Local Kine Stuffs in San Diego – Page 7

Plate Lunch Week- Leilani’s Hawaiian Restaurant

July 16, 2007 mmm-yoso Local Kine Stuffs in San Diego, Loco Mocos, Plate Lunch

*** An update on Leilani's Restaurant can be found here.

*** This location of Leilani's has closed.

I've been thinking about doing a "Plate Lunch Week" for a while now. You know, getting back to my roots (or depending on your view…"into the weeds"). So after procrastinating for a few months, I've decided to do a mmm-yoso plate lunch week…this week it'll be Monday to Friday plate lunches. Heaven for those who like "major grindz", hell for those watching their cholesterol.

I thought I'd start with Leilani's….no it's not a rehash of my post on Leilani's Cafe in PB, but the "new" Leilani's Hawaiian Restaurant, located in of all places, Serra Mesa. FOY (Friend of Yoso) Trent(now called Bruddah Trent), first informed me of Leilani's existence in an email, and a few days later, I went to check it out.

So why start with Leilani's? I've noticed that here on the mainland, we have been inundated with a number of "Hawaiian BBQ" joints. So it goes without saying that most people I've met think that Hawaiian BBQ is the ubiquitous "plate lunch". Nothing wrong with that, but the plate lunch is much more than the corporate Hawaiian BBQ, which when done well, is a good value(there are several L&L locations in Honolulu that I like), but when done with only the profit margin in mind(which happens often), is really lousy. If you grew up in Hawaii, you're sure to have your favorite(s), whether it's Rainbow Drive-In(my personal favorite), Masu's(RIP Masu's), Richie's, Zippy's, Cafe 100, Grace's, or any number of places, and there are many. You'd also realize that there is life beyond the BBQ Chicken, BBQ Beef, and all the generic items served in those Hawaiian BBQ places. Each one of the places mentioned above have their own versions of the "standards", each with it's own "food personality" of sorts. In addition, other "standards" like Beef Stew, Sweet Sour Pork, Chili, Mochiko Chicken, etc, are also available. The difference with Leilani's is that the food served feels and tastes "home made". I think that Leilani's breaks the generic Hawaiian BBQ cycle.

The interior of Leilani's is spartan, bright, and clean.

So of course I started with the Regular Loco Moco($7.50):

Not the largest loco, nor the most sophisticated. But this loco moco is the closest to what my Mom made, from the hand formed patty, to the home made beef gravy, this screams "comfort food" for me. The hamburger is very lean, so it might be a touch on the tough side for many, but that is because there is no filler. The eggs are done a perfect "medium" over. My only regret was that no Tabasco Sauce was available. I find the vinegar-spiciness of Tabasco to be the perfect foil for the eggs and gravy. Plus, that is pretty much the way I've always eaten my locos…..

Teriyaki Chicken Hawaiian Style ($7.50):

As on my previous visits to Leilani's Cafe, the teri sauce is sweet but not overly sweet. I love the little touch of teri sauce over the rice. I wish that like my previous visits the chicken was dark meat, but this was still good. I enjoy the mac salad, it has the right amount of mayo, and the carrots and celery added good flavor and texture.

On my most recent visit, I got a good taste of the "Aloha" that exists at Leilani's. During my meals, during slower periods Leilani would appear from the kitchen and chat. During one of those conversations, I mentioned my lament at the lack of Tabasco Sauce. On this visit I walked in, and Leilani goes, "Hi Kirk, you know, when I went shopping, I remembered how you and a bunch of other people wanted Tabasco. So guess what?"

Now that's service…..I'm surprised she even remembered who I was……

I ordered the Hilo Style Loco($8.95):

I've detailed it all here. I was also given a little dish of extra gravy, which was a nice touch.

Leilani's is not the most inexpensive, nor are the portions huge, and it is not everyone's cup of tea. But the food is made with care, as if you are eating at your Tutu's(Aunty's).

For those regulars of Leilani's in PB, I did manage to ask a few questions…

Why Serra Mesa? Leilani was looking for a larger kitchen for her catering jobs, and it just so happen that this property became available. She is able to run both a restaurant and do catering from this location.

What about PB? The PB location is (hopefully) temporarily closed. In order to bring the property up to code, a commercial kitchen, among other renovations need to be done.

In news that warmed my heart, Leilani told me that since the customer focus seems to be more on "grindz" in Serra Mesa, she's thinking of having weekly specials, with stuff like Beef Stew and such.

Sad thing for me, is that after this post, I'm sure that word will get to Leilani and my cover will be blown…but that's okay, I'll keep eating there.

Leilani's Hawaiian Restaurant
3232 Greyling Drive
San Diego, CA 92123
858-565-4637

Open Mon-Sat 11am – 9pm
Closed on Sundays

A few years ago during an interview with Honolulu Weekly, Eddie Flores Jr, the founder of L & L, mentioned his vision:

"L&L doesn’t use the term “plate lunch” in its mainland restaurants. Instead the cuisine is called “Hawaiian barbecue.” Flores says that with about 80 L&L restaurants on the mainland today and more than 100 set to open by the end of the year—along with 50 or 60 copycat restaurants with names like Waikiki Hawaiian Barbecue and L&K Hawaiian Barbecue—the words “plate lunch” are on their way out."

“In five to 10 years, we won’t call it plate lunch but Hawaiian barbecue,” he says. “Only old-timers will remember the plate lunch.”

This "old-timer" hopes not……I still love my "world on a plate"… Chicken Katsu-Sweet Sour Pork mix with extra Kim Chee!

One little bit of silliness. My favorite intersection in San Diego is located in Serra Mesa, and on my way home from Leilani's I finally managed a photo:

The question? Unida place?

The answer? Haveteur Way…..

Who says that city planners have no sense of humor???

Maui Maui Hawaiian BBQ

February 11, 2007 mmm-yoso Local Kine Stuffs in San Diego, Loco Mocos, Plate Lunch

*** Maui Maui Hawaiian BBQ is now Sieu Sieu BBQ. You can find an updated post here.

A few months back I noticed that the little Japanese Restaurant in one of the many strip malls on Clairemont Mesa Boulevard was gone. And a few weeks later, a Hawaiian BBQ restaurant called Maui Maui had taken it’s place.

Yikes, another Hawaiian BBQ? Seems like they’re everywhere nowadays, but this is the first one in this area. So on a recent weekend, I decided to check it out.

I like the interior, very bright and clean. The menu is typical Hawaiian BBQ in nature….BBQ Chicken, BBQ Short Ribs, blah, blah, blah…… a typical L&L knockoff menu, I wish I could get some other plate lunch fare….like Beef Stew, and other stuff, but it looks like these Hawaiian BBQ places all want to serve the exact same food.

Maui Maui does offer Combination Plates, mixing items like Lau Lau, Kalua Pork, and Seafood, with BBQ Beef, Chicken, Short Ribs, or Chicken Katsu.

So I decided to try the Lau Lau and BBQ Chicken combination($7.95):

The plate came with the typical 2 scoops rice, 1 scoop macaroni salad, 1 small piece BBQ chicken thigh, and a Lau Lau. The mac salad was not bad…good ratio of mayo to macaroni, perhaps just a bit short on salt.

The chicken was well marinated in a sauce with a higher soy sauce to sugar ratio, almost like what my Mom made, and thus was more on the salty side. The thigh had good flavor, but was on the dry side.

The Lau Lau was interesting, it was served super piping hot, which was a good start, but the luau leaf wrapping was very mild, and didn’t have the nice smoky-rich-green flavor I enjoy. As I tore the Lau Lau open I made one observation that I expected, and one that I did not….

First off, having had my share of Lau Lau on the mainland, I pretty much knew that there wasn’t going to be any salted fish in the Lau Lau, and expected that. But I quickly noticed that there wasn’t even a piece of fatty pork in the Lau Lau, this really made the Lau Lau fall short in flavor, and made it kind of dry. It was probably the healthiest Lau Lau I’ve ever had, in relative terms of course….. But still, even though I thought this was a bit over-priced, it was not bad.

So you know what that means right? Another visit! One this visit, I decided just to grab a "Mini" Chicken Katsu($4.75), all rice(that means another scoop of rice, to replace the mac salad). I got home and opened the styrofoam container up:

Where’s the Katsu sauce? Oh well, I had a bottle in the frig, and it’s usually much better than the really bad, runny, sweet-sour stuff that most of these Hawaiian BBQ places serve. The Katsu was barely okay, dry, and the breading on the soggy side……

Since my first lunch was decent, not really good, but okay, I thought I’d give Maui Maui one more visit, and get…..what else? A Loco Moco, one of my favorites. I suddenly realized that the last Loco Moco I had was on Maui…….. I ordered a "Mini" Loco Moco($4.95). So check out this "loco" and tell me what’s wrong with it?

Yep, it’s pretty obvious…WHERE’S MY GRAVY? Talk about a gravy malfunction…….sigh! After the Katsu Sauce malfunction on my previous visit, I shoulda known to check my food before I left…. Bummer! The mac salad was also pretty bad on this visit…really runny, and the macaroni was mushy. The patty as I expected was preformed, though the egg was okay….I ate 2 bites, and gave the rest to Da’ Boyz.

Man talk about disappointing. Just in case Maui Maui served some kinda really weird Loco Moco(it would still be heresy!), I checked out the take out menu:

It does say "brown gravy" right? And notice the "salted butterfish" under Lau Lau(it’s "Ti" leaves, not "Tea" leaves, BTW)? Hmmmmm….. I thought about taking it back, but I wasn’t going to drive all the way back to Maui Maui, I tried calling but no one picked up…..

Maui Maui Hawaiian BBQ
7420 Clairemont Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92111

Big Kahuna’s

November 27, 2006 mmm-yoso Local Kine Stuffs in San Diego, Loco Mocos, Plate Lunch

*** Big Kahuna's no longer resides in PB.

Located in Pacific Beach on Ingraham Street is Big Kahuna's:

Part pizza joint/sports bar, part plate lunch restaurant, I've been told that the owner of Big Kahuna's is the Grandson of the original owner of Da Big Kahuna's Pizza on Puuloa Road in Honolulu.

Of course with a name like Big Kahuna, you'd have to go with a beach-surfer-tropical theme.

Though Big Kahuna back "home" is known for the pizza and sandwiches, I thought I'd try out the plate lunches. If you're wondering what the pizza at the original Big Kahuna looks like you can find a post on where else, but Ono Kine Grindz, it even has a photo of, ahem, the Big Kahuna "Balls".

For lunch one afternoon I ordered the Beef Teriyaki Plate($8.95):

In a few minutes a very large plate arrived, three scoops of rice, even! I enjoyed the macaroni salad, with just the right amount of mayo.

The teriyaki was indeed "local-style", on the sweeter side with the flavor of ginger. The sauce was more of a glaze, than a sauce.

Though I love good pineapple(my Dad is from Lana'i), I hate it as a topping for food, so I scraped it off. The meat was a very tough sirloin, and I mean very tough, and in spite of the sauce quite dry.

One evening I found myself in the area, and decided to try out the Lau Lau Plate($8.95):

Again three scoops of rice, and quite a large Lau Lau, which smelled promising.

The luau leaf tasted bit on the bland side, not the usual flavor of "greens" that I enjoy so much. There was a nice chunk of fat in the Laulau, but no salted fish, and the pork was on the dry side. To be perfectly frank, this is a typical Mainland Laulau, so I wasn't very disappointed.

While I was waiting for my Laulau the very nice Waitress mentioned a breakfast menu, and was kind enough to bring me one to check out.

And there it was….a Loco Moco. I was told that Big Kahuna's serves breakfast on weekends, so I made a mental note…..

And made an appearance at 1030am on a Saturday morning. I walked in, and it seemed that everyone was still sleeping….so I grabbed a table, and eventually managed to order my Loco Moco($7.50):

After a short wait, my Loco Moco made it's way to my table in slooooowww moootion. First thing I noticed was that the burger was crumbled and stir fried with onions and a gravy. For some reason the thought, "I think this is last night's burger", kept playing over and over in my head….

The eggs(3) were okay, easy over, the yolks slightly runny, though I would have enjoyed crisp, crunchy edges on my eggs, but that's being nit-picky.

The gravy, was more like a sauce, and the nice, dark color belied the fact that it was pretty bland, luckily there was a good selection of condiments and sauces to help out. Ditto with the crumbled burger, though it was piping hot.

The service at Big Kahuna's is "bar service", and though very nice, sometimes a bit on the spacey side. I had ordered my toast dry, but got it buttered, and the Server/Bartender was more concerned with stocking beer than bringing me my Diet Coke. Still every contact that I've had at Big Kahuna's has been friendly.

I've tried a few other items that are not pictured, all portions are quite large, always making sure you get enough carbs! The Kalua Pork, though a bit under flavored was pretty good. I thought the Portuguese Bean Soup was very bland, lacking a nice smokey flavor ham-hock flavor, and with hardly any beans, sausage, or anything except soup for that matter. I've not had the pizza at Big Kahuna's though it looks pretty good, though those "balls"(12 for $6) – garlic bread rounds baked in butter, and topped with melted cheese cheese, make my arteries cringe in fear. I'll cover the Big Kahuna Burger on a future post.

Big Kahuna's
3780 Ingraham St
San Diego, CA 92109

Leilani’s Cafe

November 1, 2006 mmm-yoso Caffeine Fix, Local Kine Stuffs in San Diego, Loco Mocos, Plate Lunch

I remember once being asked while having some sushi, "geez what do you do, drive around different neighborhoods looking for interesting places to eat?" I remember answering with an affirmative, "Yes, doesn't everybody?" And getting a strange look in return. I don't quite know how to describe the expression on that Gentleman's face, maybe pitiful amazement would suffice, but that look has remained imprinted upon my memory. And every so often when I do "take a drive", I chuckle to myself thinking about that look.

And those drives do pay off, as in the case of Leilani's Cafe. I was driving up the "quiet" part of Cass street in Pacific Beach, when the banner for Leilani's Cafe caught my eye.

Leilani's looks like another one of the almost endless number of coffee shops and cafes in the Pacific Beach area….I do think there's one on every corner. And I would have just driven past, except that I saw the Kikkoman Soy Sauce bottles sitting on the tables lining the outdoor patio tables, I can spot a Kikkoman bottle a hundred yards away…okay I'm exaggerating…make it fifty yards away. The significance of the shoyu bottle is important, telling me it's more than muffins, croissants, and sandwiches being served at Leilani's. When I got home, I did a quick search on the indispensable Southern California Plate Lunch Connection, and found a listing for Leilani's, which pretty much sealed the deal. I dropped by Leilani's on a quiet afternoon.

As I walked into the tiny cafe, I could hear the sounds of Bruddah Iz in the background. The interior of Leilani's is quite small, and the fireplace in the corner and later on, when I saw the shower stall in the restroom, it pretty much confirmed that this was a former residential studio or duplex. The walls are lined with photos of Leilani's Grandchildren, and other "local-kine" knick-knacks.

Initially, the menu seems a bit long and somewhat intimidating. The first thing that strikes you are what seems like every single type of Frappa-Zappa-Crappa-Nappa-Cuppu-cino known to mankind. It did seem as if Leilani's was just a Coffee Shop. But wait, a little to the right, and you'll start seeing familiar items.

And there among the Hot Oatmeal, and Cream Cheese Bagels, were the Loco Mocos, Spam and Eggs, and even a Spam Bagel! Most items ran in the $6 to $10 range.

Being absolutely famished, I went for the most expensive item on the menu, the Big Luau Plate ($12.50). After I placed my order, Leilani went to the tiny back kitchen, and started cooking everything up. The aroma of the food cooking triggered off some memories….it smelled like my Mom's cooking……

After a short wait(Leilani was doing all the cooking Herself), my plate arrived. Where to begin….let's start with the starch, there were two scoops of rice, with some Teri-Sauce on it(this is scary, it really is like Mom), A piece of Local-Style Teri Chicken, Kalua Pork and Cabbage, and a rather large piece of Fried Mahi Mahi. The Kalua Pork was moist, and had a nice smoky flavor, and wasn't too salty, overall it was quite good. The cabbage was a bit undercooked for my tastes, but this goes to show that it was made to order, not sitting around to to be microwaved. You can't really see it, but there was a pretty large portion of Kalua Pork and Cabbage. The fish was a simple seasoned and fried piece of Mahi Mahi. I'll readily admit that this isn't everyones cup of tea, it's a bit more fishy, and there were more than a few bones. But this is almost exactly the same way that my Mother used to fry up Aku, and other fish, no frills, simple, and the fish will stand on it's own. The fish was moist and flaky.

The piece of Teriyaki Chicken thigh was full of flavor, sweet yet not too sweet, very good! Beats that generic Hawaiian BBQ stuff any day of the week. The macaroni salad had a good amount of mayo, just enough salt, and the addition of celery was a nice flavor and texture bonus. This was a satisfying and filling(to the point of a nap) meal.

So, of course I had to make a return visit. There were two items that I was a bit interested in, Leilani's Spicy Hawaiian Fried Rice($5.75), and of course the Loco Moco($6.25). Lucky for me, I could get the best of both worlds, it's called a Hilo Style Loco Moco($8.75):

This Loco Moco featured a nicely browned hand formed hamburger patty. I'm pretty sure that the patty was almost all beef without filler, which meant a drier and tougher patty, but with a more pronounced beef flavor. The gravy was home-made, dark in color, with a mild beef flavor. The eggs were done a perfect over-medium.

The spicy fried rice was studded with pieces of Portuguese and Spicy Italian Sausage, which added great flavor. As did the shredded carrots. The rice was indeed fairly spicy…..I really enjoyed it.

The food at Leilani's has that "home cooked" signature, something that Mom or your favorite Aunty might make for you. The food may take a while longer, but it does carry that bit of TLC that is missing at those generic, corporate, all-business type restaurants.

I did manage to chat a bit with Leilani, but unfortunately didn't get much info on Her, other than She's from Hawaii…we were too busy talking about getting Local-Kine stuff in San Diego, and how she prepares Her food, and other "stuffs".

Hey even your Pooch can get a little bit of Aloha!

For some reason, I don't do very much exploratory driving anymore…maybe I need to get back into the groove…….you never know what you might find!

Leilani's is open 7 days a week, from 630 am to 2pm.

Leilani's Cafe
5109 Cass St
San Diego, CA 92109

Open Daily 630am-2pm

Kealani’s

July 2, 2006 mmm-yoso Local Kine Stuffs in San Diego, Plate Lunch

*** Kealani's has closed

It's been a while since I did a plate lunch post, and even longer since I've had a decent plate lunch. On a recent Monday that I had taken off, I decided to drive on up to Encinitas and have some grindz at Kealani's. Kealani's is pretty easy to find; once you hit the Encinitas sign you turn West on D Street.

And tucked away on West D Street is Kealani's.

We had visited Kealani's when we first moved to San Diego in 2001, and really didn't enjoy our plate lunches, and hadn't returned since. But several people have mentioned how much they enjoy Kealani's, so I decided to make an effort and return.

When you enter Kealani's you'll notice a little shop to your left, among the knick-knacks you'll find Kauai Kookie and Lion Coffee.

The menu is full of "local" favorites, like Chicken Long Rice, Kalua Pig, Pipi Kaula, and others…

I decided to go with the 2 item combination called the "Mt Ka'ala"($7.50). Now why can't they just call it Mixed Plate, like back home? Today, I decided on the Sweet n' Sour Spareribs and Chicken Katsu as my meats.

The plate came with the requisite "two scoops, rice, one scoop mac salad". I thought the macaroni salad was pretty good, just enough mayo, and some celery, for texture and flavor. It also was NOT the usual bland mac salad that I've come across, with nice amount of pepper in the salad.

The Sweet n' Sour Spareribs, were not the usual spareribs per se' since they were boneless, so there's no mess here! The pork had a nice soy-sugar flavor, much like Okinawan Roast Pork(Think sweet adobo). There was almost no sour flavor, which really didn't hurt the dish very much. The pork could have been more tender, but I still enjoyed it.

The Chicken Katsu was lightly coated with panko, and the chicken was nice and moist. A decent version. The sauce was the ketchup based, "local-style" katsu sauce which I enjoyed.

I also ordered a Mini Teriyaki Chicken($4.50)"all-rice", to go, for the Missus:

The Missus's critique? "Pre-cooked, then dipped in sauce. Tasted ok, but the chicken was dry."

Kealani's serves a pretty decent plate lunch, better then most of those Hawaiian BBQ places popping up everywhere. The service was fine when I managed to get some. I'd return if I were in the area. Well, I need to, I still haven't had the Loco Moco here.

Kealani's
137 W D St
Encinitas, CA 92024
(760) 94-ALOHA

Mon-Tue 11:00AM- 8:00PM
Wed 11:00AM- 6:00PM
Thu-Sat 11:00AM- 8:00PM
Closed Sunday

also at

207 N Coast Hwy
Oceanside, CA 92054

Saturday Snack – Ono’s Cafe

May 6, 2006 mmm-yoso Bakery, Caffeine Fix, Desserts, Local Kine Stuffs in San Diego

*** Ono's has closed

A while back I heard of a small coffee/tea/dessert shop in the Bonita area called Ono's (love the name) that supposedly served Malasadas. Yep, Malasada's.

Now nothing can make an Ex-Pat Kama'aina as homesick as the thought of hot and fluffy Malasadas from Leonard's Bakery in Honolulu. For those who don't know what a Malasada is; think of it as a Donut without a hole, fried to a nice golden brown crisp on the outside, with a light and fluffy interior. Served piping hot, there is nothing that quite compares to it in my book. Though Portuguese in origin, Malasadas has long been an Island favorite. So naturally, this made Ono's a "must-try".

Ono's is tucked away behind a branch of Well Fargo on Bonita Road. Though hidden from the street, once in the parking lot, you can't miss the "statue".

The decor is a tasteful Asian-influenced tropical, with "New Age" Asian instrumental music piped in. On this day the Cafe was quite full, with people having tea or coffee, and various desserts like Kahlua Cheesecake.

I did find a sign for Malasadas, 9 for $3.50! Now that is very, very inexpensive. I placed my order, and was told that it would be an 8 to 10 minute wait. Soon enough, a small white package was delivered to me. I opened it as soon as I got to the car.

Though the donuts were golden brown, and smelled heavenly, these looked more like donut holes then Malasadas. I guess that explains the price. As I took a bite, I noticed that the interior of this small donut was cake-like and pretty dense. Overall these tasted pretty good, since they were served hot and fresh.

The texture was somewhere between a Malasada and Andagi, the dense Okinawan "donut". These really weren't Malasadas in my book.

Even though I was expecting Malasadas, and these didn't fit the bill, they still tasted good when "hot". Though I wouldn't go out of my way to visit Ono's in the future, I'd probably drop by for a cup of coffee or some dessert if I'm in the neighborhood.

Notes: Service was friendly and efficient. There are a number of desserts, smoothies, and other drinks available.

Ono's
4154 Bonita Rd
Bonita, CA 91902

Shaka Hawaiian BBQ – A Rice-aholic Relapse

May 3, 2006 mmm-yoso Local Kine Stuffs in San Diego, Plate Lunch

*** Shaka Hawaiian BBQ is now called "Mahina’s"

Now I must admit that I’ve finally fallen off the wagon…..you see we’ve been trying to cut down on our rice consumption. First we cut down our portion sizes, which all led to our going several meals without rice. Now for the Missus, this was not a substantial change. She hails from Northern China, where dough is king. But for yours truly, born and raised on white rice, it was a very significant change. On a normal day, it wouldn’t have been unusual for me to have rice three times a day…..but that has all changed. Call it "Chinese mind control" if you will( courtesy of the Missus), but whatever the reason it has worked. Until now…….

It all started with a record 6 days without rice. We began on our last day in Rowland Heights, and Dim Sum at Happy Harbor, followed by several days of salads(yep you heard right) for lunch and sandwiches for dinner, followed by a couple of days of steamed buns and Xiao Long Bao. By about the fourth day I felt a bit odd, as if a piece of "me" was missing (it was probably the "mi fan"). On the fifth day I was just craving rice, but doing my best to fight it off. Until on the sixth day, some steamed buns in the microwave, I was going over my old Emails. Now one of the really great things about having this little ol’ food blog is that I get recommendations all the time. So I reread an Email about a new "Hawaiian BBQ" in Pacific Beach sent a few months back by Campy, followed by one by Mizducky. A few Emails past that is one from Howie mentioning the same Hawaiian BBQ. Aargh! What’s a rice starved "local boy" to do?

So I drove with a severe sense of urgency down Garnet avenue. All the while thinking of Rice! Rice Hash! Rice Gravy! Rice A La King! Gallons of Rice Soup!(guess where I stole this from) And arrived at the corner Garnet and Fanuel. You really can’t miss the sign:

Nor the very bright storefront. Is orange the new "in" color, or is it because manufacturers are overstocked? It seems that every other restaurant I’ve been in recently has been orange.

Now nothing against the colors, but if I had used these during finger painting class, I would’ve gotten an ‘F’. That said, the small interior of the restaurant was very clean, and ORANGE……

By the time I made it to the counter, my mouth practically foaming, I almost fainted…..the first thing I saw were the "Atkin’s Low Carb Plates"!($4.99 mini/$6.99regular) By this time I was so starved for rice that I felt any protein served on my plate would be like a garnish(think parsley sprigs) for my RIIICE! So I asked the very nice Young Man at the counter about something called a "Shaka Pac" and a "Shaka Bento", and he proceeded to go over the contents, but he left out one thing. "Does it have RICE, man! Lot’s of RICE!" "Ummm, yes, of course, unless you don’t want…" "NOOOO, NO, I’ll take it!"

I got the Shaka Pac($7.99):

So how was it? Well the rice was delicious! Oh, the other stuff? Well this "bento-like" plate had two pieces of butterflied pieces of shrimp coated with panko then deep-fried and lightly salted. Very good, not oily, light, and crunchy. Alas, the BBQ Chicken, was much the same as most of these Hawaiian BBQ joints make them nowadays. That would be under marinated, tough, and relatively bland. Where’s the marinade, bruddah??? The BBQ Ribs, were surprisingly soft and tender, though again not marinated enough. Sufficient food for the price, though it sure won’t make me forget about a Zip Pac or a Surf Pac.

I also ordered a Mini Chicken Cutlet($4.99):

First off, I thought the portion of rice was kinda small – though it could’ve been my rice withdrawals "speaking". Totally routine breaded chicken, with "insta-gravy", though the gravy did have enough salt and pepper in it. The macaroni salad tasted almost exactly like the version I had at Hawaiian Express BBQ except with a bit more mayo. Terrible, too much pickle juice, not enough mayo, just not enough. I did think the portion size was on the small side.

Shaka Hawaiian BBQ along with Lau Lau, Kalua Pork, Chili with Rice, and Loco Moco, also serves up a few other interesting items; such as a "Shaka Moco", basically a Loco Moco with Spam and Portuguese Sausage and Pineapple Chicken (I’ll pass).

One last note on the service. Kudo’s to the Young Man working the counter, he’s fantastic. He would follow up with every table to make sure that they enjoyed their food. I’m sure it made everything taste better. When he thought I’d been waiting too long for my take-out, he came on up to me with a cup and asked me if I wanted something to drink. Just think if I were to add caffeine to my already severely carb depleted state? (He even asked if I wanted a Hawaiian Sun drink)But I thought it was a nice gesture, what a great Kid!

So, I guess I’ve fallen off the wagon…and staying there. Though I did once go something like 4 weeks in Columbus, Georgia without rice(I finally went to a bad Chinese Restaurant, and they served Uncle Ben’s…….), I don’t plan too many riceless days.

Hey, pssssst:

Anyone?

Shaka Hawaiian BBQ
1315 Garnet Ave
San Diego, CA 92109

also

Grossmont Shopping Center Food Court
5500 Grossmont Center Drive
La Mesa, CA 91942

Island Boy Grille

March 14, 2006 mmm-yoso Local Kine Stuffs in San Diego, Loco Mocos, Plate Lunch

*** Island Boy Grille has closed…..

You could say Island Boy Grille and I have had a star-crossed relationship. No matter how hard I tried I could never make it into the front door of Island Boy. When I was doing consulting work in San Diego in the late 90’s I’d heard of two "Local Kine" restaurants. One being Da Kine’s, and the other being Island Boy Grille, at that time located in the Gaslamp Quarter. But try as I might, I was never able to make it to Island Boy Grille, the one time I tried, I couldn’t find any metered parking, and wasn’t about to pay $5 or more for parking to grab a plate lunch. Once we moved to San Diego, I tried to find Island Boy, but had found that the Gaslamp location had closed down. I did find out that there was a Sorrento Mesa location, so I checked out my Thomas Guide (what we used before Mapquest), and drove up. But alas, it was a Saturday, and they were closed on weekends. On another occasion I drove up after work to find….them closed. They had changed hours and were no longer open until 630pm.

Finally, I recently took a vacation day, and had an opportunity to make to Island Boy Grille during their regular business hours, which are 11am til 230 pm. Talk about Lunch Wagon hours! I arrived at about 1pm and looked over the menu.

During which time the Gentleman behind the counter impatiently waited for me to make up my mind. Talk about pressure, I felt forced to blurt out what I wanted. Funny thing is, right next to the menu is the usual "Please Be Patient" sign; I guess patience goes only one way in this case.

I placed my order and took a seat, and had time to admire the cool Primo Beer memorabilia.

I had ordered the "Wasa" Plate($8.99), essentially a mixed plate with two menu items. The plate comes with rice (of course!), a green salad, and a choice of one "side". I ordered Chicken Katsu and Grilled Teriyaki Chicken as my entree items.

I had forgotten to tell them to not include the pineapple ring on my teriyaki chicken. Those pineapple rings bring back all those negative connotations of when Hawaiian Food was ham with a pineapple ring on the top. Anyway, the Grilled Teriyaki Chicken was very dry and leathery, and was not well marinated, as it also was quite bland. I felt like the chicken was sitting around in a pan for a while. The Chicken Katsu was fine, moist and tender, but because the "katsu sauce" was applied when the plate was put together, the panko crust was soggy by the time I managed to eat it. (20 minutes) This doesn’t really make sense since a container of katsu sauce was included with the plate.

Thankfully, this was Japanese-style Katsu Sauce, not the lousy, gloppy sweet sour stuff that many Hawaiian Barbecues serve.

The best item on the plate was the "side" I ordered, the Chicken Long Rice:

Though short on chicken, the long rice(bean thread) was well flavored. Nice poultry flavor, with a mild ginger taste.

I of course also ordered a Loco Moco($6.95):

If you are a regular reader; you know of my love of Loco Moco’s. I’m also sure you would like to know how this "Loco" measures up. Even though Bruddah James of Big Island Grinds is in the process of modifying His Loco Moco Scale, I’ll use my tried and true "Modified Rubio Scale."

BURGER: The Good; hand formed and grilled patty. The Bad; very dry and bland, also tasted "old" like it had been sitting around for a day or two. 2.0

EGGS: I really "dug" the heart shaped styling, but the eggs weren’t seasoned and were overcooked, with the yolks solid. 2.0

RICE: Good, and cooked perfectly. Sorry to say this was the best part of the loco. 3.0

GRAVY: Nice and dark, but almost totally tasteless. 2.5

STUFFS: The macaroni salad wasn’t bad, the green salad along with the dressing was unremarkable. 2.5

TOTAL: 11.0 Funny thing, this was almost a splitting image of the Loco at Da Kine’s, though the portion size was larger(and priced higher).

In the end I felt like all of the energy expended in my quest to have a plate lunch at Island Boy Grille was for naught. But I’d never had known if I hadn’t tried, right?

Island Boy Grille
10066 Pacific Heights Blvd
San Diego, CA 92121
Hours: Mon – Fri 11am-230pm

For those that don’t want a somewhat irrelevant and silly story; it’s time to leave.

Way back when, a group of "us Guys" had just finished an evening of libations and other "activities" at an establishment called "Steel Wings", does anybody remember this place?(I’m really dating myself here) We were having our "post-club" breakfast at McCully Zippy’s, when my Buddy spotted a Young Lady he had been vigorously pursuing at the nightclub sitting at a nearby table. He caught his breath as She smiled, stood up, and starting walking up to us. As she reached our table, she stuck a cigarette in her mouth, and in the worst, fingernail on chalkboard, loud high pitched squeal, asked my friend:

"AAAAY, YOU GET ONE MATCH, HUH?"
As my shocked and speechless friend nodded that he did not. She turned and walked away and concluded the one way conversation with:
"KAY ‘DEN, LATA’S"
Then unsteadily turned to her friends, and said; "AAY, TIME TO BAG OUT….."
I almost fell out of my seat, but I was mesmerized by the cigarette wobbling up and down in her lips as she spoke. I couldn’t for the life of me figure out how she could talk so loud and keep that unlit cigarette in her mouth. I felt soooo bad for my Buddy, as I watched his "dream" crushed before my eyes!

Just goes to show, that sometimes the pursuit of a goal is just not worth it!

Ohana Hawaiian BBQ

February 6, 2006 mmm-yoso Local Kine Stuffs in San Diego, Loco Mocos, Plate Lunch

It’s been a while since, I’ve done a plate lunch post. I’ve been mainly sticking to Da’ Kitchen, but I decided that I needed to branch out a bit and took a drive down to National City and dropped by Ohana Hawaiian BBQ.

Ohana Hawaiian BBQ resides in the same busy mall as Seafood City, Golden Chopsticks, and Asian Noodles. Whenever we’re able to find a parking spot on our first go-round, the Missus will say, "hey, it’s your lucky day, did you buy a lottery ticket?"

The interior of Ohana seems very lively with splashes of green and orange to go along with the bright lighting. The word "Ohana" in the broadest sense, means "family". So I would guess that I would be treated as extended family by eating here. So as I walked up to the counter I was greeted with a "Yeah"…….no hello, no can I take your order, but just "yeah"…… Well if you think about it, we actually do greet each this way in my family. So maybe Ohana is trying to make me feel right at home. What was interesting was that the entire time I was waiting for my food, a Gentleman and a Young Lady were hunched over a calculator, intensely "crunching numbers"! I guess he was trying to figure out how feed His "Ohana".

Of course I ordered a Loco Moco($5.95):

The first thing I noticed when I opened up my Loco Moco was all of the little grains of black "stuff" on the eggs. Now what causes that? Answer! A grill that hasn’t been cleaned! Believe me, Wok Hay is great stuff, but I’ve never heard of wok hay from a griddle. The eggs tasted of burnt soy sauce.

So the grade on the Rubio Scale? Here goes:

BURGER: Pre-formed mass production burger, bland, dry as heck, cold, and obviously been sitting around for a while. – 1.0
EGGS: Over cooked, the yolk was solid, any respectable Loco Moco should have soft cooked yolks. Crunchy, bitter, charred black bits all over the egg. Terrible! – 0.5(The only zero is if they forget the eggs all together, or I get food poisoning)
RICE: Well cooked; I also enjoyed the placement of rice under the eggs, burger, and gravy. – 3.0
GRAVY:Dark and smooth, but under seasoned and on the bland side.- 2.5
STUFFS: Good macaroni salad. – 3.0

Overall score; 10 points, the lowest so far.

I also ordered the BBQ Chicken all Rice($5.99):

As I opened up the container, I knew where the black crunchies came from. I think the eggs had been cooked on the remnants of the chicken. Not good eats! The chicken was well seasoned, though on the dry side, but nicely caramelized, and though the outside was nice and warm, the interior was quite cold. In summary; an average Hawaiian BBQ chicken, no better, no worse then what I get from any other Hawaiian BBQ.

Ohana Hawaiian BBQ, is pretty much an L & L knock-off. Though there are some interesting items on the menu like Mochiko Chicken, Volcano Chicken, and Spam Loco Moco. I don’t know if I’ll be returning though.

Ohana Hawaiian BBQ
1430 E. Plaza Blvd
National City, CA 91950

Da’ Kitchen – Finally Good Local Kine Grindz in San Diego

December 5, 2005 mmm-yoso Local Kine Stuffs in San Diego, Loco Mocos, Plate Lunch

*** Da’ Kitchen is now Mo’s Island Grinds, same great people, the food is also the same!

Every few months or so, I either hear of a new Plate Lunch or "Local"(Hawaiian) style restaurant in San Diego, either through the "coconut wireless" or Emails, that go something like this:

"I just wanted to inform you of a new Hawaiian place that my husband and I ate at that’s soooooooooo good! they have the best Kalbi and loco moco I have ever had……." And while I really enjoy and appreciate the comments and recommendations (keep ’em coming folks), most of them usually end up being L & L knock-offs. Nothing wrong with L&L, but to me, a "real" plate lunch, has a certain vibe, taste, and character. While I do eat at L&L, I kind of equate them to the Starbucks of the plate lunch world. The closest we have to a plate lunch place here in San Diego, albeit mediocre, is Da’ Kines, until now that is.

You see first of all the name of this place was Da’ Kitchen, and years ago I ate at Da’ Kitchen on Maui. So now you’ve really got my attention.

Getting out on the Carroll Canyon Road exit off the 15 Freeway I got to Da’ Kitchen, and parked my car. First thing I noticed was just a simple sign over the entrance. Da’ Kitchen had just been open 2 weeks. I looked over the grease board "menu", and the first thing that struck me were the prices. Kalbi for $9.95? Sheesh! But I went forward and placed an order. While waiting for my order, I had a nice chat with Jocelyn, one of the Owners, along with her Husband who runs the kitchen. If these plate lunches were as good as Jocelyn was nice and friendly, it was going to be a pretty good meal.

Here’s the Kalbi ($9.95):

Well first off, there were 5 pieces of cross cut kalbi, 5 pieces! These were well marinated and fairly tender, which is what you want. Most times they are too tough and rubbery, or over marinated and mushy. The marinade was excellent, just slightly sweet, and the ribs were nicely grilled. The plate came with one large scoop of rice and a macaroni-potato salad, which was kind of bland, and in need of salt. Overall, a good example of "local style" Kalbi, which differs a bit from Korean style.

I also ordered the Hawaiian Plate($10.75):

As a whole this was just okay. The laulau was nice and moist with alot of luau(taro) leaf, but with very little meat. The Chicken Long Rice had too much ginger in it. The Kalua Pork on the other hand was very moist, with a mild smoked flavor, and was the best item on the plate. This plate came with rice and the macaroni-potato salad, which was put in a container of it’s own.

The Fish Tempura($8.95):

Imagine five pieces of fish(I think it was Mahi Mahi??), yes the plate has five pieces of fish. What surprised me the most, was that the fish was still very crunchy and moist after the drive home. The tempura batter has what looks like furikake(Japanese Seaweed condiment) in it that adds to the taste. I wasn’t too crazy about the tartar sauce, and ended up using malt vinegar, which made it delici-yoso!!!

But the plate that brought tears to my eyes was this:

Yes, it’s a Loco Moco($7.75). If you read this blog regularly, you’ll know that I love "loco’s". This was a good one! As explained by Jocelyn, a 10-12 oz. homemade patty, 2 extra-large eggs easy over, brown gravy, topped with mushrooms and onions, rice, and macaroni-potato salad. A true thing of beauty! And they sneaked in an extra scoop of rice under the Burger! So I thought I’d use the infamous Modified Rubio Scoring System developed by James of Big Island Grinds.

Here’s how it measured up:

BURGER: Handmade and moist, and pretty huge. Maybe a bit too much filler, but nicely seared and seasoned. 4.0

EGGS: Cooked well, easy over, and yolks still runny. Could have been more crisp around the edges. But extra large eggs means bonus points. 4.5

RICE: Perfect, not dry. And those sneaky Bugga’s wen stash one scoop unda da burga la’ dat! You gotta love that. 5.0

GRAVY: Very nice color and texture, velvety, deep and dark brown. The taste was mildly beefy, but could have been better flavored. 4.0

STUFFS: Not enough flavor in the salad, actually tasted better with the gravy on it. And I really didn’t think the mushrooms and onions brought anything other then a bit of eye appeal to the dish. 3.0

Overall 20.5 points, the most I’ve ever given a Loco (so far)! How I finished it, I’ll never know.

Today I though I’d try the Chicken Katsu($7.75):

This was a "triple-decker" Katsu monster, fried golden brown, moist and delicious. And best of all, real Katsu sauce, not that runny sweet sour, garbage that L&L serves up. And the macaroni-potato salad tasted better today, just a bit of salt, that brought out the potato flavor. I only made it through 1 1/2 layers. As I was leaving, Jocelyn asked me how I did, so I showed her. She gave me a smile of pitying disapproval; sort of a "you’re a girly-man" sort of smile.

I also got a plate of the Korean Chicken($7.75) to go:

These are pieces of chicken marinated in a sweet soy mixture, then battered and fried. It comes with a mildly spicy and sweet soy sauce concoction. Sweet, salty, crunchy, and slightly spicy, a nice combination of taste and texture(think almost mochiko); this is the Missus’s favorite by far. In fact, I think I’ll get the dipping sauce for the Fish Tempura next time!

The restaurant, though sparse, gives off a laid-back vibe. And I get the feeling that no matter how crowded it might be here, it would still feel very relaxing.

As you can tell, Da’ Kitchen has been added to our rotation. So bring your appetite and give them a try!

By the way Jo, they have a branch in Mountain View!

Da’ Kitchen
9823 Carroll Canyon Rd.
San Diego, CA 92131

Open Mon-Sat 10am – 8pm