Reflecting on the past year -- and updating Critiki ratings

As the year draws to a close, it's a great time to think back on all the great (and not-so-great) tiki hotspots you've visited in 2005. While doing so, consider taking a short moment to add your ratings on these places to Critiki! Also -- Critiki remembers your ratings, and lets you adjust them later, so you can update your ratings as your opinions shift.

Case in point -- I used to have the Trader Vic's San Francisco location rated as being a tad mediocre in the Drink Quality category, and after spending some more time there after the hiring of Martin, I've upped my rating to a 10.

http://www.critiki.com

If you've forgotten your password for Critiki, email me from the account you registered under, and I will grant you a new, temporary password.

Team midnite, celebrating another losing season (but we're a plucky bunch), just returned from a no-holds barred, I no speaka da english, dine and dash, whirlwind tour of Dublin, Ireland and the greatest city in the world: London UK! Christmas Eve was spent enjoying the totally bitchin' environs of London's Trader Vic's. We downed some quite nice cocktails and I arm wrestled several Arab Sheiks. Not sure, but I believe I now own several hectares southeast of Riyadh, camels included. It's not that I am any arm rasslin' fiend, but I do have a certain advantage, as I use my left hand.

London Vic's was its usual glorious self, the best decor in a Vic's I've visited, and now my fave Vic's (so long, Chicago). Good drinks, mediocre wait staff and lots of single women. Funny, but for some reason London's Vic's is ever so popular with attractive single wimmen. They were all sufficiently impressed by my arm wrestling skills, but to their dismay, the captain was not available...that night!

So, the best Tiki place in '05 goes to the last visited, London's Vic's. Chicago would get the nod, but I never got a standing "O" (insert double entendre here) from a bunch of high-pound working girls in the Chicago Vic's. Take that!, Abdul, you guys got the oil...but in Amer-hica we made "Over the Top". U-S-A! U-S-A!!

and after spending some more time there after the hiring of Martin,

I second that motion! The man can mix a drink so good it makes you go home and slap your Mother! Which is no easy feat for me, seeing that Mom bought the farm in '98. We're still talking about a certain libation from the old Lanai... superb! Martiki behind the bar makes a world of difference for our local Vic's. Now, if they could just get a few more Ladies in theer like Lon...

midnite, esq., Sultan of wrist wrestling, landed gentry of Saudi Arabia.

I think my favorite tiki moment of the year goes to the late night Waitiki set at the Mai Kai during Hukilau.
I yelled my voice out - like - to where it wouldn't work for a few days and I wasn't even drinking.

Wow, as I think back there were a lot of cool ones this past year. Hard to believe really with all the down time I had.

Hawaiian Inn.
Julians.
D.C. Tiki Pool with ikitnrev.
The Polynesian display at the Smithsonian.
Tiki Ti.
Mauna Kea's bar.
New Otani's bar.
Bamboo Ben's shop.
Castaway Lounge.
Place of Refuge.
London Vics (Mos of those lovely singles were 'looking for work' according to my gracious hosts, The Kon Hemsbys).
Atlanta Vics.
Prolly some more I'm leaving out.

My biggest tiki regret is missing out on the Purple Orchid. I got so comfy at Dr. Z's place I missed even the last call.
Next time.

Sorry if this thread got hijacked, kaikaina.
Here, I'll get back on track: I guess I need to go into Critiki and update all of these places.

Vern, what was the name of that tiki pool hall and Chinese restaurant we went to?

... mr tiki mai tai lounge... lame... mai tai should be called the "mai tiny"...

... the female waitstaff is way overdressed... the bartenders should be silenced and hidden from view altogether... maybe robot bartenders that look like gigantor...

instead of robot bartenders, what about bartenders with big moai heads like in SHAG paintings?

... as long as they don't speak...