After reading Pico Iyer's feature on Barack Obama in Time, Amy Wolf of Sunset Magazine tried to figure out what unnamed Hawaiian burger joint Iyer and Obama had eaten at on Oahu's North Shore in 2006. She came up with two possibilities—Teddy's Bigger Burgers and The Shack Hawaii Kai—the only problem with them being that neither of them is on the North Shore.
My search for burger joints on the North Shore resulted in one prominent answer: Kua 'Aina. I ran this past Serious Eats' Hawaiian contributor, Kathy YL Chan, who responded (through IM), "OMG I LOVE!!! THAT'S MY HOME BURGER SHOP!! THE AVOCADO BURGER!"
Avocado burger? Like the avocado burger Obama had picked up from the unnamed burger joint? According to author Paul Theroux, who was with Iyer, yes; Obama "was squirting ketchup onto seven hamburgers." Here's a more recent photo of Obama at Kua 'Aina. Judging from the photo above, I can see why Kathy responded so excitedly—that's like an avocado sandwich with a burger patty inside.
Kua 'Aina
66-160 Kamehameha Hwy # C, Haleiwa HI 96712 (map)
808-637-6067
Ahhh oh man, Robyn, when you come (which you will!) to Hawai'i...first thing on our agenda (after malassadas, fish jun, shave ice, loco mocos, and mochi) isss avocado burger! YES! :D
Ha! That's the way I ordered my burgers at Hamburger Mary's in Waikiki when I'd skip out from school to go to Hula's to hang out...of course w/o the onions; with tomatoes, lettuce, pickles, and 1000 Island dressing.
You know, it's interesting, because the typeface on the door of that burger joint (if you click through the link) is Neuland, which has become identified with African-American topics (particularly in book jackets, and also in the Lion King), but also is used in the logo for the most famous of Tiki restaurants, Trader Vic's. So that typeface is both "black" and "Hawaiian," at least in a stereotypical way. More at this Print magazine article.
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6 Comments:
Ahhh oh man, Robyn, when you come (which you will!) to Hawai'i...first thing on our agenda (after malassadas, fish jun, shave ice, loco mocos, and mochi) isss avocado burger! YES! :D
Kathy YL Chan at 10:35AM on 11/13/08
I want that avocado.
KarynMC at 10:39AM on 11/13/08
Ha! That's the way I ordered my burgers at Hamburger Mary's in Waikiki when I'd skip out from school to go to Hula's to hang out...of course w/o the onions; with tomatoes, lettuce, pickles, and 1000 Island dressing.
Cassaendra at 11:49AM on 11/13/08
You know, it's interesting, because the typeface on the door of that burger joint (if you click through the link) is Neuland, which has become identified with African-American topics (particularly in book jackets, and also in the Lion King), but also is used in the logo for the most famous of Tiki restaurants, Trader Vic's. So that typeface is both "black" and "Hawaiian," at least in a stereotypical way. More at this Print magazine article.
NYminknit at 2:29PM on 11/13/08
What a luscious avocado. I'll take three :)
jangkaeng at 4:36PM on 11/14/08
@NYminknit: i love your brain, lets get married.
redzerostar at 11:09PM on 11/24/08