New England Tikiphile Events

I gotta say, this group of Ohana is tremendous! Thanks go out to Pappy as well!
:)

--SBiM

Hey SBiM the wife and I send our thought and prayers to you and Traci. My mother was diagnosed with MS about 20 years ago. Its been a tough road for her, but she's still doing good so don't ever lose hope!

Tikisgrl - I'm not an underwriter, but I do develop software for a large insurance company (we sell commercial property insurance). I'm mostly crazy from a software development POV with a touch of insurance madness.

Well it looks like VDay will be an "Applebees" night:) However I've layed the groundwork for Bargoyle's BDay celebration so there's at least some tiki in my future.

Time to pack it up and head home - cya!

if we can swing transpo, we'll try to make it - i STILL haven't been to kowloon or out to western mass. :)

boo for lost pets :(

Rain - We're in West Warwick so if you ever need a lift to one of our events just give me a yell. The wife has a mini-van so there's plenty of room.

johnman - thanks so much, that's very cool of you. i will be keeping eyes peeled for next time.

Granite Tiki!-- PM me-- I need your name so I can see about seating at the Hu Ke Lau!

Just sent it to you!

i haven't looked through "locating tiki" yet, but i thought i'd run it by the locals first - i recently heard rumour of a tiki place in newport. is there any truth to this?

hey johnman - at the risk of going off-topic... if you get bored after applebees on vday, there's this going on downtown.

Live from Rapa-Newi-England

[ Edited by: Rain 2006-02-10 04:25 ]

The "tiki" place in Newport must be the Salvation Cafe. There's a picture of the bar here:
http://www.salvationcafe.com/catering.htm

We threw a birthday party for one of my friends there a couple of years ago. There aren't really any tikis in the place and the drinks are lacking. You won't find any of the classics here.

The goth event sounds cool. We'll probably be at home with the kids on vday so no go here. Tomorrow night we get a break though - ahh, freedom. Might hit the Wu for a Zombie or two :sheckymug: :sheckymug: and a pupu.

On 2006-02-02 13:46, Bargoyle wrote:
As far as Kowloon in March, 11th or 25th work for me.

March 25th would work best for me. I'm going to see Guitar Shorty at Chan's in Woonsocket on the 11th. Wish Chan's was tiki but it's not:(

i'm not sure i've heard of wu's... i've been to china sea - i like their food and decor, but the lack of house music makes for kind of a creepy vibe.

Wu is actually the "House of Wu" in West Warwick. See my write up here:
http://www.tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?topic=15649&forum=2&hilite=house%20of%20wu

I hear ya on China Sea - no tunes and definitely a kind of silent/creepy atmosphere. Unfortuanately they took down all of their decorations.

I'm pretty busy for the next couple of months but I will definitely hook up with you guys soon

Had a great night with Granite and Bargoyle and our wahines. Wished we could have seen more TCers there but hopefully there'll be a better turnout at the Kowloon. I don't have my still pics to post but here's a couple of movies to show y'all what you missed.

Movie

Movie

Movie

OK--I'll be honest--this was a weird show. This wasn't the Mai Kai, this was the Polynesian Supper Club that time forgot out there in Chicopee, MA...

Movie

Movie

Movie

But we all had a good laugh. We were almost ready to recommend the drinks there at the ol' He Ke Lau until the last round which seemed to be alcohol-free. Granite and I also took home the new moai head "HUKELAU" mug although I was disappointed I missed getting one of the old style ones. These new ones are of Chinese Communist make. Smogbreather--you gotta get a mug in there. More pics later.

Oh man that's classic! Those videos make the show look better than it was!

We had a great time with you all last night.

Someday, all the New England Tikifiles will get together, and it will be one helluva great time!

unless i'm searching badly, no one has written up the Mon Kou in attleboro. it's not SUPERtiki, but there are a good number of masks and tikis (and fake palm trees) all over the interior and they do offer up tiki drinks and tropical-esque fare.

johnman- that's a shame about china sea - i wonder why they took their deco down? i noticed the last time i was there that they did have house speakers, just no tunes. seems like that place has been kinda dying for some time now.

On 2006-02-15 10:02, Rain wrote:
unless i'm searching badly, no one has written up the Mon Kou in attleboro. it's not SUPERtiki, but there are a good number of masks and tikis (and fake palm trees) all over the interior and they do offer up tiki drinks and tropical-esque fare.

johnman- that's a shame about china sea - i wonder why they took their deco down? i noticed the last time i was there that they did have house speakers, just no tunes. seems like that place has been kinda dying for some time now.

Mon Kou--I'm game!

Rain - Just poked around Google and got some hits on Mon Kou. Only saw one review and it mentioned MSG laden food - do I care? Not really, its not like I eat the stuff everyday. This place is certainly worth checking out. And it's probably like 20 minutes away from me! Maybe we can squeek it in before the Kowloon next month.

Pappy - haven't checked out the videos yet but will tonight. Glad you guys had a good time. I actually had to downgrade the Applebees plans:) Ended up at home eating a chicken pot pie (frozen) with my 3 year old daughter (Mom and Son were out). Ahh, the HKL would have been so nice...

Had a great time hanging w/ ya pappy & granite. Haven't laughed so hard in quite awhile.... But hey, for $5, that show is ALOT of entertainment. And the cheesiness of the show is part of what makes it so endearing.

Gonna go watch those movies right now...make sure I really saw what I think I did.

For anyone who's interested, I'm hitting the Luau Hale this saturday. Will be there around 6 if anyone wants to meet up.

Also, looks like March 25th is the front runner for another Kowloon trip (Cocktails at teh bali Hai before hand anyone?) If this date doesnt work for you and you really wanna go, speak up & we'll see about changing it.

[ Edited by: Bargoyle 2006-02-15 15:23 ]

Looks like a fun show! Thanks for sharing the video's... Did you get a mug? I would love to see a picture of one to see if it's worth a road trip?

Thanks,

Tikisgrl

Here're those still pics of the Hu Ke Lau:

Souvenir mug made in Red China. Dead ringer for the R-72. Pretty decent but they need some Tiki Farm mugs.

The only pic I took of us that came out. The lovely Kate and Leah.

Dining room--very relaxing.

Our host. A dead ringer vocally for Engelbert Humperdinck--so that's he sang. No complaints for $5!

Part of the bar. This place is the real deal decor-wise. I still haven't explored the rest of the restaurant. Just wish the drinks weren't so stinko.

I have a confession to make. I liked the drinks! Well, I like my Mai Tai and Kate's Coconut Drink. The Hukelau Special (or whatever it was called) didn't do much for me (except get me a Hukelau mug). I think I liked the Mai Tai because it was weak. Most places around my house make nasty strong ones, and since I was driving, I enjoyed being able to take nice big gulps and I enjoyed the taste.

I also really loved the coconut chicken appetizer. I don't think any restaurants in my area have that.

As I said before, the company was great. It's amazing how everyone you meet from Tiki Central is great to be around!

But I'm bitter that my wife got her picture on Tiki Central before I did! :wink:

Tikisgrl, the mug, the atmosphere, the food, etc. make it certainly worth the trip from your area!

[ Edited by: The Granite Tiki 2006-02-15 20:40 ]

Wow that place looks great. Love those lanterns in the bar area. Too bad the drinks aren't really there. Its tough to find good traditional drinks in NE as us locals know.

Thanks for capturing some video Pappy. You're right, it seemed like a weird show. I almost fell over when Humperdinck was singing Brick House. That's a Polynesian classic right? :lol: For $5 it looks worth it.

Bargoyle - cocktails at the Bali Hai before Kowloon sounds like a good idea. I've only run in and out of that place to grab some mugs. Oh yeah - still having a bday party event next weekend?

i've marked my calendar for the 25th of march - sounds fun! johnman - if i'm not mobile by then, i'd gladly chip in for gas and get you a mug in exchange for carpooling.

On my out the door to the beautiful Berkshires. AFter exploring & shopping, should be at the Luau Hale by 6pm. If I'm in any shape to, I'll post opinions & pics tonight (or tmrw).

Johnman-bday party is still on for this comming sat, the 25th. Gonna start around 6ish. We'll have snacking foods (hot wings, buffalo dip, taco dip, etc) but no real dinner per se, so you may want to eat a little something before heading out.

If anyone else wants to stop by, just let me know. Mai Tais, singapore slings, & spindrifts will be the main cocktails, but once again, the bar is open to anyone who wants to whip something up.

Oh, and there WILL be rocking out on the guitar game. Just pray I dont get drunk enough to whip out the Karaoke.

Awesome Bargoyle - Miss and I are coming. I'm dying to play guitar hero again. The reaper will rise again...

Rain you're all set for the 25th. No worry on gas. Providence is on the way so no big deal.

LUAU HALE TRIP 2/18/06

I'm happy to say that the Luau Hale is still open and fully functional. I had my doubts when we first drove by it (was going a little too fast & had to turn around) as there was only one car there...parked right in front of the door.

An unassuming place from the outside with no windows, I gotta admit, I thought maybe this was a wasted trip...

The front door didnt give me much hope either, and I totally expected it to be locked (inspite of the posted hours stating it had opened at 11.30 that morning)

The door opened on a little hallway with rock walls, and a fountain that wasnt working and my hopes lifted slightly...

The main dining room was empty (it was about 4:45) so we took a right, and headed into the lounge...

Beautiful murals painted on all the walls in the lounge, and some great lamps hanging above the bar

We sat ourselves in a booth by the bar, and promptly ordered cocktails. I had a MaiTai and Jess had a Tropical Margarita. Both were good. The MaiTai, while not traditional (I think it had some grapefruit in it?)was still very good. Tasty & strong. The Tropical Margarita had a little too much Midori for my tastes, but was still very good.

Over Jess' shoulder I noticed a few masks on the wall (the only tiki I'd seen so far) so I made her bail out of the booth to snap this pic

There is also a mask painted on the adjoining wall...

We got menus, and perused them. Some interesting polynesian dishes as well as the standard Chineese dishes we see at most of these places. Some of the Szechuan dishes sounded great also, but apted for Pu-Pu to start, and sampled some more cocktails. Here's a crappy pic of the menu logo ...

I had a Suffering Bastard and Jess had a Planters Punch with our PuPu. Once again, both drinks were very good. It was an unexpected trend after the recent glut of good drinks! For dinner we decided to split a dish called Polynesian Delight. Steak, shrimp, mushrooms, water chestnuts and veggies with white rice. Very good. Gonna have the leftovers for lunch in a few minutes!

With dinner I had a Zombie, Jess had a scorpion for one. The scorpion was good. Large & very tasty. The zombie was passable, but once again seemed to have a strange grapefruit taste like the MaiTai. It didnt stop me from drinking it, but off all the cocktails, it was the one I was least impressed with.

It was getting tough to try and sneak photos as people were comming in for dinner, so I went out to the main dining room and asked for permission. I had the pleasure of meeting one of the owners and she told me the place was formerly a HuKeLau, owned by the same people who still run the Chicopee one, but they bought it from them over 30 years ago. By this time, the place was starting to fill up. The parking lot was nearly full when we finally left. Its great to see that like the Kowloon and HuKeLau, there is still plenty of local interest in the place!

The setup of the main dining room(s) is VERY cool. There's a raised pagoda in the center that has a Chineese feel to it, with windows on two sides that look out on the other two dining rooms.

It creates a really neat effect, as the lower dining rooms have HUGE murals on their walls, so it's like you're in a little hut looking out on the Polynesian night.

Inside the Pogada....

From the "outside" dining room looking at the main pagoda

The outer dining rooms & murals...

Eating under the watchfull eyes of the Moai...

All in all, a great Polynesian joint out in the Berkshires. The drinks were good, the food was good, and the atmosphere was very freindly with that funky vibe we all dig. The murals are gorgeous (too bad Pappy wasnt there to get some good pics...I'm a hack, I know it) and the wait staff all wear bright hawaiian shirts. On the negative side, the masks and the Moai painting were the only tiki to speak of in the entire place. They no longer serve any drinks in tiki mugs either. The closest thing they have are the scorpion bowls in the one and two person sizes.

I'd reccomend that the New England Ohana check it out when you get a chance. It's a bit fo a ride for most of us (took us about 1.5 hours each way), but there's the outlet mall in Lee just a few miles up the road to turn it into a day trip. Or doing it as part of a fall foliage trip thru the Berkshires might work also. Might be a good place for a NETC meeting in October?

I'll post a formal review in Locating tiki in the next day or so. Just wanted to share with my fellow New Englanders first!

See everyone on the 25th at the Kowloon!

Wow, that place looks cool! Congrats on a fab find.

Luau Hale was the first tiki joint I spotted, back as a sixteen year old kid in '97, while at Tanglewood for the summer. I thought it looked like a Pizza Hut or something, and was all excited because of the Hawaiian words (being from Hawaii, that is, I had no clue that it was actually a Chinese restaurant). When I finally did make it inside, and realized it was a bad Chinese place, my dreams (of finding authentic Hawaiian & kama`aina cuisine in MA) were crushed, save for the decor that I thought was like a tacky mix of Disneyland's "It's a Small World" ride + Chuck E. Cheese.

Glad to see it's still there though, and thanks for the pics! I always wondered how that place stays in business, at least in the summers I never saw anyone there, and I can't imagine the winter season being any better ...

PS they have a great mai tai... when I finally made drinking age in '01 I suckered down a few 'tais + a rum barrel. =)

Dang! The one night I hafta watch baby.... Real glad you got out there, Bargoyle. Those murals look beautiful. Kowloon next month. How 'bout someplace on the South Shore of MA in Apiril?

Nice overview Bargoyle. I so didn't expect to see that much tiki in the Luau Hale - what a shock. An October journey sounds good. Maybe make a weekend out of it.

Pappy an April retreat to Southern Mass sounds good here. Maybe Rain's find - the Mon Kou in Attleboro??

BG:
Nice discovery. Hey Now, how about a new thread for New England Tiki Events and one for the pre and after glows. I would like to meet up again, but it is tough to determine where and when by the post.

I agree with primo. New events should get their own threads with the dates in the subject. We can still use this as a place to chat & work things out etc.

is kowloon a reservations type of place? i have potentially 4 more people from the boston area that might like to join in.

perhaps we should have an online calendar that we can link to from the top of each page in this thread. I just had to go back a couple pages to find the date for the next Kowloon trip. It's March 25th, right?

Oh, and as soon as Traci gets confirmation on the dates, we are going to book our tickets for Tiki Oasis!

--SBiM

Good plan to start a thread for each event. This one is definitely getting unwieldy.

Rain - I don't think they take reservations, but if we all get there about the same time we should be good. Worse scenario is we have to wait at the bar. Then again, I hope there's a wait!

SBiM - going to Tiki Oasis! You will love San Diego. And drinks at the Bali Hai are awesome. I can vouch for the Navy Grog and Mai Tai being top notch.

Hey Bargoyle - Miss and I just wanted to thank you for the awesome time Saturday night. Its a total blur to me - next thing I know I'm waking up in the Best Western having that "hope I didn't do anything stupid last night" feeling. I think the last Mai Tai was to blame :drink: Thanks again mon!

Hey New Englanders,

WAITIKI will be in Nantucket in a couple weeks -- we're playing at The Muse on March 11. Just a heads up - not sure if any of you cats are out there, but we'd love to see/meet you if you are! More info avail. at our website, www.waitiki.com.

Was great to have you johnman...and no, no embarassing moments to share with group (unfortunately). ALthough Missy was kicking your ass at the guitar game by the end of the night! (I think her being the designated driver and only drinking water might have contributed to that though)

We'll have to do it again soon. I'm mulling over hosting a cocktail/game night on a more frequent basis (board/war games like that Tahitian War game I just got, but I wouldn't rule out video games too...especially ones involving guitars) but I dont know if there's enough interest. Any gamers out there in the NE Ohana?

Prof.humminflowah nantucket seems very doable. Cant commit yet, but really wanna get to see you guys.

Hope all is well with everyone. ALooooooooooooooooooha!

mmmmmrmrmrrarrhhh... games.

what's this about a tahitian war board game? that sounds interesting.

ALright!! Sounds like Rain's a gamer. This is the game I just picked up. Haven't played it yet...

The game itself is all map & cardboard tiles (so dont expect anything like that coooool cover)

The guy who designed it is also working on a Maori game. The twist in that one is you can easily wind up depleting all natural resources and then resorting to cannibalism...Historically accurate AND fun!!!! WHat better reason to attack a neighboring clan than to eat them?!?! hee hee!

I also have a copy of this:

here it is in play...

I was thinking we'd have to throw this one in there at some point (scored this off ebay just recently...too cool!!!)

Anyway, like I said...if there's enough interest, I think it'd be fun (and a good excuse to get together & knock a few back). Don't know if anyone else out there is a board game geek, but who knows...these games might help to turn you. Next thing you know, you'll be at the Games Workshop buying pewter Warhammer miniatures and a painting kit!

So, if you're interested, let me know.

Board games? Wow - I blew many hours of my life away playing Axis & Allies, Fortress America, Conquest of the Empire, Puerto Rico and a bunch more. Most recently I've been playing Sponge Bob Life (my 5 year old insists on that one). So I guess you could say I'm "game" for a board game night. The games you posted look pretty interesting.

professahhummingflowah I won't be able to make the Nantucket show:( Any chance you guys will play in RI - maybe in the summer?

wow, i had no idea such games existed. i must say, though, that one would be MUCH improved with little miniature dudes or tikis instead of flat tiles. we should make our own tiki bar-crawl game.

this is much more mainstream, but pirates of the caribbean monopoly is coming out this month. just in case anyone's interested in a four-hour game at the end of which all but one player is in horrid debt and bankrupt :wink:

someone still needs to make an all-tiki-all-the-time video game.

Rain,

I'm with ya on the figurines fro teh Tahiti game. MIght have to make that my next project.

Johnman-I had a feeling you might have been a gamer. Still got Fortress America in the closet, and I can't tell you how close I came to breaking out The Dark Tower during the party!

Just picked this one up today...

Cant wait to play it...finally get to live out all those godzilla movies I grew up on...

Need to create the Terrible Toxic Tiki Monster to go with it!!!

Anyone else?? C'mon people, let your geek flag fly!! Damn kids with your video games!! heh heh.

I spent the last 18 years getting rid of my inner geek. I was hoping he'd stay gone!

plays video games Although i do like Warhammer 40k somehwhat, i used to play. Have you guys ever played "Diplomacy"? Great stuff.

Monsters looks like a cool Godzzilla-ish game. Definitely a different twist on all the war games I've played so far.

Pappy man, the inner geek will never die - it just goes dormant.

Never played diplomacy though the name rings a bell.

Bumping this sucker up.

Posted some pics of the fire damage in the general tiki section.

I guess tiki game night is out for awhile now...as the bar is gone, and most of my games are destroyed.....

The good ones, tiki & otherwise, were the ones on top...the ones you cant even ID anymore. DOH!!!

On the plus side, I just got the TIKIEST game delivered the other day. Thank god its shipping got delayed, or it would have been toast also.

German game in which you...get ready....RACE MOAIS!!!! Thats right!! Racing Moai

Next gathering, we're playing this at the bar, and I dont care what kinda looks I get!!