Las Vegas Mixtape v23: Hawaii Street Food, Disco Ecstasy, and Feel-Good Mochi Donuts

Track #1: Ai Pono Café @Eat Your Heart Out Food Hall, inside Durango Casino and Resort

Thumbs up for Ai Pono Cafe—one of the standalone restaurants inside the Eat Your Heart Out food hall at the Durango Casino and Resort. Chef Gene Villiatora, the owner of the Costa Mesa, CA-originated eatery, says he’s committed to “reintroducing authentic Hawaii street food to the community.”

The man has a delicious sense of humor, too, serving up lovably named creations like “Crackhead Chicken” and “Dirty Lickin’ Korean Chicken.” The latter offering consists of juicy “crispy boneless thighs with Chef’s Ko-Ju Truffle Sauce,” which comes with a side of their “mac salad,” Asian slaw, and two scoops of rice. Everyone needs a new addiction, and this dish is mine.

The colorful, upbeat, and wallet-friendly Ai Pono Café is a welcome addition to Vegas, known as the “ninth island of Hawaii”  because of the city’s sizeable Hawaiian population. It’s a place that aims to please, right down to the photo of Hawaii’s golden child, Bruno Mars, gracing the back wall.