Roy's

There was a Roy's Hawaiian in La Jolla when I used to live there. I heard it wasn't that good, so I never went there. Then, my friend's sister and her husband went to Hawaii for their honeymoon. They went to Roy's and raved about it, especially the Ahi Poke. But I was still not convinced enough to go the one in La Jolla. However, I work down the street from the Roy's in Downtown LA (on Figueroa), and so does my attorney uncle. So when he offered to treat me to lunch at Roy's, I jumped at the chance. (The picture at right is one of the selections available, which I personally have not tried.)

As you enter the restaurant, about 5 people say Aloha to you. This might be cute in Hawaii (and I wouldn't know since I've never been), but in LA it's downright annoying. But at least they have made the most with the small space, with a "tropical" decor (bamboo and weird flowers). And we got a kind of crappy table by the kitchen. But I digress. The food should be the centerpiece, no?

The menu changes all the time (so our server claimed) and they have a large variety of fresh fish. I ordered the bento box so I could get a nice sampling of what they had to offer. The first thing I tried was the Ahi Poke, since my friends raved about it. It's fresh diced Ahi, marinated in some yummy soy sauce wasabi mixture, crunchy smelt roe, and avocado (which came in big chunks so it was easy for me to pick out) :-). It was sooo good. The fish was so fresh, and the silky smoothness of the tuna was a great complement to the tangy sauce and crunchy smelt roe. Roy’s calls the smelt roe “Tobiko Caviar,” which is probably Hawaiian fancy schmancy for smelt roe. Let’s call a fish egg a fish egg people.

The next thing I tried was some mild whitefish (probably sea bass) in a weird sauce. It was purple-black and light. It was too light to be pureed black beans, and it didn’t have a lot of flavor. The fish was fresh, but it was so mild and the sauce didn’t have a lot of flavor. So I didn’t even finish it.

The third compartment had a delicious Chinese chicken salad. The chicken was lightly breaded and crispy, and the salad was really like an Asian cabbage slaw in a tangy dressing. Very tasty!

And last but not least, the charbroiled and braised short ribs. WOW. They sure know how to make their piggies taste good in Hawaii!!! The meat was marinated in a yummy teriyaki like mixture, and just FELL OFF THE BONE. MMMM. And my big complaint with ribs is that they are too fatty, but these were perfect, meaty, hearty, and sweet and sour all at once. I’m never going to Tony Roma’s again!