Is there anything more seductive to a Chicagoan at the start of a cold, soggy March than the idea of Hawaii? About this time of year, when the winter weary dream of torching all the dibs on the streets in a massive spring bonfire of rebirth, a little vision of sunshine and seawater sounds pretty good. Not many of us have the ability to drop thousands of dollars on an island escape, but on the cold, car-swept corner of Western and Ogden, there’s a tiny outpost that provides a fix.
From behind the counter Romo takes orders while Manongdo griddles barbecue chicken thighs, sweet-and-spicy Korean-style pork butt, or bulging beef patties, two of which are employed in the consummately comforting loco moco, where they’re mounted on rice, drenched in beef-onion gravy, and topped with a crispy fried egg. Plunging into this pile of gratification, with its attendant creamy elbow macaroni amalgamated with potato and a superfluous pile of salad, requires you to immediately get moving once finished, lest your plodding metabolism finish you.
1247 S. Western 312-888-9613 alohawagon.com
