Right before our trip to France I was wondering "what can't I get in Paris"? Over our trips it seemed that Paris has done a pretty good job of answering the call for our cravings whether it was Ramen or Chinese (we gotta work on getting some good Vietnamese in Paris….I know it's there…). In my mind it was either tacos or a plate lunch. Now, I've seen more than a few taco places and also quite a bit of poke shops; there's even one on Rue Montorgueil! But I have yet to see a plate lunch spot. There was even a place named Honolulu Arts Et Métiers less than two blocks from where we were staying in the Marais on our return trip. But a look at the menu revealed poke bowls….and jiaozi? It looked like a Chinese restaurant in disguise.
In the end, I went with my gut, and growling stomach, deciding on Homestyle Hawaiian's Mesa College location. Especially since it had been over a year-and-a-half since I last visited.
Things have been rearranged a bit since my last visit. HH is always trying different "stuffs" and now there's something called "Dirty Soda" on one side of the shop and the counter has been moved to the north end.
At the time of this visit, the 2 item combo had gone up a dollar since my previous visit to $15.95.
I got the usual, the mix of Chicken Katsu and Korean Chicken.
Unpacking the plate I knew just by the heft that the portion sizes had gone down since my last visit.
No longer would I be getting two meals out of this. Even the amount of rice was less. The sauces are provided on the side so as not to make the breading/batter soggy. The katsu was breaded nicely and still crisp, though for some reason the chicken tasted like it hadn't been seasoned and was quite bland. Even with the Hawaii style katsu sauce (ketchup based) provided.
The Korean Chicken was on the dry side though still crisp and that sauce, with a combination of sweet and salty just does the trick for me. Still, I think it used to be better before.
The rice was moist and did the trick. While the mac salad wasn't quite as good as what I'd had on previous visits; a bit too much mayo and very bland. It needed more salt and maybe some black pepper as well.
Still, not a bad lunch overall.
Man, it's hard to believe that that I've been coming here since the place opened in 2009, before Mo's kingdom of restaurants expanded to six locations. And though I haven't seen Mo in a almost a decade, I still think of him whenever I get grindz here……remembering the days of Da' Kitchen and Mo's Island Grindz.
My how time flies!
Homestyle Hawaiian Island Style Food
7524 Mesa College Drive
San Diego, CA 92111
The food at HH vastly improved around the new year to where it was back in the Mo days and was better and more consistent than it had been in years. Unfortunately, the quality and quantity seemed to tank 5ish months ago and has been very meh ever since =(
That’s a bummer Derek…..
hoping you get to see Mo the next time you get this
I remember eating at Mo’s Island Grindz. Miss those prices and seeing Mo.
I think I’ll need to head down to Chula Vista for that Kat! So maybe….
I think the food was better too Soo!
Bummer. Have not been here in a while. Looks like I’m not missing anything.
Yeah, it was not as good as previous visits ST.
Haven’t been there in so long (same with the CV location which is closer to us too). Prices are up everywhere.
Prices have been rising so quickly CC! I need to drop by the CV location to see if Mo is still around.