We were living in the Rowland Heights area of Los Angeles when the first L&L opened up down the street in Puente Hills Mall. Needless to say, I was thrilled, being somewhat plate lunch-deprived(we used to drive miles to try out plate lunch places in LA). And the food was as expected decent, but not great. L&L is not my favorite plate lunch place by far, but fills a need for me.
When we moved to San Diego, I found that an L&L was opening in National City - about 15 miles away. So the week they opened I drove down to National City in great anticipation...and was greatly disappointed. I never check my order at L&L because they seem to have a system of checking each plate before placing in a bag - so why check? Well I got home - and no gravy on my LocoMoco!!!??!! Second time, ordered my BBQ Chicken all rice, and got all Macaroni salad - three scoops mac salad? Third time, it seems that the BBQ chicken had not been marinated, it was almost white in color. Well 3 strikes and you're out! By this time plate lunch places had starting popping up everywhere in SoCal, so there are alot more choices, including two close to where we live.
Today I did some extra driving and went to the L&L in the College area - near San Diego St University - I've found this one to be the most consistent, and the service is always efficient.
Instead of ordering my usual LocoMoco, I ordered a Mini Chicken Cutlet ($4.29) and a Mini BBQ Chicken($4.29). 
As usual service was fast and efficient, and the food decent. Actually the BBQ chicken was well flavored. The chicken cutlet was still crisp under the gravy - and of course I poured a ton of Tabasco on this anyway.....
L&L's Hawaiian BBQ
Campus Plaza 6083 El Cajon Boulevard, Suite 5B-1
San Diego, CA 92115
Phone: (619) 229-6888
Postscript - I don't know if alot of Ex-Pat Kama'aina's encounter this, but alot of people seem to think that a plate lunch is somehow some kind of Haute' cuisine??? For six bucks???? I've also gotten alot of comments about how the food is not worth the price, so I ask them, how much is a sandwich from Togo's or Subway? A large sandwich approaches 7 bucks. I'll take a $6.29 plate lunch over that stuff or Denny's any day of the week.
Hi Kirk,
Ouch! L&L sure is expensive there huh? I think you can still get a plate for about $5 here. I'll try to blog up a plate of L&Ls soon. We can compare notes. I actually haven't eaten it in a while.
BTW...are you interested in the Honolulu Weekly article on plate lunches? If so, I'll try to scan and e-mail to you. Send me an e-mail if you are.
Posted by: Reid | Thursday, 02 June 2005 at 02:09 AM
Reid - Yeah, most plate lunches here are at least $1.00 more expensive than Hi. And most plate lunch places in San Diego except for Da' Kine's are offshoots of L&L, so they have the same pricing structure.
Posted by: Kirk | Thursday, 02 June 2005 at 07:49 AM
I think by far, the best L&L Hawaiian BBQ is also the one on College Avenue near SDSU in San Diego. My fave BBQ Beef is always moist and tasty--goes extra well with the traditional hawaiian macaroni salad. I just wished that they had an alternate veggie choice aside from the mac salad. I have tried the L&L near the Sports Arena on Rosecrans Ave (San Diego) and I was terribly dissapointed with the meat not marinated enough and lacking the usual (delicious) marinade taste. College Avenue staff are also full of aloha each time I visit..which is quite often since it's near the schools where I go to everyday!
Posted by: Ethel | Saturday, 07 April 2007 at 09:36 PM
Hi Ethel - I've found that the College location of L&L to be the most consistent as well. But replace macaroni salad...that's heresy! ;o)
Posted by: Kirk | Sunday, 08 April 2007 at 08:56 PM
Hi Kirk,
Nooooooo, not replace the mac salad! I am a green veggie lover, so I thought another side dish (i.e., blanched spinach) 'aside' from the mac salad. I love the macaroni salad..i usually order my plate with 'all mac' and no rice (I got my rice cooker on at home usually ready for me).
Posted by: ETHEL | Saturday, 19 May 2007 at 06:37 PM
Hi Ethel - Wow, extra mac salad!! I love your idea of making the rice at home, for more mac salad!
Posted by: Kirk | Saturday, 26 May 2007 at 07:06 PM
Aloha!
Thanking for writing a review on our restaurant. We just recently started a blog and would like for you to check it out. Make sure to leave comments to let us know what you think: http://hawaiianbarbecue.com/talkstory
Also, make sure to add us on MySpace: http://myspace.com/hawaiianbarbecue
Mahalo!
Posted by: Ellice | Wednesday, 10 October 2007 at 10:13 AM