Dining Scene
Lunch Break: Tsukenjo's lunch comfort-intensive

By Debra Yuen
TGIF Editor

Tsukenjo Lunch House owner Gerry Matsumoto serves up a plate at the Cooke Street eatery. All meals cost less than $6 and come with the traditional two scoops of rice and mac salad or shredded cabbage salad. With so many local favorites, many items are sold out by the day's end. Cory Lum • The Honolulu Advertiser

Vegetarians are out of luck here, but omnivores will thank their lucky stars for hearty, no-nonsense plate lunches that range from meatloaf to fried chicken, from shoyu ribs to pork tofu, from laulau to corned beef and cabbage. All come with two scoops of rice, shredded cabbage salad or macaroni salad, and all are less than $6, with most under $5.

Don't forget the ever-popular roast pork ($4.75, with gravy, and lots of it), which always answers the call of the hungry and is always on the revolving menu; and the heart-warming fried noodles ($3.80), a Monday special.

OK, so these are not exactly aimed at the lunch forager on a low-fat, sensible diet. But sometimes you have to stop counting the calories and start counting your blessings.

Get there early; a lot of items are sold out before the end of the day.

Tsukenjo Lunch House is at 705 Cooke St., where parking is not the most generous (this is Kaka'ako, remember?). Walk over; it's worth it. There's a small dining area that seats several people. Hours are 5 a.m.-2 p.m. weekdays. 597-8151.