Lost in paradise

May 17, 2005

They're headquartered on Oahu, where principal filming locations for ABC's "Lost" include the Kaaawa Valley, Kualoa Ranch, North Shore and Mokuleia Beach. During their downtime, here's where else the cast and producers go.

J.J. Abrams (co-creator/executive producer)
"I like the Halekulani Hotel -- it's comfortable and old school, and my wife and kids and I love the proximity to town. But what I really know on Oahu is Sushi Sasabune."

Naveen Andrews (Sayid)
"I lived at the Kahala Mandarin Oriental for about six months until I finally summed up the courage to live in a house. But I still spend a lot of time at the Mandarin. I'm a member of the gym there, Chi. The Mandarin is kind of a world to itself -- it has a wonderful beach to watch the sun go down; it's paradise. There's a great restaurant there, Hoku's. It's a South Asian-European mix; I'm very partial to their jumbo prawns."

Bryan Burk (executive producer)
"The hands-down best sushi is at Sushi Sasabune."

Carlton Cuse (executive producer)
"I go to Ted's Bakery on the North Shore with all the hung-over surfers and get a fresh sweet roll and good, strong coffee, which I eat on the beach at Pipeline watching the best surfers in the world getting barreled. For business, my favorite hotel is the Kahala Mandarin Oriental -- it's ritzy and relaxed with a great fitness center."

Emilie de Ravin (Claire Littleton)
"I swim, relax on the beach and catch up on reading. The North Shore beaches are perfect for this -- they have the most beautiful sunsets and killer breezes. I like taking hikes there, too. My favorites have hidden waterfalls and no tourists! (Except me ... well, sorta). Haleiwa is a cool little surf town on the North Shore that has some cute shops and cafes -- (and) yummy fish tacos."

Jorge Garcia (Hugo "Hurley" Reyes)
"I like the swap meet on Saturdays and Wednesdays at Aloha Stadium -- great shirts, baskets and souvenirs there for a lot cheaper than in Waikiki, and it's the same stuff. And I like sipping a mai tai at Jameson's by the Sea in Haleiwa on the North Shore."

Josh Holloway (Sawyer)
"My wife and I go to Boots & Kimo's Homestyle Kitchen in Kailua for their pancakes topped with macadamia sauce. Hanauma Bay is a great place to snorkel. On Super Bowl Sunday, Jorge Garcia and I did a bit of boogie boarding -- he's very good at it. When I'm not so spry, I just go to the beach and lay in the sun. We just bought a house on a canal, so we take sunset kayak trips."

Dominic Monaghan (Charlie Pace)
"I surf. I'm an intermediate surfer, nothing really over 5 or 6 feet, but I'm always looking to get in the water. And every so often, I'll go to Waikiki and surf old school and take out a big longboard. Then I'll have a mai tai or pina colada when I come out and watch the sunset. My favorite place on the island is Lanikai Juice, an organic juice bar in Kailua -- all fresh fruit, organic honey, soy milk, good stuff."

Harold Perrineau Jr. (Michael Dawson)
"I kayak out into the ocean. It's a little scary because I don't swim, and I don't wear a life jacket. (Laughs wildly) Y'know, I keep trying to be cowboy. I go out on the eastern end of Oahu, near Hawaii Kai. There's a little restaurant, the 12th Avenue Grill, that we've been loving. The food is great, some fusion, burgers, chicken, the best desserts -- these really amazing tarts with ice cream. There's a huge hotel on the North Shore that's nice, the Turtle Bay (Resort). But the Kahala Mandarin Oriental is our favorite -- you can swim with dolphins there; that's really, really nice. "

Ian Somerhalder (Boone Carlisle)
"Waimea Falls is great -- and fishing off Waikiki or the North Shore! You catch tuna, yellowfin, skipjack, marlin. They actually eat marlin here, which is a little weird. I've caught marlin up to 275 pounds, which is a pretty damn big fish. I catch and release marlin. The first weekend we were here, Josh Holloway, Maggie Grace and I went on a charter I set up. We caught mahi-mahi all day. We kept them and had them cleaned. I bought a grill and had a barbecue on my hotel-room balcony and invited the whole cast over. It's no wonder I didn't get kicked out!"

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