Post #11764 by thejab on Thu, Oct 24, 2002 2:25 PM

I won't even talk about that place in Las Vegas with the same intials as Tiki Central.

Went to the Tiki Ti on Saturday and had an excellent Navy Grog and another drink whose name I can't recall. But Robin had a Missionary's Downfall and we both agreed it was the best we had ever had. I've made the Grog Log recipe and it's good but the Tiki Ti version was amazing! Try it next time you go. Robin also had a Uga Booga. Everyone chants "Uga Booga" while they pour a large quantity of Myers's rum as a float (it had to have been a triple so at $12 it's well worth it).

Afterwards we went to Taylor's Prime Steaks in Koreatown. A great classic steakhouse with delicious food at fairly low prices and terrific service. It was recently picked by Citysearch as one of the top 10 steakhouses in the country! Look out, Ruth's Chris!

Other highlights of our trip were going to Kona Lanes on Sunday (sad that they are going to close), having the best Pastrami sandwiches of my life at Langer's Deli (even better than Wolfie Cohen's in Miami - sorry Kailuageoff!), and going to Bob's Big Boy in Toluca Lake.

On Friday we went to the Galley in Santa Monica and I was impressed to say the least. The decor is beautiful original nautical and South Seas. It's filled with bamboo and thatch and nautical bric-a-brac. The only thing they don't have are tikis so it's not exactly a tiki bar but if they did I would say its one of the best I have been to for decor. The bar is real impressive with huge bamboo supports holding up a bamboo and thatch roof (a lot like Maxton's Castaway Cove bar in Portland).

They don't offer tropical drinks on a menu so we ordered Mt. Gay rum and tonic with the juice of half a lime (Robin's invention). We called our drink The Galley - what else? The owner, Ron, greets you at the door to seat you in the restaurant, which has 3 small rooms all with bamboo partitioned booths. We sat at the bar because we weren't hungry enough to order a full dinner and had their excellent steamed clams at $14 for 2 whole pounds (a half order). They have a happy hour daily at 5 for a couple hours when certain appetizers are half price. All the staff are very friendly.

As I mentioned before, Ron loves this place because he went frequently since he was a kid, until he bought the place and restored it without screwing it up. The only thing I would change would be to remove the Christmas lights, but at least they're colored and not white. I think Ron is a pin-up fan because there are lots of pin-up pictures on the walls. I didn't take pictures because there were diners eating and I didn't want to bother them. Next time I'll try to go early and take some.

http://www.smmirror.com/Volume1/issue35/galley_still_going.html

I also scored lots of good records while down there including the Hawaiian Eye soundtrack album for $5, some Les Baxter, Ventures, and hawaiian records. I also found this mug for $12:
http://www.tikiroom.net/gallery/marked/acl

Never got a chance to go check out that bar in the Wilshire Grand Hotel.