Chicago visit in February-where to go and what to do?

I am going to be in Chicago on business during the week of February 19th and will spend the 23rd-25th looking around for tiki.

Please let me know the best places to go for food, drinks and to purchase vintage tiki in the area. I know there is still a Trader Vics in Chicago. Does anyone know if they have mugs for sale there? Any other suggestions for tiki establishments that sell mugs or have good drinks and food?

Also, I wanted to know if there are any places that sell vintage tiki?

Thanks,

Psycho Tiki D (I know you are and so am I)

http://www.tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?topic=18335&forum=16

The Hala Kahiki is a definate must!!

[ Edited by: jamco 2007-01-25 19:11 ]

Trader Vic's closed on December 31, 2005.

Other than that, follow the link Jamco posted above; all of the info in that thread is still relevant, except for the TVics closing and also the only Tong's that is still really Tiki is the Villa Park one. But most people skip Tong's anyway unless they're being hyper-thorough.

I'll be out of town on gigs, returning on the afternoon of the 24th. As always, it isn't too hard to get me and the ol' Mobile Exploration Lab fired up for the mandatory 'dinner at the Chef followed by drinks at Hala Kahiki' run. I can drive too, if you need a lift to the burbs. Sunbday is better for this run; HK is crowded and loud on Saturdays these days.

Thanks for the link and information! Any suggestions on where to locate any cool vintage items to buy? Antique malls, shops, flea markets?

Thanking you all in advance!

PTD

Try Belmont St., between Ashland and Western. There are a few vintage shops there, including Vintage Deluxe and Night and Day Vintage. Tell 'em I sent ya'.
Try Broadway Antique Mall too (on Broadway, don't know the address - somewhere between 4800 and 6800).

Only Flea Market is waaaay out in Kane country, like 90 minutes drive.

[ Edited by: tikibars 2007-01-26 15:02 ]

tikibars,

What about Wolfes? Is this an indoor flea market? Do any of the tiki bars sell their mugs?

Again,

Thanks,

PTD

Hala Kahiki has a gift shop to check out, but the mugs they sell aren't the ones they use. They don't really serve in tiki mugs anymore, except Scorpion bowls and the big drink-for-two type bowls.

Wolfes? do you mean the hot dog stand? It is OK, but Super Dawg, Hot Doug's, and Wiener's Circle are all waaay better.

As Tonga Trader says, the mugs at HK gift shop are Dynasty-ish stuff, Tiki Terrace sometimes has some Tiki Farm stuff. No one has a custom mug.

I don't know much about the Kane County flea, look it up on line, it is huge. I never go. Trying to own less stuff, not more, these days...

Chef Shangri-La makes killer drinks...Get the Dr. Fong...2 of'em and you'll be well on your way.

On 2007-01-26 16:05, Psycho Tiki D wrote:
tikibars,

What about Wolfes? Is this an indoor flea market? Do any of the tiki bars sell their mugs?

Again,

Thanks,

PTD

wolfs is closed for the season and their indoor location is gone or has moved further to the southside......mainly sells newer products and brand name copies/knock-offs of stuff....no tiki.

also, vintage delux has permanently closed up shop....

On 2007-01-28 20:44, Tipsy McStagger wrote:
wolfs is closed for the season and their indoor location is gone or has moved further to the southside......mainly sells newer products and brand name copies/knock-offs of stuff....no tiki.
also, vintage delux has permanently closed up shop....

Dave, you're a fountain of news today.

When did Gabrielle close up the shop???
Did I miss a big clearance sale?

also, what IS Wolfe's? seems like soumething I ought to know about.

My father lives in the Chicago area and when I visited two years ago, he took me to Wolfes (indoor/outdoor flea market). My father wasn't/isn't up to speed on tiki but he thought they would have some stuff. I found some HIP/Polyart/Coco Joes items, tiki swizzle sticks, tiki matchbook covers and some old robots. This was in February as well, so the outdoor flea market wasn't going.

I did not have anytime to investigate the eateries or bars. He took me to some thrift shops, but I didn't find anything in any of these shops.

Now that I have some ideas, thanks to the help of fellow TC'ers, I can get the ball rolling with my dad. This will expedite my pursuit of my favorite past time, collecting and enjoying tiki, even though Chicago in February is a little on the cool side. Continue to give me more ideas if you think of any more!

Thanks for the help,

Psycho Tiki D (I know I am and will be even more so in Chicago)!

Which side of town? South side, North side, West Side, near/far, etc.

Check out the Tiki Terrace if you're up near Prospect Heights/Schaumburg.

All Harry Caray restaurants are serving Trader Vic's Mai Tais 'til a new Trader Vic's gets built.

Dad used to live in Bensenville, now in Addison. As long as the destination is with an hour, I am willing to go. Not sure where Addison is as far as north, south, east or west?

Thanks again,

PTD

Psycho Tiki D, here's a map centered on Addison that shows tiki in the area. If you zoom out a bit, you can get a feel for what's near & what's far:

Critiki Map of Addison

Hope that helps!

On 2007-01-29 13:13, tikibars wrote:

On 2007-01-28 20:44, Tipsy McStagger wrote:
wolfs is closed for the season and their indoor location is gone or has moved further to the southside......mainly sells newer products and brand name copies/knock-offs of stuff....no tiki.
also, vintage delux has permanently closed up shop....

Dave, you're a fountain of news today.

When did Gabrielle close up the shop???
Did I miss a big clearance sale?

also, what IS Wolfe's? seems like soumething I ought to know about.

wolf's flea market happens yearly in the all state arena parking lot from about may till early october?.....i've always found good tiki there, but ya gotta get up early if you want to beat "bamboolodge", duke carter and the owner of the sand bar( who leaves for the market after closing up the bar at 5.a.m. sunday morning!!).......luckily, they aren't there every weekend...if you get there and find tiki, it's a good sign you beat them to it or that they didn't show up.....otherwise, if you find no tiki, it's a good sign that they probably did and are already laughing their ass off all the way home.....

the indoor one rarely had anything tiki...i went for the cheap bootleg dvd's and stuff i can use to make art out of......

and yes, vintage deluxe had a their big week-long blowout sale a couple weeks back......i left behind a "pearl of wisdom" painting by august holland and a couple hanging shell/tapa lamps from the old rock-a-tiki, and about several mugs that i already had in my collection.....if you contact her, she may still have some of the stuff and sell it to you just to get it out of her house. she also had a bunch of hawaiian shirts.....

Thanks Humuhumu and all...

It looks like I will be going to the Hala Kahiki, Tiki Terrace and the Field Museum at the very least...still would like to know the secret spots to score some fine vintage tiki or Polynesian items?

I had some luck last time and was happy with the finds...would have liked to find some local area mugs!

What is the best night for the Hala Kahiki floor show? My options are Monday, Friday or Saturday?

Again and as always, Mahalo!

Psycho Tiki D (I know I am and always will be)!

Crap, wouldn't you know I forgot Duke Carter was in Chicago...I will still give him a run for his money! Anyhoo, I will post my findings when I return (that is if I have any findings, Mr. Duke Carter)!

O.K. Where is Duke Carter's store at?

Oh yeah, most of the antique store workers had no clue when they asked if they could help me find anything and I said "Yes, I am looking for tiki, Hawaiian or Polynesian items". They often did not know what I was talking about or showed me Alaskan totem pole carvings.

I did have some tremendous luck outside of Princeton IL in a huge mall there. Same responses from the clerks re: Alaskan items, but I was able to scour and find some decent mugs and salt and pepper shakers! "Oh, is that tiki"? You bet it was!

PTD (I will find something)!

[ Edited by: Psycho Tiki D 2007-01-29 18:27 ]

Hala Kahiki hs no floorshow.

[ Edited by: tikibars 2007-02-06 15:31 ]

On 2007-01-29 21:43, tikibars wrote:
Duke hs no store.

Hala Kahiki hs no floorshow.

...unless of course you have enough mai tais at chef shangri-la prior to going to Hala kahiki....... it's then entirely possible that YOU will end up being the floor show !!!

OK, OK, The Tiki Terrace, what is the best night for the show?? Monday, Friday or Saturday?

Duke Carter doesn't have a store? I bought a copy of his catalog "Tiki Quest". Oh wait, that wasn't a catalog? Drats, skunked again!

PTD

On 2007-01-30 06:05, Psycho Tiki D wrote:

Duke Carter doesn't have a store? I bought a copy of his catalog "Tiki Quest". Oh wait, that wasn't a catalog? Drats, skunked again!

PTD

Duke and Amy have a high-end Mid Century Modern Store/Show Room called Pegboard Modern, here is a link to their website... http://www.pegboardchicago.com or http://www.pegboardmodern.com

Hi All, I am going to be in Hoffman Estates this Friday on business with a free night on Friday. From what I see on the board, it looks like the Hali Kahiki is a must visit, the Tiki Terrace is good second alternative. I see a place called the Bamboo Room in Schaumburg...is it worth a visit or a pass. Thanks in advance.

Looks like there is no show at Tiki Terrace Friday - too bad, but they're usually booked up in advance anyway. You could grab some dinner there (I don't know how busy they are on non-show nites), then wrap it up at Hala Kahiki. You HAVE TO go to Hala Kahiki. There is no food at HK. Bamboo Room seems to be closed whenever I tried to go there. I gave up. My understanding is the only worthwhile part is a very small polynesian, possibly tiki, themed area within a larger night club type place.

On 2007-02-06 13:07, NautiTiki wrote:
Hi All, I am going to be in Hoffman Estates this Friday on business with a free night on Friday. From what I see on the board, it looks like the Hali Kahiki is a must visit, the Tiki Terrace is good second alternative. I see a place called the Bamboo Room in Schaumburg...is it worth a visit or a pass. Thanks in advance.

I haven't been to Bamboo Room since shortly after they opened.

At that time (ca. 3 years ago), they had excellent food, but a really trendy-clubby environment that was only barley tropical, let alone Tiki. On their upstairs level, hidden on a balcony, is a separate, small, Tiki bar, tucked away from the rest of the club. It is fairly nice looking and decently Tiki in there, but the drinks I had were not so hot. Go early in the night, the suburban clubsters will invade later.

Thanks for the help, I have made reservations for dinner at the Tiki Terrace and then off to the Hala Kahiki. I will try to add some pictures for Tiki Terrace for Critiki.

Cheers & Mahalo
NautiTiki

I'll be leaving bright and early tomorrow for the Windy City...Tiki Terrace on Saturday, Field Museum on Friday and everything else in between.

Hide your women and tiki!

Psycho Tiki D (I know I am, wait, only hide your women)!

Thanks for all the help...had a great time at both The Tiki Terrace and Hala Kahiki. Two very different interpretations of the same theme...but both were great fun. If you haven't seen Tiki Terrace yet, new pics are posted on Critiki.

Thanks again

Cheers

I am back after a week of work and play. And believe me, it was a long week!

First of all, thanks to those who suggested where to go.

On Friday, I went to the Field Museum and wandered around the Pacific Islands display they had there. Although it appeared that most of the displays were around New Guinea, I found them to be very well represented and I enjoyed all of the information and artifacts they out for view. This should definitely be a stop for anyone interested in learning and seeing tiki and island culture. The Maori House was probably my favorite. Spent the afternoon in Volo at an antique shop only to find four Kona Kai swizzle sticks. Also stopped at a resale shop and found a steel Primo Beer can.

Saturday morning my dad and I were up early to hit two Swap-O-Rama's and I did not find anything at either of them. Went to St. Charles antique stores and another bust for tiki (however I did pick-up two robots and two space ships). Another antique store yielded some really cool stuff I posted on the "Collecting Tiki" thread under "Tiki Finds".

Saturday night was the finale as a group of eight of us went to the Tiki Terrace and had drinks, dinner and saw the floorshow. It was my aunt's 72nd birthday and we had a blast! I ended up buying four tiki mugs and a couple of tee shirts. The food was good, the drinks were good, the entertainment was great and the snow came down!

I will need to go back when the weather is better and the tiki is plentiful.

Again, thanks for the info, I appreciated the help!

Psycho Tiki D (I know I am and I was freezing)!

Great thread...I will take advantage of it as I will be in Chicago at the end of June on business. Gonna hook up with a couple of girlfriends too and hopefully catch some TCers while there. I like Chicago, it is a real pretty city, so will be checking back to this thread for more Chicago news. :)