Hawaiian “Cuisine” Explained!

Barack Obama likes the Hawaiian plate lunch….according to this article in yesterday’s NYTimes. That means he must also like cold, canned meats, eating off styrofoam, and a “plate” of fried mahi-mahi and fried chicken and teriyaki beef, all smothered in brown gravy….yummmm.

Oh yeah…and don’t forget the two scoops of white rice and a heaping side of heavy-on-the-mayonnaise macaroni salad. One Hawaiian quoted in the article thinks “…it’s really funny he still eats plate lunch. Because he’s so healthy.”

The history of these carbo-loaded lunches begins with the pan-Asian diets of Hawaii’s plantation workers in the 1880’s — and probably made a lot of sense if you were working in a field all day, or running for President. If you’re not doing either, you’ll probably end up looking like ELV’s staff.*

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* And yes, he does have his own zip code, and his nickname is “Tiny Bubbles.”

FOOD FOR THOUGHT on News 88.9 FM KNPR – Nevada Public Radio – Belt-Tightening Time

ELV Readers: Almost on cue, this e-mail popped up in our mailbox this morning (11.17.08). It perfectly illustrates the phenomenon we commented on last week (and offers some tasty bargains at the MGM — if you, as a local, are willing to go there).

If you haven’t heard or seen for yourself, the restaurants of Las Vegas are hurtin’ critters. Click here to hear ELV expound upon this unfortunate fact in the indelible intonations for which he is known, or continue reading if that’s how you prefer to educate yourself on this weighty matter:

Belt-Tightening Time

Louis Osteen threw in the towel for good two weeks ago, Andre’s downtown is history as of New Year’s Day, and Joseph Keller’s Bistro Zinc quietly shuttered last month.

Expect more of the same in the coming months (including some high profile closings in The Palazzo) as the boom-boom restaurant years die a slow and noisy death.

Continue reading “FOOD FOR THOUGHT on News 88.9 FM KNPR – Nevada Public Radio – Belt-Tightening Time”

Ackee & Salt Fish, Curried Goat, And A Pain Au Chocolat

If you’ve ever had a hankerin’ for some curried goat, ackee & salt fish, and a perfect pain au chocolat — and let’s face it who hasn’t? — then we suggest a quick trip to the strangest gourmet corner in town. Because right on the northeast quadrant of Rainbow and Flamingo is a discount food store (Sunflower), a Jamaican restaurant (Tasty Island), and a bakery (Bonjour Euro Bakers) that push a lot of the right buttons on any gourmand’s palate profile….especially those on a budget.

All three have been open for a few years now, and ELV is frankly a little embarassed to admit that he’s just now getting to them — especially since Hugh Alexander Curtas (D.O.B. 10-15-84, The Official Number Two Son of ELV), told us many moons ago how good the pastries were at Bonjour.

Continue reading “Ackee & Salt Fish, Curried Goat, And A Pain Au Chocolat”