Taste of Polynesia: A Tale of the Turkey Tail

I am willing to taste most things at least once. I’ve sampled snake in China, had horse sausage in Costa Rica, and was offered a preserved shark dish in Iceland that came with such a pungent aroma that I could not get close enough to try it. Today, it was turkey tail.

serves back-home favorites to San Diego’s Pacific Island community and other adventurous diners. A friend and I visited on Sunday, and owner Senerita L. Gorniak said it is usually a busy day. She explained that here, like in the islands, families go to church and then pick up some local food for a big feast at home. Stories are shared following the long meal, and then it is time for a nap.

While we were dining, there was a semi-steady stream of well-dressed families who were taking home large orders of food. Gorniak said her most popular item is taro root, which is baked and sold in large chunks. She joked that taro keeps the place open.

The restaurant is much cuter on the inside than the rather nondescript storefront would suggest from the outside. There are few tables, as most patrons take their food to go. We were the only ones dining in at the time. I ordered the Minnie Hawaii plate lunch for $7, which included two item choices and rice. It was turkey tail and lamb curry for me. My partner decided on the talofa (Samoan for welcome) bowl, which comes with one item and rice for $4. She picked the chop suey with noodles. We split a can of Hawaiian Sun mango-orange for our beverage.

The Styrofoam container was filled with a mound of steamy rice, then topped with a very generous portion of  curried lamb. The turkey tail had its own place of honor on the plate. I liked the curry, which was mild and flavorful—a simple and satisfying dish featuring large pieces of lamb, potatoes, and carrots. The turkey tail was really a cool and unusual dish. It is exactly what it says it is...the tail of a turkey. You have to work a bit at the funny little triangle of bone and meat to get to the savory morsels of turkey. The little gold nuggets of meat were well worth the effort.

My dining buddy also had a really interesting meal…a chop suey dish made with canned corned beef, thick glass noodles, cabbage, carrots, garlic, and ginger. A little background: in the Pacific Islands, canned meats became very popular once they were introduced. They offered a different protein source than the ocean, and required no refrigeration. This is why Spam is so prevalent in Hawaii. I had a nice sampling of the chop suey and found it very tasty. The glass noodles (this particular brand was new to me) were amazing in absorbing the flavors, and helped make this dish a standout.

This is fun place and, I’m sure, a godsend for native islanders who want a back-home fix. I want to come back to try the pineapple moon pie. There was no room for dessert on this visit.

Taste of Polynesia is located at 6937 Federal Blvd., near the corner of College Avenue. The hours are Tuesday through Saturday, 9 a.m.–7 p.m.; Sunday, 9 a.m.–4 p.m.; closed on Monday. They accept credit cards. Food to go and catering is available. You can call in your order to 619-466-6199.