The kids over at Honolulu Magazine have put together their second annual Best Bar's issue. I diverge with some of their opinions -- i'd rather have a pineapple crown jammed up my behind than endure the "fun" scene at Senor Frogs in Waikiki. But for the most part their judgement is sound although clearly skewed away from tourist haunts. I'm particularly pleased they missed some of my fave boites (or semi-boites), namely -- the bar at Town Restaurant (down the hill from me), the sunken bar at La Mer on the second floor of the Halekulani (no one is ever there and the view is insane), the bar at Mariposa in Neiman Marcus (you feel like a colonial sugar baron, except for the traffic noise), the upstairs outdoor patio at 39 Hotel (a surreal urban landscape with wickedly strong house drinks). And they made a major faux pas in declaring that Hula's is a great first date bar. It is that -- but it's also a predominantly gay bar that is a major cruising scene on weekend nights. Nothing wrong with gay bars or same-sex first dates but that's a key piece of info for any bar, no?

—Alex, 01/02/08