![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/shop\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/zip-6.jpg?resize=641%2C458&ssl=1\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\nWe can certainly see why islander tourists and transplants flock to Zippy\u2019s \u2014 the aloha vibe, Hawaiian comfort food, and familiarity with the brand, named after the zip code, which had been recently introduced when the chain was launched in 1966. The 24\/7 restaurant is known for its Hawaiian chili (the signature dish), fried chicken, oxtail soup, saimin, loco moco (white rice topped with hamburger, fried egg, and brown gravy), mahi sandwiches, and Zip Pac bentos (boxed lunch).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Frankly, we weren\u2019t expecting much. We like the food in Hawaii, for its melting pot of Polynesian, Asian, and European origins and its focus on fresh local ingredients such as coconut, pineapple, seafood, and slow-cooked whole pig (kalua). But it doesn\u2019t seem to transfer beyond the islands. And it didn\u2019t at Zippy\u2019s, at least for us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We were disappointed to start by the unavailability of the loco moco and mahi sandwiches. We tried the signature chili, basically chili without any signature that we could find and the large bowl ($9) was more white rice than spicy beans. The $14.75 bento was, again, a lot of rice; the fried chicken was crispy and moist and the teriyaki beef was decent, but we\u2019re not big fans of Spam and the hoki (breaded fish) was tasteless. Zippy\u2019s is also known for its \u201cnapples,\u201d apple turnovers (the \u201cn\u201d is for the Zippy-brand Napoleon bakery, $3.99), and malasadas, plain round donuts rolled in sugar ($1.40). They were the perfect bland desserts for the nothing-special lunches.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Granted, Zippy\u2019s says the menu has been purposely limited in order to iron out the kinks of the first location on the mainland, so we\u2019ll watch to see if and when it changes for the better. Also, we can\u2019t argue with the food-delivery system. A greeter outside the front door directs you to the correct line (right to eat in, left to take out; there\u2019s also an eight-seat counter for quick dine-in). Both options are very fast and efficient. <\/p>\n\n\n For take-out, you order and pay at the cashier, then repair to the waiting area where a readerboard tracks the progress of your order. When it\u2019s ready, the server checks your ID (good idea) and hands you your bag o\u2019 food.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s no coincidence or accident that Zippy’s, the beloved 57-year-old restaurant chain with 22 locations on Oahu, Maui, and the Big Island, opened its first restaurant outside of Hawaii in Las Vegas, which is often called the \u201cninth island\u201d for its popularity with island visitors and transplants. When it opened on October 10 at 10:10 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":21,"featured_media":846052,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1446,1453],"tags":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/shop\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/the-trip-to-zippys.jpg?fit=704%2C727&ssl=1","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/shop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/846049"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/shop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/shop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/shop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/21"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/shop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=846049"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/shop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/846049\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/shop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/846052"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/shop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=846049"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/shop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=846049"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/shop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=846049"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/shop\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/zip-3-2.jpg?resize=691%2C640&ssl=1\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/shop\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/zip-4a-2.jpg?resize=738%2C430&ssl=1\")
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<\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/shop\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/zip-1.jpg?resize=657%2C599&ssl=1\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/shop\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/zip-5-1.jpg?resize=703%2C670&ssl=1\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/shop\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/zip-6-2.jpg?resize=587%2C759&ssl=1\")
<\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
Our bill for the bento, chili, and baked goods came to $30.23, including tax. Definitely reasonable for the amount of food and another explanation why Zippy\u2019s is so popular.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"