New york City TIKI

On 2003-04-01 09:56, donhonyc wrote:

So Lee's isn't as cool as Chan's?? Can we hear some detail on Lee's? Decor and vintage vibe and all that. How were the drinks??

haven't been in a couple of years. here's what someone else (Sabina) wrote on tc though:

... And we visited Lee's Clifton just a few weeks ago in December as we made our trip down from New England.
http://www.njdiningguide.com/lees.html

The Lee's we visited was wonderful! Also VERY vintage, big comfy booths in little thatch roofed 'shacks', see the back of the top picture- http://www.njdiningguide.com/leespics.html_. Just out of that picture and to the right in the main dining room is a large waterfall running down a wall- very soothing, I believe there was a Tiki or two in the arrangement as well.

Lee's Food was tasty and fresh, the pupu platter comes flaming, and my drinks arrived in Tiki mugs (See the Exotic Island Drinks section- http://www.njdiningguide.com/leeswines.html, I recommend the "Tiki Tiki"!). The bar area is separated from the main dining room by a wall of bamboo and thatch, there was a small but inconspicuous TV very quietly playing the late afternoon game- easily ignored.

While Lee's didn't strike me as 'dripping with Tikis' there are some, and the atmosphere evokes true aloha spirit. The staff was just great too- friendly and laid back. It felt very much like a spot locals 'in the know' had been coming to since back in the day. Plenty of flaming rum sauces and broad smiles.

As for the physical building, from the outside it looks a bit like a gigantic old house, the bar area is to the left as you enter the main dining room. Off to the side there's another side room we barely peeked at, and a small area in the back off the main room with sort of a stage, which brings me to perhaps the most important point about Lee's Clifton, which is also mentioned on their webpage-

"Come join us every Saturday evening with Genuine Hula Dancers from Hawaii. Show Times: 7:30 & 9:15 pm."

Which, after a brief web search appears to be this group from New York- http://www.hawaiianartistsshows.com.

Now does this sound like a Tiki-must, or what? Need I saw more? ...

that long review is from page 2 of the JERSEY thread. click below for the full message:
https://tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?topic=336&forum=1&start=15

Thanks for the tip(s) Chris. Might check out Lee's this weekend, or maybe another trip to Chan's. Damn..wish Hawaii Kai (50th & Broadway) was still around. Anybody know any history on this one??

On 2003-04-02 09:47, donhonyc wrote:
Damn..wish Hawaii Kai (50th & Broadway) was still around. Anybody know any history on this one??

That's my current obsession. We actually named our home bar "The Lounge of the Seven Pleasures" after the Hawai'i Kai's lounge of the same name! (Not that ours comes close, just that due respect to that which is now gone is important.)

Here's a postcard showing the Hawaii Kai in all its glory-

upper left-
The Waikiki Outdoor Waterfalls- overflowing with the exotic flowers of the islands

upper right-
Okole Maluna Bar with Diamond Head Diarama- Scenes from dawn to dusk in realisticly colorful settings

lower left-
The Lounge of the Seven Pleasures- featuring authentic native entertainment

lower right-
The Island Huts of Oahu- Here royal pleasures await you. Sumptous delicacies served by our native food bearers.

The World's Greatest Polynesian Restaurant
"In the heart of the theatrical world"
Broadway at 50th Street, New York City
For Reservations PL 7-0900

Drinks were served in a variety of tiki mugs, a search on e-bay will give you a feel for some of the variety they featured.

Then there is the cookbook from 1970-

Which is a treasure trove of recipes, some of which are from (to quote from the awknowledgements)-

'Manny "Blackie" Andal, a chief mixologist who, like all island bartenders, jealousy guards the secrets of his native concoctions, but nevertheless contributed them to our book.'

And yes, even a bizarre urban savage ritual or two, which if I have time, I'll share here later.

So, anyone else?

Hmmmmmm, the postcard came out a little small, here are some larger close-ups of each of the sections;

upper left-
The Waikiki Outdoor Waterfalls- overflowing with the exotic flowers of the islands

upper right-
Okole Maluna Bar with Diamond Head Diarama- Scenes from dawn to dusk in realistically colorful settings

lower left-
The Lounge of the Seven Pleasures- featuring authentic native entertainment

lower right-
The Island Huts of Oahu- Here royal pleasures await you. Sumptous delicacies served by our native food bearers.

The Lanai in San Mateo had a similar "dusk to dawn" diarama behind the bar--I always thought that idea was so cool!

Sabina,

Thanks much for those enlargements! I've seen that postcard before, but didn't get near the feel for the place as with those large-screen views. That was quite a beautiful restaurant! And I like the cool modern lettering and texture of the outside wall.

Sabu

Thanks Sabina - that's a great postcard. The 4 different pics on the same card may be kind of small to view, but they really give you a great feel for the place. I picked up a mug from this place a few years ago at a church garage sale. The mug dosen't have the logo printed on it, BUT it still had the swizzle stick that came with the drink. It was a bamboo stick with "Hawaii Kai" printed on it. When I took it up to pay, the older fellow taking the cash said that it was his mug and he remembered when he visited that night and took home the mug.

Don't know about the rest of you, but looking at the enlargements, makes me wanna crawl right through the screen and order up a drink :)

I'm beginning to play with my scanner, to see if I can enlarge some of the smaller items and find details that I would otherwise miss.

For example, look at the base drum in the "Lounge of the Seven Pleasures enlargement- is it just me, or is it something other than "Hawai'i Kai"?

I'm looking at flooring and carpeting in old postcards too. I mean tapa lamps- sure, Tiki News did a nifty piece on 'em- they're essential. The usual array of Tiki flotsom and jetsom ceiling intrest- sure- equally neccessary. But what kinds of carpet truely capture that Tiki feeling? Hmmmmmmm.

Wow Sabina! Thanks for posting the card and the enlargements. That place looked seriously ass-kicking!! Too bad it's gone. Shee-it!! New York City could use a high caliber tiki joint like that right about now.

I was just actually just talking about Hawaii Kai today with a biz-associate of mine who is a native Manhattanite . I had brought up mixing drinks from Grog Log & Intoxica and various other Tiki obsessions and she mentioned the Hawaii Kai and how cool it was and that she remembers it closing in the early 70s. I was also just eyeing some cool Hawaii kai items on Ebay.

Hmmm. 50th and Broadway. I think there's a giant office building there now. Not sure which corner Hawaii Kai was on but I'll check the address that is shown on your postcard and go up there and see what it is now. I'll get a photo of whatever the lame building is there now and post it. I do know that the famous club The Latin Quarter was in that 50th and Broadway area at one time as well as the Brill Building better known as 'Tin Pan Alley' where alot of the early 60s pop hits by Neil Sedaka, Carol King, and Neil Diamond were written. Currently the Brill Building houses alot of feature film post-production offices. The last time I was in there (about 10 years ago) I saw Martin Scorcese (probably my favorite American film director) coming out of the men's room. I think he was there editing 'Cape Fear' at the time. Damn that guy is shorter than I had thought.

Jeez...I'll betcha Scorcese went to Hawaii Kai once or twice being a native Manhattanite himself. Perhaps he, DeNiro, and Harvey Keitel went there and had production meetings for "Mean Streets" over a couple of Mai-Tais and Zombies. Do ya think?............Nah.....

Okay...going off on a non-tiki tangent here. Thanks again for posting the HK stuff. If you come across anymore, let me know!!!

Mahalo! :drink:

[ Edited by: donhonyc on 2003-04-03 23:44 ]

I got a Hawaii Kai mug (my favorite of all my mugs because it has NEW YORK CITY wriiten on the back) from a great antique shop called:
Dullsville 143 East 13th Street New York, NY 10003 212-505-2505

I haven't been there in a while, (I'm going after work today), but through the window the other night, I saw that they were still selling a Hawaii Kai mug shaped as a skull.

Hey donhonyc-

If you could come up with a picture of what it looks like today, or has been replaced by? I'd LOVE to see it! I always wonder...

Skull mug- hmmmmmm. I'm looking in the cookbook, most of the drinks mention what they come served in; coconuts, pineapples, barrel, headhunter mug, zombie mug, various glasses, but no skull. Wish I knew what it once contained!

Hey Sabina and all -

Went up to the former home of Hawaii Kai aka 1638 Broadway and saw what it is now. Although I've walked past this place thousands...perhaps millions of times I woulda never realized that it housed the Hawaii Kai. Gotta say that it is so typical of what happens to certain locations/landmarks in New York City. Something that was so cool and has such an amazing history is destroyed for a far less superior successor. I could go down the list of amazing places in NYC that have been destroyed and replaced by things like parking garages and drug stores, but I won't get into that now. Instead here are a few photos of where the Hawaii Kai used to be.....Next to the Winter Garden Theater, which for what seemed an eternity, was the home of the famous Broadway show 'Cats'. That show shut down about two or three years ago. It was also the home of Gilda Radner's one-woman show for a while back in the 70s. Now 'Mama Mia' the ABBA musical is currently playing there. What used to be Hawaii Kai, or at least what used to be the entrance, is now a place called 'Backstage Memories', another tourist trap souvenir store for people who come into town and blow their cash on lame stuff after they check out a show. I've enclosed a couple of shots to illustrate the lameness complete with arrows and circles to enhance your perspective. Enjoy!! :sheckymug:

wow. I love the arrows. What a shameful loss on the road of man's progress: from TIKI to MAMA MIA.

Looking at those photos, makes me think...

Did you look inside the Japanese restarant on the left. I remember teh old Hawaii Kai very well, and the facade used to go from the theater marque to the end of that block. All that brick work is new, so there could be some little remenants in the sushi joint.

Next time i'm over there I am gonna stick my head in and look around.

I've also been dying to go poke around the Plaza's basement. I don't think they have done any thing in that space since TV closed the second time around (very early 90's).

That Japanese place next door is closed down. I think you're right about the construction of the building. Looks like it may have been put up in the last 10 years or so. Maybe even as early as late 80s. It's amazing how drastically that area has changed since being Giuliani-fied. You saw the Hawaii Kai Inky? Would love to hear what you remember of it. Let me know if you see any traces of the place when you go up there.

I'm actually curious about the basement of the Plaza myself. Last time I was there they had just closed it. There was actually a sign on the door saying it was closed indefinitely. Boooooooo! :sheckymug:

Kitty and I will be visiting NYC in mid-November.
Aside from wanting to be served a cocktail from the 90-year-old bartender at The Algonquin (Mr. Woo?), we're wondering if there's anything left of tiki culture in Manhattan?
Any recommendations would be appreciated.

Definitely check out:
WAIKIKI WALLY'S
OTTO'S SHRUNKEN HEAD
both are in Manhattan, and not far from each other!

Also, a short ride to Brooklyn will take you to
ZOMBIE HUT
which is also loads of fun.

There are threads on here for these places, check 'em out!

Enjoy,
Rupe

Saw all of the palces in the above post in May; Wally's is the best of the bunch.

Ottos has live bands of variable quality and poor drinks (but is definitely a cool looking place), and the one in Brooklyn is OK looking but the dinrks, staff, music, and etc are pretty out of it. No Tiki there IN SPRIT.

Thanks for the tips/advice. We'll be staying three blocks up the road from Otto's - so will definitely check it out.

Gran Rancho Jubilee is an excellent Tiki place, albeit off the beaten path...You NYers should check it out!

Chan's Dragon Inn in New Jersey is a great place, a bit of a trip, but well worth it; the best sweet and sour pork and chicken this side of 1960. and it's got a really funky vibe; think Sopranos meet Trader Vics.

i can't recommend these first hand but there are other posts about places in staten island and long island too.

have a great trip!

Visiting in first weekend November ... any updated tips for us whilst we are in New York?

Looking for a reasonably priced place to stay, too...

Make the journey out to Jade Ialand! Everyone wants to ride the Staten Island Ferry anyway (it's free too). Just take a taxi from the ferry terminal out to the K-Mart plaza (next to Staten Island Mall)and viola!, you are there (it's < $20). The place is amazing, great food, great staff, the drinks are good (try the JI Punch and the Navy Grog)and they sell the mugs for $6.

On 2007-09-10 06:14, rugbymatt wrote:
Make the journey out to Jade Ialand! ...

http://www.tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?topic=6179&forum=2

http://www.tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?topic=19003&forum=4&6

On 2007-09-03 14:32, 54 house of bamboo wrote:
Visiting in first weekend November ... any updated tips for us whilst we are in New York?

As of now,a bunch of us NYC TC-ers plan on hitting surf guitar night at Otto's on Sat Nov 3. I think you can safely say it'll be THE tiki place to be!

On 2007-09-12 08:53, Tiki Kollektor wrote:

On 2007-09-03 14:32, 54 house of bamboo wrote:
Visiting in first weekend November ... any updated tips for us whilst we are in New York?

As of now,a bunch of us NYC TC-ers plan on hitting surf guitar night at Otto's on Sat Nov 3. I think you can safely say it'll be THE tiki place to be!

WOW! That's great. We're in town for Cavestomp... now there's a choice to make on Saturday night!

Thanks for the tip!

Liz & Chris