Hawaiian Island Barbecue

*** Hawaiian Island BBQ has closed

This clone of L&L is located pretty close to where we live and is the most accessible "plate lunch" place for us. So I usually head on down to Pacific Beach now and then for a plate lunch.

Hawaiian Island Barbecue is located in Pacific Plaza next to a Von's Supermarket, the local "foodies" will know the mall as the location of the Great News cooking store. I've never really ever seen this place full, but there seems to be a steady trickle of customers flowing in and out. The restaurant interior goes for a Hawaiian Hut/surfer kitschy type feel.

The menu features all the usual suspects; Chicken Katsu ($6.29), Loco Moco ($6.39), BBQ Beef ($6.39), BBQ Mix ($6.99), you get the picture. You can also get some items not usually served in many of these places like Lau Lau ($6.99 - previously frozen kine), Limu Poke ($7.99), and Manapua ($1.79 - also previously frozen kine). Mini plates are available from $4.29 - $4.99 featuring 1 scoop rice, 1 scoop Mac, and your chosen protein.

I placed my order, waited a few minutes, and went home, ready to grind!

The first thing I ordered was the BBQ Chicken ($6.29), all rice, which they got right. The thing I forgot to do was to tell them to "86" the pineapple ring. For some reason this pineapple ring sends me into a bout of terrible flashbacks....of when Hawaiian Food was thought to be a Ham steak with a pineapple ring on it! Ugh, just the sight of a little ol' pineapple ring on top of certain foods send these waves of nausea associated with all those negative connotations! So I removed the pineapple ring and all traces of it's existence. Oh yeah, the chicken, back to the chicken. In this case it was under marinated, but still ok. I've had the same dish here when it's been perfectly marinated, and I've had them almost "white". It's sort of a crap-shoot, when it's good, it's pretty good, when it's not, well.......it deserves the pineapple ring!

I opened the next dish and it was a beautiful little Mini-Chicken Katsu Plate ($4.29). Only problem was, I ORDERED a CHICKEN CUTLET! Where's the gravy? The gal as she handed me my package even said "chicken cutlet", I guess she didn't pass her plate lunch identification test yet? Well back to the problem at hand - the chicken katsu was cooked to a perfect golden brown, crisp state, and had a nice crunch to it. The problem was what to do with the icky, terrible, sweet, mistake of katsu sauce this place and all the L&L's serve for that matter. That's the reason that I order chicken cutlet instead of chicken katsu. If I wanted sweet sour I'd pour some La Choy on it, gimme some "katsu sauce" fer chrissake! Katsu sauce into square receptacle, ketchup, Worcestershire, shoyu, and horseradish, here I come. Whoever made the macaroni salad on this day forgot the salt and put in a little too much mayo, but it was edible.

So why did I come here? Usually the foods ok, I usually like the Chicken Cutlet, when they remember to make it right, and the gravy fries ($1.99) and Loco Moco are usually pretty good. Looks like today wasn't my day......

Hawaiian Island Barbecue
1768 Garnet Ave
San Diego, CA 92109
858-483-9830

Located in the Pacific Plaza Mall - Pacific Beach

Comments

[Jo]

::slaps on the cap and dives in::
::realizing how cold it is, hops out and decideds to rent a rowboat::

[Kirk]

Man there's alot of "bummity bum bum's" and swimming going on on this site recently, now we're starting on the rowing!!! :)

[Jo]

::giggle:: if I were really smart I would just slap an outboard on my "bummity", stick my legs straight out in front of me, put Pepper n' Friends on the subsequent lap, and HEAD FOR OAHU!!!

[clare eats]

oooh!
we are going to have a P A R T Y !!!!
with the magic mike, shakin' our bummity bum bum's and eatin out with Reid wohooo!!!!! *grin*

[Jo]

Kirk, you run a wild blog round here ya know?!?!

[Kirk]

Well, this blog has a life of it's own it seems! I'm not running anything - the inmates have taken over....

[clare eats]

I resent those comments on the grounds that they might resemble me!

[Kirk]

Clare - I've just gotten a visual of you holding the magic microphone, wearing a lampshade, singing I will survive, and shaking your bummity bum bum's, it's a bit too much to process right now - I just ran out of memory on the PC.....

[clare eats]

:P no wait :P

[Kirk]

Ha LOL!!!

[clare eats]

he he he ehe he he he he he he he

[Kirk]

Clare - You're so easily amused!

[clare eats]

me?????? look who's talkin' here!!!!!

[Jo]

::laughing and shaking her head:: ya know, you guys used to be some what normal... Then Mills and I show up and look what happens!

[clare eats]

um.. maybe? *grin*

couldn't be happier though!

[Jo]

Of course you could be happier Clare! You could be sitting on your new oven, munching pineapple/macadamia nut baklava and sipping Jasmine Downey Pearls tea while Brad Pitt rubs your feet and Bruce Willis gives you a pedicure. Now THAT, would make me happy... The only way to get even happier than that would be to have Tom Cruise cleaning the toilet... =o)

[Kirk]

Jo - You're really starting to scare me, here! ;)

[milgwimper]

Wait Jo you forgot Mel Gibson ironing your clothes....;)~

[Jo]

Better ironing my clothes than wearing them... ::giggle:: HuH?

[Jo]

What about Kurt Russell? We need Kurt Russell to do something... ::frowns in thought:: hmmm ::EXPLODING LIGHT BULB:: PEPPER! He can be Pepper's Official Exclusive PEPPER POOPER SCOOPER! That will give Mike more time with Tommy's diapers ::smiles sweetly::