NJ Dining: Lee's Hawaiian Islander
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 also had a Clifton location, but it closed due to a fire in 2003.
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.
Zombie after-effects.
Pu-Pu Platter, the classic.
Young Chow Fried Rice
Sweet and Sour Pork. Yeah, I know, so sue me.
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.
July 10, 2006 at 11:47 am
Unbelieveable…this post made me hungry for being 25 again, with dot-com plastic in my shorts pocket, and a liver that could drink til dawn.
Which has absolutely nothing to do with your post! Spectacular.
But really, that photo of Sweet and Sour Pork should go into Wikipedia. It all actually does look prefectly prepared. Congratulations!
October 13, 2006 at 11:16 am
Goin’ here tonight for karaoke. Though I lived in Clifton for over 20 years, I never made it to that location.
That last dish looks vomitlicious. But what do I know.
April 21, 2007 at 6:44 pm
So…this place is gross to be nice. The staff seved foor while picking their teeth…
April 24, 2007 at 12:07 pm
Do they still have Karaoke and when is it?
January 4, 2008 at 2:40 pm
We go to Lee’s every week and it’s a great place. Just like family and the food is great, drinks are potent!!! lOL
Karokee on Fridays and Saturdays……….guaranteed a good time.
March 12, 2008 at 2:17 pm
Anyone know what time karaoke starts? I used to love this place when I was a kid.
July 9, 2008 at 11:27 am
You really have to check out the band that plays there every Halloween. ARCH DEMON CHOIR. They are the only band that ever played live at Lees and they are unbelievable!