Post #669403 by Or Got Rum? on Sat, Mar 2, 2013 10:46 AM

In thinking more about this, it was not the point to show "hey, look what I found", it was to illustrate against the layman's public image of Polynesian Restaurants. Some would simply dismiss them as a fad or "theme only" establishment, that will run it's course, which in most cases it did. But all restaurants tend to have a shelve life, especially if operations are not constantly tweaked and improved....demonstrated by the longevity of Mai Kai and Canlis'. The fact these awards given were done by the haughty "Old Boy Network" critics that drilled down over repeat visits to determine the sales and operations performance. These were not awards from a hip magazine looking for the cutting edge, they were done with knowledge and pride in recommending the best. To have the Mai Kai, Trader Vic's, Don the Beachcomber, and Canlis' among this group of other Culinary powerhouses (some the benchmark of Restaurant excellence in history) is fairly impressive. Yes, I know how the saying goes..."Critics (opinions) are like A-holes, everyone has one and they all stink" :( , but as a Restaurant operations veteran I am suitably proud of the TIKI genre I adore. OKAY, Rant over....OGR