Post #559938 by aquarj on Thu, Oct 14, 2010 11:46 PM

There is actually a decent amount of material to post about The Lanai, so I thought (with a little nudge from abstractiki, thanks) that it's about time to finally give it its own thread. I wish I had seen the place myself. My own fascination with The Lanai began when I moved to the area in 2000. We can literally see its former location from our home. The Lanai Liquors tiki was in the BOT, and I used to drive by it every day to and from work. That tiki was created by Barney West, and ultimately when the liquor store changed owners, I acquired the tiki. More on that story later, but first I wanted to post a batch of materials that's already handy from a website I made a few years ago.

First off, the most recognizable postcard for The Lanai :down:

And close-ups...

There's the changing 3D mural :down:

A promotional envelope :down:

And closeup (same mural, different era) :down:

The beautiful dinner menu cover, illustrated by San Franciscan, Don Clever :down:

Side note, as I mentioned over on this thread about the Hawaiian Village in Tampa, this illustrator Don Clever is the same person who did some beautiful images for American President Lines menus. Those images were reused by the HV.

Sample page inside the dinner menu :down:

Note the similarity between these illos inside the Lanai menu, and a Don the Beachcomber menu (BOT p.73)

Here's the drink menu, featuring the bizarre theme tiki :down:

Inside the drink menu :down:

Full-size scans of these menu images are on my website. But here's a closeup of the Side Winder's Fang, since it was their signature drink :down:

The recipe is available in Jeff Beachbum Berry's books, and you can still get an authentic preparation at both Forbidden Island and Smuggler's Cove, here in the bay area. Some years ago a group of us TCers visited a bartender at the Villa Hotel bar, while it still existed as such. His name was Ali, and he had been a bartender at the Lanai. He told us stories about how a crew would come early every day to prepare all the specialty garnishes and ice shells and stuff for the signature drinks. Unfortunately I am a total loser who dropped the ball, and never went back to talk to Ali for more stories, and now he and the bar are both no longer there.

Swizzles, posted on Bora Boris' "Big Ten" thread :down:

The Lanai "page" on a foldout brochure for the Villa Square :down:

There's lots more to come, please stay tuned for some neat stuff. But that's a start!

-Randy