Plate Lunch – Page 8

It’s called the revisits game – can you guess where? ***10/10/10 – It’s Homestyle Hawaiian/Pho King/Mien Trung

October 6, 2010 mmm-yoso Bun Bo Hue, Loco Mocos, Plate Lunch, Vietnamese Restaurants

I'm feeling a bit tired today, so I thought I'd minimize the writing and post mostly photos. So here are some revisits. I know I usually post the storefront before the food, but this time I'll post the food first, then at the end, I'll post the storefront. I've posted on these places maybe too many times, so if you've been reading for a couple of years, you'll recognize them right away.

So here goes…..

#1:

#2:

#3:

So, made your guesses?

All right then…. here are the restaurants.

The first place is:

That Loco Moco is from Homestyle Hawaiian.

That Hu Tieu Mi Kho can only be from….

That Pho King Restaurant! Sorry, I couldn't help with the childish humor…. in fact, I named the photos "more Pho King". OK, can I have just one more? The folks in the office enjoy…..whoa, almost did it again, they like….well…..oh geez…..you get the point! I was drinking my coffee one day, and I mentioned that we hadn't eaten here in a while. To which "MG" exclaimed loudly, "oh yes, I miss Pho King!" The expression on her face after saying that was classic…..she had that "I wish I could reach out and grab what I said and stuff it back into my mouth" look. I nearly snorted my coffee out of my nose…. and could only manage a weak…. "I think you'd better tell your husband." Such is the "Pho King effect". 'nuff said…..

And finally that bowl of Bun Bo Hue is from:

So how many of you got three out of three?

Revisits: Pho Ca Dao (El Cajon Blvd) and Homestyle Hawaiian

August 27, 2010 mmm-yoso Local Kine Stuffs in San Diego, Pho, Plate Lunch

Just a quick post on a couple of revisits for Friday:

Pho Ca Dao – El Cajon Blvd:

I don't know what's up with the Missus…. but summer has finally truly broken here in San Diego… and She wants Pho! Go figure. We were in the El Cajon area, and decided to stop by Pho Ca Dao. Nowadays with locations in both Mira Mesa and Rancho Bernardo, you really have to specify. One thing I've noticed about the other locations of Pho Ca Dao…… the broth seems to have less "oil", and is not as rich.

I've posted on this place a couple of times before so I'll keep it short and sweet. On this day, the broth was on the "scummy" side, which is a no-no for Pho. The flavor was decent. What Pho Ca Dao does best, at least for me, is tendon. And on this day it was as good as always.

The noodles, in the standard clump-in-a-bowl was fine.

I tend to visit whenever I'm in a tendon mood…… ;o)

Pho Ca Dao
5223 El Cajon Blvd
San Diego, CA 92115

Homestyle Hawaiian:

I hadn't been back to see Mo at Homestyle Hawaiian in over six months! So I decided to see how he was doing, and ordered a combo plate – Chicken Katsu and Korean Chicken.

Geeez, I'd forgotten how huge his plate lunches are. The katsu sauce here is ketchup based, and though not quite like Grace's, it does bring back memories of home.

Even though Mo gave me extra sauce for the Korean Chicken, it didn't quite taste the way it used to.

It was still good, but milder in flavor…. perhaps it hadn't marinated long enough. Still, you sure get your money's worth here. Much like Tita's, I've never been able to polish off a plate solo. Luckily, on this day I split it with my coworker. This was more rice than I saw on my entire trip to China!

Mo is still nice as always, though I wish he'd give the place a good scrub down. I do understand that he does it all, takes orders, cooks, and serves the food, so I tend to cut him a bit more slack.

Homestyle Hawaiian Island Style Food
7524 Mesa College Drive
San Diego, CA 92111

Happy Aloha Friday to everyone:

Kiki Sato’s Teriyaki and Burgers – Oceanside

July 11, 2010 mmm-yoso Loco Mocos, Plate Lunch

*** Kiki Sato's has closed.

Like many I know, when I first moved to the mainland, I really missed my "local kine grindz". So finding April Hiraki-Morris's Southern California Plate Lunch Connection back in 1998 was a godsend for me. On occasion, April will send out one of "update" style emails, it's good to know that "One Scoop Mac, Two Scoop Rice" is still going strong…. for ova' ten years now! I recently received an email from April announcing that a new place called Kiki Sato's had opened up in Oceanside. I read it, but still, it was up in Oceanside. A few days later I received an email telling me I needed to check this place out. It was a "one-off" email from someone I hadn't received anything from before. This would usually set off the "shill alarms"….. and depending on interest, I'd usually just ignore. But there was one thing in the email that made me think that it wasn't a shill. The person kept misspelling the name, typing "Kinky Sato's" instead of Kiki Sato! A few days later, April forwarded an email from someone who ate at Kiki Sato's, and extolled the virtues of the Loco Moco. That triggered off something in my head….. after all, how long has it been since I'd had a Loco Moco? Which is why I set off on the 35+ mile journey to Ocean Ranch Plaza, and Kiki Sato's…. so new, that a banner still announces that you've arrived.

The interior suits the mall, which houses a Roberto's next door. It is of course, brand new, and quite colorful, and fast-foodish in character.

The menu is fairly small, which can be a good thing, and as you can tell by the "Teriyaki" in the name of the restaurant, there's a definite Japanese slant to the menu. I'm thinking FOY Dennis, being the big time Mapo Tofu fan might be interested in the Mapo Tofu and Pork.

There was a moment of levity when the very nice young lady asked me if I wanted brown rice instead of white rice with my Loco Moco. Laughing, I replied, "brown rice would kinda defeat the purpose, wouldn't it?" Which made her crack-up as well.

All plate lunches comes with Miso Soup…. a pretty large bowl of miso soup.

Which tasted pretty much like an after thought. Not that I expected anything more.

Here's the Loco Moco ($7.49), which I chose with a hamburger (you can have it with Spam if desired):

So how did this measure up? The portion size is on the smallish side, again, based on the artery clogging potential of the Loco Moco, this ain't necessarily bad. The rest I'll leave up to the "Modified Rubio" scale, which I first described here. So here goes:

BURGER: Hand formed, pressed really tight which made it tougher than it needed to be. The grind is really fine, and there's a strong black pepper component to the flavor. Still, this heads above the typical "Hawaiian BBQ" mass produced burger – 4.5

EGGS: Or should I say egg? It was just ok…. I'd prefer a softer, more runny yolk, and some salt on the egg. 2.5

RICE: Excellent, you could count every grain if you wanted to. – 4.5

GRAVY: It's a onion brown gravy, as with much of the dish, a bit lower in the sodium department . There was not enough of it to cover all my rice, and even more strange, it seemed that the rice was placed in the gravy, instead of being poured over the rice. I know, leave it to me to complain about gravy placement. Still, it does matter. 3.0

STUFFS: Plate lunches here come with both Mac Salad and a choice of a green salad or a spicy edamame salad. I got the edamame which was ok, not very spicy, but at least the edamame wasn't cooked to death. I thought the Mac Salad was very good; nicely chilled, not over-mayo'd. It could have used a bit more of a savory presence, but it was quite good. 3.5

TOTAL: 18 which is pretty good. Way above all the Hawaiian BBQ places, but still below, say the Kaloko Moco.

The service is very friendly, and I'd surely try other dishes on the menu if I lived, perhaps 10-15 miles away. As it stands, I may drop by again if I'm in the area, after all…. I want to see what the Wasabi Burger is all about….

Kiki Sato's Teriyaki & Burgers
3617 Ocean Ranch Blvd.#105
Oceanside, CA 92056

More on Homestyle Hawaiian

September 18, 2009 mmm-yoso Local Kine Stuffs in San Diego, Plate Lunch

About two weeks ago, I mentioned that Mo was back with Homestyle Hawaiian. So here's the second part….sorta…..

Two weeks is but a blink of an eye for a new business, and Mo's still making adjustments, some long term, some like this temporary(click to enlarge):

The good thing is, you can kinda keep up with things with Homestyle Hawaiian on Twitter.

It does look like the menu is pretty much set, but it's just like Mo to keep his "old time" customers happy.

One of my favorite things are "mixed plates" aka "combo plates", after all everyone loves variety, right? It does run two bucks or so (depending what you get) more, but the portions are slightly larger, and like I mentioned before, you get variety. Like this Chicken Katsu, Korean Chicken mixed plate:

As with Mo's Island Grinds, our favorite overall dish is the Korean Chicken, and the Missus loves the sauce aka Korean Sauce that Mo uses for that dish. Mo mentioned that while on hiatus, several other Hawaiian BBQ joints actually offered to but his recipe.

Those that know me are also aware that I love my Katsu…. in all forms. Breaded and served with Katsu Sauce, Mo's is almost "local kine" which is more ketchup based, than the "Bulldog" and other similar Japanese sauces. At Homestyle Hawaiian, add some Korean Sauce, and you have Lava Chicken, and even though it's not on the menu, you can request a Chicken Cutlet($5)…… in this case it's Katsu covered with gravy:

A nice touch was the gravy on the rice, and the scoop of rice under the chicken smothered in gravy.

Even though Mo wasn't born and raised in Hawaii he seems to understand the changes in tastes. We once had a discussion of "Local Kine Plate Lunch Kalbi" which tends to a more sweet flavor, probably because many of the early Lunchwagons and "Drive-Ins" that served this in the Islands were of Japanese ancestry. My tastes have changed since moving to the Mainland, but if you enjoy a sweeter Kalbi, you'll love the version here.

That's not to say that things always stay the same. I've never been a big fan of the Macaroni Salad at Mo's, and now at Homestyle Hawaiian. On my last two visits however, the salad is less heavy, and has more flavor:

And then there are the "works in progress" such as Meat Jun.

Apparently, it's still being developed……. I haven't found anything close to decent since leaving the Islands. Meat Jun is pretty much a Hawaii thing (BTW, my favorite was from Choi's Family Kitchen), so it'll be interesting following the progress of this dish.

And then there's this:

Need a closer look?

Recognize it? Probably not, since it's not served at Homestyle Hawaiian…. well not really. I've always joked with Mo, telling him that the Missus's favorite thing is the Korean Sauce, and it seems that She relishes the drippings from Korean Chicken on the cabbage garnish on the bottom of the plate! When I've mentioned this to Mo, he's always laughed and shakes his head. And though it's kinda embarrassing, I always ask for some extra sauce when I order Korean Chicken, and Mo being a nice guy, will always give it to us. So we saved up our Korean Sauce, until I had enough. I shredded some cabbage, sliced some cucumber, and topped with some mint. I heated the sauce to wilt the cabbage a bit……. and I had that! Of course it was missing the nice protein-fatty flavor from the chicken, but the Missus wiped the whole thing out. I normally wouldn't mention this except…… on a recent visit, I was sitting and eating my plate, when a couple came in to order some food for a small catering thing. During the discussion, the gentleman also wanted to get an order of "coleslaw". Mo told the guy he "doesn't serve coleslaw"….. Like a schoolkid trying to score points with the teacher I raised my hand, "oh-oh Mo…. I know exactly what he wants, Exxxx-xactly what he wants…." When I mentioned this to the Missus, She gave me the ultimate "I told you so look".

As I write this, Homestyle Hawaiian is still sorta a work in progress; it's still cash only, the hours are changing from week to week, etc, etc….. So I guess we'll need to follow things on Twitter for a bit. Hopefully, it'll all be worth it in the end.

Homestyle Hawaiian Island Style Food
7524 Mesa College Drive
San Diego, CA 92111

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Mo’s back at Homestyle Hawaiian Island Style Food

September 3, 2009 mmm-yoso Local Kine Stuffs in San Diego, Loco Mocos, Plate Lunch

*** A short update can be found here.

I know a lot of folks were really sad when Mo's Island Grinds closed down. Over the last six months, I was wondering what happened to Mo. I know he was going thru some pretty rough times personally. Then about two weeks ago I get a really strange comment on my A & D Hawaiian BBQ post, "hey kirk, check out this place that just opened up. It's called homestyle hawaiian. Your going to get a kick out of this place. " It from someone named "Mo". Could it be??? Unfortunately, no address or general location for a place called Homestyle Hawaiian. The email address was bogus……. Strange, a mystery, many questions…..

The story finally broke when I received a couple more comments from "Mo". Which led me to the strip mall on the corner of Mesa College Drive and Ashford. Those who've read long enough may recognize this as the former location of Phil-Am Kitchenette.

The old signage is still up, but a banner had been placed on the awning. It read "Homestyle Hawaiian", so I guess I was here? A folding grease pencil board was up in front of the entrance, and in the classic "Mo's" style all the offerings for the day were listed.

The interior is a bit cluttered with Hawaiian kitsch-y knick-knacks, doo-dads, and thing-a-ma-jiggies……

The floors could maybe use a bit of a scrubbing….but there he was, Mo, in the flesh. Open only for about ten days, hadn't really told anyone about opening. Over the last six months, Mo has been keeping himself busy with catering gigs, and just plain laying low.

Of course I wanted my favorite dish, the Korean Chicken, and maybe some Katsu, but Mo was having a new fryer installed, so I'd have to wait until the weekend for that. I settled for a Loco Moco:

Mo told me that portions were a bit smaller than the gin-normous sizes back at Mo's, and prices now start at five bucks for some items. The loco moco was one of the items that has remained the same, three scoops rice (double-deckered, plus one under the burger), 12 oz patty, etc, etc, etc….. It tasted just the way I remembered, you can read about it here.

I realize that Loco Mocos aren't for everyone, but this a pretty good version.

So there you go, Mo is back in action. Currently, he is the only employee, so he'll be taking your order, cooking your food, and working the register. I'm hoping things work out, and will be back for some Korean Chicken in the near future.

Homestyle Hawaiian Island Style Food
7524 Mesa College Drive
San Diego, CA 92111

A & D Hawaiian BBQ – National City

June 7, 2009 mmm-yoso Chicken Wings, Local Kine Stuffs in San Diego, Loco Mocos, Plate Lunch

**** A&D has closed

Well, there I was in Grove Plaza Center with the intent of grabbing a bite at Karihan. Unfortunately, there was no Kare-Kare on this morning, and for some reason, all of the food looked like it had been "sitting around" for quite a while….at 11am in the morning. So I decided to head next door to A&D Hawaiian BBQ.

I've been kinda down on the whole Hawaiian BBQ thing………most of it seems to be a bunch of folks who could care less about what they plop on a plate, who are just looking to make some $$$ (replacing Spam with Treet – heresy I say!). And frankly, after looking over the menu at A&D, full of the usual suspects, I wasn't particularly moved. But it had been so long since I've had even a borderline terrible Lau Lau, that I was willing to sell my soul, and drop my standards. Luckily, or perhaps unluckily, there was no Lau Lau, only Kalua Pork available.

So I made an adjustment, and placed my order, and waited. Meanwhile, I gazed upon the borderline neon green walls. During my wait, the very nice Woman manning the counter was constantly cleaning. Now A&D isn't the most visually pleasing little place, the tables have various names, initials, and other verbiage carved into them, and it does look a bit aged for a place that's only been in this location for a year, but man this woman was really cleaning……

Unable to make a decision, I had ordered the ubiquitous "BBQ Mix" ($7.29). The nice lady brought the styrofoam container over to my table, and when I grabbed it, it felt like it must've weighed two pounds…..

And everything was hot…so hot that it steamed up my camera lens, and I had to wait for a minute or two to take photos. As with all these BBQ Mix plates, all the regulars were in attendance. The BBQ Short Ribs…please don't call them Kalbi….they are about as close to Kalbi as I am to Brad Pitt. That said, these were not bad, not as tough as the usual cross cut short ribs are, the marinade is not as sweet as many, which is fine with me.

The BBQ Beef was well marinated, pulling toward more of a ginger-shoyu flavor. It was also fairly tender, and without the usual "sugi", which is what we call nylon fishing line back home, the usual tough, and inedible tendon that is usually found.

The BBQ chicken looked on the light side, but was pretty tender. The norm would be chicken that had been marinated, pre-cooked, dumped back into a steam tray with marinade, and reheated before serving, making it really tough. I really got the feeling, based on the wait time, and how hot everything was, that these folks cook their stuff to order.

I really liked the Mac Salad, it was nice and cold, with a perfect amount of mayo, and some salt for a change. The rice was a bit hard and dry, though.

There was one more item that I had to order. On the door is a sign. That sign says "6 Piece Chicken Wing Special – $1.99". Yes, it seems that A&D is in the Salt and Pepper Chicken wing business.

The batter on these is light, and crisp, and the chicken is juicy, but it does not hold up well, and lacks the "crack-like" addictive flavor.

This way too much food for me, so I took half of it home. What I thought was interesting, was that the Missus had pretty much the same opinion. And I didn't even tell Her what I thought of the food. They say after you've been married for a while……….

A few weeks later, I was in the area, and decided to drop by A&D again. This time I paid a bit more heed to the menu, and had to chuckle at the "Healthy Meals" portion. since when is Chicken Katsu or Crispy Shrimp, considered healthy? Perhaps they mean a "healthy appetite"?

Being the predictable person I am, I of course ordered:

Yes, a Loco Moco ($6.99). I readily admit that I have a thing about the two easy over eggs, hamburger patties, gravy, over rice. It is something that I long for on a visceral level. So how does this rate on the modified "Rubio Scale", created by James Rubio of Big Island Grinds. For those not familiar with the scale, you can check out my post from waaaaay back in 2005. And in case you're wondering, why the Big Island? It is believed that the Loco Moco was created on the Big Island circa 1949. Sorry to say that I wasn't able to sample the Loco from the Lincoln Grill, but the Missus and I have had more than our share from Cafe100.

So moving right along…….

#1 – The Burger – Pure and simple pre-formed. Tough. – 2.0 points

#2 Eggs – A bite overcooked for me. But worse of all, they didn't clean the griddle before frying the eggs. Too many black, "mystery bits". – 1.0 points

#3 Rice – Perfectly cooked this time. – 3.0 points

#4 Gravy – Wow, really salty….really, really, salty. I've hardly ever left gravy to sit and congeal, but had to this time. – 1.0 points.

#5 Stuffs – In this case the Macaroni Salad, which wasn't as good as my previous visit, but still pretty good. – 3.0 points.

For a total of 13.0 points, which ranks it as being fairly mediocre, even by Hawaiian BBQ standards.

Overall, A&D serves up standard Hawaiian BBQ fare. I felt that with regards to the BBQ, you get a pretty hefty size portion of food, which was pretty good. There are also $4.99 specials such as Chicken Katsu. The service was, at least for me, a notch above the standard indifferent service at most of these places.

A&D Hawaiian BBQ
Grove Plaza Center
2220 Plaza Blvd
National City, CA 91950

Open Daily – 11am – 9pm

Some Revisits: Do Re Mi House and Leilani’s Restaurant

March 30, 2009 mmm-yoso Korean Restaurants, Local Kine Stuffs in San Diego, Loco Mocos, Plate Lunch

**** Both Do Re Mi House and the Serra Mesa location of Leilani's have closed

Do Re Mi House:

Hard to believe that I hadn't been back here for over three years. Sometime during that period the lettering on the windows have been redone, and now in addition to the Korean Food, it says they serve "Japanese Traditional Food"?!?? The menu looked pretty much the same, as did the restaurant, though they've removed the back partition to the place. And lunch is still pretty cheap, the Bulgogi Lunch Special at the time of my visit (December) was still $5.99. Looked exactly the same as well.

Funny how tastes change, I found the Bulgogi to be on the sweet side, though it was fairly tender, and the mandoo were better than on my last visit. Still, not bad, if the price is still $5.99.

And I still love the potatoes here. If this visit is any indication, service has now become the typical "dump and duck"…..

Do Re Mi House
8199 Clairemont Mesa Blvd Ste M
San Diego, CA 92111

My previous post on Do Re Mi House can be found here.

Leilani's Restaurant:

Also from back in December. I got my Loco Moco fix from Leilani's Restaurant. This of course meant a Hilo Loco for me:

In some ways it was the same dependable Loco……nice gravy, hand formed patty, lean, and perhaps on the tough side, but the same as usual, as were the eggs, which could have been a bit more crisp, but were decently runny……

And there was a good amount of gravy over everything. But on this visit, I felt like something was missing…….there was a good amount of Kielbasa and Portuguese Sausage in the fried rice, which was cooked just right, but the entire package tasted strangely bland…….like they forgot to season things……

With this costing ten bucks, maybe I'm just expecting more, or maybe it was just an off day? Though the mac salad was really, really, good on this day…so good I forgot to take a photo! Maybe I need to head back to PB, and see how Leilani is doing?

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

My previous post on Leilani's can be found here.

NaniMoku Hawaiian BBQ

February 20, 2009 mmm-yoso Local Kine Stuffs in San Diego, Loco Mocos, Plate Lunch

*** Nani Moku has closed

I realize that over the last couple of years, I've kinda gotten away from all da' plate lunches, and stuff like that……. Still, once in a while, I just need a plate lunch. And in spite of the many Hawaiian BBQ joints in San Diego, a good plate lunch is hard to come by. As I mentioned before, for me, all Hawaiian BBQ is a subset of plate lunch. And most Hawaiian BBQ places do not offer the variety, nor quality of food that an old school plate lunch joint would.

I wondered, what exactly would Nani Moku be….just another Hawaiian BBQ rehash, or perhaps a good solid plate lunch.

I had made a trip to Nani Moku's back in September of last year, thinking I'd be visiting Da' Kine's. I was shocked to find Da' Kine's gone, and Nani Moku in its place. But after looking at the menu, it looked just like Da' Kine's with a new name. Even the staff looked the same, as did the "daily specials….. Except for a little placard that had "Loco Moco" specials….. did you say Loco Moco specials? I was so there, tucked in the pocket of my personal, gravy laden, comfort zone. I ordered the Chicken Katsu Loco ($6.95). Which to me was basically what we call a "Chicken Cutlet" back home. In Hawaii, the term Chicken Cutlet is synonymouswith Chicken Katsu with Gravy. Which this was, except for the easy over egg…….

And I enjoyed the very runny easy over eggs. Many places nowadays are starting to hard cook their eggs, but this was wonderfully runny, if unseasoned. I'm sure the eggs could have been a bit more crisp around the edges, but that may have been asking a bit much. The cutlet was full on Da' Kine's, thin, with lots of breading. It was moist, which was nice, and the gravy was dark and seasoned. The macaroni salad was chilled, though still lacking in salt, but better than it usually is.

Can you tell that I enjoyed it? I told myself to hang in there, save the photos, and return later on. Soon enough, it was a new year, and I still hadn't returned to Nani Moku. One day, I was going through and deleting photos, when I came across the Chicken Katsu Loco….. and I knew where I'd be headed for lunch……

I returned to Nani Moku, walked up to the counter……

And no moa' Special Loco's…. and what the heck is a "Kaluha Plate?"

You may say; "you know what they mean……" To which I'd reply, "oh, like ordering some Dung Pao Chicken?" At this point, the menu was Da' Kine's recycled, which, if done well is not a bad thing.

So I ordered a Three Item Mix ($8.75) to get a taste of several menu items, which was a good amount of food:

The Chicken Katsu was a safe bet, and was fine as always, along with the ketchup based Katsu sauce:

You can tell by the photo the problem with the Kalua (not Kahula) Pork and Cabbage:

Once upon a time, this might have been half decent, with a good pork to cabbage ratio, but what I got served was the stuff scrapped from the bottom of the chafing dish…hard and dry.

The Teriyaki BBQ Chicken was moist, but lacked a nice marinated flavor.

The Mac Salad was again, nicely chilled, with a perfect amount of mayo, but lacking in salt, or a good savory flavor.

Overall, pretty much typical inconsistent Da' Kine's…except for one thing….the rice. Da' Kine's had a bad habit of serving mushy rice. On both visits to Nani Moku, the rice was good….at least that was consistent. As to whether I'd be back…. I dunno…..

Nani Moku
1635 Sweetwater Road
National City, CA 91950

Sun – Thurs: 11am – 8pm
Fri – Sat: 11am – 9pm

Midweek Meanderings

November 5, 2008 mmm-yoso Chinese Restaurants, Plate Lunch, yoso-silly

Just a few items to get you past "hump day".

Mr Dumpling:

A few weeks back, I received an email(Thanks MrC), than PedMa commented regarding Mr Dumpling. Located on Convoy Court, right behind 99 Ranch Market, I managed to take a drive past this weekend.

The sign says "Chinese Grill", and the name is "Mr Dumpling"…..so it gives you an inkling.

Le Chef Bakery:

During early morning Banh Mi runs, I've noticed packages of Baguettes being delivered with tags that read Le Chef Bakery. I was never really able to find out much. But look at what I drove past while taking a detour on Ruffner Street.

Looks like a wholesale bakery operation. Anyone know anything?

Mo's is Closed:

Back in September, 'CD' commented on Mo's, basically saying that the place has been closed by the Health Department. I wasn't able to drop by before our trip. So this past weekend, I dropped by, and yes Mo's is closed.

The only item of significance was a Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control suspension notice.

Which, if I recall, doesn't usually shut a restaurant down, it just suspends the establishment from serving alcohol. I'll do some further digging and see what I can find out. I've been told that Mo is only currently doing catering. I'll let you know what I find.

Beer Inquiry:

I recently received an email asking me if I knew where Asahi Kuronama could be found in San Diego. Unfortunately, I can't find the email. So I'm posting what I found here. I've seen Asahi Kuronama on the shelves at both Nijiya Market and 99 Ranch Market.

Nijiya Market
3860 Convoy St Ste 109
San Diego, CA 92111

99 Ranch Market
7330 Clairemont Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92111

Now if I can only find me some Beer Lao……….

And Finally:

Here's a nice piece of photoshop work from FOY (Friend of Yoso), and fellow Food Blogger Dennis who does A Radiused Corner. Dennis has a great sense of humor, and has called me the "Banh Mi Rover"…..and he backed it up with this:

You know……I can see the resemblance! Thanks Dennis!

I hope everyone is having a great week!

BBQ Express Teriyaki Hawaiian BBQ

September 14, 2008 mmm-yoso Korean Restaurants, Plate Lunch

*** BBQ Express Teriyaki has closed and is now Yakyudori Ramen and Yakitori.

BBQ Express Teriyaki Hawaiian BBQ (whew that's mouthful), recently replaced the Convoy location of Extreme Pita. My first thought was, just what we need, another Teriyaki joint in the area, or is it a Hawaiian BBQ, or maybe …..???

You've got to give them some points for creative use of a former locations sign….just check out the sign from Cathy's post on Extreme Pita. I guess it's not that far a stretch from Extreme Pita to BBQ Express Teriyaki Hawaiian BBQ (I sense some redundancy).

One quick look at the menu, the crew, and the "salads", and you'll know right away this is a Korean owned and influenced restaurant.

So what is the food here like? I walked in and ordered a Teriyaki Chicken Plate ($6.95):

The chicken was taken from a portable steam-table unit sitting on the back counter, chopped, placed on rice, and covered with a too sweet teriyaki sauce. Very mundane.

You get to choose 2 salads, and among the choices was a dangmyeon dish, reminiscent of Japchae, it was in fact the best thing about the whole meal. It also had me wishing for something along the lines of Gina's BBQ, or even a Yummy's Korean BBQ. Now that's a Korean style plate lunch!

This on the other hand…….

Still, thoughts of perhaps getting just the side dishes with rice, brought me back. And I asked if I could just get the Japchae, macaroni salad, and rice….and got a smile, and a blank stare in return. I asked again, and got the same response. I'm guessing that was a "negatory sir"…… So I splurged and ordered the BBQ Kalbi plate ($8.45):

This time the very thinly sliced cross-cut ribs were cooked to order, but I could have done without the very liberal amount of the same bad teriyaki sauce poured over the ribs before serving.

Again the Japchae was the best thing about the meal.

And though the macaroni salad was on the runny side, it wasn't terribly sweet as Korean style mac salad tends to be, and was actually not bad.

In the end, nothing really compels me to return. In spite of the long name…..BBQ Express Teriyaki Hawaiian BBQ…I felt the place fell very short. And I'm still wondering what part the Hawaiian BBQ is? To me, it's just another teriyaki joint. Maybe you'll have better luck.

BBQ Express Teriyaki Hawaiian BBQ
4898 Convoy St
San Diego, CA 92111