Post #7050 by martiki on Wed, Aug 28, 2002 5:51 PM

Well everyone- I have returned from the Windy City and would like to lodge the following report.

First things first- thanks to everyone for the tips and ideas. It was really a big help.

So here goes- in chronological order, just like your crazy uncle's vacation slide show. I'll try to leave out the non-tiki stuff:

Friday:

Breakfast at Kitsch'n On Roscoe- Cool cafe with old 50s knick-knacks. Has a back patio with a small thatch tiki bar and a few mugs scattered here and there. worth a visit if you're in the neighborhood. They have Twinkie Tiramisu! http://www.kitschn.com/

Museum of Science and Industry- The U-Boat was very cool- Thanks Kentiki!

Trader Vic's- I have to say that rumors of Vic's demise seem greatly exaggerated to me. I thought the place still looked great. Bar décor is top notch still- I guess I was expecting the worst. Of the Vic’s I’ve seen, I’d rank it just behind London and Wash DC. The dining area is smaller that I expected, and completely nautical. Drinks were very good, though the Queen’s Park Swizzle seemed unusually strong. Free appetizers on Friday night! Beat that, Emeryville! Clearly, the “Tiki Time” happy hour promotion and materials show that someone in Chicago management is in the know. There were some bowls I’d never seen at Vic’s before- Glossy black 3 sided moai. I asked the bartender if they were selling any mugs, he said not until Nov, but I’ve heard that BS at Vic’s before. He did say you can buy their mugs off their website, but that’s the first I’ve heard of that, and I certainly don’t see any evidence of it on-line. Has anyone else?

Trader Todd’s- Oh, god. What a terrible place. Frat slob karaoke fiesta. Looked like a nightmare out of Key West. They even had a picture on the wall of The Evil One: Buffett! Here’s the strangest thing: The drinks were very good! ($8) All fresh squeezed to order. My wife had a very good Painkiller, and my Coconut Lime Rickey was good, though had too much half & half. Maybe if it’s quiet it might be OK, but I still doubt it. Don’t believe everything you read in Metromix.

Saturday:

Field Museum- Thanks for the tip, bigbro. The Maori meeting house as well as all the Pacific artifacts were very interesting. The Meeting house comes complete with an old woman volunteer with a raspy cigarette voice who showed me around. Despite the huge crowds in other parts of the museum, I was the only person in this wing. She was good enough to tell me, in a hushed voice, “The Maoris used to be cannibals! But it’s OK, they’re all Christians now.” Ugh. She also said that they no longer tattoo their faces, being good Christians, so I guess she missed “Once Were Warriors” at the art house a few years ago.
Kona Kai- I went to the airport Marriott to check it out what was left. There is no evidence that it is anything other than a slightly dated looking hotel, with lots of plain looking conference rooms. At one end, is a very stark Japanese façade of Shoji screens that reads NIKKO in big chrome letters above the doors. I just tried the handle- it was open and walked in. Unbelievable! There’s a few more white screens, but otherwise- it’s still completely tiki. Waterfalls running, creeks under bridges, it’s still great. What a shame it’s closed. There was a woman setting up for a reception who was very nice and let me take pictures.

Hala Kahiki- Ah, you locals have got it good. What an incredible place. First the gift shop: I’ve never seen so much stuff in one place and had so little interest in most of it! Somehow I didn’t find much to love. Problem one: There are NO products bearing the name/logo/likeness of the Hala Kahiki! (except the matchbooks) That’s really a shame. Here’s a quick recipe for instant money: Make Hala Kahiki mugs, only make them “limited edition”, put them on Ebay, voila! There are great clothes- some appear to have been there so long they have become vintage. There are some Mai Tiki poles that are overpriced but nice, and some great non-tiki bar memorabilia in the back. We picked up a rotating Seagram’s light. Midnite: They had plenty of mugs, all generic: bamboo, Fu Manchu, small skulls, buddas. Nothing to get excited about.
Ah, but the bar is wonderful. It really is Witcoriffic. Nice crowd, mostly blue collar, and racially diverse, which I liked. The music needed a little help- Believe by Cher does not set the mood. But there is some Hawaiian (Apaka, Ho) on the juke, so we fixed that. The Scorpion Bowl was terrible. Pure grenadine. The next two were ok. Our waiter was a nice guy so no complaints. It was really filling up when we left, so it’s glad to see it doing well.

Chef Shangri-La- I think this place is very underrated. This kind of Chinese/tiki hybrid is all but gone in California, so it was neat to see. Lots of great Witco. The bar area is great, except for the Corona neon signs, TV showing “Dog Eat Dog”, etc., but it looked like it was just a great local hangout, like Trad’r Sam’s in SF. The drinks were pretty good as well.

So a busy two days all around, plus The Art Institute, Gino’s East, FL Wright homes, and a few other things. I’ve got the blisters to prove it!

Thanks again for everyone’s help, and thanks for sitting through the longest post ever.

Hope I can get some pictures up soon.

-martin