Rumbi Island Grill

Rumbi Island Grill 24000 Alicia Parkway Blvd #23 Mission Viejo The Gateway Center (949) 206-1002 (949) 206-1158 FAX Official Site From time to time I have to reemphasize that I don't eat just Mexican food. I recently went on opening day (although a grand opening will take place on Monday, September 21 - read the Fast food Maven blog to find out about free food on Monday) to Rumbi Island Grill in Mission Viejo, a chain I had visited two locations of a handful of times while in Utah about three years ago. Rumbi is mostly though not strictly Hawaiian. It also has some Caribbean and Asian and a touch of Mexican influence thrown in. I have described it elsewhere as a Hawaiian Pei Wei and that seems to be a good general description. On Monday's visit I tried the Hawaiian Teriyaki bowl with chicken. Basically you pick the kind of meat you want and then the way you want it served. I got a half-sized bowl and along with the tortilla soup (yeah, I threw one of their two Mexican items in) was plenty for my lunch. As with my out-of-state Rumbi visits I am struck with how fresh everything is. For those who are used to ordering all their dressings and sauces on the side, well, it comes that way here automatically. Robustly flavored teriyaki glaze paired with white and black sesame seeds top off this bowl nicely. You can have it served over white rice, brown rice, Rumbi rice (I think it's white rice with red beans), or noodles (noodles are an extra 79 cents). For those who like to get half sweet potato fries and half regular fries at The Counter be aware that Rumbi fries already come that way. Click here or any photo in this entry to be taken to the complete (14 photos) photo album at flickr. Looking forward to their other OC locations opening up...