Ohana Hawaiian BBQ

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

Comments

[alan]

A grill that hasn't been cleaned? I'm skeptical that this can end well. (Posted after photos, but before the full review was written.)

[Rachel]

hmmm sometimes a grill that hasn't been cleaned can make yummy smoky flavours, but sometimes it can be greasy, charred flavours. nice pics K-man :)

I still want some crazy boogers!!!

[mealcentric]

I saw the title and knew there would be a loco mocco.

[elmomonster]

Oooh...that looks good. I'm definitely getting some Hawaiian from my local place from grindz today! Black specks?! Yep...that's not too appetizing, but then I get black specks on my food that I cook at home.

[dietchilicheesefries]

question?? when you start reviewing food does it change the way you enjoy it???

i've recently been "reviewing" movies now instead of just watching them and its kinda changed the way i look at them... i guess i've become more of a critic... oh well, just curious... these things interest me..

[mealcentric]

Kirk- is the bbq chicken traditionally dark meat? I really want to give this a go but am not too fond of dark meat.

[Kristy]

Hi Kirk-san!

Loco Moco's! MMMmmm....I was craving some Kalua Pork this past weekend, and ended up getting some Paco's Tacos instead. LOL!

Great pictures! And ooo...I love the charred/burnt pieces myself...extra crispy and tasty! ;)

[Kathy]

Ok that it's. I'm ordering delivery from L&L now. Rice, hamburger patty, eggs (maybe the "charred" eggs have some extra flavor :)) and gravy all around! Accouting exam tomorrow and god knows I need a loco moco.

[Jack]

Kirk, I've seen it but never ventured in it. Glad to know that I didn't miss anything.

[Kirk]

Hi Alan - It was not good eats. Just another Hawaiian BBQ.

Hi Rachel - The black bits were bitter and charred, yuck! I guess I really enjoy crazy boogers.....

Hi MEalcentric - I am the predictable, huh? And most Hawaiian BBQ Chicken is dark meat - thigh to be specific. Sometimes Chicken Katsu is white meat.

Hi Elmo - I really shouldn't be paying for the remnants of somebody elses food.

Hi DCCF - I hope you don't mind the abbreviation. But in fact, I enjoy "good" meals even more now that I pay attention to what I eat, instead of gobbling it down.

Hi Kristy - Paco's Tacos? There used to be a Paco's Tacos off of Colima Road in Rowland Heights before all of the construction took place. We used to enjoy the food there. I'm wondering if it's part of the same chain?

Hi Kathy - Hope you won't need a nap after your Loco - that might take away from your study time! LOL!

Hi Jack - I've been told that the Volcano Chicken is good, though I think it's just another L&L knock-off.

[Joan]

Hi Kirk,
I think this is your first post that has actually made me decide NOT to go to a particular restaurant! I do love my Hawaiian BBQ, and we have yet to get up to Da'Kitchen- since they opened the L&L in Hillcrest, it's so much closer and convenient. Next time I go for a plate lunch, I'll have to try a loco moco!

[clare eats]

Perhaps you needto email them all the scale and tell them to PICK UP THEIR ACTS!

[milgwimper]

Kirk,

That pretty much blows, that they did not clean the grill. Bleh. Hmmm I wonder if it is the same Ohana's that opening here in Down town. I noticed another one has been open in down town for a couple of months. I will have to check all three of them out sometime.

[elmomonster]

I should've waited to read your actual review. "Crunchy, bitter, charred black bits all over the egg. Terrible!" Oh man! That sounds like a health code violation of some sort!

BTW, I had Hawaiian for lunch because of your post! No loco moco yet though.

[Elk Grove]

You know I just found out today too by another guy what Loco Moco means in spanish. I almost flipped out and dropped on the floor laughing....thinking, which local guy in Hawaii thought to name it that in the first place!

Anyways, you should go and check out this fairly new local restaurant here in Elk Grove....that is if you have time to come out here. The name of the restaurant is Hawaiian Style Grill. Four local guys running the joint. Da bes one here so far since L&L. Da food is awesome. Local favorites like the "crazy booger" and saimin. Five kinds of saimin, four kinds of musubi, da winna mix plate, and kalbi bruddah! You gotta eat da kalbi.

Anyways, great reviews! Keep em coming.

[Rachel]

Hehe kirk, I suppose you answered the all time question of which came first, the chicken or the egg
*kaching boom* I know it was a bad joke but I hope you consider me part of your online "ohana" ;)

[RONW]

Kirk....you're a bit jumping to conclusions by prematurely accusing the restaurant staff of not cleaning their grill. The black specks were there probably because they "had" in fact cleaned the grill. Fast food grills are cleaned with what looks like a black cinder block which has the brittle consistency of polystyrene foam. Only black in color, but about the size of a house brick. So I surmise that the black specks was what rubbed off from the cleaning-brick during the scouring process. They just didn't bother to wipe off the debris because you know....like who cares....they only work there. da retards. Bon apetite.

[Kirk]

Hi Joan - Let me know how you enjoy your Loco Moco!

Hi Clare - It's common sense that you scrape after cooking on the griddle.

Hi Mills - Could be. Ohana seems to be a really fast growing franchise - ala' L&L

Hi Elmo - No health code violation, just terrible procedure.

Hi Elk Grove - Thanks for stopping by and commenting. You mean Elk Grove, CA, right? I really don't quite know where that is, but if I'm ever in the neighborhood, I'll make sure to remember your rec's. Here's a little history on the Loco Moco:

http://whatscookingamerica.net/History/LocoMocoHistory.htm

Hi Rachel - You are definitely a part of my online "Ohana".

Hi RONW - Nope, not jumping to conclusions. Let me tell you why.... Maybe I should be clear - this type of food(I worked in a "Drive In" back in the day), is cooked on a stainless steel griddle, actually in many cases "reheated", that should be scraped after each use, and scrubbed down using oil and a metal scouring pad daily. There's a special contraption with a handle called a "scraper" that is used after anything is cooked on the griddle - looks like this:

http://www.instawares.com/Chef-Master-Griddle-Scraper--18.142-1504.0.7.htm?trackcode=WREPTEC142-1504

Not cleaning the griddle, means that burnt, bitter by products get stuck on what ever you cook - just like if you used your frying pan several times without washing it. Hey, even Mickey D's and Burger King trains their people to clean the griddle after every use....I don't think I need to add anything else.

[Daly]

That's disappointing to read :( I'm sorry your experience was not very good. I did eat at an Ohana Hawaiian BBQ off the coast of Oahu and I wish I could've brought some of it back with me from my trip! I don't remember the name of the plate lunch I had but I have a pic(though it's not as good as yours...LOL) http://www.hellodaly.com/2005/05/drive-around-oahu.html. L&L will do for now.

[Kirk]

Hi Daly, or should I say Hello Daly (LOL!) - There's quite a variety of plate lunch places in Vegas nowadays:

http://www.alohavalley.com/directory/index.php?cat=5&subcat=13

I'm sure I'll stop at a few on my next trip to Vegas!