Minnesota's new Tiki Bar!

On 2003-11-06 23:31, Lake Surfer wrote:
I also think it has too much of a "mall restaurant chain" look... i.e. Rainforest Cafe, Planet Hollywood... etc. It looks like a jump on the bandwagon business venture that won't last long... especially in the Midwest.

Well put.

Big Tikis = good.
THESE big tikis = (simulate intense vomiting).

Call me a cynic, but as soon as I head that it was going to be in a mall, I envisioned almost precisely what I later saw in the pics.

Thanks for posting the pics, it'll save me a trip...

The real issue here is that from this point forward, THIS is what 95% (or more) of people will think of when they think of 'Tiki'. The 'old-skool' Tiki as seen in BOT - the Tiki that most (or all) TC-ers know and love - will become even more obscured and forgotten as places like this new Mall Tiki and it's contemporaries like the Kahunaville chain redifine Tiki for the masses.

I don't know if they are in Tiki Roadtrip, but in Milwaukee we have two cocktail lounges... "At Random" and "Bryant's." They serve many specialty drinks... many that are found in any tiki bar. But they stick to their guns and are a "swank lounge" environment. I'll patronize them for a good drink even without the tiki, though I'll miss it for sure.

At Random is in TRT, and your appraisal concurs with my own. I took TheJab there after Exotica a few months back. I think that although it isn't Tiki, their Mai Tai and Tiki Love Bowl will satisfy most TC members, and the atmosphere is indeed as swank as they come. Bring your night-vision glasses...

On 2003-11-07 10:25, ikitnrev wrote:
I do get a small perverse thrill from the possibility of riding the NASCAR race simulators (located in the mall) one moment, and then drinking a mai-tai in a custom mug 5 minutes later.

Just don't reverse the order of those activites, Vern, or else...

(Once again simulate vomiting!)

I'm getting some serious deja vu looking at those tikis. Yikes!

I have to laugh at some of you guys. You all are way too serious about all of this! First this restaurant is cute, though a bit too Rainforest-ish for sure, but better than another TGIFs. Secondly the Tiki bars or yore were also a mish-mash of pan-pacific culture and bally hoo. This has been acknowledged in Sven's book by those who worked in them. Why is this place so much worse than say Danny Balsz's The Tikis? I am sure some of you will come up with an answer to that, so please don't, because it is merely reflective of how seriously you guys seem to take all of this. As if it were some sort of personal attack on your own self perception of yourself. Sort of like teenagers talking about pop music. :roll: Sorry this is about one thing in my book, FUN! And I have been to the tropical Pacific many times (including sailing across it both ways) all of the Caribbean (sailed it TOO many times), Latin America, Southern Asia etc. etc. I even half grew up in Key West and still live here (Jimmy Buffet’s M’ville and all, and BTW locals loath Jimmy) So yes I know the difference. Bottom line is if you REALLY feel so strongly about the “correct” perception of Tiki, maybe some of you should put your money where your mouth is and open your own swank Tiki bar.... I know I am trying to! :D

the word Tiki emanated from the South Pacific; first with the Maori of present-day New Zealand and later to Tahiti/Bora Bora/Cook Island and the Austral Islands (it loosely means "first man")

This is interesting as I thought the word came from the Marquesas and the Polys mirgrated from Tahiti TO New Zealand about 600 years ago and Hawaii around 1200 years ago. As if this really matters since it's use for the Poly-pop bars of the post war era probably came from Thor H.'s naming his boat the Kon Tiki.

Even though I agree with some of you to some degree I think there is a serious need for some of ya to lighten up! :P

[ Edited by: Rattiki on 2003-11-07 18:40 ]

What I find most sad about the restaurant is that the parent restaurant, Famous Dave's, which is next door, gave me a strong sense of "tikiness" even though it is a north woods hunting lodge design. It is warm and inviting--the kind of place you could spend several hours in and forget that you are in a huge shopping mall. The care that went into the rib joint was replaced by some weird sort of fiberglass and neon paint commercialism.

Mike

Man, you all are 'Bongin' way to much on this one. Jeez, I swear if Bong made the same comments... I know I play 'victim' some times, but seriously folks...

So what you're saying is 'tiki' must fit some sort of 'police profile' to be taken seriously. If 99.99999% of the non-Tiki Central people enjoy it - they're wrong (?)

So what you're saying is 'tiki' must fit some sort of 'police profile' to be taken seriously.

Why can't we all just get along?

Let's just call it Old School Tiki and New School Tiki. OST is what you are all into. NST is what the Majority is into.

It's also a catch 22. Why are there only a handfull of OST joints still around? And, how many NST joints are there?

And finally, how many of you out there do this for a living??? (full time)

p.s. I love your point, Bong.

[ Edited by: revbambooben on 2003-11-07 22:26 ]

Hmmmm, I was gonna post but I'll leave it with the above. Can't bore you with "Ben's dreads to the middle of his back when we were married 14 years ago" story.
Chill people.
Aloha Mon!!!!!!!!!!!
PS....Please, never bring Marley into a conversation with "garbage" in the content. That's just not human and if you don't see it, you don't get it; none of it.

"...Why can't we all just get along? "

I knew I wasn't the only one slippin in a little dub between the Denny and Lyman.

[ Edited by: Basement Kahuna on 2003-11-08 19:48 ]

On 2003-11-07 14:39, tikibars wrote:
At Random is in TRT, and your appraisal concurs with my own. I took TheJab there after Exotica a few months back. I think that although it isn't Tiki, their Mai Tai and Tiki Love Bowl will satisfy most TC members, and the atmosphere is indeed as swank as they come. Bring your night-vision glasses...

At Random is an amazing bar with mixologists who know who to make (and take the time to make) great cocktails. The decor is great beyond words. Many thanks to JT for taking me there and putting it in his book. I would rejoice if such a bar was in my area.

To get back to the topic, those tikis are butt-ugly!

Don't worry if you don't like the new crop of tiki bars. They'll all be gone in a few years when the tiki trend becomes passe. But the original tiki bars will still be going strong if most of the folks on Tiki Central have anything to do about it. It's more than a trend with us so we care about the decor, the atmosphere, and the drinks. Maybe we could lighten up but I guess we're pretty passionate about it. Nothing wrong with that in my opinion.

And it wasn't Buffet or Marley or Belafonte, it was Hemingway way back in the 1930s, and Desi Arnaz in the 1940s, with Tito Puente and others right behind him, that really spurned the public's interest in Caribbean culture and travel.

To get back to the topic, those tikis are butt-ugly!

I think they're a laugh, very cartoonish as Tiki was meant to be and was even defined in Sven's book.

It's more than a trend with us so we care about the decor, the atmosphere, and the drinks. Maybe we could lighten up but I guess we're pretty passionate about it. Nothing wrong with that in my opinion.

It reminds me of guys who get upset because they don't like the newer style of old classic car restoration (pro street etc.) because they feel it degrades the classic look or 'aura' of the vehicle blah blah blah.... :roll: Why get uptight about something so whimsical as Tiki?

And it wasn't Buffet or Marley or Belafonte, it was Hemingway way back in the 1930s, and Desi Arnaz in the 1940s, with Tito Puente and others right behind him, that really spurned the public's interest in Caribbean culture and travel.

THIS IS SO TRUE! If you want to get the feel for the golden era of Cuba and the Caribbean, listen to the Cuban/Latin/Carib music of the 40's & 50's. Especially the Cuban big band jazz of Tito Puente and more importantly Dezi Arnez (yes he was quite a successful musician before he met Lucy). Those guys cooked, I mean screaming! We have a local AM Spanish station called Radio Tropical and almost all they play is this stuff.

Also to go along with my collection of pre-Castro goodies in my 'tiki hut' I am looking for an old wooden earily 60's style console hi-fi to play my Cuban jazz records on. :D

BTW Don the Beachcomber had a map of the Caribbean on one side of his menu and one of the Pacific on the other. This is NOT a new concept, Tiki was a bastard child from the beginning.

[ Edited by: Rattiki on 2003-11-08 00:52 ]

Ohhh, Rat.... I won't respond, man. You're taking a fast boat into very impassioned territory here, like a snake crashing a mongoose party. Everybody has fun here, man, but most like me kiss the rings of the Dons as we pass by. It's only right.

There are good cartoon style Tikis and there are bad ones, these are clearly bad. It's a matter of style, you either got it or you don't, they don't. The mish mash of Pacific Island styles that classic Tiki had is not a free-for-all for abominations like these, or the Jimmy Buffet beer can holding Tikis.

I did not have enough room in the BOT, but I pointed out here before that the use of garish colors on Tikis is a sign of TIKI DEVOLUTION, which began in the 80s when proprietors were loosing business and tried to lighten up the darkness of their godheads.
But primitive art is meant to be dark, brooding, archetypal, not happy and jolly. To add a touch of whimsy is what made American Tiki style what it was, but when there is no trace of the original heritage left, as in this case, it is not Tiki, classic or nouveaux, it's...it's...DISGUSTING @&$#%!!!

Sorry, I lost my intellectual detachment there....

On 2003-11-09 01:33, bigbrotiki wrote:
There are good cartoon style Tikis and there are bad ones, these are clearly bad. It's a matter of style, you either got it or you don't, they don't.......... that the use of garish colors on Tikis is a sign of TIKI DEVOLUTION, which began in the 80s when proprietors were loosing business and tried to lighten up the darkness of their godheads.
But primitive art is meant to be dark, brooding, archetypal, not happy and jolly. To add a touch of whimsy is what made American Tiki style what it was, but when there is no trace of the original heritage left, as in this case, it is not Tiki, classic or nouveaux, it's...it's...DISGUSTING @&$#%!!!

OK I agree, colors are a bit much, and dark and brooding they should be. Though I prefer it to just another TGIFs at the mall.

On 2003-11-08 19:43, Basement Kahuna wrote:
Ohhh, Rat.... I won't respond, man. You're taking a fast boat into very impassioned territory here, like a snake crashing a mongoose party. Everybody has fun here, man, but most like me kiss the rings of the Dons as we pass by. It's only right.

BK after I saw your work on this thread https://tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?topic=5629&forum=7&41 I can understand your being a bit of a purist, but I have never been one to kiss rings.

Unlike most of you guys, I am SURROUNDED by tropo kitch on a daily basis. It lines the streets of Key West, from the over priced shops on Duval St. to the very houses that people dwell in. So I am used to shurgging and laughing it off. Why? Because most of us know what the real thing is and the slow, thick majority don't. Hell, these people think Fajitas and nachos are a Mexican food, and that Key West is an exotic destination! :roll:

Rat,
Key Wasted is one of my favorite places on earth to visit. I'm sort of envious. But I'm not sure I could actually live there...at least not until my kids are grown up. There is definitely a cool vibe down there...do you still notice/feel it?

On 2003-11-09 13:27, Tiki Mon wrote:
There is definitely a cool vibe down there...do you still notice/feel it?

Yes of course, we are part of that "vibe" and it is one of the reasons we still stay. :wink:

On 2003-11-10 05:02, Rattiki wrote:

On 2003-11-09 13:27, Tiki Mon wrote:
There is definitely a cool vibe down there...do you still notice/feel it?

Yes of course, we are part of that "vibe" and it is one of the reasons we still stay. :wink:

Ah, Key West, a little drinking town with a fishing problem...

[ Edited by: DaneTiki 2009-08-30 19:16 ]

BTW Don the Beachcomber had a map of the Caribbean on one side of his menu and one of the Pacific on the other. This is NOT a new concept, Tiki was a bastard child from the beginning.

[ Edited by: Rattiki on 2003-11-08 00:52 ]

You all know it's true even if you don't want to admit it.... You'd be lost with out our rums.

One may also notice that Don's image appears happily, reflectively facing the Pacific on the front side, but is very noticeably absent on the back Carribean side. True. Check it. :)

On 2003-11-05 13:04, Basement Kahuna wrote:
Yeah...something about the Carribean that just reminds me too much of mud, poverty, bad pot, stinky people, death squads, trash, run-down buildings, and getting tortured by the Maquuut. Fuck Buffet. Give me South Pacific every time.

Dude, Sounds like you got a serious case of Pacific envy....

Hawaii's got:

1. red dirt that doesn't wash out
2. poverty if you look in the right places
3. good pot -- but so does Jamaica
4. stinky people? Not sure about that one
5. locals grinding on the haoles (not really death squads, but close if you're in the wrong place with the wrong people)
6. rubbish
7. International Marketplace is getting kinda rundown I hear
8. Wo Fat
9. Fuck Liz Damon and the Orient Express
10. And, Hawaii's got lots of black flies just like the Carribean.

One good thing Hawaii's got that the Carribean doesn't have is hula dancers, but those wacky afro-islanders have steel drums and that crazy limbo dancing. And, if you keep talking stink about the west indies remember they just might have some VOODOO for you!!!

Aloha from the Sunshine State!

[ Edited by: Kailuageoff on 2003-11-12 11:02 ]

On 2003-11-12 10:59, Kailuageoff wrote:

Hawaii's got:
8. Wo Fat

Not for the last couple of years anyway. I'll never forget the time the family and I thought we were going to eat at Wo Fat's. We open the door and start to walk up the stairs. 2 very large Hawaiian guys come bolting down and shout 'what are you doing here?' to which we said we were going to eat. They shout 'Wo Fat's' is closed.

There seemed to be some shady business going on upstairs, but I wasn't going to ask...

Sounds pretty kreepy Bong.

You should have flashed your Five-O badge and said menacingly, "Book 'im, Dano".

Of course, then they would have had to kick your a** in front of your wife and ruin the whole thing. Maybe da locals do qualify as death squads... (Our boy Gecko excluded.)

On 2003-11-05 13:04, Basement Kahuna wrote:
Yeah...something about the Carribean that just reminds me too much of mud, poverty, bad pot, stinky people, death squads, trash, run-down buildings, and getting tortured by the Maquuut. Fuck Buffet. Give me South Pacific every time.

Damn BK I didn't notice this before. Where have you been in the Caribbean and the Pacific? I have seen all these things, the good, the bad and the ugly, in both areas. But I do agree with "Fuck Buffet"! :P

On 2003-11-12 10:59, Kailuageoff wrote:
One good thing Hawaii's got that the Carribean doesn't have is hula dancers, but those wacky afro-islanders have steel drums and that crazy limbo dancing.

You know when the hula was a VERY sexual dance (half naked with strong pelvic movment, and maybe some ritual sex to boot), before the missionary schmucks banned it (and Tikis) and then it was brought back as a long, green skirted, slow snooze fest with all those hypnotic hand movements (like that boring Khmer/Thai crap) it would have been a worthy advisary to Samba, Salsa, Merenge, Mambo/Rumba etc. But not anymore! If you want to try something "good", find yourself a Latina/Afro/Carib dance partner/instructor in Cuba, the DR, Columbia, Brasil (preferably with a big 'bunda') or anywhere else in the Caribbean!

My favorite dance instructor of Rio Carnaval '99!

[ Edited by: Rattiki on 2003-11-12 21:02 ]

Helloooo Kitty. Meeee-ow!

Hey Rattiki,
Why don't you come to the Hawaiian Inn in Daytona Beach in January? I know it will be a bit cold way up north, but you should try to make it. I dig the Puente, Prado sounds as well, and play them on a '63 Grundig stereo.
Aloha,
KG

[ Edited by: Kailuageoff on 2003-11-12 14:38 ]

Nepenthes,
May the mana of the islands and the graces of Ku be upon you. I have been waiting for this.

[ Edited by: filslash 2008-09-06 19:05 ]

All this hollerin' (as we call it where I'm from) about what's wrong with the Caribbean and what makes True Tiki gets me to thinkin'... What are you people Drinkin'? I mean... Do they not serve at least Five different Daquiris at Trader Vic's? And what's with that Falkland Islands Warmer? Coffee Diablo? Mmmmmmmmm... Havana Gold... Jamaica Float... As a matter of fact TV's Cocktail Menu describes Planter's Punch as "A tropical tradition... Jamaican formula from Montego Bay." Isn't a Zombie the product of Afro/Caribbean Voodoo?

That doesn't even scratch the surface. Where'd all this Chinese stuff come from (Eastern Sour, Chinese Itch, Hai Karate, Happy Buddha)? Why do we allow those idiots to drink Singapore Slings in our favorite Tiki Bars, for Christ's sake?

Suffering Bastards!!!

It may be true that Tiki is FROM the South Pacific but it's HERE now and has been, well, compromised since the day it arrived. There is a difference between a Tiki and a Tiki Mug. Perhaps we should all pack up our bars and drink nothing but pineapple juice and coconut milk from now own.

Damn. I'm sure gonna miss that occasional London Sour...

[ Edited by: Traitor Vic on 2003-11-25 00:59 ]

I thought this thread was old, tired, and dead?

On 2003-11-25 00:04, filslash wrote:
Aloha,

The hula is stilll very hot, and amazing. And so is she...but, lets point the right finger...

I have no degree, but I have a Hawaiian History school book. Published in 1939, and part of a book rental fund called "Old Time Hawaiians" by Mary S. Lawrence.

pp.140-144-Briefly...

KAMEHAMEHA II, WHO OVERTHREW IDOLATRY.

Liholiho, Kamehameha II was born in Hilo.

1919-

Ten days after the first Kamehameha's death he became King. Kaahumanu, the former kings wife, and his mom asked him to abolish the tabus. Remember some high chiefs, and priests had lost faith already. There was a huge luau, Liholiho got a bit drunk...He ate next to his mother, and let mans food be offered to the women, and visa-versa, a tabu...The gods did not strike everyone dead, and so the old ways were over. Some didn't agree, and raised army's. Many died.

1820-

Missionaries arrive...

The kapu of women eating in front of men was broken by him but the destruction of Hawaiiian culture was due to the western influence and the strong belief by the missionaries that Hawaii's culture of surfing, hula, public nudity, open adultury and ritual sex were all major sins. The hula of old was a very sexual dance and doesn't look anything like the modern hula, in movement or dress. Read Blue Horizons or other books about the tropical Pacific before the Prodestant Missionaries came and ruined the exotic and erotic Pacific cultures. At one time the Polynesian cultures were considered the most openly sexual in the world. Now many of the smaller Pacific Islands are more socially conservative than a Baptist Bible Belt dry county and you have to go to Rio or Havana to experience such debatch delights! :wink:

Do a search on the hula and you will find such things as this, and many other articles about the subject.
http://www.blackmagic.com/ses/surf/papers/surfhistory.html

[ Edited by: Rattiki on 2003-11-25 09:24 ]

I thought this thread was old, tired, and dead?