You can thank Sundance Cinemas VP Dale Friddell for saving one of San Francisco's best Hawaiian restaurants.
While in town on business over the last few years, Friddell ate at Honu's in Japantown every day. But the light foot traffic on its cobblestone block of Buchanan Street had him worried that Pat DaSilva's kalua pig and lomi-lomi salmon would disappear like the faded memories of an island vacation. So he persuaded DaSilva to join his fold.
DaSilva closed Honu's and moved the operation to Sundance Kitchen, where she has transplanted such blessedly untrendy local classics as poi and loco moco: rice with a hamburger patty, eggs and gravy (click here to download the menu).
But our profound sigh of relief came when we realized that Honu's outstanding spam musubi (pictured, left) and kalua pig cheese fries (pictured, right) survived the move. One of Hawaii's national dishes, spam musubi is like a vacuum-packed sushi roll stuffed with the islands' favorite canned protein. Mock if you will: We'll eat yours for you.
Honu's fries--drenched in cheese sauce, shredded kalua pig, cabbage and slivered scallions--were undeniably trashy. Sundance Kitchen's are precisely how we remember them: a playing field of wild textures, big flavors and stomach-obliterating deliciousness.
What a beautiful homecoming.
Sundance Kitchen, 1865 Post St. (at Fillmore St.); 415-346-3246 or sundancecinemas.com/kabuki/html
