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Barfly Jason Genegabus |
Catering to every type
Cruising along the side streets of Kakaako, my drinking partner for the evening and I kept our eyes peeled for someplace to settle in and relax for a bit.
Side Street Inn was a possibility, but a quick drive-by revealed that almost every seat was taken, including those at the bar. A stop at nearby Fish Bone made me question whether that establishment is legit or just another place to play the buy-me-drinkee game. The whiplash effect my drinking partner had on the ladies there when he walked inside made me think the latter, but I wasn't ready to do the research and find out for myself.
Colors Lounge
Hours: 2 p.m. to 2 a.m. daily
Location: 535 Ward Ave.
(one block makai of
Kapiolani Boulevard)
Phone: 597-8032
After a long week of parties tied into the NFL Pro Bowl, all I wanted to do was find a bar that served food and offered cheap beers. Pulling away from Fish Bone and making a turn onto Ward Avenue, my friend noticed a place that possibly filled that description, Colors Lounge.
AT FIRST, I was a little wary of going inside and sitting down, mainly because the word "lounge" was used in the bar's name. Unless you're in Waikiki sipping a mai tai and watching a performance by someone like Don Ho, I've taken to thinking that any place that describes itself as a lounge is actually a hostess bar, complete with women hustling customers for drinks and other "extras."
But my drinking partner insisted that Colors Lounge wasn't like that, so through the door we went. My first reaction? If there were ever such a thing as a United Colors of Benneton-style watering hole, this was it.
All of the tables here are a mix of red, blue, yellow and white, colors that you normally wouldn't expect to see used when decorating a bar. Track lighting is also implemented throughout, with different-colored light fixtures hanging over each of the 11 booths. Another 10 seats are available at the bar itself, and there's even a private karaoke room if you're too shy to sing in front of a crowd.
TAKING A look at the menu, it was hard not to notice the Special Sausage ($9) since it was printed in red ink, while every other item below it was printed in black. But what makes the Special Sausage special? Is it spicy? Does the cook prepare it differently from other sausages?
When our server returned to take our food order, I popped the question, and she almost immediately started to laugh. Smiling, she informed us that the Special Sausage was actually the, um, private part of a cow. Really.
"Are you sure?" I asked. "That's what I heard," was her reply, adding that a co-worker had told her, and no, she had never tried the Special Sausage herself.
"It's a Korean thing," she said. It is? I've never heard of Koreans eating that part of a cow. And for nine bucks, I didn't want to find out if the sausage was really that special. Instead, I asked for an order of pork chops ($12) and french fries ($6) to go with the Bud Lights we already had at our table.
AS WE WAITED for our food to arrive, I took some time to watch the other customers who decided to stop by Colors Lounge for a few drinks of their own.
Three women sat together at a table on my left, laughing with each other over plates of various pupus. A couple of older guys were nearby, sipping their beers and stealing glances at the attractive woman working behind the bar.
What I found interesting about this place is that it doesn't necessarily cater to any one type of customer. I saw folks in shorts and T-shirts, aloha shirts and pants, and even someone in a dress shirt and slacks. There were a couple of customers in their mid-20s having some drinks, but I also noticed a few people who appeared to be in their 30s and 40s as well.
Located just down the street from the Neal Blaisdell Center, Colors Lounge is a pretty good choice if you're looking for a spot to grab a drink after a concert, or if pau hana traffic is so bad that you just need to get off the road for a little bit and let it pass you by. While the food is a bit overpriced here, beers are cheap and served ice cold, and the servers are nice and extremely easy to look at. If you've never noticed this place while driving down Ward Avenue, maybe it's time to stop by and knock a few back.
How much for a Bud Light?
The Barfly drank $2.50 bottles of Bud Light at Colors Lounge earlier this week. Unfortunately, draft beer isn't an option, but mixed drinks are. Be sure to ask your server if there is anything on special if you decide to visit.Get things to do?
Four regular televisions and a flat screen provide customers with something to watch while having a few drinks; a pair of dart machines and a karaoke setup are also part of the lineup at the bar. There's also a lone Megatouch game here as well, but it was turned off and looked to be out of order upon closer inspection.What about the grinds?
There's a pretty good selection of food items at Colors Lounge, but almost everything is overpriced. The pork chops ($12) we ordered were tasty and served on a sizzling platter, but I'm not too sure we got our money's worth when it came to the amount of food on our plate. The french fries ($6) were half the size I was expecting for the price we paid, in addition to being undercooked and lacking any seasoning. Other menu items include pulehu ribs ($12), fried mushrooms ($10), Spam kim chee omelet ($8), poke ($12) and fried rice ($8). One nice touch is that you get three Korean side dishes with your food -- nice, because you don't get any rice!And the help?
For a couple of guys visiting for the first time, we were taken care of very nicely by the server working that night. We never had to nurse an almost empty bottle while waiting for her to come back around, and she cheerfully turned the channel on a television near us so we could watch ESPN instead of some boring program on Court TV.
See the Columnists section for some past articles.
Barfly appears every Friday in Star-Bulletin Weekend.
E-mail Jason Genegabus at jason@starbulletin.com with suggestions of neighborhood bars to visit.
