Post #105297 by donhonyc on Fri, Jul 30, 2004 10:10 PM

Aloha-

So it's been a good summer so far. Early in July I got to visit Mai Kai twice during the week of 4th of July. One of those visits included having dinner and seeing the amazing floor show. The total take on tiki mugs was 5, and now I'm losing space in my cabinets because I have so much Tiki barware. But that's what it's all about, right? And what can I say about the Mai Kai that hasn't been said before? My only complaint is that I wish they had more of a variety of postcards the way they did back in the day.

A few weeks ago I got to go to Trader Vic's in Atlanta. Hadn't been there in almost a year. Again had dinner on one of the nights, and drinks on another. I was lucky enough on the second night to be there on a Thursday for Mai-Tai night featuring the music of Tongo-Hiti (?) .Their exotica version of Pearl Jam's 'Black' is unmatched. These guys do traditional Tiki lounge/Don Ho music and interesting tiki interpretations from the rock-n-roll catalog. They also did a tiki/lounge version of a Badfinger song which I got a big kick out of. The total take on barware was interesting and varied. The Mai-Tai glasses that are sold now as souvenirs are decorated to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Mai-Tai. This new design has the traditional TV Mai-Tai glass artwork, and the Mai-Tai recipe emblazoned on the side. I bought two of those. I also bought two small 'rocks' glasses, for whiskey sippin'. These have the native mask harpoon logo on them and say 'Trader Vic's since 1934'. I had never seen these before and wish I had bought more to put on Ebay. Last but not least I got that funky looking mug with the natives romping on it. What do they call that thing? It looks like a coffee cup without the handle and a large base. It's a very classy-cool item. I love that damn thing, and I may mix my first Trader Vic Grog in it tonight.

Another Atlanta note: the store in the Little 5 Points area called The Blue Orchid was not there anymore. When I was there last year it was closed everytime I went by. It looked like a cool Hawaiiana place, but alas it is not there anymore. The only place that offers any cool Tiki stuff is a store in the same area called The Junkman's Daughter. They offer alot of Tiki Farm items. For some reason, I remember the items being cooler last year. But hey, I don't know one damn store in New York City that sells ANY tiki stuff, so kudos to Atlanta and TJD.

Also : on my Florida/Mai Kai visit I got to visit Walt Disney World, like my tenth visit there, but my FIRST time in the Enchanted Tiki Room. More on that in another post, and I also want to post my collection of vintage Mai Kai postcards. I think I have 10 so far. Til then.....aLoHa!!!