Capital:  Honolulu

Entered Union (Rank):  August 21st, 1959 (50)

Nicknamed:  "The Aloha State"

Origin of Name:  May have originated from Hawaiki the traditional home of the Polynesians.

The Brick Ridge Culinary team has designed a menu that provides traditional foods from diverse regions of the United States.  We hope to reunite our dining friends with some old time favorites and to introduce several unique menu items.

Each week the Brick Ridge will provide classic and contemporary menu items from a selected state of the nation.  We hope you enjoy becoming acquainted with the diverse foods and cultures that have shaped American Cuisine.

Aloha Cooler...................................$5.95
Coconut and Banana Rum, Mango Schnapps,
Pineapple Juice, and a Splash of Grenadine

Polynesian Chicken &
Vegetable Soup...............................$4.50
Chicken Broth with Julienne Chicken and
Vegetables

Shrimp and Vegetable Tempura........$7.95
Large Shrimp and Summer Vegetables Golden
Fried in a Sweet Tempura Crust

Polynesian Pork Loin........................$17.95
Marinated Grilled Pork Loin Finished with
a Mango Pineapple Salsa

Macadamia Wahoo..........................$20.95
Pan Roasted Wahoo Served with a
Macadamia Butter

Kona Coconut Tart..........................$5.95
A Creamy Coconut Tart Finished with a
Kona Coffee Chocolate Sauce

First settled by Polynesians sailing from other Pacific islands between A.D. 300 and 600. The basic staples of the island diet were pigs, taro and coconuts. Hawaii was visited in 1778 by British Captain James Cook, ending thousands of years of isolation. Over the course of the next century, immigrants arrived from the Philippines, Japan, China and Korea, creating a hybrid Asian Polynesian cooking style.

Hawaii was a native kingdom throughout most of the 19th century, when the expansion of the sugar industry (pineapple came after 1898) meant increasing U.S. business and political involvement. In 1893, Queen Liliuokalani was deposed, and a year later the Republic of Hawaii was established with Sanford B. Dole as president. Following annexation (1898), Hawaii became a U.S. territory in 1900. The Japanese attack on the naval base at Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941, was directly responsible for U.S. entry into World War II.

Hawaii, 2,397 miles west-southwest of San Francisco, is a 1,523-mile chain of islets and eight main islands—Hawaii, Kahoolawe, Maui, Lanai, Molokai, Oahu, Kauai, and Niihau. The Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, other than Midway, are administratively part of Hawaii.

The temperature is mild, and cane sugar, pineapple, and flowers and nursery products are the chief products. Hawaii also grows coffee beans, bananas, and macadamia nuts. The tourist business is Hawaii's largest source of outside income.