Post #393502 by christiki295 on Sat, Jul 12, 2008 7:04 PM

As with most awesome things, tiki—that is, Polynesia as kitsch party motif—was invented right here in Los Angeles. So while there is a Maori god named Tiki, the fantabulous combination of thatched roofs, flaming torches, coconut shrimp and spiked punch is completely fabricated and has very little in common with any island cultures.

In the early '30s, Donn Beach (at the time, Ernest Raymond Beaumont Gantt) opened Don the Beachcomber in Hollywood after touring around the South Pacific and Asia. He had a thing for Cantonese food, carved wooden totems and fake tropical flowers. He was also a bootlegger during the Prohibition era.

As it happened, rum was the cheapest alcohol in the U.S. at the time, and the spicy, fruity spirit proved the perfect choice for Donny B., who was a pretty pimpin’ mixologist, let alone one with a penchant for mini umbrellas. When he died in 1989, a "New York Times" obit credited him with creating 84 cocktails. His “Rum Rhapsodies” included the Missionary’s Downfall, the Navy Grog, and the Zombie.

Plastic flowers and crazy drinks may not seem like a winning business plan, but consider the timeline: In the beginning of the 20th century, Americans ventured beyond the mainland in one final push of Manifest Destiny—you know, like, toward Hawaii. The power of the South Pacific tantalized onlooker Victor “Trader Vic” Bergeron, who in 1934 opened his first restaurant, Hinky Dinks, a tiki-themed joint in Oakland (the rest, of course, is history). The trend got another spike when Hawaii entered statehood in 1959, to say nothing of the 1963 unveiling of Disneyland’s sublimely animatronic Enchanted Tiki Room.

Thankfully, tiki has never completely tired, especially the kitschier and boozier parts. (Indeed, Tiki-Ti on Sunset was founded by Ray Buhan, one of Don the Beachcomber’s master bartenders.) But the original concept was a full supper club experience: bounteous food, many drinks, the occasional floor show. Grubbing was—and should still be—an integral part of tiki-ing around: Think lots of ribs and skewers, plus all kinds of seafood, seared or deep-fried. In other words, the perfect filling foil for flaming alcohol. Besides when else can you ask for a “pupu platter” and receive something delicious?

L.A.’s tiki palaces—the ones with drink, food and overdosage of rattan—are an endangered but enduring breed. But amid the ancient tchotchkes and so-unironic-it’s-ironic island fakery, the audience is younger and hipper than it has been in ages. And spendier: After closing its famed location in the Beverly Hilton Hotel, Trader Vic’s is planning a new Downtown location in spring 2009, which is certain to be flashy. In the meantime, here are some of the few, the proud, the tacky: the grand tikis of the Southland. . . .

http://losangeles.metromix.com/restaurants/article/getting-freaky-with-tiki/483116/content

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