Tonga Room SF (Not) to be demolished? - General Tiki

B bigbrotiki Tiki Socialite Tiki Island, above the Silverlake Joined: Mar 25, 2002 Posts: 11621	B bigbrotiki Posted posted on Tue, Dec 9, 2008 9:38 PM The last two reviews wonderfully illustrate the contradictions and dichotomy about what counts in Tiki culture. To NOT enter the Tonga Room in awe each time, because in size and elaborateness it represent one of the last great Tiki temples in America, is a sacrilege in MY book. WHERE does one still find the rain and thunder effect in action? Where does a band float on a raft into the middle of the pool, and where do who have a dance floor build from an old sailing ship? The old Punk in me wants to cry out "F@#k good food, drink, service, and if they serve in Tiki mugs and play Martin Denny!" Tiki is about ART, and artifice, and escaping from the urban jungle. Art is MY nourishment, I eat it, I drink it, and it sustains me. To expect all these "consumer comforts" seems so spoiled and f#%kin' bourgeois to me. The urban archaeologist is able to bear much greater hardships to unearth and view unique Tiki temples. And it is these kind of restaurant reviews that made Tiki restaurants disappear in the first place. Alas, as a realist I have to agree that Tiki is about the whole experience too, and that the survival of Tiki restaurants, just like any food serving establishments, DEPENDS on the regular customers that have the right to demand culinary goodness and friendly service for their buck. And that the Tonga Room somehow does not make me feel comfortable when there. One observation I have about that is that, while the Chinese owners that took over many Polynesian places and helped them to extend their life by their hard work and frugal work ethic, they often lack a certain talent for hospitality that balances out the obvious need to make a a buck -as evidenced in the host story above. But that is all besides the point here, the commercial success and number of customers at the Tonga Room is totally inconsequential to the forces that can spend the millions to renovate the whole hotel. To them, the restaurant is just one of many replaceable entities, and I, realistically, see very little hope that my opinion about Tiki being an art form will have any influence on their decisions.

The last two reviews wonderfully illustrate the contradictions and dichotomy about what counts in Tiki culture. To NOT enter the Tonga Room in awe each time, because in size and elaborateness it represent one of the last great Tiki temples in America, is a sacrilege in MY book. WHERE does one still find the rain and thunder effect in action? Where does a band float on a raft into the middle of the pool, and where do who have a dance floor build from an old sailing ship? The old Punk in me wants to cry out "F@#k good food, drink, service, and if they serve in Tiki mugs and play Martin Denny!" Tiki is about ART, and artifice, and escaping from the urban jungle. Art is MY nourishment, I eat it, I drink it, and it sustains me. To expect all these "consumer comforts" seems so spoiled and f#%kin' bourgeois to me. The urban archaeologist is able to bear much greater hardships to unearth and view unique Tiki temples. And it is these kind of restaurant reviews that made Tiki restaurants disappear in the first place.

Alas, as a realist I have to agree that Tiki is about the whole experience too, and that the survival of Tiki restaurants, just like any food serving establishments, DEPENDS on the regular customers that have the right to demand culinary goodness and friendly service for their buck. And that the Tonga Room somehow does not make me feel comfortable when there. One observation I have about that is that, while the Chinese owners that took over many Polynesian places and helped them to extend their life by their hard work and frugal work ethic, they often lack a certain talent for hospitality that balances out the obvious need to make a a buck -as evidenced in the host story above.

But that is all besides the point here, the commercial success and number of customers at the Tonga Room is totally inconsequential to the forces that can spend the millions to renovate the whole hotel. To them, the restaurant is just one of many replaceable entities, and I, realistically, see very little hope that my opinion about Tiki being an art form will have any influence on their decisions.

Post #422962 by bigbrotiki on Tue, Dec 9, 2008 9:38 PM