**** This location of L&L has closed
It used to be that I'd eat plate lunches at least 3-4 times a week. You could say it was the backbone of my diet back then. But having lived on the mainland for over a decade now(has it really been that long?), my diet has changed in some pretty significant ways. That would mean no more 3 squares a day featuring that carbo-licious staple, rice. It seems that a plate of protein with at least 2-3 carbs(or in the case of Chili Spaghetti-Rice with Macaroni Potato salad, 4 carbs) has kinda fallen by the wayside for me. And to make matters worse, when I had my latest Loco Moco craving, I realized that I hadn't had a plate lunch since January; over 4 months! My how things have changed.
I don't know why, but I always thought that Hillcrest was an interesting location for an L&L. And even though I work in walking distance of this location of L&L, I had never made an effort to eat there. But, suffering from severe Loco Moco withdrawals, I decided to check them out.
In addition to the standard issue L&L menu, this location also offers "Healthier" options. After all, this is Hillcrest.
One thing I did notice was that my Loco Moco was going to cost $8.29! But, since I made the effort to walk over……..
So how did this measure up? Using the "Modified Rubio Scale for Loco Mocos", originally developed by James Rubio, who does the food blog Big Island Grinds, here's how the scoring(on a scale of 1 thru 5) went.
BURGER: Standard burger was well seasoned, moist(!), and mildly beefy. Pretty good for a Hawaiian BBQ joint. – 3.0
EGGS: Could be more crisp around the edges, and not seasoned. Yolk was nice and runny. – 3.0
RICE: Kinda hard. – 2.0
GRAVY: On the light side, but nice and salty. Pretty decent. – 3.5
STUFFS: Too much mayo on the macaroni salad, which could have used a shake of salt. – 2.0
Total: 13.5 – Not bad for one of these Hawaiian BBQ joints.
This location of L&L was bit better than some of the other locations, so I may just have another meal here one day. The service was fine, the young lady manning the register was very nice, but a bit spacey…..she forgot to charge me for my drink, I had to remind her.
L&L Hawaiian Barbecue
3803 5th Ave.
San Diego, CA 92103
You can find my "collection" of Loco Mocos here.