Da' Kitchen - Finally Good Local Kine Grindz in San Diego

*** 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

Comments

[Jay Carli]

Kirk, how do you rate the plate lunch at Kealani's in Encinitas? I've always thought it was top notch, and am wondering your opinion.

[Jack]

Kirk....such the tease! Give us more! Did you happen to look at the catering menu? They have meat jun. Need to ask why it's not on the everyday menu

[Kirk]

Hi Jay - Thanks for tkaing the time out to comment. We visited Kealani's back when we moved to San Diego in '01, and I don't remember much about the visit, except that the Chicken Long Rice was very bland. I do have them on my list for a revisit.

Hey Jack - You know I saw that on the catering menu, but always forget to ask. Sorry didn't mean to tease, but I had some technical difficulties. I thought that you wouldn't need to go past the Locomoco!!! Do you think I ate enough of this, or what?

[Jo]

HOLY COW! Yep, they sure the heck do and I know EXACTLY where it is! I know what I'm gonna beg up for dinner tomorrow, THE FISH! The Korean chicken looked fabulous also. Do they do pork katsu as well as the chicken? I chicken doesn't sit well with me... but I can sure do some pork!

[Reid]

Hi Kirk,

Interesting choice, but the prices...YIKES! Everything looks good...and yeah, how did you manage to eat that loco moco.

[Christine D.]

ahh loco moco!! I wanna try this, but i don't know where i should buy it in orange county... This is the perfect time for me to eat it because i have final exams, it's winter, and i don't have any dressy parties to go to!

[Kirk]

Hi Jo - I hope it's as good as this location was. :o)

Hi Reid - Like they say; No pain, no gain. LOL!

Hi Christine - Try this link out for size:

http://alohaworld.com/platelunch/

Also, Elmo might have some idea! I'd love to hear what you've got to sat about a locomoco...

[robwonton]

Its 7am and I am SOOOOOO hungry from reading this post. Like you, I have been going to L & L because it is close, but the wife and I will have to try this place.

Great Post!

[elmomonster]

Holy Shiite! Everything looks so goddamn awesome...and to top it off it gets a the Kirk seal of approval!

10 bucks is steep for a plate lunch, but man, look at those portions! That'll feed me for 3 whole days!

Christine, I saw Loco Moco in your home city of Tustin at Waikiki Hawaiian Grill on Newport Blvd., behind the Souplantation.

[Candice]

Thanks for the report! Can't wait to try this place.

[Kirk]

Hi Rob - I think the portion sizes will keep "Baby" fed.;o)

Hi Elmo - It is kind of pricey, but the portions are pretty big. I said the same thing when I saw ten bucks for Plate Lunch Kalbi. Most items are a notch better then L&L.

Hi Candice - This place is worth a try. Beware the portion sizes....

[mealcentric]

Three layers of chicken katsu?! Thats enought to feed a family. And the loco mocco was a tower (no doubt helped by the prop up by the rice). Man oh man that looked good. Despite the seemingly high prices, you get more than your $'s worth!

I still have yet to try a loco mocco for fear of bursting at the seams, but that picture is making me crave one right now.

Did you order three dishes on your first visit? Thats lot of food Kirk!

[Kirk]

Hi Mealcentric - I ordered two dishes on my first visit. And it still was a lot of food! Ended up being two meals(and some picking in between).

[milgwimper]

Holy Shitake!,

I have seen Da' Kitchen for years here, and I keep telling myself for years now that I am going to go there. it is in a corner area on a side street, so if you're not looking for it you'll miss it, and you guessed correctly I missed it. FOR YEARS!!!! Ahhh well maybe when the pocket book is fuller I will go and try.

[lance]

Man, that's a lot of food to put away, but they all look so good. Must have been hard to stop. Talk about good local food to the max. I bet Da Hawaiian Paralysis took over right after that.

[Kirk]

Hi Mills - If the food is as good as this location, it'll be pretty darn good!

Hi Lance - Can you imagine trying to eat that much katsu? There's no way you can fake that! And yes, major Kanak-Attack!

[Jo]

ok... so what the heck is a "Kanack Attack"? ::tilts head with amused look::

[Kirk]

Hi Jo - It means, eat till you sleep...food coma!

[clare eats]

WOW
I am so glad you found a kine place that lives up to your expectations! The food looks so yummy!
:)

[James]

Hey Kirk! Looks like you found a winna! The prices are a little high, but the portions and quality more then make up for it, it seems. The loco looks so good right now.. and that chicken katsu?? I thought L&L gave a lot. lol... well, congrats!!!