Post #732405 by Ragbag Comics on Sun, Nov 30, 2014 10:47 PM

John-O & Sven - I couldn't agree more.

I will drive hours for atmosphere... nice drinks just require having the proper ingredients and knowing how to mix them.

I LOVE good cocktails, I really do... but there's a level of pretentiousness with a lot of new "craft" cocktail bars that I find to be
a major turn off. I'm happy to shell out $12 to $15 for a well made drink, but there's gotta be good atmosphere to back it up, and with the exception of places
like Smuggler's Cove... there is usually minimal, if any, atmosphere to be had at most modern trendy craft cocktail places (or what COULD be there is ruined
with crappy music or over filling the place.)

The fact that a place like Hala Kahiki would be left off of any Tiki "best of" list (let alone the fact that either Trader Vic's Emeryville or Atlanta are missing here) while Three Dots & a Dash seems to make the cut on almost ALL of them is something I find somewhat appalling. The vibe at 3 Dots is pseudo-kinda-vaguely-tiki but is mostly douchey, trendy club atmosphere 90% of the time, and when it's not hip hop DJ time, it has a new, almost personality-less chain restaurant feel to it. Their drinks are absolutely fantastic - there's no arguing that, and the presentation of their drinks is outstanding, bordering on fairy tale-esque. They have cool ephemera with the coasters and swizzles and mugs... but outside of that, it' has WAY more in common with any number of other somewhat character-less modern craft cocktail bars, than it does a vintage Tiki bar. Yes, they carve bananas into dolphins to put in one of their drinks, but did any classic-era Tiki bar ever spend the time or resources to do that? Probably not. I get the feeling the people behind 3 Dots read all of the Bum's excellent books, saw the elaborate garnishes in the also-excellent photography in said books and thought "let's do that." There was no plan of "authenticity" behind it - it was sort of the modern interpretation of what Tiki bars may or may not have ever been. But what IS "authenticity" anyway, when we're talking about Tiki? It means different things to different people.

Hala Kahiki is an amazing step back in time, and much like the Tonga Room (which was an fantastic experience when we were there last... my only complaint, truly, was the band... ouch...what a waste of a floating stage; they DID make us leave, ultimately) they are really trying to improve their drink menu, and are working on updating things while keeping the history in tact and their regulars happy. We go to Hala Kahiki as often as possible, usually about once a week, which is about an hour and a half round-trip from where we are on the north side of the city. The drinks not being "craft" doesn't really matter; I can do that at home, and really... anyone can with enough patience, cash, and willingness to learn. You go to Hala Kahiki because it's great, and for the history and the feeling of the place. Same can be said of Chef Shangri-La, which I also love dearly.

The classic Tiki temples that are left from the original era are to be cherished... we still get to have those for the time being, and should enjoy them for their quirky personalities as much as anything else. In line with Tikiskip's memories of the Kahiki... the experience of Tiki is about your bartender, your environment, and the memories and stories you walk away with... it's a package deal. A lot of new places, Tiki or not, seem to forget that it doesn't stop with good service and excellent, meticulously researched food and drinks. There has to be a personality behind the whole thing. Starbucks or Ruby Tuesday's might have good customer service or consistent product, but nobody leaves those places thinking "wow! I gotta come back because that was a great time!"

The experience and the personality of a place is the reason I love old Wisconsin supper clubs and classic places here in Chicago like the Green Mill, the Chicago Brauhaus
or the Italian Village, not to mention countless classic old hole-in-the-wall dive bars that are becoming fewer and further between. You go for the experience, the atmosphere, and the environment... I loved Flo's Algiers Lounge on West Montrose for the Elvis impersonator, Flo's dirty jokes, the bowls of cheese curls on the tables, the stories from the regulars... but you'd have an Old Style and a shot or two of Jim Beam and just take the place in. I love the classic examples of the Tiki for this same reason. Violet Hour, Scofflaw, or Barrelhouse Flat, all here in Chicago, might have great craft cocktails and win awards, but you aren't gonna walk away with any stories. Obviously there are exceptions to the rules, but with most modern craft cocktail bars, it always feels overly market-researched and just a bit too safe. Some old joints, walking in off the streets as an "urban archaeologist," there's a sense of adventure there... hell, sometimes maybe you go because you KNOW the drinks aren't gonna be fancy, but you know you're gonna come away with an experience and a story to tell. Obviously, this is just my two cents on the topic. It's a personal preference what you expect from your dollars spent.

On a slightly different note, my problem with a lot of these recent "best Tiki Bar" lists is that (a.) Tiki seems to be incredibly trendy with the cocktail set these days, and only the trendiest bars get the press (in a lot of cases) and "trendy" absolutely does not directly correlate to "good" amongst those of us who have already been converted to the ways of classic Tiki, and (b.) most of these lists seem to fall victim to lazy journalism and just cobble together their lists from other "best of" lists, whose research may or may not have also been originally based entirely in Google.

I am suspicious in that the same places seem to come up again and again on these "Best of" lists, while a lot of new Tiki bars doing it right with both drinks/food AND atmosphere rarely seem to crop up. The Grass Skirt, Porco's Lounge, Hale Pele, Kona Club, Tonga Hut Palm Springs, let alone classic survivors like Don's/Sam's Seafood and the original Tonga Hut... or take a place like the Foundation in Milwaukee, one of my absolute favorite bars on the planet, Tiki or otherwise. They ARE serving craft cocktails - homemade syrups, spice mixes, fresh mint, etc etc, but they just truly do what they do and it's the least pretentious bar you could imagine. It feels good to be there... we don't even live in Milwaukee and the bartenders always know our drinks. The drinks are always fantastic, the music is right, it's dark, well decorated with plenty of flotsam and jetsam and interesting light fixtures. It's certainly the only Tiki bar I've ever been to where you can sip a perfectly crafted Don the Beachcomber Zombie while eating deviled eggs someone brought in and discussing the virtues of the Halloween novelty song with the bartender. It doesn't have to be just about "drinks" OR just about "atmosphere..." it CAN be both. And yet many places that are and have been DOING both seem to get skipped over for places that have already been written about over and over again, some of which have barely been open long enough to truly stand the test of time.

At the end of the day, I guess I take these list things with a grain of salt, and try to keep in mind that they're making these lists for people who don't have 200 Tiki mugs or a Witco room in their house... it's "news" filler. I just wish more of the people charged with writing them would actually do their due diligence in terms of research.

It IS an interesting debate, though, (cocktails vs. atmosphere vs. both) because less than 10 years ago, there were VERY few places doing the drinks part right, period. The hipster craft cocktail scene kinda only got on the bandwagon a couple years ago. So I guess we should be glad we now have the opportunity to even have this discussion!

--Pete