Post #690043 by JOHN-O on Tue, Aug 13, 2013 5:45 PM

More Pre "Pre-Tiki" research, back to Ventura County !!...

So on page 15 of this thread I documented the ancient Bamboo Inn near MacArthur Park. Here's an even more amazing Chop Suey discovery, in fact this is probably the oldest Chinese restaurant in So Ca.

It's the Golden Chicken Inn in Oxnard, opened in 1929 !!

Many thanks to Mike & Marie, my fellow urban archaeologists and chop suey-ologists, for the initial research conducted remotely from Ohio.

The Golden Chicken Inn is located in the older downtown section of Oxnard, a primarily Mexican neighborhood. This also supports my observation that Latinos are the ones keeping classic Cantonese cuisine alive. The restaurant is on the second story of a brick building...

The narrow restaurant consists of a series of 7 wooden booths with additional tables set up towards the center of the room. I would have to assume that at one point there were curtains on the booths to provide diner privacy similar to what the Far East Cafe (documented earlier in this thread) did in the early 1930's...

Here's a vintage photograph of what the interior originally looked like. Notice that the style of the chairs is the same as in the current restaurant (the originals ?)...

The menu is classic Cantonese with the requisite crispy noodles, hot mustard, and duck sauce placed on the table...

The iron grated cashier's cage looks to be part of the original restaurant...

The place is in terrific shape for its age, almost belying the vintage character that lies beneath. The current owner is the cook, who has run the restaurant for the last 33 years. :)

So let's continue 10 miles to the north and visit the site of the Hong Kong Inn, a place we visited last year when it was still operational.

The parking lot is chained off but the "Foo Dogs" still stand guard outside the now gated entrance. This gives hope that interior has not been gutted.

In fact, the notice of ownership change seems to indicate that it will continue to be run as a Chinese restaurant...

Who knows, maybe they'll resurrect the former beloved Polynesian floor show, most of those performers were locals. One can only hope.

If so, here's another place we'll be able to walk to, the newly opened VenTiki...

This place is tiny. Kind of like a "revival culture" Tiki-Ti. I liked the cozy friendly vibe, just like at the Ti. The tikis were carved by TC's very own VonTiki, who also happened to be the mixologist working the bar during my visit. Here he is on the right, next to one of the co-owners "Skipper" Scott...

At what other place will the local carver be the one mixing your drink ?? That's good Mana !! :D

And how were the cocktails ? Well both my Jet Pilot and Zombie (shown above, albeit the 1950's version) were very tasty. Most of the classics were represented on the menu as well as some revival cocktails.

Another cool observation was the circle thingies accentuating the bar, very Tiki Modern. And the soundtrack?... vintage instrumental Surf.

And while we're still in the neighborhood, here's a classic 1950's steakhouse that SoccerTiki clued me in on, the Sportsman...

No the theme really wasn't sporty, it was classic red vinyl booth decor...

And they did have some cool topless cowgirls decorating the bar's back mirror...

And look it's a Western diorama !!...

OK, so that's 3 (potentially 4) worthwhile spots north of the LA County line.

Hmmm... Let me think about this. :)

[ Edited by: JOHN-O 2013-08-22 17:51 ]