More New York area Tikis

"Jade Island" on Staten Island and "Hawaii Sea" in the Bronx

Take a look at this little thread I stumbled acrosss in a websearch- http://www.chowhound.com/boards/outer8/messages/6997.html (be sure to click on the rest of the thread near the bottom)

Hawaii Sea (1475 Williamsbridge Road, located on Williamsbridge Road just before Westchester Square in the Bronx) http://www.hawaiisea.com/

Has anyone ever heard of the "Hawaii Sea"? Sounds like we may have lost some serious Tiki-ness, no thanks to 'renovations' (see the thread above), now renamed the "New Hawaii Sea". Sounds like the change in ownership did away with some of the decor, but may have kept/added (?) some serious Aloha spirit. The Polynesian drink menu still appears to be intact, orchids mugs and a nice brownish Mai Tai- http://www.hawaiisea.com/menu/exotic.html. And from the looks of this- http://www.hawaiisea.com/events.php there may still be Hula shows from time to time. It still sounds worth a trip!

couple of articles-
http://www.bxtimes.com/News/2002/0815/Boroughwide_News/022.html
http://www.bxtimes.com/News/2002/0822/Boroughwide_News/037.html

There's also mention of Jade Island Restaurant, (2845 Richmond Avenue, Staten Island, NY 10314 (718) 761-8080)

Apparently there was a review in the Tiki News at some point, although I don't have a copy of that issue.

James' page has a couple of comments on-
http://home.earthlink.net/~tikibars/tiki/tikilist.html
Jade Island, Staten Island, NY

Rima Suqi writes: Jade Island is located in the adjacent K-Mart Plaza. As we get closer to the mall we noticed an odd smell, that got worse and worse. Jade Island, it turns out, is located right near Staten Island's very own LAND FILL. So gross, I can't tell you. Really. And I normally have a high threshold for gross. Jade Island has pretty good decor, but not nearly as good as Lee's Hawaiin Room. Their service absolutely sucked (I mean, we didn't even get fortune cookies at the end, for God's sake!), their drinks were ok (I'm no Mai Tai expert, but.....). their booths were too small to fit 4 people. Allthe waiters hid in the back reading the paper. When I asked for a napkin I was handed a stack of paper napkins. Staten Island, however, has some very groovy 60s architecture.

Lateefah adds: I visited Jade Island on my birthday and I have to say that I had an excellent time. The location is hilarious and the decor is delicious - how can anyone resist hanging blowfish lamps! The booths are simultaneously romantic and cheesy. The wait staff was attentive and expecially pleased when we asked for chopsticks. The drinks wereverly decorated and food was on fire; what more could you ask for? I only wish the restaurant was closer to Manhattan so that I could visit more often.

and I stumbled across this- http://www.adrodesign.com/fbt/Diary.htm

"As the evening set, we drove through Brooklyn to Staten Island over the Verrazano Bridge to the piece-de-resistance: Jade Island, an old-school Tiki bar in a Staten Island strip mall. Inside the Polynesian-style restaurant, we could have been in Vegas, circa 1963. A tiny waterfall flowed next to a fake volcano. All drinks were served with umbrellas, in glasses shaped like tiki heads, bamboo or coconuts. The candy-colored libations had names like "The Headhunter," "The Scorpion," and "Pineapple Paradise." The place was pretty empty, but I don't think our Hawaiian-shirted waiter was thrilled by our high-spirited group. The food was greasy and MSG-laden, the drinks were strong and syrupy sweet, but the ambience made it all worth it."

Also see-

http://www.digitalcity.com/newyork/bars/venue.adp?vid=172945
http://www.digitalcity.com/newyork/bars/venue.adp?vid=172945&type=userreviews

I thougt all of NYC either smelled like urine, bagels, bar trash, or landfill (depending on which way the wind is blowing)... :(

[ Edited by: Basement Kahuna on 2003-01-12 17:15 ]

On 2003-01-12 17:14, Basement Kahuna wrote:
I thought all of NYC either smelled like urine, bagels, bar trash, or landfill (depending on which way the wind is blowing)...
New York City smells like hot dogs. Especially Manhattan. I did catch a funky odor coming off the East River once or twice. New York is a great town. It really is worth checking out.

Yeah...but Minneapolis gave us the REPLACEMENTS! (Sorry, Ma, Forgot To Take Out The Trash :) ) Remember STINK? "This is the Minneapolis police...The party is ooover".

Hey, that's pretty good. A lot of people here have never heard of the Replacements. Tommy Stinson went to my high school. I jammed with him once.

Sabina,
Thanks for posting these NYC finds. You certainly did alot of research. i'm excited to trek to these locales. Mahalo.
Manic Cat

Hey NYC! Good to hear these glowing reviews of Jade Island on the long lost NYC Isle of Staten. Gonna visit that joint soon! Anybody know any hard facts about Chan's Dragon Inn in Ridgefield, NJ. There was a great online review of it written 2-3 years ago. Is it still as cool? I'm about to take the bus trek out there, but wanted to get the 411. Anybody? Anybody?

[ Edited by: donhonyc on 2003-01-13 20:40 ]

[ Edited by: donhonyc on 2003-01-13 20:40 ]

I was at Chan's last Labor Day. It was a fun time. The service is the best--classic (older guys) Chinese waiters who move at a relaxed soothing pace. Food was alright--standard Chinese food dishes. But, I was eating with vegetarians so I had to skip my favorite sweet and sour and General Tso's chicken. Decor was very cool. we sat in a thatched hut with tikis around. drinks were good but not always served in the mugs pictured on the menu. But still in cool repro. mugs which is fine with me. yes, it is worth the bus trip. Where are you coming from? How are you getting there via bus? i drove once with my parents car but otherwise I live in Manhattan.

[ Edited by: manic cat on 2003-01-14 12:21 ]

[ Edited by: Lance Samason 2007-07-06 15:15 ]

On 2003-01-14 11:17, Lance Samason wrote:
And to those disparaging few here, everyone knows that New York smells like puppies, unicorns, and young love.

You got that right, Lance!

And definitely not a place for the weak at heart.

Hey Cat, I wanna go to Chan's! How can we get there?

Aloha,

Arty

P.S. And the Replacements do RULE! Saw one of their last shows at the Whisky A Go Go on the fabulous Sunset Strip.

"I dreamt I was Surfer Joe
and what the means I don't know"

If you rent us a car, I'll take us to Chan's.

Thanks for the reports Manic and Lance, I willdefinitely make the trek to Chan's. As far as I know there is no train to Ridgefield but there is a bus from Port Authority, so I' was just planning on getting the bus out there. Now...any info on Lee's Hawaiian Islander in Clifton, NJ or Lee's Hawaiian in Lyndhurst, NJ. I heard good stuff about the place in Clifton. I called the place in Lyndhurst and asked if they were close to the train station and the guy on the other end of the phone sounded totally old school Jersey. He didn't know if there was a train close by. It sounded like he was asking customers-or other employees-if they knew where the train was. Anybody bee to Waikiki Wally's. That place is cool-however it smelled bad when we first walked in and all the tiki mugs I was served drinks in had chips in them. Anybody? Anybody?

[ Edited by: donhonyc on 2003-01-14 12:46 ]

[ Edited by: donhonyc on 2003-01-14 12:46 ]

Never been to the other jersey sites. Yes, WW mugs seem to be chipped often. i like the place but check out the reviews under New York City TIKI thread.

i dunno who would be designated driver...Russell said "No Way, not me!"

For the same money we would rent a car, we could probably get a car service to drive us. It's not far over the GW bridge right?

I have been wanting to go too.

golly gosh. what was I thinking! don't give those keys to me.
how about we catch dinner at Chan's instead of WW? The meal would be less expensive and my little purse is feeling light these days.

There is a bus from port authority, #127, that appears to go not far from Chan's. Like less than 5 blocks. It seems to take 1/2 hour from nyc. It's an option.

Look at all the trouble I've caused!

If we go to Chan's will we have time to hit Wally's and Otto's?

Here's a thought. I have 2 nights. How about dinner at Chan's on Friday (mellow, early night) and then the pubcrawl Saturday. Just a thought. Not like I have a life or anything!

Hey shouldn't this be on another thread?!? Sorry!

Aloha,

Arty

where is this NYC Tiki thread you speak of Manic?? You guys been to Jade Island??

[ Edited by: Lance Samason 2007-07-06 15:15 ]

hey donhonyc,

here is the link to the nyc pubcrawl forum.

http://www.tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?topic=2244&forum=4&26

not sure if the others have been to jade island but I haven't. final plans are still in the works. hope we can meet up with you on saturday.

Lance, hope to meet you sometime.

Aloha,

Arty

[ Edited by: stentiki on 2003-01-14 21:21 ]

New York City TIKI
https://tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?topic=470&forum=1
dive around in here for the scoop.

donhonyc
Wanna come out with us to Chan's on Sat. for our tiki crawl?
Check out our events thread.

Thanks for the invite Manic!! Not sure if I'm gonna be around this weekend, but I'll letcha know.

Well folks, I made the trek to Chan's last night in the freezing cold. The place certainly did live up to all of the talk seen out here in Tiki Central. The place is total time warp. Even the much talked about waiters. A couple of them even wear glasses that are in those old broad rimmed style. The decor is ass kickin'-definitely vintage. There was a pretty good crowd there, but I don't think they were there for the Tiki. It seems like the place does pretty good biz. The host kinda pegged us for newbies at the place and asked if we had been there before, and where did we find out about them. He was an old Asian man-probably Chinese -who was very talkative and friendly, dressed in a suit and tie, and when we asked for a Mai-Tai, he said 'oh you want my tie?' Lucky us, even got a little comedy with dinner. Had a drink at the bar as well after we ate. This place is worth the trip. Probably visit it again. I would post their really cool looking business card here but I don't know how. (Anybody know how to do that?) Last but not least, a word about getting their if you are a car-less New Yorker like my self. Don't, I repeat, don't take the PATH to Journal Square and get a cab. It's not that close. You'll spend waaay less money taking either the 166 or 168 bus to Ridgefield. It stops down the street from Chan's-about a two minute walk from the bus stop to Chan's. Off peak the bus fare is $2.80. Take it from me, I spent the money taking the cab on the trip out-took the bus back. In fact the guys at Chan's helped out with the directions to get the bus. A few of the waiters commute from the city to work there. So there you are people, another satisfied customer. Next stop....Jade Island out on Staten Isle.
Aloha!!

[ Edited by: Lance Samason 2007-07-06 15:14 ]

no prob, Lance...I shoulda checked the surf before I went ridin my board out there. :drink:

[ Edited by: donhonyc on 2003-01-20 22:52 ]

Hey, so Chan's is still rockin? I wrote the review on the Tiki Bar Review Pages and haven't had the chance to get back there. I was hoping that business was going well for her since the review. I liked the place so much I didn't want it to go away, even if I could only get there once in a while.

Yes--the staff and decor (and regulars too!) are so nice. Check out some pics in Events under the recent NYC Crawl.