September 2006 archive
This vacation rental is not your average floral-patterned, rattan furnished beach pad. Hale Balleja is located in the Puna District, which is about as far off the tourist track as you can get. It's a great place with nearby…
So I know that far too many of you (estimated crowd: 15,000) are thinking about heading down to Waikiki to check out the open-air season premiere of teevee phenom "Lost" at 7 pm tonite at Kuhio Beach (map). Well, I'm…
This is an amazing image of a banana pod. They actually grow all over Hawaii. We especially love the apple bananas. The leaves are used in making luau food; we wrap whatever we want to cook in the imu…
At least once a week I get a request from someone for more poke recipes. So I am going to try to keep adding them up there, ideally pushing my readers into some sort of poke paralysis. Heh. This one…
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Rona Bennett and Lan Chung are two of the superstars on Hawaii's budding high fashion design scene. They grew up in Hawaii and launched their fashion line, Fighting Eel, in the summer 2003. Three years -- and dozens of press…
At Hawaiirama the good life is the liquid life. Not that I advocate excessive consumption but a little bit of libation sampling is a wonderful thing. In the islands, every hotel bar, restaurant and club has a signature cocktail. Starting…
A funny thing about living in the Internet Age -- because I was a food critic when I was living in New York City and keep up on restaurants, friends from the Big Apple still ask me for restaurant recs…
Locals simply refer to these two stores as Native Books or Na Mea. Proprietor Maile Meyer runs what might be the most Hawaiian store in the islands with a full Hawaiiana book section, Ni'ihau shell jewelry, fine furniture and bowls…
Some people come to Hawaii to lie on the beach and drink Mai Tais. Others feel the need for extreme physical exertion on their vacations. I can be prone to that tendency, sadly enough, and can relate. The only…
* Catherine Toth has a fun overview of the evolution of shave ice, everyone's favorite Hawaii desert. * Dave Choo reviews NeoNabe, a nouveau Nippon hotpot place in Hawaii Business * Leeward Community College reopens its lunch spot, Pearl, where…
The results of the 2006 Aloha Festival's Poke Contest were posted sometime a week or two ago and I was remiss in not getting them up. Readers of this blog know that I am a huge fan of poke. For…
The results of the 2006 Aloha Festival's Poke Contest were posted sometime a week or two ago and I was remiss in not getting them up. Readers of this blog know that I am a huge fan of poke. For…
A few weeks back, as the blog launched, I posted a note about the Fairmont Orchid in the Mauna Lani Resort on the Big Island. The Orchid has been in the forefront of efforts to reduce energy usage and reliance…
I went to the North Shore on Saturday, ostensibly to spend a quiet night in the country with the family unit. It was anything but. The trip started out well enough, with a leisurely lunch at Haleiwa Joes, where the…
We're getting a few queries in for this feature and hopefully we'll get a lot more. Again, we want to save your honeymoon. Don't trust a travel agent who doesn't live here. Don't trust a magazine that drops a writer…
This is part of a series of five excerpts from a book I like very much by Jessica Ferracane and Yvonne Biegel, "50 Thrifty Maui Restaurants". Foodies trolling for blue collar grubs should dig in. And a hat tip to…
...so we can maybe, someday, sell an advertisement. But seriously -- tell us about yourself and help keep Hawaiirama afloat. We won't do bad things with your info. Here's the link to our survey hosted by our wonderful backend providers,…
This trail in central Maui near the country seat of Wailuku is actually one of the few state maintained trails on the Valley Isle that lie relatively close to the major resort areas. Most trails are further up Haleakala Volcano…
This is the first in a series of five excerpts from a book I like very much by Jessica Ferracane and Yvonne Biegel, "50 Thrifty Maui Restaurants". Foodies trolling for blue collar grubs should dig in. And a hat tip…
The highly stylized charcoal sketches and oil paintings of Madge Tennent are often compared to those of that other painter of Polynesia, Gaugin as well as those of Vincent Van Gogh. They are a bit clunkier and chunkier, to be…
I spoke to Cade Watanabe from Unite Here Local 5 this afternoon about the ongoing contract negotiations affecting the four Sheraton hotels in Waikiki and the Hilton Hawaiian Village. These are some of the largest hotels in Hawaii and they…
The Hanalei area of Kauai has four world-class beaches in Ke'e, Tunnels, Haena, and Hanalei Bay. Surfers, snorkelers, beach combers and every other type of beach lover can find their ultimate calling in Hanalei. The area also has the…
This home-grown chain launched in 1983 on Maui and now has eight locations around the state. Blue Ginger sundresses are simple with muted colors and light floral patterns. Blue Ginger clothes, above all, are the opposite of garish, unlike…
Here's the latests in our series of beach lists from John Clark, the noted Hawaii beach expert and all around beach nut, will be feeding us his extremely informed take on best beaches around the Aloha State. We're breaking…
Food is visual and Hawaii food, due to the bright colors of the tropical palate, is more visual than most. Traditional food reviews try to paint a picture with words and perhaps add an image or two. Ono Kine Grindz…
* Catharine Lo at Honolulu Weekly slurps 'awa, gets numb, eats kalua quesadilla at Kapahulu Kafe * Star-Bulletin reccomends Wong's "New Wave Luau: II" party * Honolulu Advertiser's Wanda Adams eats more Filipino food, whole fried akule, pancit and lechon…
Here's the second in this series.. John Clark, the noted Hawaii beach expert and all around beach nut, will be feeding us his extremely informed take on best beaches around the Aloha State. We're breaking them down into all different…
Well, we can't really sell any until we know who our readers are and what they are thinking. Please click on this link and complete the survey from our advertising reps and back-end helpers galore, Federated Media. It's a fairly…
A sad development. Due to the state ban on commercial sales of opihi, Alan Wong's Restaurant on King Street has converted its famed opihi shooter into an oyster shooter. We ate there last night. I had an oyster shooter. It…
Diving with dolphins in Hawaii is quite amazing. It is illegal to follow them or touch them. For the most part, they choose to be with you. You can choose to be in a place they frequent but after…
Our second installment of this (soon to be) never-ending Q&A on Hawaii honeymoons. As we've said before, help us help you save your honeymoon. We have a question from Grace, who resides in coastal Maine with her husband who…
Long after the other classic Hawaii bars turned off their taps and put away their blenders, the La Mariana Yacht Club has served as the louche outpost for tiki culture mavens and those craving a sense of old Hawaii. In…
The Honolulu Advertiser, the state's biggest paper, ran a brief write-up on Hawaiirama and quoted me. Thanks much to Lesa and Elizabeth Kieszkowski, both of whom I've worked with in the past. They do a great job down there and…
This small inn has won mega kudos from the big travel pubs (T&L, Conde Nast Traveler, etc) and for good reason. The property is utterly gorgeous, an historic house that was formerly a cliffside plantation. The gardens have copious…
A total steal. The Ohana Maile Sky Court is not on the beach and its not luxurious. In fact, the building is non-descript at best. But its clean and functional and Ohana hotels are reliable. The property is two blocks…
I had never heard of this stuff until two recent articles in the two local dailies. Then -- Bam! -- next thing you know its everywhere. Alan Wong is using it. The chefs at Mariposa in Nieman Marcua are using.…
Triple 5 Soul meets the beach. This two-store chain, run by four partners with deep roots in the surf/skate set (including sponsored pro surfer Jun Jo) brings urban design ethos and fresh threads to the aloha shirtless masses. Stussy,…
I'm introducing a new feature that will be a regular fixture on Hawaiirama. John Clark, the noted Hawaii beach expert and all around beach nut, will be feeding us his extremely informed take on best beaches around the Aloha…
Cruising Costco Hawaii Kai the other day I spotted a nifty gift card bonusorama from Sam Choy's Diamond Head. Cough up $80 at Costco and get two $50 giftcards good for all meals at Sam's! I personally am a big…
The leeward Kona Coast off the Big Island has some of the best diving on Earth. The coral there is not terribly interesting or profuse -- its a relatively new island and so the formations have not gotten a…
* Star-Bulletin's Nadine Kam gives Ola on North Shore a barely passing grade * Ono Kine Grindz explains why Makino Chaya beats other cheapie Japanese seafood buffets * Sue Kiyabu of the Honolulu Weekly likes food at Bistro Nights in…
Big Island artist Stephen Freedman stacked clay totems and constructed large pottery vessels literally shaped with lyric designs and text. The effect is quite striking, like looking through clay vessels and reading a sheet of music simultaneously. Freedman's works…
I often read the Chowhound bulletin boards to learn what people are saying about eating in Hawaii and what they are asking about the state's food scene. Every now and then I'll crib one of these queries and answer it…
Hilarious Flickr pix of two random guys who stumbled upon an unguarded "Lost" set somewhere on Oahu (I think). They took many pix and apparently had a good time. And they got blogged. I ran into film commissioner Donne…
Where: Lobby Bar at the Sheraton Keauhou Bay Resort Why: Do you really need to ask? If you must, the endless blue Pacific pulsing against a black lava landscape and the sea caves of Keahou Bay, kaleidescopic sunsets like…
Just a quick mahalo to "Drink of the Week" for linking to our post on the Lewer's Lounge and Dale DeGroff. This is a an excellent site for anyone planning a cocktail party in need of recipes or beverage…
