*** Kealani's has closed
It's been a while since I did a plate lunch post, and even longer since I've had a decent plate lunch. On a recent Monday that I had taken off, I decided to drive on up to Encinitas and have some grindz at Kealani's. Kealani's is pretty easy to find; once you hit the Encinitas sign you turn West on D Street.
And tucked away on West D Street is Kealani's.
We had visited Kealani's when we first moved to San Diego in 2001, and really didn't enjoy our plate lunches, and hadn't returned since. But several people have mentioned how much they enjoy Kealani's, so I decided to make an effort and return.
When you enter Kealani's you'll notice a little shop to your left, among the knick-knacks you'll find Kauai Kookie and Lion Coffee.
The menu is full of "local" favorites, like Chicken Long Rice, Kalua Pig, Pipi Kaula, and others…
I decided to go with the 2 item combination called the "Mt Ka'ala"($7.50). Now why can't they just call it Mixed Plate, like back home? Today, I decided on the Sweet n' Sour Spareribs and Chicken Katsu as my meats.
The plate came with the requisite "two scoops, rice, one scoop mac salad". I thought the macaroni salad was pretty good, just enough mayo, and some celery, for texture and flavor. It also was NOT the usual bland mac salad that I've come across, with nice amount of pepper in the salad.
The Sweet n' Sour Spareribs, were not the usual spareribs per se' since they were boneless, so there's no mess here! The pork had a nice soy-sugar flavor, much like Okinawan Roast Pork(Think sweet adobo). There was almost no sour flavor, which really didn't hurt the dish very much. The pork could have been more tender, but I still enjoyed it.
The Chicken Katsu was lightly coated with panko, and the chicken was nice and moist. A decent version. The sauce was the ketchup based, "local-style" katsu sauce which I enjoyed.
I also ordered a Mini Teriyaki Chicken($4.50)"all-rice", to go, for the Missus:
The Missus's critique? "Pre-cooked, then dipped in sauce. Tasted ok, but the chicken was dry."
Kealani's serves a pretty decent plate lunch, better then most of those Hawaiian BBQ places popping up everywhere. The service was fine when I managed to get some. I'd return if I were in the area. Well, I need to, I still haven't had the Loco Moco here.
Kealani's
137 W D St
Encinitas, CA 92024
(760) 94-ALOHA
Mon-Tue 11:00AM- 8:00PM
Wed 11:00AM- 6:00PM
Thu-Sat 11:00AM- 8:00PM
Closed Sunday
also at
207 N Coast Hwy
Oceanside, CA 92054