Back in my post on Super Mario‘s, “FOY” Elle asked if I’d been to Say Aloha, a newish local kine restaurant that opened up in Hillcrest. I had heard of the place, but the hours were really limited and it is located in Hillcrest so I hadn’t really tried to visit. During my visits to White Elephant, JJ and I took a walk around the block to see exactly where the place was.
It wasn’t open, but it seemed to be located thru that doorway to the left of AWOL Bar? Being only open from 5pm Thurs to Sunday is a hinderance; especially seeing the location and all. And yet, a couple of weeks later, the Missus and Her coworkers had a HH planned. It was in walking distance so She took JJ. I decided that the time was right for a visit. I headed on over and actually found some paid parking a few blocks away. I walked on over and peered inside that doorway. There was some event going on in Hillcrest that evening so it was kinda crazy as the bar was having drinks dispensed to folks. Anyway, he was nice enough to point out that Say Aloha was actually in Rosemary and Thyme Cafe.
So, I walked on in and was greeted by a very friendly woman, who introduced herself as Marline. I was led out the back door to a very nice covered “tropicalish” courtyard.
I was seated and handed a menu.
Because it seemed that there was this “sip and stroll” type event going on; folks kept on popping into the courtyard to take a walk around and check things out. I was the only true customer until nearly the end of my meal. It was fun to see folks so festively dressed up though.
Wanting to try several items, I decided to go with the Mix Plate; not cheap at $23.95! Ouch! Anyway, a really nice guy came out and introduced himself as Avian. He’s the chef/cook. He told me that unfortunately, the kalua pork was not ready, so would it be ok to sub chicken katsu? I was fine with this.
While waiting for my order and watching the “sideshow” of people wandering in and out; Marline came by and asked how I knew about Say Aloha. I mentioned being from the Islands and the “coconut wireless”. She laughed and said that Avian is Guamanian. She also cracked up when I said “what, no kelaguen?”
That’s my plate lunch above. Smelled quite nice. I decided to try the mac salad first. It was nicely coated, perhaps bit more than I prefer, but no complaints. This version had that nice tanginess and wasn’t overly salty.
The chicken katsu was my least favorite item. It seemed to have been over-fried, really dark in color.
Tough and dry, lacking in seasoning.
I did enjoy the Katsu Sauce though. It’s really local style, meaning more ketchup based, quite tangy.
I liked the flavors of the Teri Chicken. It had a nice balance of sweet to salty, with an interesting hint of acidity. I was later told that they use pineapple juice in the glaze.
It was nicely grilled, if a bit on the chewy side. Much better than the typical “Hawaiian BBQ” stuffs you get here.
Now, even though I’m not a fan of the typical chewy “LA Kalbi” that permeates plate lunches, this version was surprisingly tender.
A bit too sticky-sweet for my taste; but that texture was definitely king!
This was overall, a surprisingly decent version of local kine plate lunch items. Just to be clear, this is NOT Hawaiian Food, ok? It’s not the food of ethnic Hawaiians….sorry, don’t mean to beat that dead horse, but have overheard several conversations lately about L&L being “Hawaiian Food”. Yeow…..
The folks working here are very friendly and the patio lovely. Though Marline did tell me that she prefers people not bringing their dog to Say Aloha. Which is fine, though Rosemary and Thyme which operates this space on Saturday and Sundays from 830am – 130pm is.
Mahalo for the reminder for Say Aloha Elle!
Say Aloha
1475 University Ave.
San Diego, CA 92103
Current Hours:
Thurs, Sunday 5pm – 9pm
Fri – Sat 5pm – 10pm
Closed Mon – Wed