Each major island in the Hawaiian chain has its official May Day princess color, its representative lei and its HTA-trademarked nickname. (Maui is the Magic Island, not the Valley Island, according to the Tourism Authority, but that's another column.)

Each island also has its unofficial foodstuff, its appropriate offering and de facto omiyage that must be brought back for friends and co-workers after a trip.

Some of the omiyage that were imported in carry-ons stuffed in overhead compartments are now but memories: Hilo Macaroni company crackers from Hawai'i island, Shishido manju from Maui.

Other modern products have risen up in import importance, chiefly Krispy Kreme from Maui since no other island is blessed with a Krispy Kreme franchise.

But one delicacy has stayed a secret, hidden from visitors by well-fed locals unwilling to share the wealth: Minit Stop potato wedges.

Minit Stop is a chain of pump-and-sip convenience stores on Maui and Kona. The hot food counters sell the usual greasy fried chicken, cone sushi, Spam musubi fare. But then there are those huge, batter-encrusted golden wedges that must be hacked from 20-lb. potatoes. Happy, tanned, Cheshire-smiling potatoes wearing their skins and a thick coat of crispy crusty batter and spots of black pepper.

The first bite is too overwhelming for comment, not even a low "mmmm." There's only silence, then the soft blowing on the too-hot center.

If you've had them, you're thinking, "Ho, yeah! I could go for a box-a dem babies right now!" If you haven't heard of them, you're wondering, "Eh, my cousin Reggie from Maui Meadows never said nothing about no Minit Stop potato wedges, and he just came up my house last year! Sheesh!"

The rational behind the secrecy isn't so much scarcity. Minit Stop may run out from time to time, but it always manages to bust out a box and get those large spuds battered, fried and basking under the glow of the heat lamp before too long.

No, people don't tell off-islanders about them because they don't hold up well in transport. Even after a 20-minute plane ride, the potato wedges would arrive on the other side a shell of their true selves, limp and deflated from the journey, cold and weak, like a delicate flower plucked by a brutish hand.

Minit Stop potato wedges are meant to be eaten dangerously hot in the parking lot outside the store or, while they're still smoldering, at a beach park in Kihei. They lose their magic if taken away from the Magic Island. Valley Island. Whatevers.

Lee Cataluna's column runs Tuesdays, Fridays and Sundays. Reach her at 535-8172 or lcataluna@honoluluadvertiser.com.