Going Vegas? Then you needn't go without local-kine grindz if your visit is on or after Thursday, when two more L&L Hawaiian Barbecue locations open there.

One will be at 7320 S. Rainbow and the other, at 10860 W. Charleston Blvd.

News releases that L&L sends out for mainland openings are amusing; they describe in detail what we take for granted. Chicken katsu is “;fried, breaded pieces of chicken,”; while musubi is “;an oversized sushi consisting of a block of rice topped with a choice of meat and wrapped in dried seaweed.”;

You have to wonder what mainland reporters think, reading that a loco moco consists of “;savory homemade hamburger patties over rice covered with brown gravy and topped with eggs served Hawaiian style.”;

Not long after the first mainland L&L opened in City of Industry, Calif., years ago, one food writer could not get over the dish and wrote about the “;industrial”; brown gravy.

The local chain now has more than 185 stores.

What's in a name

A Hawaiian first name was spotted among the nominees for a general excellence-in-print award from the American Society of Magazine Editors, so naturally, your columnist had to explore.

The nominee is Maile Carpenter, editor-in-chief of Food Network Magazine, and she is nominated for the October, November and December issues for magazines with a circulation of 500,000 to 1 million.

Is she from Hawaii?

“;TheBuzz's”; inquiry was forwarded to Danielle McNally, Food Network Magazine editorial assistant, and the answer is yes ... and no.

“;Maile's parents lived in Hawaii for a while before she was born, but Maile's mother left Hawaii when she was nine months pregnant, so she missed being born there by one week,”; she said.

According to an interview Carpenter granted to mediabistro.com, she kept moving around because she was an Air Force brat (no slight intended, as yours truly was an Army brat). She started out as a newspaper reporter but went to cooking school to give her a foundation to write about food. She's EIC of the magazine and also blogs regularly on the magazine's Web site. Her husband is celebrity chef and restaurateur Wylie Dufresne.

For the ASME award, the woulda-been expat is running against The Economist, Esquire, GQ and Wired.

The winners will be among 51 magazines honored in New York City April 22.

Re-brand and pau

In one of Dustin Shindo's last official acts as chairman, president and chief executive officer, Hoku Scientific Inc. has been re-branded Hoku Corp.

When Hoku Scientific was established, the name “;reflected our core research-driven business developing innovative fuel cell technology,”; he said in a statement. The company has evolved, so “;we felt the name Hoku Corporation better reflected our strategic direction as a diversified, global clean energy company.”;

The company still will do business as Hoku, Hoku Solar and Hoku Materials.

Shindo's intention to step down effective March 31 was announced last month. Chief Operating Officer Scott Paul will succeed him as president and CEO, while Wei Xia will be chairman of the board.