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Cruisin' for kau kau in '62
Courtesy of:
Hawaii Motorbeat Monthly
By
Paul Maddox
1962 was a great year for cruisin' to
Drive-Inn restaurants. There were quite a few in Honolulu that had
car hops ~ the gals who brought your tray full of burgers 'n' shakes
to your car. But most wore sensible shoes ~ not roller skates.
The food was important, but almost
secondary to the joint's acceptance of hot cars and customs and the
riff-raff that came with them. Guys like me and my buds from Wahiawa
that came down on Saturday nights to cruise to the most popular
hangouts. We were looking for girls, races and local food. We always
got the food, sometimes got a race and hardly ever got the girls.
First stop was usually at the entrance
to Waikiki ~ KDI (Kapiolani Drive-Inn) on Ala Moana at John Ena
Road, across from the famous Kaiser Dome at the Hawaiian Village. It
had a great parking lot that almost always had a group of rods and
local customs clustered around the sides.
From there it might have been a run up
to KC Drive-Inn at the top of Kalakaua Avenue, right by the bridge
over the Ala Wai. Another great parking lot and the best kau kau you
could get on a window tray: the original Waffle Dog and a peanut
butter milk shake. Broke da mout'!
The local street racing competition
was often a short burst down Isenberg Street between the old
Honolulu Stadium and the infamous Chunky's. Greg Yamamoto from the
Advertiser got the shot above in 1992 as the landmark was closing
after 33 years of car hop and counter service. A sweet collection of
classic rides set up this all-too-perfect shot. Chunky's did a great
teri-beef burger and cherry Coke as I recall.
I'm sure there are numerous candidates
for the best saimin in town back then, but for the cruisin' gourmet
you couldn't beat Like Like Drive-Inn on Keeaumoku ~ before they
made a real restaurant out of it. You knew you'd be parked there for
about an hour while the piping hot broth, and your engine, slowly
cooled down.
There were lots of other neat stops
all over the island in '62, and each an original run by a local
family.
We were still four years away from the
first Zippy's and six years away from the first McDonalds.
Luckily... we had to cruise for our
kau kau back in the day.
Aloha ~ PM
Hawaii Motorbeat Monthly
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More from Paul Maddox at:
www.hawaiimotorbeat.com
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