....well, i've decided to go ahead and let ya'll know of my experience at the new rock-a-tiki lounge in chicago......i'll try to post the pic's i took tomarrow(never tried to post pics on a website before).....we showed up around 7:30 pm on friday, as we were unsure of the hours of operation for the bar....we walked in, and the staff informed us they were not opening until 8, so we should come back then.....i then asked to snap some pics, and they said "not now, but you can when were open."........we came back at 8, and ordered food and drink.....since i'm sure james over at the tikibar review page will go into alot more detail, i'll just break down my experience the same way polynesian pachyderm did......:
DECOR:B+
....i'd give it an A, but the hala kahiki is what i think of when i think of perfect decor.....some very cool stuff for sure(especially the shrunken head chandeler, and 15ft.moai on the back of the enterance).....a small place with some really cool stuff ......the Coombs&co. carved bar stools were great looking(even if they were glued to the floor).
FOOD:A
....we were apparentely the fist people to order food there (or so our waitress said), but the food was excellent........the pu pu platter was one of the best i've ever had, good stuff.....my wahinie said the salad she had was a vegitarians dream....
DRINKS:C+
...maybe i'm being a little harsh, but i could tell the bartenders were not all that familiar with the drinks they were making(our waitress said they were still learning the drinks out of the recipie guides) and i could tell which recipie books were being used on several of the drinks.....this is something i'm sure will get better with time(this was only the 2nd day they were open).......most drinks $8, and all were plenty strong, just not mixed well......
ATMOSPHERE:C
...now dont get me wrong, i happen to love loud rock music(i'm in a rock band for god sake!), but i do NOT want to hear led zepplin when i take my wahinie out for an evening of polynesian food and drink.....i, just as poly pachyderm before me ran to the juke within 15 minutes of being there to play as much les baxter, and south seas music as i could(although the juke was infact half empty)........hopefully this will get better with time.....as for the crowd, we were there early enough to not really experience one, which is fine with me, knowing what the usual bucktown bar crowd can be.....
SERVICE:C
...i felt as though i knew more aboout the bar than our server....i questioned her on the tiki farm mugs , and she looked at me like i was from another planet, then told me of a store in chicago which sometimes get in some tiki mugs....i also asked decor questions, and those were met with a smile and blank stare.....i mean, i dont know NEARLY as much as most people who post here, and i was curious about some of the pieces in the bar, but couldnt get an answer....ah well, i prolly should have tried to ask management rather than wait staff......
OVERALL:B
....excellent food,awsome decor,and drinks that will only get better make this place worth going to....i may be being a little harsh, as i went to hala kahiki and ate at chef shangri-la the following evening,my 2 favorite tiki digs here in illinois.......(pics coming soon of the rock-a-tiki!)
[ Edited by: hala bullhiki on 2002-12-01 22:33 ]
