Post #141010 by Tipsy McStagger on Sun, Feb 13, 2005 6:42 PM

aloha!! last night was the v.i.p. party for the canoe club which opens to the public next week on the 21st. The place looks great! I was drunk like a pirate! someone fell down and some guy jumped up on the bar and danced to the song "tequila" like pee-wee herman. It's upscale, so you diehard fans may be disappointed by it's lack of traditional decor. The owners were not trying to be the next mai kai (though they could have done it if they chose to). The effect they acheived is an awesome example of what the face of 21st century tiki looks like and I think they did a great job. (Incidentally, lake surfer, if you are reading this, ed wants you to come down there with a truckload of your tikis. he said he wanted more to fill up the place before opening to the public I suggest you bring a good variety of sizes as there are several locations i can think of immediatly that need tikis. call him a.s.a.p. and hound him. if you need his # again p.m. me. I'll see you at trader vics weds.) .....billed in the chicago tribune as the "most ambitious and largest restaurant to hit the south suburbs" in years. With more than 12.000 square feet and a capacity of about 375. The center bar has a 3.000 gallon shark tank with 5 reef sharks swimmin' round. they have regular shark feedings that you can watch. outside, there are a number of giant tiki torches fed by gas and man. they looked great when i was pullin' up to the place. you can see them way down the road...reminded me of driven up on the kahiki..... the waterfall is 2-storys high and changes color due to led lights on a timer. There are a couple of tiki wine gods flanking the top of the wine racks on either side, carved by yours truly. large hand painted murals adorn the walls. The mai tais were tasty and the food was excellent!! they have these sweet/sour chicken wings that are to die for....The waitresses were real easy on the eyes too... They will be featuring live music and d.j.'s also, that article on the place was in thurs. tribune, not fridays as i was told.