How about South Seas Prime Steak House?

Here's my thought. We have lots of discussions about tiki bars and starting something wonderful. But what about a restaurant? As has been stated before, many people go to a Polynesian restaurant maybe only once a year. But, what if the food was ethnically driven, i.e. Thai, Asian, Mexican, Chinese, etc? What if the tiki joint was an American Steak and Seafood House with a South Pacific theme?

I'm thinking something like "South Seas Prime Steak and Seafood". Wouldn't a concept like that bring in more regular customers while allowing the restaurant to present a tiki - south seas theme.

And the bar - you certainly could have fun with that.

I am thinking about this because I love Steak Houses. LG's, the Chop House in Palm Desert, Ruth Chris's, and to some extent, Morton's. All of these serve over-the-top foods, but they seem to be missing something in atmosphere. It's like they can't match their surroundings to the goodness of their steaks.

If I had the money and the willingness of my wife, I'd purchase the restaurant by the Caliente Tropics and turn it into a Steak and Seafood House.

I love the name - South Seas Prime Steak and Seafood House.

...and here's the ad for it, just posted here recently! :D :

As much as I would love to have the Tropics have a bar and restaurant, I have to caution anyone who wants to get into that business just out of the love for Tiki (and steaks, in this case)

As the now ex-owner of the Puka Bar was just quoted saying here:
"Well, I tell you, I've done funner things," he said. "The bar business ain't for me."

I think Damon's in Glendale and Chuck's in Santa Barbara already have that covered.

Back in the day, many Polynesian palaces offered steak as the OTHER delicacy alternate to their Cantonese cuisine, for those who wanted to play it safe.

The reason I started this thread is that we need business people to decide that tiki can be profitable. As many have pointed out on the So you want to open a commercial bar thread, you have to fill a need.

Steak and seafood houses all seem to be replicas of each other. The atmosphere (the decor) plays in the deep back ground. In fact, the Ruth Chris's and Mortons all seem to run together.

A South Seas themed Prime Steak and Seafood House could possibly go a long way to providing a safe stage to let Poly Pop decor strut itself.

Trader Vics LA Live

Prime Flat Iron Steak
Hoisin – chili - apple marinade
crispy corn potato cake, mizuna salad. 24

Wasabi Crusted Filet Mignon
Hawaiian spiced fries
smoked Asian ratatouille. 32

Beef and Reef
Filet of beef and maine lobster tail
served with kaffir lime béarnaise. 49

Roys Pasadena

8oz Grilled Filet Mignon Butter Whipped Mashed Potatoes, Miso Charred Onion Ume Sauce 32.95
Oven Roasted Chicken Breast Wild Mushroom Basil Mashed Potatoes, Shiitake Thyme Mustard Sauce 23.95
Grilled Honey Mustard Short Ribs Butter Whipped Mashed Potatoes, Roy’s Natural Power Sauce 26.95
16oz Pork Porterhouse Jalapeño Corn Mashed Potatoes, Applewood Smoked Shallot Demi 27.95
Porcini Crusted 14oz N.Y. Strip Bacon Fried Yukon Golds, Black Bean & Sausage Charred Tomato Sauce 32.95

Under "For what it's worth" department; I know a fellow that opens Restaurants, operates them for a period and then franchises them. You would recognize the names if I told you. We have discussed a Tiki venue. He said, for a restaurant, "If you pass the 60/40 level, you fail." 60 being food and 40 being drinks. For a bar, he said 80/20, 80 being the booze.
I agree with Telescopes. A Restaurant has a better shot at success than a bar. I disagree with the Caliente Tropics being a good venue, You need a bigger demographic than Palm Springs. I think the Reef in Long Beach is perfect IMHO

Cristiki is of course pointing out that the idea of steaks and tiki decor is not new. Quite so. Here in the Midwest, there's not much call for more steakhouses. Generally, they depend on business account volume and that has drawn back quite a bit in the last few years.

I'm not trying to start an argument, but maybe we are in a really good spot already with the few terrific tiki establishments out there and with the perfectly crafted cocktails we make for ourselves and our friends at home and with the fantastic collections of tiki stuff we continue to gather.

I'm just feeling happy with life as it is today I guess.

Hi telescopes! You have good taste in names ~ I'm planning on opening a bar in Toronto and I just registered it as South Seas Tavern! There are currently no tiki bars or restaurants in all of Ontario and I would love something like Damons or Trader Vic's here.(I love their Wasabi Crusted Filet Mignon!) We had a Trader Vic's but it closed down and is now ironically a Ruth Chris's...

On 2011-03-20 12:18, Bongo Bungalow wrote:

I'm just feeling happy with life as it is today I guess.

No doubt. We get to make great drink and experience lots of poly pop.

But hey, I'm in Southern California. When I was in St. Louis, there was nothing but Mexican Restaurants, mostly from El Torito, inc. The Margarita was it in terms of a mixed drink.

I had been chasing the exotics since 1982 and for the most part, the mid-west is a DESERT - this coming from someone who now lives in a desert.

People who go to Mexican joints tend not to go to 3 and 4 Diamond Restaurants. Steak Houses are expensive - they aren't cheap. But they do have a good clientele, many of whom only show up twice a year or less.

But my thought is that if you drop it down a notch, i.e. Don the Beachcombers, you might possibly start to bring in some of the crowd who up untill now only have had the nice Mexican or Asian restaurant as a choice to experience something exotic. (In the midwest we don't say Asian - we say Chinese or even Oriental).

The Luau that opened up a few years ago in Beverly Hills was just too expensive. Hell, as much as I love TV, it is too far away and a bit expensive. But I would go to DTB if it were closer to me. The prices are right, the food is great tasting, and the drinks are spot on. And the decor - it's what were looking for.

Why is it that Mexican or Asian are the only alternatives we have to something "foreign"? What I would give for a Samoan or Hawaiian Steak and/or Seafood House.

I think there is a niche for something like this.

On 2011-03-20 16:49, corrinnao wrote:
Hi telescopes! You have good taste in names ~ I'm planning on opening a bar in Toronto and I just registered it as South Seas Tavern! There are currently no tiki bars or restaurants in all of Ontario and I would love something like Damons or Trader Vic's here.(I love their Wasabi Crusted Filet Mignon!) We had a Trader Vic's but it closed down and is now ironically a Ruth Chris's...

As a Heads up there is a Tiki Bar located in Toronto called Sutra Tiki Bar on College, although it is not the best and I would personally love to see something that is a better representation.

On 2011-03-20 16:55, telescopes wrote:

Why is it that Mexican or Asian are the only alternatives we have to something "foreign"?

Probably because Mexican and Asian are two cuisines that have lower operating costs due to being able to use lower quality cuts of meat and more produce in the creation of dishes. Add to that the lower expectations on the patronage as to the decor, the places can be less finely designed and appointed, ergo, lower start-up costs.

This also translates into so many of the newer small restaurants and bistros relying heavily on Italian or fusion inspired cuisine and serving so many pasta and risotto dishes. Noodles and rice can be fairly inexpensive, at least more so than high quality meats and fish, so the protein portions are kept small.

Higher class steak and seafood houses must have finer decor (because that's what patrons expect for the price), and better quality proteins as they are the focal point of what they are selling.

At least, that's my take on it.

Bear

[ Edited by: Brudda Bear 2011-05-01 15:29 ]

Hawaiian can have grilled Chicken and Teriyaki flavored anything, so those menu items should be cost-effective.

Hawaiian can have grilled Chicken and Teriyaki flavored anything, so those menu items should be cost-effective.

Chris,

You forgot rice, Spam®, short ribs, pork, and a plethora of fish, crustaceans and bi-valve species found in Pacific waters. But the cost effectiveness of Hawaiian/Polynesian inspired cuisine wasn't the issue.

My post was intended to be a direct response to telescopes bemoaning the glut of Mexican and Asian joints and the reason for such. Since the original topic was about a desire for an upscale steak and seafood restaurant with tiki decor, I tried to finish my post by bringing the thread back toward the original topic. That's all. Mexican and Asian cuisine=less expensive to implement and maintain than upscale steak and seafood, which is why there are more of the former than the latter.

There was no disparaging Hawaiian/Polynesian inspired cuisine intended on my part.

Bear :drink:

[ Edited by: Brudda Bear 2011-05-02 12:19 ]

On 2011-05-02 12:19, Brudda Bear wrote:
Chris,

You forgot rice, Spam®, short ribs, pork, and a plethora of fish, crustaceans and bi-valve species found in Pacific waters. But the cost effectiveness of Hawaiian/Polynesian inspired cuisine wasn't the issue.

How could I forget the Spam!

As one of the owners of a group of 18 Mexican themed restaurants in the Midwest I've got to report that despite the relative low costs to prepare Mexican(ish) food, current price increases on many items are reducing our profits substantially. This is a tough time to be in the restaurant business. Our guests are loyal, we're doing fine, but it's very risky to get into this business especially right now.

On 2011-05-02 21:22, christiki295 wrote:

How could I forget the Spam!

I don't know, how could anyone forget the Spam? Hormel certainly hasn't.

On 2011-05-03 14:26, Bongo Bungalow wrote:
As one of the owners of a group of 18 Mexican themed restaurants in the Midwest I've got to report that despite the relative low costs to prepare Mexican(ish) food, current price increases on many items are reducing our profits substantially. This is a tough time to be in the restaurant business. Our guests are loyal, we're doing fine, but it's very risky to get into this business especially right now.

Sorry to hear about the business troubles, Bongo. I guess things really are bad all over. Gas and oil prices way up, thus increase the costs of food, etc. Add so many out of work or working for much less (over 22 out of every 100 people here in Cali), savings are depleted, disposable income evaporated, and eating out is becoming more and more of a rare treat.

It must be worse for business owners being hit on one side by the cost increases on replacement inventory, employees wanting increases in pay to keep up with their rising costs of living on another, and hit from behind by politicians that treat the business owner as an adversary (a message constantly reinforced in the media), all while their clientele spend less or quit visiting coupled with the shrinking profit margins hitting them in the face. I feel for you.

Bear :drink:

I found a name for it:

The founder of the (West of Texas) Chuys chain attempted just what you describe.
They were called the Kona Steak rooms.

Great concept, nice atmosphere, reasonable prices.

They were very poorly managed and poorly promoted by some odd ducks and eventually folded, as are most his Chuy's chain locations that are still company owned.
BTW:
He, his son, and their CPA were just arrested for tax evasion and several other serious felonies.

On 2011-03-18 13:40, telescopes wrote:
Here's my thought. We have lots of discussions about tiki bars and starting something wonderful. But what about a restaurant?

. . .
I'm thinking something like "South Seas Prime Steak and Seafood". Wouldn't a concept like that bring in more regular customers while allowing the restaurant to present a tiki - south seas theme.

Its all about location! Lets have them all over, so of like the faux-Tiki Islands.
Maybe we can use Chucks as an example:

I like "Surf & Sirloin"!

I like "Surf & Sirloin" as well. I keep trying to play with possible name combinations in my head, like "Beef & Reef" Or how about named for a fictitious proprietor? Like "Tiki Tenderloin's" or "Bamboo Brisket's" for instance? Hey, it worked for "Fudrucker's" didn't it?

Bear

[ Edited by: Brudda Bear 2011-05-04 21:08 ]

I picked this up last weekend and thought i'd put it here. I've seen next to nothing from this place then it shows up about as far away, in the lower 48, that you could be. Really sorry about the picture quality but I'm still learning how to do imaging stuff.


wow that's a bad image. But it's all I got for now.
tikicoma

OK, you win, "Beef 'n' Reef" beats "Surf & Sirloin"! :lol:

...but then, there will always be "STEAK ISLAND"!!! :P

Or maybe, "South Seas Steaks"

or, making the old new again,
the exotic sounding "Tonga Lei."

These names merely add to the made-up escapism as I don't believe there are any cattle ranches in the South Pacific.

But, in Hawaii, such is not the case as Parker Ranch, the US' largest ranch, resides:
http://hawaiicam.com/index.php/hawaiicam/more/quick_wheres_the_largest_cattle_ranch_in_the_us/

So, how about, "The Big Island Beef Hut" of the more common, "Big Island Bar & Grill."

[i]On 2011-05-18 07:56, christiki295 wrote:
So, how about, "The Big Island Beef Hut" of the more common, "Big Island Bar & Grill."

Big Island Bar & Grill may be taken:

On 2011-05-18 07:32, bigbrotiki wrote:

...but then, there will always be "STEAK ISLAND"!!! :P

Steak Island, that's the one I was thinking of... The matchbook.

DC

I was voted off the first episode of Steak Island!

As for SPAM, see my fabulous items on eBAY!

[i]On 2011-05-18 08:48, Dustycajun wrote:

Steak Island, that's the one I was thinking of... The matchbook.

So, Bali Hai becomes a chain of coastal, bayside restaurants?

How about this one, the South Seas Steer Room!

Moai Hook'm Horns.

DC

Here's a recent find...another George's Surf & Sirloin match cover.

Notice this one mentions the "Beachcomber Room" and includes all the classic motifs--shoreline, palm trees, wahine in skirt, raised hut, sea bird, spears, wood, etc.
And, dig the ultra-cool abstract "brush stroke" graphics.
Does "light entertainment" mean the band is a bunch of skinny guys??? HEY-O!

Nothin' says Tiki like Waco, Texas!!!

Jon Paul,

Great matchbook, like you said it's got it all. Would love to see some close ups of each side.

Here is another steak house concept that was popular when I was a kid - the broil your own - this one is the Tiki Broiler from the International Market Place in Waikiki.

Just grab the misses, put on lei and do some indoor grilling.

And, the secrets to success, a cocktail lounge and moderate prices.

We still have a broil your own place just south of Santa Barbara in the little beach town of Carpinteria called The Palms.

It's actually a fun dinner experience.

DC

How about one that serves strong drinks? You could call it Buzz's! From Hawaii at the Reef Lanais hotel.

Must have - dark bar with Tikis and outriggers hanging from the ceiling.

There is a Buzz's still operating on Kauai

Now that's a South Seas steak house.

DC

the steak and seafood tiki theme is alive and well (at least in hawaii). here are 2 of the more famous ones (both with cool tiki decor); just can't seem to find any decent photos.

http://www.mamasfishhouse.com/

http://www.haleiwajoes.com/111111_hjoes_index.html