Lee's Hawaiian Islander

[Jason Perlow]

768 Stuyvesant Ave, Lyndhurst, NJ

So, for lack of a better description, I didn’t get enough umbrella drinks and expertly prepared bad American Chinese food this week, so Sunday night we went to North Jersey’s other Polynesian throwback, Lee’s Hawaiian Islander in Lyndhurst.

Lee’s is a huge orange painted building with no windows that dates back 30 years.

The Tiki Bar.

The cavernous main dining area.

The ceilings at Lee’s are at least 18 feet tall, probably closer to 20. A Polynesian outrigger boat filled with fake Hawaiian orchids and stuffed exotic birds is suspended from the ceiling.

The drink menu. Unlike other Polynesian restaurants I have visited previously, these drinks defy description. I guess they are so classic that everyone should know what they are and what’s mixed in them, but you could always ask.

A Mai Tai (left) and a Zombie (right). The Zombie appears to differ from the Mai Tai in that it has probably 4x the amount of alcohol in it.

Zombie closeup.

Pu-Pu Platter, the classic.

Sweet and Sour Pork. Yeah, I know, so sue me.

Young Chow Fried Rice

Along with Shrimp with Lobster Sauce, Egg Foo Young is also a benchmark Chinese-Am dish for me, so I order it at pretty much every place I visit that specializes in that type of food. Lee’s is excellent — the gravy doesn’t taste like uncooked flour or overly grease laden and the egg patties are perfectly cooked.

Zombie after-effects.

Edited July 10, 2006 by Jason Perlow (log)

[jwjojo]

OMG!! A thread for Lee's...funny. We went years ago, never returning. It was amusing enough for the evening, food was edible...that's about all folk's.

[ghostrider]

Rutherford is not Lyndhurst!

Must be another of those zombie after-effects.

(Which is something you couldn't get in Rutherford, of course.)

[Jason Perlow]

Thanks, I've fixed it. Beleive me it was a REALLY strong drink. If I had finished it I wouldn't have been able to drive us home.

[Anonymouze]

We went there a few months back (I think it's in the chinese food or c46 thread?) we had the pupu (bit greasy but good for our needs) platter. My friends and I enjoyed the Karaoke night.

They have Karaoke (sic?) on Friday & Saturday nights and some folks are REAL pro's... amazing if you close your eyes you hear Tony Bennett, Sinatra or Elvis!

The drinks are amazing too! LOL - also the food was "typical" polynesian or mild chinese but tasty enough as well. I would not classify it as high cuisine but it's cute and fun and the wall fountains "throwing up water" are interesting to watch as well - they were functioning when we were there. (See Jason's pictures!) The more you drink the more they seem to talk to you! ROFL. ENJOY!

[allie]

Oh thank you for a hilarious flashback Jason!

Chris & I used a "buy one entree, get one free" coupon from the Entertainment Book for Lee's about 3-4 years ago and had the same opinion- good, strong drinks and bad, american chinese food. I found the food very greasy, and the pu pu platter was a total gut-bomber (I suppose this is standard though). Even though the drinks were good, and I have a coupon every year from the Entertainment Book, I just can't see going back again.

[Jason Perlow]

I actually liked the Fried Rice and the Egg Foo Young. The Sweet and Sour pork I enjoyed as well, but it was VERY sweet, although accurately and correctly prepared.

The Pu-Pu Platter was fun, but I agree, a gut bomber. I particularly liked the Hawaiian Beef part. If you can order that separate I probably will the next time around.