Picture your happy place. There's a good chance you are visualizing a beach somewhere. Maybe that beach has sand like light brown sugar and soft caressing waves that lap your toes then roll back into a sea of turquoise and cobalt. And maybe there are the sweet and dreamy scents of five-petaled flowers, red clay, and salt mixed in the air by sunshine and long-traveling trade winds. It is a carefree, easy place to be. Now, imagine this happy place in your tummy. Hard to do? Not at Hukilau in San Jose. Hukilau took the flavors, essence, and tradition of the Hawaiian Islands and put it on a menu. To those with Hawaiian roots (whether real or in spirit), it's all the foods that take you back to the islands that you love. Enjoy island inspired dishes or classic Hawaiian favorites like Loco Moco (seasoned beef patties and over easy eggs piled on top of scoops of rice and smothered in gravy), ahi poke (sashimi style tuna salad with green onion, soy, and other seasonings - my favorite especially with a cold bottle of Hinano Tahitian beer), or lau lau (succulent pieces of pork wrapped in taro leaves and steamed to tender perfection). Most dishes are served "local" or "plate lunch" style with the obligatory scoops of rice and mac salad (a.k.a. macaroni salad) -- don't question it, just love it.
Like retro Hawaiiana posters of hula girls dancing on palm tree laden beaches, Hukilau beckons you and saturates your day dreams. Maybe it's one of the lychee flavored umbrella drinks on the menu that calls your name, or if you are like me, it's the Hukilau's special kalua pork cheese fries. Yes, pork-cheese-fries together. That shudder up your spine and the tingle from your salivary glands means that despite all the rational and critical thinking defenses ingrained within the power of your cognitive facilities, you want it; smokey shreds of beef and melted cheese over a gi-normous pile of hot, salty french fries. Again, don't question it, just love it.
In summary, what I would really like to convey is that there is a repose from the stresses of life - the key is finding it. I hope I've helped you a little bit with that goal here.
In the spirit of Aloha, I am expanding I LOVE TO EAT SAN JOSE! to include a restaurant that can also be found in San Francisco and San Jose (and also Honolulu, for that matter).
The restaurant featured in this edition of I LOVE TO EAT SAN JOSE! is located in the heart of San Jose's Japantown on Jackson St. (between N. 5th and N. 6th St.).
