**** 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
too bad, it looked really nice!
Posted by: kat | Sunday, 07 June 2009 at 10:52 PM
Very nice Kirk. Btw people may think I'm nuts but I have a trick of exhaling (like lightly blowing out a candle) so the steam doesn't cloud my camera's lens.. That would be #9 on the completely useless tips to most people list, haha.
Posted by: Dennis | Sunday, 07 June 2009 at 11:19 PM
I dunno, Kirk. In certain light and looking at your profile, maybe a little like Bratt Pitt. ;-)
Ugh, too bad on the food. I have not had any plate lunches for so long that I might settle for an L&L lunch.
I do the same exhaling thing when trying to take photos of hot food. hehe.
Posted by: Carol | Monday, 08 June 2009 at 08:04 AM
I'm a little relieved that this place is too far to justify the drive :-)
I was at L&L recently (the kiddo likes it), and it made me remember how much I liked Mo's Island Grinds. However, we're headed to Hawaii in three weeks, and I better do some food research prior to the trip.
Posted by: Sandy | Monday, 08 June 2009 at 08:19 AM
That gravy on the mac salad looks pretty good to me. I'd like that initial combo plate for breakfast please.
Posted by: foodhoe | Monday, 08 June 2009 at 09:15 AM
Too bad about the moco. Kinda strange, but I actually like dry rice. It harkens back to my high-school days of Saturday Filipino parties where the food has been out all afternoon and I was always encouraged to eet...and tek a plet. Good times!
Posted by: Janfrederick | Monday, 08 June 2009 at 09:59 AM
Your enthusiasm for loco moco kinda makes me want to try it again ;-) I'm heading to the Kona coast for vacay in July. Maybe I'll seek it out!
Posted by: Gastronomer | Monday, 08 June 2009 at 11:15 AM
I had no idea that Hawaiians frown upon interchanging the word kalbi with Hawaiian BBQ Short Rib. Makes sense, of course. But I've met you. You're better than Brad Pitt.
Posted by: elmomonster | Monday, 08 June 2009 at 11:30 AM
Hi Kat - It was much better than I thought it would be!
Hi Dennis - Nice trick...personally, I try to catch the steam rising off food, it illustrates how hot something is.
Hi Carol - Bratwurst Pitt? ;o)
Hi Sandy - Wow, have a wonderful trip!
Hi FH - Breakfast!
Hi Jan - LOL! Well take a plate and chow down!
Hi G - If you head to Hilo, you'll be at the home of the loco...... Check out James's Blog.
Hi Elmo - No it's not the folks from Hawaii that do that...it's the Korean folks here on the mainland.
Posted by: Kirk | Tuesday, 09 June 2009 at 07:45 AM
Nice blog Kirk! Have you tried Island Style Cafe?
I'm alsway on the prowl for local style food.
Posted by: Monty | Wednesday, 08 July 2009 at 07:14 PM
Hi Monty - Thanks for stopping by and commenting. I did a post on Island Style Cafe back in September of last year:
http://mmm-yoso.typepad.com/mmmyoso/2008/09/island-style-ca.html
All the Local Kine Stuffs is in this category:
http://mmm-yoso.typepad.com/mmmyoso/local_kine_stuffs_in_san_diego/
Posted by: Kirk | Wednesday, 08 July 2009 at 08:12 PM
Hi Kirk,
have you been to Da Kine's at Liberty Station? The NTC spot in Point Loma. Don't know if it's the old Da Kine's as the decor is totally newish. I found it by accident going to Tender Green. It's next door. I tried the poke but it's very disappointing. Going back to try the katsu later this week. Will let you know.
Posted by: Didi | Monday, 17 August 2009 at 12:26 AM
Hi Didi - Here's my post on Da' Kine at Liberty Station:
http://mmm-yoso.typepad.com/mmmyoso/2008/01/da-kines---libe.html
I don't think it has much to do with Da' Kine as you and I recall it. Different folks who bought the name.
Posted by: Kirk | Monday, 17 August 2009 at 07:40 AM
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.
Posted by: mo | Monday, 17 August 2009 at 05:19 PM
Hi Mo - Great, I will..... where the heck is it???
Posted by: Kirk | Monday, 17 August 2009 at 07:46 PM
there is now an A and D on Highland next to Popeye's. I had there salt and pepper chicken wings for $1.99. About 7 pieces, good and I could barely finish them. All there meals are currently $5
Posted by: tony | Tuesday, 16 March 2010 at 08:03 AM
Hi tony - Thanks for the tip!
Posted by: Kirk | Tuesday, 16 March 2010 at 11:37 AM