Hawaii has a new stamp from the U.S. Postal Service.

On Sept. 2, Hawaii will have its brand new “Flags of Our Nation” stamp, featuring the Hawaiian flag, mountains, ferns and an ohia tree with blooming lehua flowers.

If you’re on Oahu next week Tuesday, Hawaii’s stamp celebration will be held at noon in the Airport Post Office courtyard. Between 12:30 to 2 p.m., postal employees will issue first-day-of-issue postmarks. (If you’re not in Hawaii, you can purchase the stamp nationwide.)

“Flags of our Nation” is a three-year, multi-stamp series, featuring the Stars and Stripes, the 50 state flags, five territorial flags and the District of Columbia flag. The first set of 10 stamps was issued on June 14, Flag Day. Hawaii’s stamp is part of the second set which also includes the flags of the District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Guam, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa and Kansas. The remaining sets will be issued in 2009 and 2010, for a total of 60 stamps.

For more information about other Hawaii stamps, including the Diamond Head Lighthouse stamp (pictured left), read “Hawaii in the Mail” in our July/August 2007 issue of HAWAII Magazine. Back issues can also be purchased by calling (808) 534-7520.


 

The North Shore of Oahu’s winter monster wave season is three months away. The surf forecast today promises swells of two feet or less.

Good time, we think, for surf fans to bone up on better days at the Honolulu Academy of Arts’ three-week wave film fest “Kowabunga! Summer Cinema Surf Safari.” A half-dozen films will get the big screen treatment at the academy’s Doris Duke Theatre now through Sept. 13.

Let us know if this flick menu gets you stoked (click titles for video clips):

Five Summer Stories (1972), One California Day (2007), Ultimate Session: The Greatest Moments in Surf Movie History (2006), Singlefin: Yellow (2005), Surfing For Life (1999), Super Session (1975).

(Yeah, we’re kind of bummed 1966 granddaddy of surf films The Endless Summer isn’t in the mix, too. Oh well … there’s always the DVD.)

The Academy has gotten Hawaii surf world legends Randy Rarick, Bonga Perkins, Fred Van Dyke and board designer Ben Aipa to personally introduce the Kowabunga! flicks nearest and dearest to them, and hang out for talk story afterward.

The fest was put together by Jackie and Eric Walden, co-owners of downtown Honolulu’s Chinatown Boardroom, with some help from the academy. If you haven’t checked out the Walden’s Chinatown district surfboard shop, surf art gallery and surf lecture hall yet, you should.

Click here for the Kowabunga! film fest schedule and ticket info.
  

You ask. We answer.

HAWAII Magazine reader Dale Randall e-mailed us:

I have never seen a mention of a place to purchase coconut pie—the old fashion variety with two crusts. Since Kapiolani Bakery closed, I have not been able to locate a source. Liliha Bakery discontinued theirs, but they still make coconut turnovers. Could you suggest a source?

Most Oahu bakeries, such as Liliha Bakery, now offer coconut or haupia cakes—not pies. These cakes are often filled with or frosted with haupia (Hawaiian coconut pudding) and/or sprinkled with coconut flakes.

Ted’s Bakery is known for their original chocolate-haupia cream pie, but it’s only topped with whipped cream.

Two bakeries will still make a double-crust coconut pie:

•  Agnes' Portuguese Bake Shop (pictured left) in Kailua. This Windward bakery on Oahu is best known for its hot malassadas (deep-fried, sugar-coated Portuguese doughnuts), but they also make double-crust coconut pies. [46 Hoolai St., Kailua, Oahu, (808) 262-5367]


•  Larry’s Wholesale Bakery makes coconut pies just the way you like them—with the old-fashioned double crust. [4369 Lawehana St., Bay 3, Pearl Harbor/Radford, Oahu, (808) 422-0059]

Since these desserts are not regular items, both bakeries recommend placing your order a day in advance.  

Or you could always try to bake your own pie, with a coconut filling, for which, we admit, we cannot find a recipe.

UPDATE, 9/19/08: “I thought you might like the recipe for coconut pie,” writes HAWAII Magazine reader Dale Randall. Here’s the recipe Dale sent to us. It was originally printed two years ago in the Honolulu Advertiser.

Coconut Pie

3 cups fresh grated coconut (or dried unsweetened coconut)

3 tablespoons cornstarch

1 1/2 cups water

2 cups sugar

1 unbaked two-crust pie shell

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. If using fresh coconut, squeeze moisture from grated coconut and place in a medium bowl. Whisk together cornstarch and 1/2 cup water to form a smooth paste. Pour over coconut, then add remaining water and sugar and mix well. Place in pie shell and cover with crust. Bake at 375 degrees for 30 to 40 minutes.

Makes 8 servings.


 

HAWAII Magazine's annual “Best of Hawaii” issue is out now.

In it you’ll find more than 91 picks from our readers and writers revealing all of the best our Islands have to offer.

Find out who, what and where HAWAII readers’ chose as their favorite beach, favorite town, favorite place to eat, favorite musician and more. Then check out the very illuminating “Best of Hawaii” picks from HAWAII Magazine’s editorial staff.

Among our “best of” choices:

• The best new Hawaiian music CD you may have missed.

• The best Hawaii coffee not grown in Kona.

• The best mai tai in Waikiki.

• The best places in Hawaii to eat you wouldn’t find on your own.

• The best resort to feel like you really live in Hawaii.

And then there’s John Cruz (pictured), our pick for “best singer-songwriter from Hawaii who’s not Jack Johnson.” Here’s what we wrote:

“To our ears, John Cruz’s soulful, uncluttered songs are actually better than the work of the more world-renowned Johnson. Cruz is one of the finest contemporary singer-songwriter-musicians you’ll hear, Hawaii-based or otherwise. Listen to Cruz’s Na Hoku Hanohano award-winning 2007 CD “One of These Days” for proof.

“Cruz’s honeyed, husky voice is a marvel—real-world honest whether touching on subjects painfully personal or sweetly hopeful. Vintage instruments and recording equipment coat it all in a warm, timeless musical glow. We’re serious fans.”

Heck, even Jack Johnson is a John Cruz fan. Click here to sample some of John’s music.

For the rest of our “Best of Hawaii” selections, pick up a copy of the September/October 2008 issue of HAWAII Magazine, available at most national bookstores and newsstands now. It’s also available by print subscription and in a digital format you can download on your computer.

Got any of your own "Best of Hawaii" picks you'd like to share with other HAWAII readers? Leave a comment below.

  

Kilauea volcano fanatics will want to check out the video below geologists at the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory recently posted of the familiar Halemaumau crater steam plume.

The time-lapse video, shot over a six-minute period on August 20, shows what happens when the normally white plume—mostly made up of steam and colorless sulfur-dioxide gas—suddenly mixes with ash, turning it a dark grey-brown.

Geologists believe a rockslide within the vent—triggered by a simultaneous earthquake five miles from the summit—was reason for this color and composition change. Also notice the burst in the plume’s volume and intensity as soon as the color change occurs.

Ash events like this one are fairly common at the Halemaumau vent. The plume typically returns to its usual white hue within hours.

Click anywhere on the frame below to see the video. Click here to check out all of HawaiiMagazine.com’s posts on Kilauea activity in 2008.

 
 

On the Big Island this weekend?

Waikoloa Beach Resort’s new outdoor entertainment venue, The Waikoloa Bowl at Queens’ Gardens, opens Aug. 30, with a performance by Earth, Wind & Fire.

The appearance by the Grammy award-winning ‘70s musical group—famous for chart-topping hits such as “September” and “Shining Star”—also inaugurates the resort’s Waikoloa Nights’ concert series at the venue.

There’s sure to be more acts to come. The Waikoloa Bowl’s 5,500-person capacity makes it one of the largest entertainment venues on Hawaii’s Big Island. Its outdoor layout and size is similar to Oahu’s Waikiki Shell, minus the backdrop of Diamond Head and, well, band shell.

Earth, Wind & Fire’s concert begins at 8 p.m., Saturday. Fireworks are set to end the show.

Artist Malcolm Farley—best known for his in-action portraits of sports and entertainment figures—will do a live painting of the band as they perform. The portrait will be auctioned off immediately after the concert, with a portion of the proceeds donated to the Waikoloa Foundation.

Tickets are priced at $69 general admission, $150 VIP. Click here to purchase online, or call (800) 888-TIXX (8499). Tickets will also be sold at the door starting at 2 p.m., Saturday.

The Waikoloa Bowl (pictured above) is located adjacent to the resort’s also brand new Queens’ MarketPlace off Waikoloa Beach Drive.

 

Hawaii’s state champion Little League team returns home today as world champions.

The Little League team from the Oahu suburb of Waipio—representing the United States—defeated Mexico 12-3 Sunday at the Little League Baseball World Series in South Willamsport, Pa. It was Hawaii’s second world championship win in four years. A team from another Oahu suburb, Ewa Beach, won the championship title in 2005.

It hadn’t been an easy ride for Waipio at the 11-day series. Team member Iolana Akau suffered a hairline fracture in Waipio's opening appearance in the series, putting him out for two games. The team was close to losing the U.S. championship game on Saturday before a six-point rally in the final inning won them a world title berth.

Still, Akau's injury didn't stop him from making a homerun and diving for a catch (pictured left) in the fifth inning of yesterday’s world title game.

“The Hawaiian youngsters don’t know how to spell quit,” ESPN sportscaster Brent Musburger marveled.

More than 28,500 spectators packed Howard J. Lamade Stadium in South Williamsport, but far more fans watched the game from Hawaii. I was one of those glued to the television.

The new World Champions return home to Honolulu International Airport tonight, at about 6:20 p.m., Hawaii time, on Continental Airlines flight 15.

Honolulu Mayor Mufi Hannemann is planning a Parade of Champions to honor both the Waipio Little Leaguers and Hawaii’s winning Beijing Olympics athletes. A date has not been set.

Congratulations Waipio Little Leaguers! You've made all of us in Hawaii proud!

UPDATE, 8/28/08: The Parade of Champions will be held in Waikiki on Labor Day (Monday, Sept. 1) starting at 5 p.m. It will run down Kalakaua Avenue from Fort DeRussy to Kapiolani Park.

After the parade, there'll be a special Sunset on the Beach event at Queen's Surf beach, starting at 6:45 p.m. Stay for the featured film and live entertainment.

Photos: AP

 

All due respect to Michael Phelps, but Oahu-raised Bryan Clay became “the world’s greatest athlete” today.

Clay stayed ahead of competitors through two days and all 10 events of the Olympic decathlon competition to take home the gold medal. He is the first U.S. athlete to win the event since Dan O’Brien at the 1996 Atlanta games.

Clay, 28, had entered the 2008 Olympic games heavily favored to win the decathlon. He earned his ticket to Beijing by scoring 8,832 points in the U.S. Olympic track and field trials—the highest score from an American athlete in 16 years.

Clay didn’t beat that personal best score in Beijing. But his 8,791 final point count after completing all events was 240 points ahead of his closest competitor, Belarus’s Andrei Krauchanka. Roman Sebrle of the Czech Republic, who outscored silver medalist Clay for the gold at the 2004 Athens Games, finished sixth.

Clay is Hawaii’s second gold medalist of the Beijing games, and first individual gold medalist. Oahu’s Natasha Kai was the first, as a member of the U.S. women’s soccer team.

"I can't tell you how happy I am to have worked for something for so long, and finally accomplish it, and have my dreams come true," said Clay, to reporters after the win.

The Californian, who returns to Hawaii when not training, said he would defend his gold in London, the site of the next Olympic Games.

"I'm hoping to continue to do this through 2012," said Clay. "I hopefully can get another medal. I don't know if anybody's got three medals at the Olympic Games. That's maybe another goal."

He had a more pressing goal for the near future.

"I just want the Wheaties box," Clay told NBC, grinning. "Put me on the Wheaties box."

Click here for NBC’s account of Clay’s win and stats in all 10 decathlon events.

 

With all due respect to my colleague Sherie Char, she not’s the only one who loves to fill up her plate now and again.

So with summer winding down, I had to stop by Honolulu’s high-end hot dog stand. 

Hank’s Haute Dogs is the brainchild of restaurateur Henry Adaniya, the man behind posh eateries like Chicago’s Trio. Hank’s is a considerable departure from such places—laid-back, informal and very appropriate to the shorts and rubber-slipper crowd.

Now you may wonder: of all the things to eat in Hawaii, why hot dogs? Because at Hank’s they give a unique twist to the comfort staple: blending eastern and western flavors and using fresh, locally-grown ingredients.

And their dogs are good, so good that they’ve often closed early due to high demand.

On the menu you find the standards:  Polish and Italian sausages, bratwurst, chorizo, even a Portuguese sausage dog, treasured by locals for its garlicky goodness. What caught my eye, however, were their daily specials—rabbit, duck, even lobster.

The special of the day was a Kobe beef hot dog. Kobe beef is the stuff of legend: a special breed of Japanese cattle are fed the finest grains and brushed and massaged daily. The result is a cut of beef so perfectly marbled with fat it melts in your mouth, literally.

As promising as this sounded, all ground up I couldn’t distinguish that my dog was made of the prized beef. It was still a solid sausage (photo, right), but a bit of a letdown since I could have got a fat brat for much less and had some change leftover for an order of Hank’s famous double-fried French fries. (Luckily, my companion happened to get some for herself. I snuck a few. They are good.)

The slaw that topped the Kobe dog was a revelation, made with thin strips of daikon and carrot, coated in sesame oil. It provided a nice crunch and smoky compliment to the meat. 

Coming up: hamburgers.

[Hank’s Haute Dogs is located at 324 Coral St. on Oahu, call (808) 532-4265]

Photos by Chris Bailey

 

I like sake. Good sake.

The Joy of Sake, a Honolulu tasting fest, is all about good sake. Much of it, award-winning sake. It’s also about good food … Japanese cuisine from a dozen of Honolulu’s finest restaurants including Nobu Waikiki, Hoku’s, Wasabi & Nadaman and Chai’s Island Bistro.

Honolulu began this event, and has exported it to New York and San Francisco, which will have their Joy later in the year. This year’s Honolulu Joy of Sake happens Aug. 28 at the Hawaii Convention Center, from 6 to 8:30 p.m.

You can taste more than 328 sakes. They’ve already been tasted here by an international panel of judges, who award medals in various categories. The bonus for you? The sakes you’ll enjoy are guaranteed to be at their taste peak.

If you’re a sake enthusiast, miss Joy of Sake at your peril.

Don’t like sake? Chances are you probably haven’t had a good one yet.

Tickets are $70 advance, $80 door. Order tickets at the Joy of Sake Web site here, or call (808) 739-1000.

Joy's Web site also has all of the down low on the evening’s culinary guests, sakes, food menu and still more sake facts.

Kanpai!