Ono’s Café – An Island Style Bistro

June 9, 2009

Bonita, California – Looking for a new place to eat while in San Diego this time. Since I was going to be in town for a couple of days, I had a much wider range of places to choose from. An online search turned up an interesting hit; Ono’s Café. Being a big fan of Hawaiian cuisine, the name Ono was all I needed to see.

Tucked away in southern San Diego county is the town of Bonita. It appears to be a laid-back, older town just outside Chula Vista. Tucked away in the town of Bonita is Ono’s Café, which itself is really tucked away in a ranch-styled strip mall. If you are coming here to dine, be careful as it’s very easy to miss. Look for the name on the sign in the parking lot.

Let’s go inside. Turning left at the hostess station will take you to a dining area dominated by a 750-gallon aquarium filled with dozens of fish – your first and biggest clue that the island bistro really does represent the islands. Actually this is the second clue; the first one is the 6-foot Polynesian statue outside. Seemingly a world away but just a right turn at the hostess station is a more secluded area with booths. From these booths you can watch television on a flat screen. Outside is the patio with gas-fed heaters. It looks like it would be nice to have dinner out here on a summer evening while enjoying the sunset. Also outside is the DJ booth. On certain nights the DJ occupies his station and spins for the patrons. Other nights feature live music.

They have several Happy Hour specials on drinks such as sake and beer, reduced price appetizers, Sake bombs, and half off basic sushi rolls. The catch is the specials aren’t all available at the same time; some start at 4pm and end after a couple of hours. Others start at 7 pm. Tuesdays feature a $2 appetizer menu. Tip for weeknight dining: arrive at 6:30 pm and take advantage of the specials in effect at that time. Then take advantage of the next round at 7:00 pm.

One of the first things you notice about the booths is that kanji characters decorate the brown fabric covering. A brown theme permeates the place. Lots of bamboo, too; roots, grasses, and cane. The tables boast candles that are placed in a jar complete with sand and pebbles. On a balmy evening like tonight, these candles evoke a beach scene. Carved Tiki statues abound in here, and a very large one that I told you about earlier stands guard outside. Artwork adorns the wall and photographs of wahines in grass skirts add to the variety. A bamboo screen separates the area leading to the back door, which does double duty as a wind screen. If you’re seated on the west side of the restaurant and a light wind is blowing, you get the equivalent of an island breeze. Music ranging from smooth jazz to electronica to New Age soothes your mind and relaxes your body.

My waiter came and gave me the 411 on the daily specials and Happy Hour fare. I ordered some hot sake, and some iced tea. The tea came in a tall glass shaped like, what else, a bamboo cane. It was Passion fruit tea. Quite strong. I used it to (very effectively) cleanse my palate between bites of the appetizer, which you’ll read about shortly. The hot sake came in a bottomless sake bottle; I filled the shot glass that came with it at least 5 times, then lost count as the sake endlessly poured from the bottle. It must be some sort of optical illusion. That much sake can’t possibly come from a bottle of that size.

Following the tea and sake, Miso soup was delivered in a wooden bowl. Fresh chopped green onions and seaweed floated around in the soup which arrived at the perfect temperature to, uh, slurp. Not so hot that it burned your mouth but hot enough to warm you up as you drank it.

So far, very good. But it gets better. Ono’s has several specialty rolls; their own creations. Names like Hot Wahine (!), Da Kine, Mojito (!), and Hana Hou piqued my interest. For the appetizer I went with the Hana Hou roll instead of the Filet Mignon Sate (!). My conscience would not leave me alone; seconds after my waiter went to place my order, I got the attention of one of the other waiters and had him change to the sate, and make the Hana Hou to go. Man, was I glad I did!

The sate was perfectly grilled on three bamboo skewers. Tender, almost buttery filet virtually melted in my mouth. It was marinated extremely well, probably for hours. It was so flavorful that it was good enough to eat as is without the dipping sauces. Savory juices delighted my mouth, flavor lingering on my taste buds long enough ride a North Shore wave.

From top to bottom on the left side of the plate, curry lime (!), peanut sauce, and mango bbq dipping sauces hung out waiting for their turn to jump aboard the sate train. I could not even imagine what a combination of curry and lime would taste like. I was pleasantly pleased with the result. Order of preference after trying each one: peanut sauce, hot on its trail the curry lime, followed by the mango bbq. On the right side of the plate is our kimchee salad. I know I just described the succulent sate but I actually started with the salad. It was so good I almost finished it before even starting on the sate.

Quietly observing the operation of the restaurant this evening, the owner made the rounds. He seemed to take a certain interest in what I had on my table. He asked me how I learned about his restaurant and that led to a quick conversation. I made sure I shook his hand and complimented him on how delicious everything was.

For my entrée I chose the Panko crusted salmon. It sounded different so I tried it. My first choice was the Kalua Pig, but I can get that in a number of different Hawaiian restaurants. Panko-battered Atlantic King Salmon is lightly fried, then artfully decorated with ribbons of sauce. The salmon was nice and pink inside, flaky, and fresh-tasting. Though fried, it was not greasy at all. Black Thai Rice (!) joined the party. I had never even heard of black rice before. It came dome-topped on the plate, sweet in flavor. It looks like short-grain brown rice, but it’s black. I don’t really have anything to compare it to other than brown rice that has been “kicked up to notches unknown to man.” It is definitely worth trying. I sure liked it. Asian slaw rounded out the entrée. One cool thing about the slaw was that it had sliced cranberries.

Close to 7:00 pm one of the waitresses walked by distributing the 7:00pm Tuesday $2 specials menu. My first thought was, “No way. I have enough already.” But a few minutes went by and I realized I wasn’t full. I decided to go for it. So when my waiter came back to check up on me, I ordered some shumai and gyoza. Both were fresh and hot. The shumai was bigger than most shumai I’ve had. Come to think of it, I’ve only had shumai at potlucks and they were home made by friends. You don’t often find shumai in restaurants so that was the prime factor in making my decision. (At this rate they may as well just bring me everything on the menu. Why not? I ordered half of it already).

When I got back to the hotel almost an hour later, I was up for trying the Hana Hou roll. So what is a Hana Hou? Smoked salmon, avocado, crab, baked in dynamite sauce and topped with sautéed mushrooms. The smoked salmon made its presence well known but the whole thing was delicious. Never had mushrooms on a sushi roll before. Maybe it was the smokiness of the salmon or the mushrooms, but I felt more full after eating this roll than I do after eating ‘basic’ rolls like spicy tuna or crunch.

A true island bistro, Ono’s certainly lives up to its description. On the menu I noticed fare representing Hawaii and other Pacific islands, and the countries of Japan, China, Indonesia, Thailand, Korea, and the Philippines. Ono’s provided many gastronomic firsts for me tonight, which is a testament to their culinary creativity. It is also one of the primary reasons I enjoy dining out. Next time I come back here, I’ll order the other half of the menu. In case you’re wondering, they do have dessert but I was too full to try any.

Ono’s Cafe – 5 forks. Very highly recommended. I’d give it 10 forks but my rating scale only goes up to 5. Incredibly imaginative and unique cuisine.