Question about The Bahooka

While living in Pasadena in the 70s, my friends and I would take our dates to the Bahooka for the "atmosphere" and to ply them with the large wooden "Flaming Bowls" of fruity rum drinks.

Yesterday my mom was telling me that she took us kids as a birthday treat to the original Bahooka in Covina or West Covina before the one in Rosemead opened.

Does anyone remember the original? Mom said it was decorated the same.

Yes, the Bahooka in West Covina was very much like the one in Rosemead. It was near the West Covina Mall. Not sure when it closed down but its been a while (a long while). The one in Rosemead however, is still going strong. Was just there last month to celebrate my birthday and the place was busy as usual. You can still get flaming drinks there. As a matter fact, you can get ANYTHING flaming, just ask!

Thanks Popster,

It's been over a year since I was there last. Fun to see some of the tiki syle apartments in that area.

I used to work down the street from the old
Bahooka in West Covina. It was quite a bit smaller then Rosemead's but still with the great decor. Jammed packed with goodies. I think it was closed and dozed about 1983-84. It was in those darkened booths where I first got "Bahooka-ized".
Last month was my first trip to the Rosemead location. It brought back many vivid and fond memories.

Trustar

When Trustar joined me and Al at the Bahooka, it brought back vivid and fond memories for him, me and Al just got sh#$-faced!

I had a business client give me a Bahooka menu with a very cool Tiki cover only to accidentally leave it sitting on the desk. Said he went through major trouble to get it, I could have nipple-twisted myself with a pair of vise-grips when I realized I forgot that thing!

Does anyone else think that Bahooka is smelling a little musty lately?

Ha!!
most old places are likely to smell like that.
just proof that it's the real deal.
:wink:

Jeff(btd)

Foreword to Tiki Road Trip, written 2003

Unless of course, the smell is a clogged sewage system.
Anybody remember the Lucky Tiki shortly before it closed?

The Smell of rotting limes and bathroom fluids mixing together
in the pipes below was quite unbearable for me to handle.
:o

Jeff(btd)

[ Edited by: bigtikidude 2011-04-05 22:39 ]

At least you got to experience the Lucky Tiki. I vividly remember going there with my wife, obviously shortly after but not knowing it had closed. They still had a website, and I even think on critiki.com it still showed open. We just stood in the parking lot dumbfound that there was an insurance agent office at the address that the Luck Tiki should be at. Clearly I'm still traumatized.

I do expect a certain amount of dust and "smells" from places like Bahooka, especially given all of the fish tanks. I have gone there quite a bit and just didn't rememember the smells as being so, so, overly authentically, musty...

I still love the place and I absolutely don't mean any disrespect. I am just asking if anyone else has sensed this.

By the way, thank you for the snippet of info, Sven. I agree that this can be part of the atmosphere - but hopefully, not overly so as in Jeff btd's example of the Lucky Tiki. How unlucky.