"Tiki Road Trip" signing in Chicago... good talkin' to ya James!!

Hey james

Great to finally meet you at your "Tiki Road Trip" book signing at Quimby's in Chicago on May 7th. I was the last one in the store that night if you remember. It was great talking to you that night. It was a mighty tiki Wednesday for me and my buddy. We hit Trader Vic's for $4 Zombie night, got to the book store with only minutes to spare, and then took your advice and walked over to Rock-A-Tiki. It was packed that night, and had a full blown Elvis impersonator. After a few drinks, I was ready to get home to sit down with the new book. My hats off to you my friend!!! I was up most of the night reading that damn thing. Can't wait for my next tiki roadtrip! I will see you next thursday at Rock-A-Tiki. Thanks again James I will be representin' Chicago at Hukilau 2003!!!!!!

james or junkman....heard the rock a tiki is moving, anyone know when, or where??....cant wait for the exotica 2003.....should be a blast!!!....hopefully lots of the east and west coasters come out to see the great spots we have here in the windy city (i.e....hala kahiki,chef shangrila,rockatiki,trader vics,etc.....)

On 2003-05-10 19:55, hala bullhiki wrote:
heard the rock a tiki is moving, anyone know when, or where??

Rock A Tiki was all ready to move, after only being open 5 months, but this was cancelled at the last moment - a few weeks ago. Their new space was going to be just like the current RAT on the first floor, but would add a second floor with a headhunter/vodoo theme in a dance club. Hmmmm...

But the deal died, for better or worse, and RAT is staying as-is... and my whirlwind international book-scribblin' thang show up there this coming Thurs, 5/15...

Also, their already great food menu is being expanded, and they're permanently lowering their drink prices from Mai-Kai-esque $10 per levels to a more T-Vic's like $8 each.

Now, if only they'd emphasisize the "Rock-A" a bit less, and lose the classic rock jukebox in favor of DJ Dave's surf stylings 24-7.... or even some Exotica!

james,
...thanks for the news.....although a voodoo themed room would be cool, im almost positive i would have never visited it if it was a dance club......looks like i'll miss yet another signing, do to it bein a week night, but ill be at both the wizard world, and exotica events.....it'll be nice to finally meet ya, the books great, and it makes me proud to say to friends whom i show it to that "the author is from chicago!"....good to hear the rock a tiki is lowering drink prices (too bad we cant get them to lower them to chef shangrila prices!!), and i think the food there is great!!, and i couldnt agree more about the rock played there.......i'm in a damn heavy rock band, but the hell if thats what i wanna hear in a tiki bar, i mean humble pie,black sabbath,ac/dc, great, just NOT in a polynesian setting for gods sake!!!....give me the classics, and i totally agree, i think they should let dave dj more often , or load the juke with the classics, or even newer shit like tipsy or hell even portishead may work......ah well, ramblin again!LOL!...mahalo

Hey James,

Just wanted to tell you that it was cool meeting you the other night at Quimby's in Chicago. Glad that you stuck around till closing time since my buddy "Tiki Junkman" and I just barely made it before they closed! The book is great! I can't believe how much info you crammed into those pages. That was a hell of a Tiki night! We ended up going over to Rock-a-Tiki after the book signing. That was my first time at that place. I have to say that it was well worth the trip over there! Elvis was "rocking" the mic. and the pom pom girl that was dancing around put a bizarre but cool spin on that place. For any of you tiki guys and girls in Chicago that have not been there yet, it is well worth checking out! But don’t take it from me, buy the "Tiki Road Trip" and get the "real" review from James!

Thought you might like to see this pic. This Dog was just hanging out by the front door of Rock-A-Tiki the night of the "Tiki Road Trip" book signing in Chicago! It was kind of funny......I think he was waiting for someone to invite him in for a Mai Tai! :)