Post #369208 by jeffreyvallance on Tue, Mar 25, 2008 1:44 PM

Best Tiki Bar
Tonga Hut

By: JEFFREY VALLANCE

Have you noticed Tiki is in again? Even Martha Stewart has a chapter in her book on “Throwing a Tiki Party.” Finding the Tonga Hut is like discovering a rare jewel. Like the Bishop Museum in Hawaii, it has Tiki carvings, masks, and artifacts from every far-flung archipelago. The bar’s facade features a huge Easter Island head carving (moai). And objects from the Kingdom of Tonga include an antique tapa cloth fan and the royal coat of arms of Tonga.Like an authentic Polynesian hut, the walls are covered in woven mats, while the ceiling is covered in bamboo. And that’s not all—there are waterfalls, dart boards, and of all things a stuffed crow--the emblematic bird of prophecy with power to foresee the future. These original Tiki cocktail lounges are becoming rare, and the Tonga Hut may be ground zero of local Polynesian pop culture. It should be preserved as a historical monument. As Mr. Otto von Stroheim, publisher of ,says, “When you go to a place like the Tonga Hut in North Hollywood, you’ll notice details like the hand-made lighting fixtures, a kidney-shaped dropped ceiling—the place is artistic and it was all built by the owners.” Go on in—order a Zombie.