Leo’s Island BBQ: Peoria’s Hawaiian Punch

For those who prefer their carb and protein loads delivered via a plastic foam container, there may not be a more perfect meal than the Hawaiian plate lunch.

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Featuring a steaming mass of rice, a scoop of mayonnaise-heavy macaroni salad, and mountains of meat piled into a white Styrofoam takeout box, the plate lunch is to Hawaiians what the meat-and-three plate is to Southerners: comfort food served up fast, without a fuss, and on the cheap.

Leo’s Island BBQ in Peoria makes a very good plate lunch.

Here’s an excerpt from this week’s review:

“The best plate lunch on the menu is the luau-favorite kalua pork, a piping-hot mass of tender and juicy shredded meat that’s been rubbed with sea salt and liquid smoke, wrapped in ti leaves, and slow-roasted for hours. Lusciously smoky and delicately salty, it’s rounded out with steamed cabbage and broccoli for meaty bites with a bit of crunch.

And for those willing to go a few extra miles on the treadmill, there is the Lees’ version of loco moco, a mammoth mound of two grilled beef patties topped with a duo of fried eggs and covered in a pool of thick brown gravy that a few vegetables (added here, I’m assuming, for comedic value) seem to be struggling to escape from. To turn the moco up a notch, simply replace the beef patties with grilled slices of Spam.”

Hungry for more? Check out the rest of my review of Leo’s Island BBQ here.

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