Guest Critic #1 -8/97

A few months ago I got an Email from ex-islander Timmy Yee saying he was going to be in town.
The first place he was going to hit was Kam Bowl for the Ox tail soup. And Timmy says.......

What more can you say about the service there when the waitress comes over & doesn't ask "what would you like?" but "Ox-tail?" Wow! Mind reading waitresses. It also helps when after you order, you get your food in a matter of minutes. The ox-tail is better than I remember it to be. I tried my brother's hamburger steak & it was good too. The atmosphere is OK, it's a bowling alley! Those OLD pinball machines in there really give a feeling of nostalgia though.

Timmy's Ratings:

Food: 1/2 The best ox-tail soup to be found.

Service: 1/2

Atmosphere: 1/2

Value: 1/2 $6.90 per bowl is a great deal.

Thanks for the review Timmy!

Note from Richard: Being a bowling alley, Kam Bowl is kind of smokey at times- reminds me of the CIVIC AUDITORIUM when they had 50th State Big Time Wrestling. (Cough!Cough!) Also there is a challenger to Kam Bowl's rep. as having the best Ox-tail soup. College Walk Inn located near River street makes a good Ox-tail that is not oily- they skim the fat from the soup. Any comments?

The College Inn Ox-tail Soup

Jon Yim (Former Ewa Beach/Palolo Valley resident) lets us know that plate lunch places are alive and well outside of Hawaii.
And Jon says.........

In a city mostly known for haute Southern California cuisine, In-N-Out Burgers, massive amounts of local Mexican food eateries (not of the Taco Bell Variety) & wood-fired pizza, it's nice to know that Dan Diegans & ex-pat locals (who call themselves San Diegans) can enjoy ono-kine food from home!

Welcome to Island Boy Grill, a little place nestled in a Sorrento Valley strip mall adjacent to some of San Diego's (& the world's) biggest telecommunications & biotechnology firms. Lunchtime clientele are usually technicians & engineers from Qualcomm, General Instruments, Nokia, Motorola, SAIC, IVAC, Gen-Probe, Pacific Bell & Industrial Computer Designs. Regular customers are mostly Hawaii/Honolulu ex-pats (such as myself) & homesick local kids attending UCSD, San Diego State or University of San Diego.

Daily plate lunches are kalua pig & cabbage, kal bi style spareribs, teri chicken, mahi mahi, skewered shrimp, loco-moco. Prices range from $3.95 to $7.50. Macaroni salad rivals that of Zippy's. Portions area generous; but the largest is the "Kanaka Plate" (choice of three entrees, three scoops rice, green salad). Very good lomi salmon, lumpia & chicken long rice. Fresh laulau is featured every other Saturday. Island Boy also "imports" Hawaiian Sun drinks for those who want a local thirst quencher with their meal.

Seating in the restaurant is ample, but get there early on weekdays as the place fills up quickly & the order line occasionally trail out the door! The decor is friendly, with many autographed Randy Jay Braun lithographs on the wall & contemporary Hawaiian music playing on the restaurant sound system.

Island Boy hasn't gone unnoticed in this town; it has received glowing reviews in the San Diego press and from the enigmatic "Unkown Eater" of San Diego's CBS affiliate KFMB.

Now for the scores (your actual milage may vary...)

FOOD: Not bad when you're 2,500 miles away from Kapahulu!

SERVICE: Get there early, or phone ahead!

ATMOSPHERE:

VALUE: 1/2

Richard's note: Their mac salad rivals Zippy's?! Who says Zippy's salad is good? Sometimes I think finding a good mac salad is like finding the Holy Grail- an impossible dream.
Thanks for the review Jon!!!!!

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