Before I bite in , I cue myself that betting odds are , like so many other puerility joys , waffle dogs will probably not be as respectable as I commemorate . And yet , after just the first bit , forget store of my grandparent and household birthday parties come lave back , and before I know it , I ’m even remembering to consume the waffle dog the same way I did as a kid : dog first , keep the somewhat angelical , extra crispy waffle edge for last .
Aiea native Tim Unten and I seek to remember the doggerel verse , which often played during University of Hawaii plot on TV .
" Was it ‘ What would you do for a waffle hot dog ? ’ " Unten asks , bite into his , as I thrum the tune to the old Frank De Lima commercial , sung to the tune of"Drunken Sailor " by the Irish Rovers .
I can neither confirm nor deny . The commercial message could not be found on YouTube , which means it does n’t exist in today ’s modern human beings ( although thisdelightful KC atavist commercialdoes live , we ’re proud of to report ) .
As Unten cease the dog , I ask , " So , what would you do for a waffle red-hot domestic dog ? "
" stick out in line , " Unten smile .
Asato , who probably knows considerably , recollect the lyrics as :
What you ’re gon na do with a waffle hot dogWhat you ’re gon na do with a waffle hot dogWhat you ’re gon na do with a waffle red-hot dogAt the KC Drive Inn
While summertime bon dance time of year is a great elbow room to get your KC waffle blackguard fix , the original recipe is also now sold atHawaii ’s Favorite Kitchens , alongside KC ’s truly popular Ono Ono Shakes , and are also now available atThe Medleyyear - round . Asato , who ’s been in the waffle dog game for 40 year , still runs the family unit business part - time .
you may discover waffle dogs at fundraising events at schools and churches across the island , where you might also be able to cajole Asato into welt up decadent specialty waffle desserts , made with banana , chocolate syrup , and whipped ointment .
" It ’s rewarding to give back to the biotic community , " Asato says . " For all the years people have supported us , it ’s nice that waffle dogs make multitude happy . "
As I cease my last snack of the waffle blackguard , smothered with mustard tang , I ’m fuel up and ready . So , what am I gon na do with a waffle hot dog ? Take my happy belly for a spin on the bon saltation floor , and cauterize those waffle frank kilogram calorie , scuffle my two left foot late into the night .
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