mmm-yoso!!!

A Taste of "Home" for Sunday Lunch

I'm kinda surprised at how busy I can be on a typical weekend morning.

For example; today, after waking Frankie, taking him for a short walk:

1 - Make food for Frankie and his Cousin Auggie - basically 9 pounds of simmered chicken thighs, carrots, sweet potato, and quinoa (yes, F is a hipster I guess). Freeze. Enough for about two weeks.

2 - Meanwhile; finish off making duck confit in the oven. (I made the duck fat yesterday and cured the duck overnight) We've got a heat wave coming this week; so I'm not going to want to have that oven on.

3 - Go grocery shopping

4 - The Missus requested Niku Tofu; so I made that

5 - Make a batch of Ume Dressing

6 - Put together the Missus's salad for Her lunch tomorrow

7 - Put duck into storage pan and wait to cool - this'll keep for months

8 - Clean

Whew; it ain't even eleven yet and I'm bushed.

I really wanted some comfort food......so I made this for lunch.

I'd been missing "home"....the untold toll of Covid-19 is the mental side of things.....no normalcy, we're not able to do many things that were part of our usual way of life. I think not being able to travel has been especially taxing, beyond all the days of work, inability to head out for dinner, the social distancing, the exhausting politicization of the pandemic.

I didn't really expect this to be good....it was an impulse buy when I went to pick-up poke for the Missus at Hawaiian Fresh Seafood Fish Market...but seeing the Chili Pepper Water...I just had to get that.....and so why not grab the laulau and kalua pork?

And it did the trick....especially the fragrance of the luau (taro) leaves.....just the aroma takes me home and back to when, still in high school, I was working (full time by the age of 16). My manager, took me under her wing, and sort of adopted me, they were part of a large family....in fact, my Mom knew the family; the Kukahiko's from growing up in Honolua! Carol would take me to family gatherings in Waianae....introducing me as her "Japanese son". She was quite a character.....all her nieces and nephews called her "Auntie Tita". Food was the best part of these gatherings; at least for me, and they had one of these huge, round metal, steamer things that looked like a buoy. All full of bombucha home made laulau....the best I've ever had. I could put away five jumbo laulau! A little 112 pound Japanese kid!

So, while there was no salted fish in the lau lau, but there was a nugget of fatty pork - in this case pork belly. It was fine...….just the aroma was worth the price, as was the condiment of choice.

And soon after, I was ready to join Frankie as the "Kanak Attack" settled in......

The power of food and our memories of it...…..

We hope that in spite of these challenging times, that you are safe and in good health!

Mahalo For 12 Years of Good Grindz Island Style Cafe

**** Island Style Cafe has reopened in Santee.

I decided on hitting up Island Style Cafe one more time before they were set to close and decided to buy our skeleton crew lunch since I was going to be in the office the entire day.. I also want to confirm that they were going to close on 08/16. So I called in our order and drove over to pick it up.

Sadly, I did get confirmation that they're last day will be on Sunday, August 16th. They had a sheet at the take-out table where you could list your name and email for updates.

Instead of the usual Kaloko Moco, I went with a Chicken Katsu - Korean Chicken Mix, which was fine. For some reason, I really enjoyed the mac salad.

The crew really enjoyed their lunches. "GK" basically inhaled his mixed plate.....growing boy that he is.

Thanks for 12 years of good grindz ISC....until we meet again....and I can enjoy my Kaloko Moco.....

Island Style Cafe
5950 Santo Road
San Diego, CA 92124
(858) 541-7002

Last day of business in the current location, Sunday, 08/16/2020.

Island Style Cafe Closing on 08/16

**** Island Style Cafe has reopened in Santee.

I've always maintained that I have a wonderful group of "FOYs" (Friends of Yoso), my own "coconut wireless" that keep me informed of what's going, or even share their stories and experiences with me via comments and emails. I always love hearing from them all. Though it's not always "butterflies and puppy dog tails"..... I recently received an email from "FOY" KarenM who informed me that a favorite of mine Island Style Café was closing! I know; it's hard to believe, it seems I was just there for Covid-19 takeout. Karen was nice enough to provide me with this Nextdoor post.

Man, what a bumma'......I've been going to Island Style Cafe for 12 years! Since I needed to pick up my dry cleaning in Tierrasanta anyway, I called in my order and wen hele over to Island Style Café.

Terri wasn't working the front counter, but the nice young lady did confirm that ISC was closing on the 16th.....I was told that this came on quite suddenly.

Sad, I took my LocoMoco home. I found that my usual favorite; the Kaloko Loco doesn't hold up too well for takeout, so I went with the "standard" Loco ($10.50). And of course, it was more than enough for me.

I enjoyed it as I always do....but of course it was bittersweet. It's always sad when a favorite you've been going to for over a decade closes.

On the bright side; the young lady informed me that they will start looking for a new location after taking a short break. I hope so.

I'm going to try to get another fix in before ISC closes. And, if you enjoy Island Style Café, make sure you visit by August 16th.

Mahalo for all the good meals Island Style Café, a hui hou mākou.

Island Style Cafe
5950 Santo Road
San Diego, CA 92124
(858) 541-7002
Current Hours (according to their website)
Tues - Fri 9am - 2pm, 430pm - 730pm
Saturday   7am - 8pm
Sunday     7am - 2pm

And thanks so much for letting me know KarenM…..so I had the opportunity to have a Loco Moco from ISC at least one more time!

Covid-19 Takeout - Da Kine's

While working one weekend back at the beginning of April, I was wondering what I could pick up on the way home that wouldn't be too far out of the way.

Which got me thinking about Da Kine's which just reopened in September.

So, I decided to call....I think this was just after Da Kine's reopened for take-out. Anyway, Nelson answered...…..and a very typical conversation ensued.

Me: "Can I get one loco moco to go?"

Nelson: "Ok, mac or tossed salad...."

Me (sounding a bit offended): "What? Mac salad of course!"

Nelson (laughing): "Ok, mac salad....when are you picking up....."

Me: "I'm heading on down right now...."

Nelson: "Whoa, wait...….give us at least fifteen, twenty minutes!"

Me: "Oh, sorry, I'm heading down from UTC...."

Nelson (sounding a bit relieved): "Oh....good....I thought you was across the street or something."

And so, about 20 minutes and change later; I picked up my loco moco, and took it home.

Egg a bit overcooked for my liking and oil had gathered at the edges of the plate...probably dripped down from the eggs, but I wasn't complaining....because that mac salad, still nicely chilled, hit the spot, the burger nicely charred, beefy, for some reason I don't mind the filler in this burger, the gravy not overly salty, the rice nicely done.

A little bit of comfort at a time when things seemed so out of whack. And yet, who knew how, but two months later....things are even more messed up.

Perhaps I need another trip back to Da Kine's…...

Da Kine's Plate Lunches
5401 Linda Vista Rd. #402
San Diego, CA 92110

Currently Open Tues - Sun 11am - 5pm

Covid-19 Takeout - Island Style Cafe

**** Island Style Cafe has reopened in Santee

My dry cleaning lady sold her business back at the beginning of the year and decided to just do alterations at a dry cleaners in Tierrasanta….and you know how I am about loyalty and stuff; so of course my dry cleaning is now done there. I decided to run away during a lunch time and pick up my dry cleaning, but the place was closed. So, in order to have some consolation and not waste the trip I went to Rite Aid to pick up some necessities and also made a call....to Island Style Café; it was too early for the Homestyle Hawaiian location in the area and heck, with all that's going on; I wanted some comfort food. I headed to Island Style Café right after Rite Aid.

They had the "Covid set-up" going, my lunch was ready when I got there....in and out in less than 5 minutes. The Owner "Terri" was so nice and told me "Mahalo for giving us business during this difficult time". So nice.....

Of course I got the Kaloko Loco.....

And while the crepe didn't travel real well...perhaps I should have ordered a regular loco......everything else was good; from the not massed produced, beefy hamburger patty, to the fried rice, to the egg that was still nice and runny.

No complaints.....though I wish they had Tabasco....and I didn't have any back at the office; so I had to make due with Cholula. That's ok, it worked out fine.

And while my appetite these days isn't what it used to be.....I polished it off. How did that old commercial go? You know, "I can't believe I ate the whole thing".

A little bit of comfort goes a long way these days.

Island Style Cafe
5950 Santo Road
San Diego, CA 92124
(858) 541-7002

Be safe, be good to others, and take care!

Da Kine's Reopens in Linda Vista

First off, before I get started on this post; I want to extend some major Mahalos to "Kerri" who sent me an email telling me Nelson Ishii and Da' Kine's is back in business. Kerri mentioned the address in the email and I instantly knew where this was; it's almost in my 'hood at the old Kona Kakes location in Linda Vista. Man, being out of town for two weekends in a row really prevented my from going "holoholo". But, once I was back in town, I quickly headed over to the strip mall on Linda Vista Road, and there it was!

Da Kine's la' dat

There's been a bit of shuffling of the configuration of the place from the time it was Kona Kakes, but the color scheme remains the same.

I placed my order and went to have a seat. And guess what? Nelson came over and started chatting with me.....the most I'd ever got out of him in the "old days", was "uh.....". It seems he's mellowed a bit over the years. While I waited we talked about what happened to Da Kine's, why he gave the restaurants to employees and went to catering, and why he's now back. Some of it seemed quite personal, so I'll leave it for folks to ask him yourself. I will say that Da Kine's was the first place I had a plate lunch at in San Diego when I was doing consulting work here in the late 90's. By the time we'd moved to San Diego in the "oughts", things seemed a bit shakey. By the time I did my post in 2005; Da Kine's had definitely slipped. So much so; like I mentioned in my Mira Mesa location post in 2007, a person identifying himself as the Manager of the PB location started his email with "Wow, yoso-harsh.....". And then all the locations started closing. The National City location became Nani Moku and the Liberty Station location closed soon after.

I ordered the Loco Moco, which hadn't done too well in my Loco Moco comparison in 2005. So, how would it fare fourteen years down the line?

Well, let's go back in time and pull out my "Modified Rubio Scale" inspired by James Rubio who used to have a wonderful food blog; Big Island Grinds. There's still a remnant of it here if you're interested.

So let's get on with it, eh?

BURGER: Two good sized patties with a nice char. A bit over-charred for my taste though. Moist and tender. Nicely seasoned, perhaps edging on too salty. 3.0

RICE: Back in the day; Da Kine's used to always serve rather mushy rice; but this was decent, not overly mushy, not hard. 3.0

GRAVY: Dark, but not gluey, somewhat beefy, no lumps, not overly salty. And guess what? They have Tabasco! 3.0

EGGS: Now this was weird. It's sunny side up, not over easy. It's also only slightly runny as the bottom portion is solid. Would also appreciate some crisp edges and seasoning. Also, you can tell it went from the pan on top of things because there's a pool of oil around the gravy. Still, not horrible. 2.5

STUFFS: Man, look at that bombucha scoop of mac salad. And it's not just mayo and macaroni. Perfectly chilled, well seasoned, much different than what I used to get at Da Kine's before. Did I mention the Tabasco? 3.5

Wow, that's a 15??? Pretty good, huh?

A few days later travelling between meetings I went and got take-out. I got the Chicken Katsu and an Ala Carte Kalua Pig and Cabbage.

The katsu was still fairly crisp, moist, and tender when I got to the office. Notice something missing? There was no katsu sauce.....soft opening missives I guess. Luckily, I have a bottle of Bull Dog Tonkatsu Sauce in my desk drawer....but pitty folks who got their katsu this way and don't. The mac salad was still cool when I consumed it, the rice was a bit dry.

I only had a couple of bites of the kalua pork and cabbage, which edged on almost being too salty and was really smoky. Also, it was almost three-fourth's pork. The way it should be. This was a drier version, but was not bad. In fact, I gave most of it to "AG" and Calvin, who both really enjoyed it.

This past Sunday, I went to work for a few hours, then decided to head down to Da Kine's to reward myself for lunch. I'd heard they had Laulau on Sundays. I cracked up when I saw Calvin waiting for a take-out order when I arrived. It was really good to see Lynn, his wife, and his little girl as well.

I ordered my Laulau plate and had a seat. Soon, several groups of people arrived.....many of them asking "where's Uncle Nelson?" From what I overheard, they had only made thirty laulau, and I'm sure they soon sold-out. But I did get mine.

And with some poi to boot. It's been a while since I've had poi. This was thick, smooth, innocuous. Looks like they've got the mac salad down as it was as good as the previous two times.

The laulau was moist and meaty, no salt fish though. The meat wasn't overly fatty (I do like some good chunks of fat in my laulau). I also like a good layer of luau leaf, this one only had one single layer, so there wasn't much of that bitter-sweet collard green like flavor I enjoy. I also thought the meat could have used a bit more salt.

The chicken long rice was the best version I've had in years; perfectly seasoned, great chicken flavor, the long rice wasn't mushy, and just enough ginger.

It was nice to see a couple of multi-generational families come in....I haven't seen this many people from Hawaii in one place on the Mainland in a while. "Uncle Nelson" is indeed beloved. And he's done quite a bit over the years for the Ex-pat Kama'aina community in San Diego. I actually went to that Kalapana Concert in 1999 partially sponsored by Da' Kine's. I was consulting here and stayed the weekend. Kalapana, along with C&K and Olomana defines what contemporary local music was to me when I was growing up back in the 70's. My friends brother sneaked us into Top Ada Shoppe to hear Kalapana and then later Summer play. I felt sad at that concert in 1999 because it was the year that Mackey Feary committed suicide. RIP Malani Bilyeu who passed away at the end of 2018.

It was great looking at the photos lining he walls....heck everybody now knows BJ Penn, but do you remember Mosi Tatupu?

I hope Da Kine's does well. It's fairly close to home for me; so I'll drop in once in a while for my plate lunch fix. And also to look at those photos and posters......

Da Kine's Plate Lunches
5401 Linda Vista Rd. #402
San Diego, CA 92110
Current Hours (as of 09/09/2019)
Tues - Sun 11am - 5pm

And thanks so much for thinking of us Kerri!

Poke Etc Revisited

OK, so no more poke at Zarlitos, huh? I was in National City; so I decided to revisit Poke Etc to see what was up. There's been some adjustment to the menu; but I decided to grab some lunch. I also got Calvin the Haupia mix his Missus likes so much.

I got the Lau Lau Combo.

Which was ok for "mainland Lau Lau"....that would be; too lean, no salted butterfish. But man, I do miss the smokey flavor of luau leaf and I guess I got my fix in this case. It's actually better than some of the other versions I've had on the mainland over the years.

The rice was same as before; on the dry side.

I ordered the Basic Spicy Ahi; but what I got was weird, not spicy, way too much sesame oil, the fish was fairly low quality, kind of mushy.

The following weekend I needed to go into work....so, of course I headed into the opposite direction....you can call it procrastination, denial, passive-aggressive, or what have you. I needed to grab something to eat, so I decided to give Poke Etc another shot. This time I got the Poke Salad, with Ahi Limu.

The quality of the fish was much better than on previous visits. Maybe because it was something like 945 in the morning? The poke wasn't combined with the shoyu real well and the limu was mushy and all stuck together. The "salad" was a typical mixed greens, which is what I kind of expected. At least the fish was better this time around.

Not sure if I'll be back again soon though. I still need to get to It's Raw in OB. My sources tell me it's more "real", not the typical "chi-poke" kind of place....

Poke Etc
916 E 8th St
National City, CA 91950

Hope you have a great weekend!

A Loco Moco from Kona Kakes

Recently, I had just finished up my errands on a nice Saturday morning and was heading home down Linda Vista Road. As I drove past the strip mall, you know where Ballast Point is located, I saw Kona Kakes. It had been over five years since I last visited (yeesh!) and tried their plates. I was really hungry, so I decided to stop by. For some reason, the place seemed a bit cleaner and brighter than I recalled.

Being quite famished; I decided to get what is a guilty pleasure these days, the Loco Moco ($10.99). It did take a while to arrive, but I got to watch all of the happy folks coming to pick up cakes for various occasions. The loco moco made its way to my table and was fairly hefty.

Since getting just downwind of a loco moco is means for celebration these days; I decided to bust out the "Rubio scale", a scoring system originally developed by James Rubio on his now defunct "Big Island Grinds" blog way back in 2005. I modified the scale back in 2005; man, fourteen years ago, and hadn't used it in over six months. So, you ready? Hea' goes......

BURGER: Was supposed to be 1/3 pound, but seemed thinner and smaller than expected. Too lean and tough, but well seasoned. Studded with green onions. Beefy with a decent char. 3.0

EGGS:  Perfectly runny, though not seasoned, and it would have been a winnah' if the edges were crisp. 4.0

RICE: A bit on the dry side, but adequate. 2.5

GRAVY: Very dark, though not too gluey, salty, I definitely don't think this is made from scratch. Bitter bits in the gravy. And no Tabasco either! What's up with all these places not having Tabasco???? 2.5

STUFF: The Mac salad was much better than what I'd had before and served nicely chilled. Could have been seasoned and fairly standard. Standard is also the word for the green salad. 2.5

Overall score - 14.5. Decent, but nothing to go out of your way for. Considering that a typical L&L usually scores a 10, this ain't bad, but it's definitely not in the same league as Island Style Café.

Really friendly, nice woman working about my age, who spent her high school years on Oahu. It was nice chatting with her and I got a couple of to go treats for my friends....who loved the guava cake the best.

So, at least I got my Loco Moco fix in!

Kona Kakes
5401 Linda Vista Road Suite 402
San Diego, CA 92110
Hours:
Mon - Tues 11am - 3pm
Wed - Sat  11am - 6pm
Closed Sundays

Chris’ Ono Grinds Island Grill (North Park)

After several years; I finally made it to Chris' Ono Grinds in North Park. I'd been meaning to ever since, sadly, a couple of years after visiting the Mission Gorge location, it was consumed by fire (here's a video). I'd actually been thinking of revisiting the Mission Gorge location about the time of the fire. I put the North Park location on my "list" and well, call it old age, promptly forgot about it. Until recently when one of the guys at work, "BigD from Georgia" told me how much he enjoys the place. Well, even though "BigD" wouldn't know a plate lunch from a slate lunch, I thought it was about time.

It was a nice weekend morning, about eleven-thirty-ish, when I parked and crossed the street into the tiny shop.

The folks here are quite friendly, very hospitable. It was close enough for breakfast for me to order the Loco Moco ($11).

Well, other than the perfect easy-over egg (it was overcooked last time), this was basically a replay. The burger had some nice beefiness, but was really tough and rubbery. The gravy had a sour-bitterness to it that I found rather unpleasant. The rice was fine.

That mac salad was the best thing about this meal. Edging on a bit too sour, it was served nicely chilled, the macaroni was perfectly cooked, the amount of mayo was hitting that top end, but was still within parameters.

Too bad about the gravy, because that egg was lovely.

A couple of weeks later, I was in the neighborhood, so I decided to drop by. This time I went with the Huli Huli Chicken - Teri Steak ($12). One thing you can't complain about is the portion sizes at Chris's.

Well, be it ever so humble, once again, that mac salad was my favorite thing about this meal.

I gotta give it to Chris's though, the beef, while cut thicker than usual for teri beef was fairly tender. I just wish it was better marinated and had less of the salty-heavy ginger glaze.

The Huli Huli Chicken was as before, too sticky sweet for my taste and this time it was really charred to death.

Nice portions, nice people, not my kind of loco moco or plate lunch. In thinking about things; Chris's has the potential to be something along the lines of Diamond Head Market and Grill. Man am I missing home right now.

Chris’ Ono Grinds Island Grill
4506 30th St
San Diego, CA 92116
Open Daily
1130am - 9pm

Breakfast Revisits - Zarlitos Family Restaurant, Elijah’s Restaurant & Delicatessen, and Poke Etc

A couple of breakfast revisits.

Zarlitos Family Restaurant:

It's already been established that Zarlitos is the Missus's favorite breakfast stop. Basically, it's poke for breakfast. And the Missus can sometimes put away a pound of this stuff.

I however, had to still work and find the perfect breakfast counter-point. It became a real "Goldilocks" type of moment. No, not that Goldilocks; this Goldilocks!

The first time...well, I just had to try the sisig. But man, this was way to sour for breakfast.

As a whole not too bad in terms of sisig; but I wanted a bit more spice. The pork was crisp and not overly chewy, but it was just missing something....and perhaps was not the best choice for breakfast.

On another note; a friend sent me a bunch of postings last month....apparently Anthony Bourdain anointed Sisig as the next big thing. I dunno, I think my first post on sisig was way back in April, 2006. Hey, even an old fuddy-duddy unhip food blogger enjoys a moment where one of his favorites dishes; one with its own category list hits the spotlight. As for the next big thing? Hmm.......

Next visit; I went the ex-pat local boy route.....the Spamsilog.

Man, talk about too much of a good thing......I expected like maybe two slices, max. But this was three fairly substantial slices. Way too much saltiness. Even though the Spam looked undercooked; it was strangely crisp. I think it was dumped in the fryer. In spite of this not working out, I did find part of the equation. First off, I'm not a big fan of the standard garlic rice here...and they do give a lot of rice. I got steamed rice and found that the Missus sharing a good amount of it....and one of my eggs to boot.

So we were at two out of three here.......almost there.

And then I ordered the Chicksilog; the fried chicken quarter, rice, and eggs.

The chicken is simply fried; but the fat has been rendered out from under that crisp skin. It's obviously been double-fried. That skin was nice, light and crisp, with a enjoyable level of greasiness that just goes well with some vinegar.....yes, vinegar is a must as it really cuts the fattiness.

That's two easy-over eggs hiding below the fried chicken. I share one egg and about a third of the rice with the Missus, along with a bit of the chicken....of course She loves that skin dipped in vinegar. I place the egg on top of the rice; break the yolk, and add shoyu.

As Goldilocks said; "this one is just right".......

Zarlitos Family Restaurant
505 East 8th St.
National City, CA 91950

Elijah’s Restaurant & Delicatessen:

I'd managed to bring back a pound of Schwartz's smoked meat from Montreal and the Missus wanted me to track down some Rye Bread. For some reason; I recalled that Elijah's sold their own rye bread. "AlanH" had also recommended the goulash soup, which was a Wednesday special at Elijah's, so I got there right before 11am on a Wednesday to check it out.

This being a breakfast posts; you can kinda figure out how I fared. The really nice gentleman informed me that they weren't serving the goulash soup at this time.

So I took a look at the menu.

Breakfast I believe is served all day....for some reason the Reuben Omelette ($10.95) jumped out at me. So I ordered it. Man, talk about a load of food.

And to be perfectly honest; I kinda enjoyed it.......slight sour and crunch from the sauerkraut; sliced corned beef added meatiness and saltiness, the Swiss cheese a blanket of milky comfort, and for some reason Russian Dressing.....now, when I used to work in a restaurant during my younger days; we added a dollop of mayonnaise to our scrambled eggs for extra richness...here it's the ketchup in the dressing, along with the mild acidity from the cheese that really helped things along.

The potatoes were nicely fried and seasoned....the Missus really likes the potatoes here, so I saved most of it for Her. Along with half the omelette which I had later on for dinner.

So I struck out on the goulash soup, but didn't do badly at all.

Elijah’s Restaurant & Delicatessen
7061 Clairemont Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92111

Poke Etc:

I know poke at Zarlitos and Longanisa at Poke Etc? What can I say? I'd actually been wanting to try the Ilocano Longanisa, something that I haven't had since my days "back home". Like I mentioned in my Poke Etc post last year. My Filipino friends back home were Ilocano and that was the type of longanisa I was used to. Man, when I had my first Longsilog here on the mainland!

Anyway; the Ilocano Longanisa here comes with eggs and rice, with an amazing price of $4.95! So finally, a year later, I made my way back and ordered it.

For some reason I expected easy over eggs; but man, that's a lot of eggs and longanisa for five bucks. The eggs weren't seasoned and were on the gummy side. The rice was better than on my previous visits. Maybe because it was 10 in the morning. Something was not right with the longanisa; I'm used to garlic hints with a sour, vinegar bite....but these tasted, well, almost rancid, bitterness. It also smelled kind of strange.....sort of cheesy...which I love in cheese....but not quite here. I'd actually taken this home before eating or I'd ask the really nice woman about it. So basically decided to cut my losses.

I'll probably go back to the poke here during future visits.

Poke Etc
916 E 8th St
National City, CA 91950