Spam, anyone? The meat, not junk mail

Image by asmythie via Flickr

One thing I have learned during my long stay in Hawaii is that Hawaiians LOVE their SPAM! It's everywhere and I do mean everywhere.

Want a SPAMburger? Just head down to your local McDonald's or Burger King and pick one up.

How about SPAM and eggs? Any IHOP, coffee shop or Pancake house will be happy to help you out.

I think my biggest surprise was when I was shopping in Target the other day. We stopped at the little snack place (at the entrance of Target where the shopping carts are) to get a smoothie and I was browsing the menu while waiting on Felicia to get the smoothies. I noticed the usual pizza slices, cookies, sushi (yeah, well that may not be normal for MY Target but I would expect that here in Hawaii...LOL) - but what I didn't expect was to see this:

SPAM Musubi -

I found out these can be purchased in convenience stores and restaurants alike. It is a favorite "to-go" food and just cost between $1.00 - $2.00 each.

When I walked over to where The Dollar Spot should have been, this Target had The Aloha Shop. There were 4 rows of SPAM souvenirs and memorabilia -- I couldn't resist taking a picture! Anyone want a SPAM purse?
According to Wikipedia...
Hawaiians have a love affair with Spam - they eat it as a delicacy, adding it to soups and stews, treating it as a side dish for breakfast, and enjoying it as the main event for lunch and dinner. Residents of Hawaii consume more Spam than populations anywhere else in the world: More than four million cans every year, or an average twelve cans of Spam per person per year. In fact, Hawaii is so well associated with Spam that Hormel even introduced a limited edition "Hawaii" can in 2003.

Too bad I'll be leaving this Saturday to head back home or I could join Felicia at the annual Spam Jam Waikiki 2009 on April 25th.

Oh yeah....one more thing - NO, I did not partake of any SPAM while in Hawaii! Been there done that - YUCK!