Bye Bye Hawaiian Pineapples..... The Extinction of Food
Last week. Del Monte announced it was shutting its pineapple plantations down in Hawaii due to inability to be competitive in the world market.
So you say, what the hell is going on?
unfortunately........ basic econ 301
Anyways, its sad to say, but 20 years from now you can probably tell your kids that you remember the days when Hawaii USED to grow pineapples on the island.
So where I'm getting at is last year, I was down in Waikiki for my friend's wedding right. So I'm thinking hey, there's gonna be a lot of bad ass Hawaiian food to eat, but I just have to be patient pick my spots and find the good local places. Should be easy, cause this is the birthplace of one of my best friends, Mr. Spam Musubi. Well I did the local thing and we went to Rainbow Drive Inn and bunch of the other "recommended" local places and you know what, THEY SUCKED!!!
I was walking around f&^%ing Waikiki for one hour looking for a damn Spam Musubi at every mom and pop shop and fast food joint within a 3 mile radius of Ala Moana Blvd.......I finally gave up and walked into an L&L's (cause we have em in L.A., but I didn't give a shit anymore) I said, "hey dude, you don't have any Spam Musubi's on your menu" and he was like "that's because we don't serve it" and I was like "what, I must be losin it cause I thought I heard you say you don't serve Spam Musubi here". And he was like, "yup that's what I said".. I was in shock... but this is L&L's................. in Waikiki!!! They have em in the L&L's in L.A.... What the F*&k??????
The term "Gentrification" used for crappy neighborhoods being rejuvenated at the expense of the poor....... I had never seen it done on a food level before, but putting my shitty ass USC business degree into gear I realized it was all a basic economics issue....
Spam Musubi at a dollar a pop had been pushed out of Waikiki for good, it had become a "commodity"... At a buck a pop the Musubis were replaced by Mr. Spam and Eggs at 4 bucks a pop. With real estate so expensive its become economically unfeasible to have Spam Musubi on your menu at that price, so its gone just like the Hawaiian pineapples will be in a few more years... ;(
well anyways, after a long, depressing walk I finally found a Spam Musubi............. at the food mart of the F*^&ing Shell Gas Station. Anyways, after hours of searching I was gonna eat that shit even if it was the crappiest Spam Musubi I've ever had, I didn't give a shit anymore.......... Well...... it was easily, the crappiest Spam Musubi I ever had. The rice was all freaking hard and the Spam was all thin , dried and sunburned from that damn 300 Watt U.V. heat lamp sucking the life out of it. It was a dollar and I thought I'd never thought I'd say this from something that cost me a dollar, but they ripped my ass off! It was terrible. Hawaii was a just a bad food experience for me, but an excellent lesson in............. blah........... economics...
Yeah, I went to Alan Wong's (expensive, but good) and Zippy's and some other local places, but overall I have to say the food in Waikiki sucks, most of my L.A. friends would agree with me too..... Bruddah's in ghetto ass Gardena is way better than the food in Waikiki anyday...
So you say, what the hell is going on?
unfortunately........ basic econ 301
Anyways, its sad to say, but 20 years from now you can probably tell your kids that you remember the days when Hawaii USED to grow pineapples on the island.
So where I'm getting at is last year, I was down in Waikiki for my friend's wedding right. So I'm thinking hey, there's gonna be a lot of bad ass Hawaiian food to eat, but I just have to be patient pick my spots and find the good local places. Should be easy, cause this is the birthplace of one of my best friends, Mr. Spam Musubi. Well I did the local thing and we went to Rainbow Drive Inn and bunch of the other "recommended" local places and you know what, THEY SUCKED!!!
I was walking around f&^%ing Waikiki for one hour looking for a damn Spam Musubi at every mom and pop shop and fast food joint within a 3 mile radius of Ala Moana Blvd.......I finally gave up and walked into an L&L's (cause we have em in L.A., but I didn't give a shit anymore) I said, "hey dude, you don't have any Spam Musubi's on your menu" and he was like "that's because we don't serve it" and I was like "what, I must be losin it cause I thought I heard you say you don't serve Spam Musubi here". And he was like, "yup that's what I said".. I was in shock... but this is L&L's................. in Waikiki!!! They have em in the L&L's in L.A.... What the F*&k??????
The term "Gentrification" used for crappy neighborhoods being rejuvenated at the expense of the poor....... I had never seen it done on a food level before, but putting my shitty ass USC business degree into gear I realized it was all a basic economics issue....
Spam Musubi at a dollar a pop had been pushed out of Waikiki for good, it had become a "commodity"... At a buck a pop the Musubis were replaced by Mr. Spam and Eggs at 4 bucks a pop. With real estate so expensive its become economically unfeasible to have Spam Musubi on your menu at that price, so its gone just like the Hawaiian pineapples will be in a few more years... ;(
well anyways, after a long, depressing walk I finally found a Spam Musubi............. at the food mart of the F*^&ing Shell Gas Station. Anyways, after hours of searching I was gonna eat that shit even if it was the crappiest Spam Musubi I've ever had, I didn't give a shit anymore.......... Well...... it was easily, the crappiest Spam Musubi I ever had. The rice was all freaking hard and the Spam was all thin , dried and sunburned from that damn 300 Watt U.V. heat lamp sucking the life out of it. It was a dollar and I thought I'd never thought I'd say this from something that cost me a dollar, but they ripped my ass off! It was terrible. Hawaii was a just a bad food experience for me, but an excellent lesson in............. blah........... economics...
Yeah, I went to Alan Wong's (expensive, but good) and Zippy's and some other local places, but overall I have to say the food in Waikiki sucks, most of my L.A. friends would agree with me too..... Bruddah's in ghetto ass Gardena is way better than the food in Waikiki anyday...
posted by Ron Oda at 9:35 PM
17 Comments:
Hey DCCF - I love Rainbows, it's part of my childhood. But I've found that most of my Mainland friends don't care for it, it's just a neighborhood greasy spoon. It's funny, I enjoy Bruddahs, but man, I grew up on the real thing, and had eaten at most of the local kine joints in LA when we lived there, and though Bruddah's was probably the best, it's still nothing compared to say like Ono's or Helena's. The closing of Del Monte is like the passing of a whole part of my life - I spent a summer picking pineapple on Lanai, if you ever want to appreciate how "easy" we got it working in our offices, man four layers of clothes, a hat, netting to protect your face, in 85 degree 90% humidity will get your ass in gear, and hitting the books, ASAP! Also, my late Dad is from Lanai, and pineapple was King there.
BTW, I call L&L the Starbucks of Plate lunches.....LOL!
kirkk, its pretty sad about del monte, those things upset me when you see parts of the culture disappearing..... i don't think too many people realize what the hell it really means..
also, i was really shocked to see f'in WalMart in Honolulu too... i'm hoping it doesn't change the way people shop for souvenirs and stuff too much, but i think its gonna, unfortunately..
i'll have to get an official plate lunch list from you when i go back to hawaii.... but no freakin' L&L's... that place sucks! i'm getting fired up for a F- Starbucks post...
Delmonte pulled out of Hawaii way back, but maintained their fresh-fruit department, which they're closing today. In the process of the company's earlier and more major closure, Delmonte did not endear themselves too much to Hawaii residents, via a press release statement: "pineapple taste better grown in Dominican Republic," where Delmonte was moving to. For years after that I never bought any Delmonte brand products. I picked "pine" on the island of Lanai myself during a summer before Lanai island allowed only Mormons to work the season, for obvious reasons well related to a hoard of newcomers showing up in their tranquil neighborhood. Truly Hawaii, the island of Lanai was. Don't know about Lanai now. What a view of the neighboring island Lanai had. The word "lanai" that's use in place for "balcony" is a befitting lexicon.
As far as finding "spam musabi" in Waikiki where I'm at....7-11, ABC, or any convenience store in Waikiki....stocks spam musabi almost religiously in warmers. Albeit through outside food vendors. So spam musabi not being on restaurant menus, probably reflects to this effect, in the economical sense (cents). At Rainbows Drive-in, you've got to stick with just certain take-out dishes, which are their restaurant's piece de resistances, most of the other plate lunches are piece de kukai. But the service is not only fast....your takeout plate lunch is delivered in front of you before you even get through putting your change back into your pocket (not exaggerating).
BTW, rent in Waikiki is like about $2o,ooo a month minimum. The former Burger King use to pay $5o,ooo/month. So the average rent would be $3o,ooo/monthly. That equates to "clearing" $1,ooo per "day" just for rent alone, not including wages, food cost, utilities, and dish water detergent. It's not the best place to establish a restaurant unless the restaurant is part of a chain restaurant, or fly-by-nighters.
hey ron, thanks for your comments... its pretty commercialized now, but at those prices its just gonna get worse... i think if you want a better hawaii exp. you're gonna have to travel a long ways to get out of the city... i hate franchises
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Hey DietCCF...sorry bout your grubbin experience in Hawaii. Whenever I go and visit family in HI I stay away from Waikiki and all the tourist families in their drop-top convertable rent-a-mustang.
My auntie lives in Kapahulu, a neighborhood which borders the Honolulu Zoo and extends back towards Kaimuki and Waialae Avenue. We just walked to all the local joints...ONO GRINDZ BRAH!
Here are my joints when I go to Honolulu:
Diamond Head Market and Grille-we walk there from my aunties house. Part take-out/part frou-frou market/deli. Bomb teri-beef sandwiches! http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2004/Jan/16/en/en09a.html
Tokkuri-tei izakaya-Kapahulu Ave
Ono Hawaiian Food-Kapahulu Ave
Leonard's for malasadas-Kapahulu Avenue
The Willows-awesome place for brunch
Waiola Shave Ice #1-forget Matsumoto!
Liliha Bakery-"Coco Puffs" and diner
Bubbie's Ice Cream-near UH http://bubbiesicecream.gourmetfoodmall.com/
thanks jen for the recs... i'll be betta prepared next time i go for sure...
Hey DCCF,
Looks like I'm gonna have to start my food planning now for when Isaac & i go to Hawaii later this year!
Hey, we should the Gardena gang together & go to Bruddah's soon!
pam... lets round up the gardena gang and do the bruddahs thing.. i already know what i'm gonna have
yeah, you betta plan out hawaii good...its not a slamdunk for sure, there's a lotta shitty places.. and if its in Waikiki, don't even bother..
The reason you don't find any good food in Wakiki of all places, is because you are looking for something authentic in a tourist trap environment. Good spam musubi and other local favorites are mostly home made by locals themselves or small mom and pop stores or lunchwagons that typically do not operate in waikiki. Waikiki caters to tourists and not the locals, which is why you don't find many good local food places (not to mention spam musubis) in the heart of waikiki. Waikiki is simply too touristy to be considered primarily and authentically hawaiian as far as cusine goes. Where would you go for realy traditional mexican food in LA? A ghetto hole in the wall place or the mall's food court? Going to waikiki or even L&L for a spam musubi in hawaii is like going to a food court in a mall for some authentic mexican food.
Local food is simply in it's own class. Local people love it, and can't stop talking about it, and it is different from food found anywhere else, but it also may not appeal to all. Places like Zippy's and Alan Wongs and L&L are geared toward local tastes buds.
Also, if you just don't like local food in general and if you want a comparsion to the diversity of LA food you need to go to places on Oahu like chinatown or an authentic korean vietnamese thia or other ethnic place, which Oahu has a lot of. Waikiki is geared more toward amercan toursits and japanese tourists and food wise it is not going to be diverse as the rest of the island or even foods typically found in LA, but if you know where to look, Oahu isn't any worse than LA in terms of cusine.
I actually just think that you have 3 problems here - 1) not knowing where to go for good local food, 2) even if you did know where to find it, you may have a different acquired taste than locals in hawaii and not appreciate it anyway, and 3) not knowing where on oahu to find good traditional ethnic foods that would suit your LA taste buds more, since it appears that local foods don't really appeal to your palete much.
Unfortunately tourists in Hawaii who don't know any better (I don't blame them since they are like a foreigner in a new land), seem to gravitate more toward whoever or wherever advertises more and commercial enttities/places like Waikiki, L&L's and Zippy's are no exceptions.
Ever been swimming on the North Shore of Oahu? Its the experience of a life-time!
Ponder Over Hawaii!
aloha layout
I have heard that Bruddah's is closing soon because the owner has cancer. One of you rich guys should buy it out. Or else there would be no more LOCO MOCO's!!!
Hi there
What does everyone think of what is going on in Iraq?
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