When a non-nightclub establishment enters the nightlife scene it can be a risky proposition. Especially these days, due to the economy and overall promotional clutter, what was once a surefire way for promoters to bring the party people in has become a much more hit-and-miss proposition.
“How often do you guys get to hear steel guitar in Chinatown,” asks Buck Giles from the makeshift stage at thirtyninehotel on a Wednesday evening. Umm.
One way to give directions to Cabanas: Head down Kuhio Avenue until you get to the Food Pantry, take a left, take another left and park in the (expensive) private lot, then walk ‘ewa across the street and enter the lobby of the ‘Ohana Waikiki West hotel. Take the elevator to the mezzanine/swimming pool level, and walk up to the bar.
Hush / During its first six months of operation, Hush Boutique Nightclub and Lounge has made quite an impression on clubgoers in search of a nightlife experience they can call their own. If there is such a thing as upscale casual, Hush is the place.
Once upon a time, the Ocean Club ruled Saturday nights in Honolulu. New owners ran the place into the ground and, before you knew it, the Restaurant Row hot spot closed down leaving loyalists scrambling for alternatives.
Hype it up and they will come. The question is: When the hype is dead and gone, will they keep coming?
The Hideaway / The Hideaway may not have been the first bar I went to when I first returned to the Islands after being on the mainland for two decades, but it was close. My roommates, knowing I was low on funds and still struggling for cash despite working four jobs, introduced me to their power hour, where domestic beers and wells were a dollar for an hour.
MTV and I have never really had a good relationship, though in truth, we’ve barely had contact with each other. That’s by design.
Kanpai Bar / If you’re looking for evidence of tough economic times, Ward Centre as of late seems to be the epicenter. Talk abounds of the loss of the three anchor restaurants in a six-month period, but there have been others (wherefore art thou, Black Angus?
Despite the proliferation of Will Ferrell in sports comedies, the one genre that shall probably remain unsullied is bowling, and that’s thanks to the Coen brothers 1998 film The Big Lebowski. Bowling as a sport is ripe for parody, and indeed has been used, usually resulting in gutterballs (Kingpin and Mystery Men come into frame).
Lotus at Diamond Head / Jazz night at the Lotus at Diamond Head hotel runs from 6:30–9:30pm, but don’t think of it as a pau hana happy hour beer bust—you’re not going to get tequila poppers and Pabst Blue Ribbon here. That’s perfect, because honestly, sometimes you need to get away from that crowd.
Uncle Bo’s Pupu Bar and Grill / Friends. Family.
The Pro Bowl / The NFL Pro Bowl is probably the biggest non-event in the sporting world. Every year, the most overpaid and overpraised football athletes take a paid vacation in Hawaii, doing interviews with fawning reporters, and playing a little football with the clear understanding that no one gets hurt.
Haleiwa Joe’s Seafood Grill / “I got a date,” said the fellow at the bar, who had been working up some liquid courage for at least a few hours. “Where should I take her?” I made my usual suggestions, with the admission that I’m probably not the best person to ask for romantic spots, as my sense of foreplay is shots of Jäger with a Pabst chaser.
This wasn’t set up to be a two part-series. Hell, it probably wasn’t worth one article.
Let’s deviate from the standard bar review, although, like all good stories, this one starts at a bar. Like a lot of people in Honolulu, I have a second job.
Wahoo's Fish Taco / [ED Note: Animal rights organization PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) recently began a campaign to reclassify fish as “sea kittens,” under the assumption that nobody would want to eat a kitten of the sea. As we here at Honolulu Weekly are fans of progressive thinking, as well as the absurd, we shall adopt their stance for this column only.
Cha Cha Cha Salsaria / New Years’ Eve resolutions are boring. Not because there’s anything wrong with trying to better oneself, but from the fact that most resolutions usually revolve around giving something up, and for that, I say we have Lent.
Cheeseburger Beachwalk / When Holokai Grill shuttered without warning back in May, it wasn’t a complete surprise. Located off the beaten path of the newly developed Waikiki Beach Walk, it was hard to spot on the second floor terrace among all the flashing lights and flaming tiki torches.
2008 Honolulu Marathon / Editor’s note: We should have gotten this piece into the last issue. When the opportunity arises to tell a good story in a timely manner, you’d like to make good on it.
J Bistro & Wine / It’s often true that the best places are found off the beaten path. Sure, you can find hot spots that are filled to capacity, but it’s often more because of location than atmosphere.
Bourbon, Beef & Blunts / For decades, the image of the backroom filled with cigar smoke has had connotations with polticians and their dirty deals. Last Wednesday, however, the politics were pushed aside for a special event sponsored by the Hawai’i Bar Owners Association (HiBOA).
Bonsai / The nightclub/restaurant combo has always been a bit confounding. Like, for myself, I’ve never had the compulsion to tell my date, “Yeah, this place has great food, and if we hang out, it will transform into a happening nightspot with a killer DJ.” I heard that.
Pearl Ultra Lounge / Though we here at Honolulu Weekly haven’t sponsored many bar events, we’ve always been pretty easy to find. There are a few places you’re bound to find at least a few of us–Hideaway, Mercury Bar, Indigo, thirtyninehotel, Irish Rose Saloon–all places that can have big crowds and big business, but still retain a neighborhood bar atmosphere.
The Gits / Back in 1993, while booking shows in San Jose, Calif., I became friends with Mia Zapata. I was an enormous fan of her band, The Gits, and wanted them to play in my area.
Given the city’s crumbling infrastructure and rail controversy, it’s hard to believe anyone would want to be the next mayor of Honolulu. But a few do want the job, including the incumbent, Mayor Peter Carlisle, the former Honolulu Prosecuting Attorney who won a 2010 special election to fill the remainder of Mufi Hannemann’s term.
I’d never been to a Honolulu City Council meeting until a few weeks ago. Features, not politics, was my beat.
Victoria Holt Takamine is a kumu hula, a cultural activist and a teacher and has an impeccable pedigree to back up all these titles. Born of an alii family whose kuleana was in Moanalua, she graduated as a hula teacher under the legendary Auntie Maiki Aiu Lake and taught hundreds of students in her own halau (Pua Alii ‘Ilima) and at the University of Hawaii.
On April 25, a state judge dismissed trespassing charges against a Kauai man after finding that he had been exercising traditional native Hawaiian rights hunting wild pigs on private land. Kui Palama, 28, was arrested on Jan.
The city plans to dish out $3.5 million from its Affordable Housing Fund and either purchase or renovate a structure to provide transitional housing for Honolulu’s special needs homeless population. “Our community has invested considerable effort and resources in addressing homelessness,” Mayor Peter Carlisle said in a statement, “but there remains a population whose disabilities or chronic conditions make it difficult for them to participate in traditional shelter programs.” Carlisle is referring to those homeless with mental illnesses, addictions and physical disabilities.
Makaweli Poi faces an uncertain future after its owner, a corporate subsidiary of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs (OHA) ordered the West Kauai mill to suspend operations May 23. Mona Bernardino, chief operating officer of the corporation, Hiipoi LLC, says the move to shut down Makaweli Poi was prompted mainly by financial concerns.
A resolution adopted by the City Council will solidify an agreement between the City and County of Honolulu and the University of Hawaii Water Resources Research Center (UH-WRRC) to conduct an analysis of impacts from ocean sewer outfalls on the marine environments off of Oahu. The city will pay UH-WRRC as much as $2.5 million for biological and sediment studies in portions between now and June 30, 2017 .
Along with the deep, verdant growth of spring sprouts an unyielding desire to spend more time in the open air. That’s why it should come as no surprise that National Bike Month falls in the sun-drenched time of May.
Of the many letters you publish against rail, how many offer an alternative that won’t send us into further economic demise? Billions of gallons of oil are imported for us from every oil-producing nation on this planet so that we can buy billions of gallons of gasoline.
TheBus is taking a back seat to rail. At the May 3 Downtown Neighborhood Board meeting, an audience member asked city Transportation Director Wayne Yoshioka when we could expect the bus route cancellations and changes to be reversed.
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