So it seems whenever I change jobs I end up forgetting about my blog for a bit of time. I’m sorry. 😦
But I’m back! The new job is settling down (at least I hope it is by now), so here’s a new post for your enjoyment. The first second of the new year. 🙂
Eva’s Hawaiian Cafe
731 Clement Ave. (x. 8th Ave.)
Photo: none. Still trying to get into the groove of things here.
Red A Bakery closed? No matter! Walk a couple blocks down Clement and you’ll find Eva’s Hawaiian Cafe. If you’ve ever been to L&L Hawaiian BBQ, then there are no surprises here. It seems that Eva’s is just another name for L&L as there’s L&L stuff throughout the place. I don’t really get why they call themselves Eva’s, maybe it’s a fancier version of L&L? Identity crisis? A franchise exercising independence? Mysteries abound, that didn’t stop us from trying.
Enter the place and you are immediately faced with a choice: take out or dine in? Cash register’s up front, so you could easily do either. In fact, whilst we ate many customers picked up food. The interior is brightly painted and pretty clean. There’s Hawaiian music blasting constantly, ranging from traditional sounding stuff to aloha-ized versions of pop songs. How could one not feel the aloha spirit here? The place tugs at your heart strings the entire time.
The menu is filled with Hawaiian favorites: loco moco, mix plate, pulled BBQ pork, etc. On this particular venture, bbg ordered the mix plate – rice only! And I had the teriyaki burger with fries and salad. All plates come with rice and the option of salad or macaroni salad. For myself, I picked the salad only because I thought burgers and fries AND macaroni salad would be overdoing it. My heart can only take so much! The menu also features tons of tropical drinks – smoothies and juices. I was loading up on fats, sugars would have to wait until next time. On a previous visit, bbg ordered the same thing (it’s his favorite) and I got the chicken katsu (the chicken version of my all time favorite Japanese dish).
The food! I thought the teriyaki burger would come with a slice of pineapple, but surprisingly it doesn’t. It did come with a single piece of tiny lettuce, a slice of tomato and onion, and the biggest glob of mayonnaise you’ve ever seen. Don’t get me wrong, I like mayo, but seriously, this was ridiculous. The burger was tasty, but I didn’t really get how it was Hawaiian since I didn’t really taste the teriyaki. I was disappointed with the lack of lettuce, but the other veggies (all two of them) were fresh and added to the flavor. I ended up scrapping off some of the mayo, but other than that, it was great. The fries reminded me of Ahn’s burger fries. They were crispy and plentiful, but not very flavorful. They needed more salt. The salad was average. It consisted of your general mixed greens, some shredded red cabbage, and some shredded carrots. The veggies, again, were fresh, which is great. The salad was tossed in a light dressing, so light that I couldn’t really taste it. I think it was ranch, but I’m not sure.
The mix plate, I’m told, was excellent. The beauty of a mix plate is that you get every type of meat: pork, chicken, and beef! All BBQ’d in the same sauce and grilled to perfection. Higher quality of meat than the Red A, but probably just as tasty since it’s cooked in the same sauce. My small bite of meat (chicken, I believe) was drowning in the BBQ sauce flavor and a bit chewy, but mostly tender.
I remember the chicken katsu being a big sub-par the time I went there. I think Hawaiian places don’t really get how to make the katsu without drying out the meat. It’s either really dry or really greasy, never in between unless you go to a high end Japanese place. The chicken katsu here was on the greasy side, unfortunately. The chicken came with a layer of fat under the breaded/fried layer of goodness. It came with the standard dipping sauce and sides of macaroni salad, rice, and salad. Salad was the same: forgettable. The macaroni salad was more or less noodles smothered in mayo. Not very tasty, just squishy and bland. There were bits of (probably) carrots in it, but that didn’t do much. I wasn’t impressed.
The service is incredibly fast and friendly. Both times we went we had the same waitress. She seems to be the person usually in charge. On our last trip, I overheard her talking on her cell phone, saying she had worked all week and long hours. She had a migraine that night, but you couldn’t tell it by talking to her. Very sweet and polite and attentive. Nice, but if you don’t like leaving tips, you’ll hate this place! I couldn’t help but leave a little more than usual since she was so nice and basically running the sitting area and register by herself (looked like one other person was there, just working the kitchen).
I’ve never been there earlier than 9pm, so it’s never crowded. I think it’s a spot used by locals to pick up a quick and late bite. Some drunk-ish people came in, but didn’t stay long.
Overall: Ok food, nothing really special. Tasty and reliably fattening. Nice service, probably better items on the menu I haven’t tried yet. Open late, fast, and consistent, so I’ll be back. Definitely nicer than the Red A. Mixed plate is supposed to be really good.
Rating: 7/10
choice chow 
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