ELV isn’t really down with the whole tiki-tiki, Polynesian-pukka thing, perhaps because we read an article years ago by Roy Blount Jr. ridiculing the whole Hawaiian-vacation-thing. (“…and then, we went to a luau..with hula dancers…and they gave us a lei!”)

Yeah, we’ve never had a burning desire to go there and probably never will. Whenever someone suggests an Hawaiian vacation to us or our staff, we always find a reason (and a way) to hightail it to France, Spain, China or Italy. And it’s a good bet we’ll hit Japan before Hawaii, the next time we head west to the Far East.

The way you hit Aloha Specialties is by snaking your way through the smoke and the horrifically -dressed people (many of them from our 50th State), to the second floor of the California Hotel — where you’ll invariably find a line of those folks standing under the “Aloha Specialties” sign. Another sign right inside the place announces “cash only,” so bring a little (you won’t need much), if you want to get a taste of Island living right here in the High Mojave Desert.

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