Lunch at JJ’s Island Grindz (Bonita) with JJ of course

Back at the end of September, I had the pleasure of sharing a wonderful lunch with two of my favorite people; those who’ve been reading our little blog for a while know Cathy, along with our long time friend CC, who while she doesn’t update her Pink Candles at Ridgemont High blog anymore, has quite a presence on Instagram these days. The place chosen was JJ’s Island Grindz in Bonita. I was kind of excited since there’s not much Chamorro/Guamanian available these days since Smack’N Guamanian Grill has closed, as well as the Midway location of Guahan. I’m thinking that other than JJ’s, Chamorro Grill might be the only other place serving this style of food South of the 56?

Anyway, we had a wonderful time…though so much of it was catching up on things, so I decided not to do a post.

The food was plentiful and the conversations wonderful! Of course, both CC and Cathy asked me why I didn’t bring JJ…..I should have, right?

Anyway, I brought the leftovers home and told the Missus She might enjoy those pork ribs; which were chewy, but nicely flavored with touches of smokiness and soy. Of course She didn’t believe me; but I removed all the meat from the bones and chopped it up and She ended up enjoying it. And we both thought that taking JJ to a place named “JJ’s” would be kinda fun. So, about a month later we ended up heading over to Bonita and the strip mall where JJ’s is located….with JJ in tow. Man, I remember when this place was Ono’s Cafe!

The nice young lady directed us to a table on the patio. She was so nice to JJ and when we told Her his name she could not stop laughing!

Of course we weren’t going to order the sushi rolls or sushi burritos and that kine’ stuff from the huge menu. We got the Chamorro Combo and I was curious, based on how smoky the ribs were, to try the Kalua Pig.

The portions here are fairly sizeable.

The Missus wasn’t fond of the potato salad, though She really enjoyed the red rice, which I did as well. Great texture, savory tones, a hint of smokiness, and to us, even a mild acidity. She was not a big fan of the kelaguen, it was chopped too coarse, without a nice sour-spicy kick, and lacking in the hint of coconut She loves in the version I make. The finadene was too mild for Her taste, but the young lady brought over some of the spicy finadene which helped things out.

The ribs were flavored as She remembered, though strangely, the Missus preferred them the next day as leftovers. Removed from the bone and chopped!

As for the Kalua Pig.

Well, I do like the red rice here. The pork was nice and smokey, but strangely….very strangely, wasn’t salty and porky enough for me. I mean, I don’t ever recall wanting to add salt to my kalua pig! But for me; it’s the mushy, almost watery texture of the pork I didn’t enjoy. Again, strangely, the pork was better the next day after it firmed up a bit and I added some Alaea to it. It’s still not my favorite though.

As for JJ’s, I think we’ll return, so the Missus can get those ribs and perhaps I’ll something else from the menu. The service was warm and welcoming.

And JJ had what Cathy called his “hakuna matata” moment!

JJ’s Island Grindz
4154 Bonita Rd.
Bonita, CA 91902
Current Hours:
Sun – Thurs 11am – 8pm
Fri – Sat 11am – 9pm