Recently, someone invited me to go to Hawai‘i with them. Tickets were cheap and living arrangements were already made. I wasn’t able to go because of work and other commitments. No worries. It’s not the end of the world; I can go to Hawai‘i anytime I want. All I need, really, is the money to get there and back (with a question mark on the “back” part.)
Perhaps the sunny weather a few weeks back and watching the sets roll into Ocean Beach made me think about Hawai‘i even more. Not that the two have anything in common, but on the surface, they are both near the ocean and have sand. As I sat there by myself atop one of the many solidified sand dunes that line the beach, I really thought about getting away from it all — well, actually my stomach started telling me it was time to eat, and I needed to pat the sand off my jeans and head for some food.
Sadly, E Komo Mai in San Francisco’s Sunset shut its doors a while back. This was the Hawaiian restaurant I wrote about back in August 2003. I drove down Sunset, headed toward 280 and drove. I just felt like driving by myself and listening to my own thoughts. Not knowing where I was really going, I decided to make an extemporaneous decision. I took the Menlo Park exit off of 101 and drove around for a bit.
Thank goodness for some dried mangoes I had stashed in my car for an emergency “tie me over” snack. To my pleasant surprise, I happened upon J&J Hawaiian Barbecue off of Ravenswood Avenue Menlo Park.
Don’t you just love how certain colors make you happier and more relaxed? I immediately felt a flood of calmness and happiness when I walked into J&J. Rays of sunlight shone through the dining room, and the walls were colored a beautiful orange, yellow and crimson hue, which made me feel as if I were actually looking at a sunset. I was happy and I know that I had a big smile on my face. Adding to the whole beach ambience were the hanging surfboards on the walls, which looked as if they were riding off into the sunset. Stone floor tiles completed the whole tropical feel, and I can still close my eyes and feel the warmth I felt while I was sitting in the restaurant.
I got so caught up in the pleasant surroundings that I forgot why I went to the restaurant in the first place. When I placed my order, the staff looked at me as if I were crazy. I often get that look of shock when servers see me order all this food for one person, but all I say is, “I’m really hungry.”
A good dish to start out with is the Hawaiian BBQ Mix ($6.95), which comes with a nice combination of the restaurant’s barbecued fare. The mix included barbecued chicken and barbecued short ribs with a side of macaroni salad. Both the chicken and the short ribs were marinated with the same sweet-and-savory sauce. Who can resist eating glazed meat though, right? I chowed down (hey, that’s what you have to do when you’re at a Hawaiian restaurant), alternating between bites of chicken, beef and warm rice.
I guess I didn’t get enough beef with the first dish, but the Seafood & BBQ Combo ($7.50) satisfied my cravings. This plate reminded me of a surf-and-turf dish. Fried shrimp were paired with barbecued short ribs and also came with rice and macaroni salad. The shrimp were lightly battered and fried to a golden crisp. By this point in the meal, my hands were sticky from the barbecue sauce and I’m pretty sure I had a rice kernel stuck to my chin. But I was enjoying myself.
My stomach was beginning to tell me so by the time I started on the Chicken Katsu ($5.95). The order came with a huge plate of deep-fried chicken strips covered in a light breadcrumb coating. The restaurant makes it own tonkatsu sauce, whose ingredients I couldn’t really make out; I’m guessing there was a bit of ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, sugar and mirin.
If you’re looking for a laid-back restaurant to enjoy good company, or if you’re just looking for some time to yourself in a pseudo-getaway atmosphere, head over to J&J Barbecue. It’s best to go when the weather is nice, since the sunlight adds to the whole ambience, but if you want some sun and it’s dreary, this would be a nice place to go to — hey, it’s better than going to a tanning salon.
J&J Hawaiian Barbecue
1740 Alma St.
Menlo Park, CA 94025
(650) 323-6237
Hours: Mon. – Sun. 10 a.m. – 9 p.m.
Prices: Entrees: $3.29 - $5.40 (mini); $4.99 - $7.50 (regular)
Credit cards accepted.
Reach the Picky Eater at pickyeater@asianweek.com.