Readers’ picks

The last picture show: The Varsity closes.

Most missed establishment

Tie: Varsity Twin Cinema, Wave Waikl-kl-

The Varsity and The Wave had a lot in common. They were both beloved institutions. They both celebrated high and low culture with easy aplomb, with the club having VIP dress-ups and lingerie porn parties with equal success, while the theater showed both classy foreign films and some of the truly low-brow and low budget films of the last two decades (the author’s first screening in the theater was for Flash Gordon). And finally, there was an equal chance you were going to see topless females at either venue. Now the theater stands empty while the nightclub doesn’t stand at all. One thing is for certain: whatever takes either place is bound to be less fun, interesting and (ahem) educational than what once stood there, and we are all poorer for it.

Best place to play a game that isn’t pool

Dave and Buster’s

No real surprise here, folks. There’s a genuine trend amongst the newly-30-and-up crowd deemed ‘rejuvenile,’ where adults hang on to the mementos and lifestyles usually abandoned by kids when they pass into adulthood: cartoons, comic books and video games are now just as (if not more) likely to be aimed at the adult set. After all, we have the money. So a grown-up version of Chuck E. Cheese where you can get skeeball and a pitcher of beer makes perfect sense. Video and midway games fill the room, letting your inner child run rampant with a prescription of chicken wings and Newcastle instead of Ritalin. And don’t forget the best game at all, played in two parts: who can get the most phone numbers and how many of those digits turn out to be real.

1030 Auahi St, 589-2215

Stop, hammered time.

Best place to get hammered

City Mill

And we thought the pun was dead. But now that we think about it, it makes perfect sense. The Kaimuki store, for instance, is across the street from a 7-11, as well as right down the road from the popular 9th Avenue Rock House. Stop by on your way home from a karaoke-filled evening, possibly after picking up a 40 at the convenience store. After finishing your quest at City Mill, you can settle who was singing out of tune once and for all, and like men–with tools.

Several island locations

Best place to hear jazz after midnight

Jazz Minds Arts & Cafe

With its constantly updating calendar of events, showcasing the best jazz musicians and ensembles have to offer, featuring both local and mainland artists, Jazz Minds has both the feel of the familiar and the unexpected. Featuring food, flavorful drink concoctions, good conversation, art and even poetry slams, there are plenty of reasons to stop in any night of the week. And while some may cry foul because we stated that we were looking for jazz, this place was just as likely to win under any live music category.

1661 Kapi’olani Boulevard

Editors’ picks

Best act of civil disobedience by local bar owners

Just saying no to the smoking ban

Look, we get it. Smoking is bad for you. But then again, so is pretty much everything else, including just about everything available to you at your local watering hole. Prohibition breeds speakeasies, and such places are cropping up all over the island, some in open defiance, others hoping that they won’t get busted by a police force that is obviously reluctant to enforce the ban. There are some establishments, however, who like the restriction, and that’s fine. But it should be up to the owners whether to allow a legal activity in an age-restricted environment, meaning that adults can assess the risks before deciding to enter, not unlike places that warn against the possibility of other health risks instead of being placed in the hands of a small party of lobbyists with an agenda that fits their own lifestyle choices.†

The saddest day in University of Hawai’i-Ma-noa history

The closing of Magoos

No more $5 pitchers. Sad indeed.

The second saddest day in University of Hawai’i-Ma-noa history

Kamehameha Schools buys Varsity Twin

With Kam Schools now owning properties on both sides of University Avenue (Puck’s Alley and the old Varsity theater), many fear that the days of having a good time in Mo’ili’ili are numbered.

Best way to showcase the awesome might of your mind while simultaneously killing off massive amounts of brain cells

Buzztime Trivia at Kelly O’Neills

Belly up to the bar, order a Guinness and a basket of fish and chips, and face off against fellow trivia buffs at Kelly O’Neills and back on the mainland courtesy of Buzztime’s dandy interactive game system. With the Buzztime’s keypad, a blue book-sized device, in front of you, you can play at any spot in the bar as long as you are in view of one of the television sets hosting the trivia contest. If you can beat PKLOLO, consider yourself the big brain of the pub.

311 Lewers St., 926-1777

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