Post #508906 by JOHN-O on Thu, Feb 4, 2010 9:35 AM

C'mon Bigbro, no need to be sarcastic. We were just having a little fun as you like to do. :)

I for one have found this thread to be both educational as well as entertaining.

Seriously at this point, I think that everyone here (well most everyone) will now agree that Smuggler's Cove is aesthetically a tiki/nautical bar and not a pirate bar. The posts by Humuhumu and Jonpaul articulately made that point. The only question I still have is can a true "Tiki" bar have a name connected with Caribbean culture. But as Jungle Trader pointed out, SC is being defined by Martin as a "nautical rum bar".

I'm sure I wasn't the only one confused here and we all can't visit these places in person. That's what's great about a site like TC, it allows us to "travel" to other places though the experiences of others. The frustration I was having was that most early posts here on SC were of the golly-gosh congratulatory type: "SC is a great place, you should go !!" and not very descriptive or thoughtful. Only the Jab made the analogy of "Pre-Tiki". That's why I (and I'm sure others) looked to Yelp to get the skinny.

And let's admit it, whether we're talking about Tiki or Pirates, it's still a POP CULTURE iconography. You can reference all of the Oceanic Art books and Caribbean history you want, but in the end aren't these pop culture styles at the mercy of the general public's perception? For most people, Nautical = Pirates because of the overwhelming popular imagery of "Pirates of the Caribbean". Right or wrong, that's a reality.

Yes, I can see how first generation Tiki-style was directly influenced by the original native subject matter but what happens when that pop culture iconography starts feeding on itself rather than the original or historically accurate inspirations. Does that make it any less valid? I know that you might feel that way but I'm not so sure.

Like it or not, Smuggler's Cove even though Martin's intent was a "nautical rum bar", has reinforced the general public's (ignorant?) perception of what a "Tiki bar" or what a "Pirate bar" is. Should we care what the public thinks or just be content to play here in our insular Tiki sandbox?

No offense intended here, but I gotta imagine that Smuggler's Cove (God bless it, Martin, and his master mixology) is only going to make it harder for evangelists of Tiki-style to spread the faith. Now not only do you have "Buffet-ization" as part of the confusion, but "pirates" as well.

Yeah I know as Ung Bunga pointed out, I should be more drinking more and thinking less, but I couldn't help comparing this to the exhaustive (it's still going on !!) thread on the new Trader Vic's. All of that discussion on a place who's sole intent was to be a fun affordable place to get a good Mai Tai. To me, Smuggler's Cove with all of its ambition and its twist on Tiki-style is the more worthy topic.

[ Edited by: JOHN-O 2010-02-04 14:42 ]