Honolulu: Hipster Haven

Ironic hipsters can get their midnight munchies fix at the kitschy Wailana Coffee House, a 24-hour Waikiki dining staple since my parents went on dates here (!). Come here for Spam, beige vinyl, and waitresses with bee-hive hairdos. John Waters would be proud.
(Photo: 'onokinegrindz.com)

According to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, "Honolulu is starting to put itself on the hipster map" thanks to the club/cafe cluster that has recently sprung up downtown and to the new nightlife scene in Waikiki.

As one SoCal transplant / Honolulu aficionado puts it, "The best of all worlds is nature, beach, weather and culture. [Honolulu] doesn't have the best of everything, but at least it has everything. It doesn't need to be Manhattan. It's not Paris, but it's subtle and kind of hidden."

Among the list of places deemed hip by the article are Indigo restaurant, The Contemporary Museum, and clubs like the Living Room, where the "Lost" stars can sometimes can be found. And, much like New Yorkers started doing in the late 90s with Alphabet City, young Honolulu hipster-artists are trying to shoo away the druggies from the downtown/Chinatown area. There is now a healthy smattering of hip hotspots within blocks of each other, including The ARTS at Mark's Garage, Bar 35, thirtyninehotel, the Hawaii Theater (where Aimee Mann will croon later this month), and Next Door, home of the Cinema Paradise independent film festival.

The founder of thirtyninehotel is hopeful of Honolulu's blossoming into hipsterhood: "People are developing more urban sensibilities. Lots of people are moving here from the mainland." It's true. While it's no Williamsburg (thank GOD!), Honolulu is much more hip than it was a few years ago--hip enough to keep NY/LA production types from getting bored on their days off. But who am I to say? After all, hipness is in the eye of the beholder.

>> Honolulu gets hip [Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 9/18/05]
>> Raising Hotel Street [Honolulu Weekly, 6/15/05]
>> Cosmopolitan venue brewing Next Door [Hnl Star Bulletin, 6/21/05]
>> Hotel Street venue gets makeover for movies [Hnl Advertiser, 5/16/05]
>> Will The Last Hipster Please Turn Out The Lights? [New York Magazine, 11/29/04]

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