Way back in my post where I noticed L&L was coming to Clairemont Square “FOY” Kimo mentioned that he thought the Chicken Cutlet at the L&L in Rolando was decent. Which he also indicated in the comments when I actually tried the Chicken Cutlet at the new location in Clairemont as well. I finally made the decision to actually out (thanks Kimo). My first post on L&L in San Diego was way back in May of 2005! Yeesh! And of course during revisits I’ve noticed how the franchising of L&L had really driven down the quality of food over the years…so much that I really don’t even consider it “local kine grindz” anymore. In fact further visits to that location in 2015 and even the one…the first to open on the mainland in Rowland Heights in 2016 (since closed) really displayed how the brand had “jumped the shark”…or perhaps “jumped the shaka” years ago. In fact in October of 2018, I did some revisits to that set of places I first did my posts on in post #3951 and if you look at the end of the post; I actually went to that Rolando location of L&L and I was clobbered by the “smell of both what seemed like rotten seafood and burnt meat” that I just couldn’t endure staying. I believe that location closed during Covid.
Anyway, I went looking online for the Rolando location and was surprised to see that it is located in the massive Rive Student Off Campus Housing.
Man, what was here before? And has it been that long since I’ve been in the area? Anyway, there was a lot of parking and I headed on in.
The young lady working was very friendly and I quickly noticed that prices here were cheaper than he Clairemont location, so I decided to get a regular sized Chicken Cutlet ($14.99).
And after ordering I went to check out what kind of “stuffs” was available and unlike the Clairemont location they actually had Tabasco! Coming from a kid raised in HNL, this was always a must have for stuffs with gravy.
The place was pretty quiet during my visit.
As for the Chicken Cutlet.
Man, the portion size was huge. The rice was decently cooked and moist.
The Mac Salad was typical L&L, a but over-mayo’d, but ok, needed some salt and pepper.
The gravy was decently seasoned and not overly gluey and with the Tabasco to add acidity and some spice…well, things improved.
The katsu was fine, decently fried, the chicken moist, the breading not falling off the chicken. I definitely needed some salt and pepper, but was not bad.
I have to say; this was much better than what I’ve had at the Clairemont location. And while I wouldn’t go out of the way to return, this was probably the best thing I’ve had from L&L in years! So thanks “Bruddah Kimo”, it may not be my first choice for plate lunch in San Diego, but at least there’s some redemption for the brand! And I’m sure hungry students from SDSU appreciate the reasonable (for these days) prices. Though I remember when everything at L&L was under ten bucks……
L&L Hawaiian Barbecue
6353 El Cajon Blvd. Unit 120
San Diego, CA 92115
Current Hours:
Daily 11am – 9pm