Kahiki Moon - finally a newspaper review!!! aka where the hell are YOU!

Let it be known that any Tiki Central member registered before today (11.18.2004) will receive 50% off your entire food and drink tab
Locating Tiki: Kahiki Moon

Aloha my friends:

Geez, it's about time. This is from the biggest paper in Vermont...

By Melissa Pasanen
Correspondent

Before he created a Polynesian restaurant and lounge in downtown Burlington, co-owner James Kathary had already built a tiki bar in his basement.

"I could have lived with that," he said as he sat on a carved wooden stool at Kahiki Moon's bar where spiky pufferfish glow from the thatched roof and his tiki swizzle stick collection graces a nearby wall.

But when he heard the news of Hector's demise, he couldn't resist the opportunity to transform the subterranean space in One Lawson Lane into a temple to the pop culture twist on South Pacific food and drink that has captured American imaginations since the 1930s. "It was perfect for my theme," he said, surveying the hanging netted glass floats and the tropical fish tank on the wall. "The tiki experience is all about coming in, closing the door behind you and escaping to your own tropical paradise."

On a recent chilly evening, descending the stairs into Kahiki Moon did feel like entering a different world. According to the most famous Polynesian restaurant chain, Trader Vic's, it's like "a faux vacation to the tropics." And who couldn't use one of those as the temperature falls?

Whether you choose the classic Mai Tai or Kahiki Moon's signature Kahiki Moonlight in Vermont, a drink from the bar will put you in a festive mood, and the food created by chef Steven Gross will keep you there.

Gross -- who attended New England Culinary Institute before cooking in California and most recently at Stowe's Edson Hill Manor -- admits that he did not let the Polynesian theme limit him. "Tiki food is not really a draw," Kathary agrees. "It's more just good food with some Hawaiian and Asian flavors thrown in," Gross explains.

Guests can easily feast on appetizers alone. The extra-crisp calamari is complemented by a dipping sauce flavored with lemon grass and lime leaves. Tall crab cakes are sweet and crabby and served with a delicious saffron aioli. We didn't try the nachos made with sweet, smoky pulled pork, but apparently they are a crowd-pleaser. Crunchy vegetable spring rolls and beef bamboo skewer appetizers made a nice meal for young diners, although there is also a standard kids' menu. (Ask if the chef is offering a special Spam ya ya appetizer. It's a uniquely tasty tidbit. Seriously.)

Entree highlights include the mahi mahi with rich lemon grass-butter sauce served over risotto with generous chunks of sweet rock shrimp, as well as the perfectly cooked duck breast with its irresistible layer of crisp, salty skin set on vegetable lo-mein. A Caesar with house-made dressing and fresh goat cheese gnocchi with butternut squash and spinach are among the fine choices for those with no interest in Asian flavors. If you choose not to drink your dessert in the form of another fruity cocktail, the pineapple creme brulee is very good.

As if food, drink and bamboo walls weren't enough to get you in the mood, there is mellow lounge music Wednesday through Saturday nights. At 10 p.m., dinner service stops and the beach party begins with a DJ and dancing.

"It's amazing the tiki resurgence that's going on all over the U.S. right now," Kathary says. "But it's sort of the same reason it took off back around in the 1930s. It's an uncertain time and the only thing certain are Mai Tai's and good food."

Kahiki Moon Polynesian Restaurant & Lounge

LOCATION: Downstairs in One Lawson Lane, behind Pacific Rim
HOURS: Serving dinner 5-10 p.m. Monday-Saturday, until 8 p.m. Sunday.
MENU: Appetizers, $5-9; entrees, $12-20; desserts, $6-7.
PAYMENT: Cash, credit cards, no checks.
ACCESS: Not handicapped accessible.
OTHER: Valet parking coming soon.
INFORMATION: 660-4852

Excluding JTD (Florida), dogbytes (Washington) and Badmojo (local) I have yet to meet any other TC peeps even from the closely surrounding states. Waazzzzup?

Let it be known that any Tiki Central member registered before today (11.18.2004) will receive 50% off your entire food and drink tab

[ Edited by: Primo Kimo on 2005-02-11 06:14 ]

[ Edited by: Primo Kimo 2005-09-17 13:45 ]

Dogbytes' pictures of the food are beautiful, I wish I wasn't in the opposite corner of the US from you. I will try to get up to Vermont if I visit the NY/NJ area next Summer, but it's a heck of a long drive for Dinner! I'm going to have to to schedule things to include Kahiki Moon into another side trip's itinerary.

Primo Kimo,
Congrats on the well earned press. I'm already planning my next roadtrip (June 2005)to include a side trip up to your place.

Northeastern TCers - It's definitely worth the extra effort. Besides, a day on the roads of Vermont is actually a fun thing to do.

JTD

drool!

excellent coverage PK!

i've already hipped my wahine to the k-moon, we should be up there before too long. it's toward the top of the list!

til then, j$

Congrats on the review, Primo. Unfortunately, It does take a long time for the mass media to catch on to Tiki happenings.
It took a year and a half before the San Francisco Chronicle "discovered" our Conga Lounge . Despite the fact that the Mai Tai was invented in Oakland, and we are Oakland's only Tiki bar, we have yet to get a write up from the Oakland Tribune (even though several of their editors are on our mailing list ?!)

Congrats James, well deserved for your great endevour. Shows how important it is to have palatable contemporary food at a nouveaux Tiki temple to get th avaerage customer.

I can't say that I plan to come by anytime soon, hope though that many other TCers will. I can imagine that it is one thing to get all kinds of compliments from local newbies, but entirely another to be able to share all the wealth with folks like us who are in the know about the history and details.

About a 13 hour drive from my part of the country, but I'd sure like to make it there.
I think I will be shooting for sometime in the spring / summer so I don't get snowed in!

Loved the article. Thanks and congrats!

Primo,
Have you thought of having an annual Northeast gathering at the Kahiki Moon, sorta like Tiki Oasis or Hukilau? Probably not on the same scale, but with the same mana? Might be worth taking a headcount to see who's up for it. Obviously I would be. I've been meaning to get up there, but it's still a bit of a trek for me, even tho it's only 6 hours away. A larger gathering would definitely get me there!

ah, the well-kept secret is out! hope the great press (and the awesome food & vibe) packs the Kahiki Moon will diners far and near.

elicia
jonesing for Kalua Nachos..

Attaboy, Numbah One!

Wow! That article has been keeping us busy. It seems the MOST important thing in this business is getting the word out that we exist. Once they know they come in droves.

Thanks for the support my TC peeps. I do really hope to encourage more of you to visit.

Thanks FF, JTD, JD, 75s db hope to see you here (again) soon!!!!

Sven: right you are. i need some more TC love. You must pass through New York from time to time. See Jet Blue info below. I'll pick up your entire tab (flight, hotel, food, drink) my friend.

tikigreg: I am thinking of putting together some sort of Northeasterly tiki gathering with bands/food/liquor/pasties and such maybe in the early spring. Nothing to compete with OASIS or hopefully Exotica/Hukilau.

chefgrey2: I am just about to add the "Primo Kimo" to the drink menu. How about a visit from you. I have got some more ideas!!!

Info: Jet blue flies to and from Burlington, Vermont to JFK and the price is as low as 29.00 each way. With the current Friend flys free promotion you can get from Long Beach, CA to my front door for only 300.00+!!! I can get you a good deal on a Wyndham Hotel room (on Lake Champlain) for a discounted rate. I will even shuttle you around. The hotel is a 1.5 block downhill stumble from Kahiki Moon. Stowe, VT, the premier East Coast ski resort, is only 45 minutes away as if you need more reasons to visit;)

James- Thank you for your gracious invite, I will see what next year brings. Flights from LAX to Germany always go non stop to London/Amsterdam/or Frankfurt though. In my 24 years in California I have been to New York only twice, for shooting jobs, over ten years ago.

Glad to hear the joint is hopping. Did that guy from the Restaurant Magazine that's doing an article about the Polynesian resurgence ever contact you, I gave him your info ?

It's only $30 each way from JFK??? I live in Philly, but would gladly drive to NYC to catch a flight up there. How far away are you from the airport? I'm thinking of taking a week in January and driving to all the Tiki bars north of Philadelphia. Looks great from the pic in the review!

Nice review James! Congrats! I've seen some fo your pics in other posts and have been dying to get up there (about a 4 hour drive I figure). With the ski season upon us, when is a good time to get up there without too much traffic etc? I think I have this comming weekend free (12/11) and cant think of a better road-trip. Maybe hit Kowloon again on the way back. Who's with me?