Tiki bar list

Lets start a thread of tiki bars and places
not included in the Tiki Road Trip book. I'm planning some tiki road trips to Reno, S.F. and Portland this summer and I don't wanna miss any tiki. Might be helpful to any sequel books as well.

Sneaky

I haven't seen the Tiki Road Trip book yet, some of these may be listed in there, but here is a quick-list of NYC area tiki joints (I think this is all of them actually) listed in order from coolest to so-so:

Chan's Dragon Inn, Ridgefield NJ
(very cool. vintage. restaurant & bar)

Zombie Hut, Brooklyn NY
(great new interpretation. bar only. pays homage to classic tiki in a few ways. If you see Renee-the owner-behind the bar, tell her you saw the bar being talked about on-line. Fun, classy lounge. U should go)

Jade Island, Staten Island
(cool, vintage. Talked about this place on a separate thread. Alot like Chans. Cool decor, etc. Sucky commute if you are a car-less New Yorker that doesn't live in Staten Island)

Lee's Hawaiian Islander, Clifton NJ
(cool. vintage. bar and restaurant. Also alot like Chan's in Ridgefield perhaps a notch or two lower on the cool/vintage scale however. Points taken off for waiters NOT in Hawaiian shirts)

Otto's Shrunken Head, Manhattan
(new interpretation. sorta cool. bar only. This rating is based on my last visit which was a while ago. Maybe this place will be more appealling since the smoking ban went into effect in NYC, because one of the things that I do remember was that the place was filled with cigarette smoke, and that kinda stuff doesn't usually bother me, but it did in there for some reason. I've passed by the place a few times and the window next to the entrance is kinda cool. So maybe the next visit will be better.)

Waikiki Wally's, Manhattan
(new interpretation. bar and restaurant. unfortunately not cool. On entering this joint you would think it has the most promise, but it is the BIGGEST dissapointment. Big on the scale of the fun sorta way the place is designed and big because it is in New York City. When New York City theme restaurants suck, they REALLY suck. I ate at this place once earlier in the year. It was OK , that is after the weird stench that permeated the place when we walked in finally disappeared. Tiki mugs and Scorpion bowls were cracked, etc. Months later I visited again just for a couple of drinks and a second chance and was disappointed again. Cracked mugs AGAIN, watery drinks nowhere near the original recipes (mai-tai & zombie). Possible frustration is in store for any strict 'by-the-book' tiki-phile, and certainly a huge let down for anybody who has visited some of the mind blowingly cool Tiki places in other parts of the country. Enter at your own risk my friends.)

So there you go. Happy motoring and confusion to our enemies. Mahalo! :sheckymug:

[ Edited by: donhonyc on 2003-04-30 14:40 ]

[ Edited by: donhonyc on 2003-04-30 18:17 ]

Reno: the only thing not mentioned in Tiki Road Trip is Magic Carpet Golf at 6925 S Virginia Street. It's a miniature golf course with a huge moai in one of the 3 courses.

SF: everything is covered in the book except the tiki patio at Club Mallard in Albany.

I'll throw in Sacramento's "Eastern Empire," which has been mentioned several times on Tiki Central. Unfortunately, I forgot to remind James about it last weekend, even though he was heading through Sac on his way home. Duhhh.

Type III: Chinese restaurant. Tipsy Factor: zero, unless you count a few Tiki Mugs. You usually get your drink in one, and if you especially request it, they are sure to oblige. Decor is classy Chinese, no dusty fake geraniums. GOOD food. Drinks are tasty and STRONG; one Suffering Bastard knocked me straight into Tiki Nirvana. I once asked why they even had the tropical drinks menu (and it's a good one, with all the classics, pretty much), and was told that "the owner just really likes all that stuff." An elderly fellow now, he purportedly once worked in a long-gone Tiki Temple of old on the East Coast.

It's at Howe and Fair Oaks, in a mall next to Safeway, right across the river from Midtown Sacramento.

Indeed, the Mallard's Tiki Patio is well-worth a visit. Very nicely done Tiki decor! Moreover, the rest of the bar itself is extremely old and very cool. (Albany in general has several of the Bay Area's best, unrestored/unremodeled vintage bars...)

Best of all, the Mallard features at least one truly classy bartender, the inimitable Robin, who absolutely knows how to make superb vintage/tropical drinks. (And, I might add, looks like she walked straight out of a 40's movie.)

She told us that, from time to time, she likes to feature "forgotten" drinks and talk ignorant customers into trying them. Apparently Suffering Bastards were a hit!

You guys may want to hold of on this a little bit. I'm looking to start a new forum here for Tiki Locations here sometime soon that would be more condusive to searching, becuase it would be 1 locale per Topic.

~Hanford

On 2003-04-30 13:49, Sneakytiki wrote:
Might be helpful to any sequel books as well.

Yeah, Let's do all the work for James, give him the name, address and a review of all the bars he does not know about. That way he can make another book to sell us all.

On 2003-05-01 08:21, ahilava wrote:

Yeah, Let's do all the work for James, give him the name, address and a review of all the bars he does not know about. That way he can make another book to sell us all.

SOMEBODY woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning.

Posting something on a website is a form of publishing, which means if you post a review of something online, you "own" it, and it cannot be reproduced in a book or other profit earning medium without your permission.

So post away... after all, if you are not here to share this kind of info what ARE you here for?

-Mike

Got no problem with folks posting about cool bars, new or old. I love to read about places that are still open and see pictures from places gone. Please continue. And I look forward to an organised format for that (thanks Hanford!). I may even contribute what little info I might have. I do have a problem with a guy who uses his website to solicit information from others which he then turns around to take credit for and profit from. That's just me though.

[ Edited by: ahilava on 2003-05-02 22:12 ]

I'm new here at TC and I sure didn't mean 2 step on any toes. I'm planning a couple of trips this spring and summer and thought with the wealth of tiki knowledge here at TC
we could share some cool spots. My apologies if I said anything stupid and sorry if this cluttered up your format Hanford. I do appreciate the replies, especially for Ca. and Nevada as I'm heading there this month.
Mahalo
Sneaky

Don't worry Sneaks,

You didn't step on any toes. You have a good idea - one that I've been thinking about too ever since I got my copy of Tiki Road Trip. I'm glad Hanford is working on a logical, easy-to-access solution as well.

I know James has asked permission to use items of mine for the first book and I expect he'll do so in the future if he decides to publish a version II. If there's something I want to hold onto for my own book, (doubt it), then I would let him know. I think it's more important to share this information among the tiki community - that's what makes this site so appealing to me - the sharing, (instead of hoarding), of knowledge. I can ask BigBro, "Is this Witco?" and he'll tell me. I can ask "Does anyone know where this plate came from?" and Puamana will post a picture of the menu, with an address. I can ask Gecko, "What do you use to color your carvings?" and he'll tell me - (although I may have to buy him a few drinks at La Mariana first).

James' work is definitely a labor of love. After all his time, effort, and travelling expenses, he'll probably make very little profit, if any. (I don't think Sven got filthy rich off the BOT either).

I think the greater service these books are doing is to accumulate this scattered knowledge of tiki into a comprehensive, appealing format, and bring awareness to a greater community. It might even help save an older tiki bar from getting torn down or encourage a few new ones to sprout up.

I'm just happy that some authors are taking the initiative to do it and I'm happy to help them in any way I can.

Sabu

On 2003-04-30 13:49, Sneakytiki wrote:
Lets start a thread of tiki bars and places
not included in the Tiki Road Trip book. I'm planning some tiki road trips to Reno, S.F. and Portland this summer and I don't wanna miss any tiki. Might be helpful to any sequel books as well.

I have ALREADY accrued data on like 30 places not in the book.

Some of this is from people who came to signings (aloha JH!), some is via email, and some is via my own research.

When I finally get around to updating the Tiki Bar Review Pages (for the first time in almost 2 years!), I plan to keep a running list there of updates, corrections, and most importantly, places not listed in the current edition of the book.

BTW - Santa Monica Press is already going back and dong a second printing, with certain typos corrected (i.e. a certain ".org" where there is currently a ".com", and a few Y's will be replaced with I's... or is it vice-versa, I keep forgetting :) ), so all of you who bought it already, well, you now have a collector's edition. ha ha ha.

...

James, Thx again 4 the great book. Can't wait to try out some of the locales.

Sneaky

Sneaky,

If you're gonna hit Portland, do look us up - we'll show you the sites. And if it happens to be the weekend of June 7, well, I hear there's a big tiki party going on in town that weekend, and all TC members are invited. Maybe it's just scuttlebutt, but I have it from a pretty well-informed source...

TikiMaxton,
I'm not sure the exact date we'll be in Portland. Probably late May/early June.
I'll post a message when We're coming.
Thanks for the invite. Would love to see the sights.
Sneaky

On 2003-04-30 15:55, tikivixen wrote:

Best of all, the Mallard features at least one truly classy bartender, the inimitable Robin, who absolutely knows how to make superb vintage/tropical drinks. (And, I might add, looks like she walked straight out of a 40's movie.)

She told us that, from time to time, she likes to feature "forgotten" drinks and talk ignorant customers into trying them. Apparently Suffering Bastards were a hit!

On the topic of obscure drinks, I just heard a story about a chinese restaurant near Clown Alley in SF where the bartender, when she sees a bunch of people sousing it up at night, will ask "would you like to try a drink called 'Silk Panties'?"
All that people remember of it is it's fairly expensive.

I haven't had the pleasure of being served by Robin yet (though I've served HER a drink or two), but I can attest to the fact that she is indeed a class act and a very nice lady to boot. I hope to make it to the Mallard soon to partake of her skillfully prepared libations.