Post #138942 by freddiefreelance on Wed, Feb 2, 2005 11:54 AM

Wandering a little farther off topic, I've only gone to Mr. Tiki the one time with the TC ohana and I think they went out of their way to make us happy to build Word of Mouth. I'm planned to go back again several times, but my wife keeps wanting to go to the Bali Hai instead (I'd say that's a mark on the plus side for the Bali Hai, don't you?). I remember our group saying that the food at Mr. Tiki was really good but they had to work on the drinks (most of the complaints were of the "not tart enough" variety), and I've read the SD Union-Tribune foodwriter review of the place that basially said the oposite (the food was ho-hum, but the drinks were great & brought her back to the good-old-days).

I personally love the Bali Hai's food, everything from Chicken of the Gods & Evil Jungle Prince to the Pepper & Coriander crusted Seared Ahi & the Furikake Salmon.

edit: Let me clarify, In my previous post when I mentioned Mr. Tiki & the Islands I was only listing 2 other respected Tiki places in San Diego, I personally love & prefer the Bali Hai. I like the fact that the Bali Hai has kept the old favorites like Chicken of the Gods & Evil Jungle Prince while updating the menu with more authentic & modern fare like Pepper & Coriander crusted Seared Ahi & the Furikake Salmon.

If Sneaky is still worried about the Bali Hai being "senior citizen food" he could try Mr. Tiki, if he's worried that the dining room's ambiance isn't very Tiki (most of the Bali Hai's Tikis are in other places than the dining room) he can go to either of the 2 I mentioned & sample their tikiness. But I think he would be happy with the menu, and I don't think that he can do better than the Bali Hai's view of the Bay.

Personally I'd suggest a personal mini-crawl: The Islands for Lunch, Mr. Tiki for Pu-pus, Bali Hai for dinner.

Rev. Dr. Frederick J. Freelance, Ph.D., D.F.S

[ Edited by: freddiefreelance on 2005-02-03 09:41 ]