THE NIGHT STUFF
Kicked-back kitschiness key to Lulu's popularity

By Derek Paiva
Advertiser Entertainment Writer

From left, Johnny Williams Jr. slaps the skins and Danny Wassman (dad of Kaleo in the band Pepper) sings and plays guitar at Lulu's Waikiki Surf Club on a Friday evening. They're with the band 20 Degrees North. Photos by Rebecca Breyer • The Honolulu Advertiser

Tricia Sahai, left, and Jenniver Smith, both of Waikiki, share a laugh at Lulu's. The funky night spot with the seriously eclectic menu attracts a mixed-age crowd in casual and off-the-beach dress.

LULU's WAIKIKI SURF CLUB Where: 2586 Kalakaua Ave. (Kalakaua and Kapahulu avenues) Hours: Open 24 hours Age of crowd: 20s-50s What to wear: Going casual is probably best; off the beach is OK, too Weekly entertainment (all from 11 p.m., cover varies): Service Industry Appreciation Night, mixed DJed music (Mondays) Dubwise Reggae, DJed music or live bands (Wednesdays) Surf Session, DJed/live music hosted by Mass Appeal Entertainment (Fridays) Sounds of Brazil, live Brazilian music (Saturdays)

The slogan on Lulu's outside sign speaks volumes about the casual, we-don't-take-ourselves-all-that-seriously vibe awaiting patrons inside.

Poking fun at its not-exactly-legendary Kuhio Beach surf-club status, it proudly proclaims: "Serving Waikiki for less than 1/10th of a decade." And if some well-appointed kitsch, that casual vibe, a humorously huge 24-hour-a-day menu and an ocean view are all it takes to keep the place popular, Lulu's has a good shot at making it through the full decade.

It was late at night on Pro Bowl weekend when we stopped by, and Lulu's large open-air interior was comfortably packed with locals and out-of-towners. A funky mix of neon bar signs, South Pacific kitsch chandeliers, large fugu lamps and strung chili-pepper lights gave off all the mood lighting the largely wood-trimmed room needed.

Tiki, wall-mounted game fish, surfboards and an odd mix of signed/framed celebrity photos (Sammy Davis Jr., Jack Nicholson in full Jack Torrance mode from "The Shining") were scattered throughout. Five large televisions silently beamed sports programming above Lulu's impressively large (and crowded) bar, topped with varnished Alaskan spruce.

Mass Appeal was setting up a new Friday night DJ/live music weekly, but the chatty, evenly male and female twenty- through fiftysomething crowd was mostly there to soak in atmosphere and consume mad quantities of food and drink.

Interior accoutrements aside, the star attraction at Lulu's may be its quirky beast of a food and drink menu. E-mail me if you find another restaurant/bar in town with Tahitian poke, one-pound burgers, 22 oz. margaritas, furikake seared 'ahi tenderloin, biscuits and gravy, three kinds of eggs Benedict and (I'm not kidding) SpaghettiOs all on the same menu.

Our order of Nachos As Big As Your Head ($9.95) really was — arriving loaded with enough layers of cheese to make those Happy Cows from California attain nirvana. Lulu's was sadly out of its server-recommended Death Valley Chicken Wings ($6.95 for 10 pieces, $11.95 for 20 pieces), but, truthfully, we couldn't have handled 'em anyway after the head-banging nacho order.

Overall, Lulu's menu prices were reasonable (nothing over $24). Service was attentive.

Lulu's sister outlets in Kailua- Kona and Kihei aren't really big on entertainment, but co-owner Mike Kash is experimenting with several live music and DJed weeklies in Waikiki (see below). Since opening in November, the venue has also hosted after parties for Pepper and Fishbone concerts.

Kash's main concern for Lulu's, however, is maintaining its laid-back and whimsical vibe.

"We're a mix of a little bit of a Key West feel and a honky tonk bar," said Kash. "We're quite unorthodox."

Reach Derek Paiva at dpaiva@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8005.

NIGHTSPOTTING ...

MONKEYS GONE TO HILO

After four controversial years of service as the oddest choice of behind-the-bar entertainment in Honolulu, the Blue Tropix Nightclub squirrel monkeys have finally been freed. Sort of. Blue Tropix voluntarily handed over its three monkeys to the state Department of Agriculture in late January for transfer to Hilo's Panaewa Rainforest Zoo. To celebrate the new peace between the club and the Free The Monkeys campaign, both will host a Liberation Celebration fund-raiser at Blue Tropix on Sunday. Half of the $10 cover will be donated to Friends of the Panaewa Rainforest Zoo to keep the monkeys nutritionally content in their retirement. Tiki Taboo will play live. There'll also be free pupu and a silent auction. From 6 to 10 p.m. Call Linda Vanatta at 220-8140 for more information.

KEMO'O GOES EROTIC, EXOTIC

Kemo'o Farms The Pub and Lakeside Grill hosts its annual Erotic, Exotic Ball from 9 tonight to 1 a.m. Totally apropos entertainment includes Pimpbot, The No No Boys, DJ Everlasting Gobstopper and a Lingerie Heaven lingerie fashion show. Younger than 21? Forget about getting in. Cover is $10. More information at 621-1835 or 622-5009.

POST MOS

Complete Industries, Sick Dog Productions and Golden Child launches its Supreme weekly Saturday immediately following Mos Def's Pipeline Cafe show. Cover is $10; 21 and older only. On Sunday, Pipeline takes advantage of the long holiday weekend with a Winter Beach Blast. DJs Sandman and Mixmaster B spin; 18 and older welcome. Cover is $7 (21 and older), $10 (ages 18 to 20).