What's My Craving? Hinotez......

This past Saturday I went out to fill the "honey do" list. It was :meat day" at Nijiya and since I was going to grill later that afternoon I had all kinds of shopping to do. We like to take advantage of our grilling time and make multiple dishes, and since it was so hot, I'd be roasting vegetables over the charcoal. It was a typical day, Starting at Sprouts, then Marukai, then 99 Ranch Market (Da Boyz needed rice). It was still too early for Nijiya and I didn't want to seem too excited about meat day and be there when the doors open.

Every so often I miss the typical breakfast I'd have when visiting my maternal Grandparents or on special weekends. To copy a passage from an earlier post on Fukagawa Soba & Udon:

"One of the earliest (and few) memories I have of my grandparents, is my "Ji-chan" (grandfather) waking before dawn. Even though the plantation days were behind them; the plantation ways were still strong. Neither Grandparent spoke much English and always had problems with my name. Ironically, they ended up calling me "Keiki" (which means "child" in Hawaiian). To this day I'm not sure if they actually knew what keiki meant, or of they just chose that word because it kinda sounded like my name, and was something they'd heard before. Anyway, my job was to climb the ricketty ladder up to papaya tree and pick two of the ripe papayas. My reward? My Grandmother would have a steaming bowl of rice, mix the raw egg with shoyu, pour the egg over the rice, top with green onions and mix....... tamago meshi. This in turn was topped with natto. I was also given half a papaya (to help me digest), and a cup of coffee (!!! I was maybe 7-8 years old) with tons of cream and sugar. A perfect breakfast for getting out there and working the fields......."

It's the breakfast of champions...... To my knowledge, the only place that serves anything like this in San Diego is Hinotez which opens at 8 am every morning.

It's a pick your poison kind of menu. A base with whatever you want to add for additional cost. What I ordered used to be six bucks and now that I add one other item, is now seven. Still cheaper than a sandwich at most places.

I get the three minute egg (not quite the raw egg, but it'll do), natto, and for some reason I love the extra "goo" of tororo (grated mountain yam). If anything, it's too much rice for me. I think in the future, I'll ask for less rice and more green onions.

First goes the egg...then the tororo...which is mixed together with the rice, then the natto, green onions and shoyu.

It's such a lovely mess of a breakfast.

I'm glad it's not one of those Japanese breakfasts we had in Japan. I would have just driven back home after eating and go back to sleep!

I do love my Spam and my Loco Mocos; though I enjoy both in moderation. But it's this breakfast that takes me back to where I come from and what I am. The grandson of immigrant plantation workers who toiled in the fields for Maui Pine.

Hinotez
7947 Balboa Ave
San Diego, CA 92111

Comments

[Jessica]

This is going to sound like a dumb question, but is the name "Hinotez" pronounced like "high notes"? I keep wanting to say "hee-no-tez" and am not sure if I'm supposed to be correcting that to "high notes." (Obviously not a big issue, but it gets annoying after a while.) Thanks.

[Ning Wei Wang]

I am Ning Wei Wang, an former student of Ed(from Yuma).I love your food blog, different delicious food from different country. Yummy! Do you know? I am writing an article about food history now. thank you for sharing your stories! Yummy, Yummy!

[Kirk]

Hi Jessica - Coming from a Nikkeijin, your second pronounciation is better. "Hee" not "Hi".

Thanks Ning. I'm glad you enjoy the blog.

[Jason]

Gotta love the nostalgic foods from childhood. For me, it's congee. My dad would make it almost every sunday. Initially when I was young, I hated it. But I slowly grew to love it. Like you, I crave it every once in a while and I'm glad Hinotez is able to scratch that itch for you!

[RanjitJhala]

Dear Kirk,

I am a long time reader -- since 2005 when I moved to SD, but first time commenter. I love all your posts, but this was the first one that
brought tears to my eyes (even though I am yet to acquire a taste for either raw eggs or natto :)).

Absolutely beautiful.

Thanks!

-Ranjit.

[kat]

am bummed I never really got to know my father's parents, would've loved to see/experience the kinds of foods they had while working in the cane fields of the Big Island. glad that this place gives you close to what you crave, next time you come to Japan, you should eat more TKG(tamago kake gohan)

[Kirk]

Hi Jason - The true meaning of comfort food! Thanks for sharing!

Hi Ranjit - Thanks so much for the kind words and taking the time to (finally!) comment. Thank you for reading our little blog all these years. Let me just say, I'm truly touched by your comment!

Hi Kat - Those are near and dear memories for me......and I'm sure I'll get my fill when we return to Japan!

[Kyle]

Awesome post. Great start to the next 3k.

[Junichi]

Hinotez has some misses on their menu but overall one of my favorite late night joints in SD. Never had their breakfast though.

[J.S. @ Sun Diego Eats]

Lovely post Kirk, that was a great read. Haven't tried natto or tororo yet but I hear they are both acquired tastes.

[Lynnea]

the other commenters are right, this is a sweet post =) thank you for sharing, and that breakfast really does sound delicious!

[Kirk]

Thanks Kyle....I didn't know this little post would get such a nice response! Thanks for reading!

So true Junichi. But it's their simple Japanese breakfast I enjoy the most.

They are JS.....but you might like it, you never know, right?

Hi Lynnea - This type of breakfast does have a strong pull on me. Haven't heard from you in a bit, I hope all is well!