If you could. . .

Alright everyone, if you could travel back in time and attend any tiki establishment at any time, what year and which establishment would you travel back to??

Wesley
(I need a more tiki name!)

Hmmm, probably the Beverly Hills TV's back in "the day".

I'd require seating in the Celebrity Room, natch, if my time travel wish were complete.
The table next to Frank's, please.

Of course, an early Donn Beach would be fun to have behind the bar at his first (very) little spot.

........Nah, Frank.

I think the Bali Hai (San Diego) in its heyday. I was a youngster then, so wasn't able to take advantage of all the great food and drinks. That whole Treasure Island was hopping in Poly-Pop/Cocktail and it was just a wonderful place to be. I grew up in San Diego and do miss it....some day, may rob a bank and get back there. I had a 10-year HS Reunion at the Bali Hai and it was so much fun. It just feels comfy/home there to me. :)

Would you really need to ask? I'd want to be in Baltimore Maryland during the heyday of the Hawaiian Room at the Emerson Hotel. I would love to be there to take in the floor show, have a Headhunter in a take home mug, steal a menu, postcards and whatever ephemera they had lying around and most importantly take lots and lots of pictures. Being that it took me nearly 5 years to uncover a glimpse of its interior I'd document every square inch of the place for posterity!

Ooh, ooh! wait!
A certain little spot in Fort Worth, about nineteen sixty beehive.

I'd be sure and get my photo snapped sipping out of a certain decapitated head drinking vessel and hold onto the photo, making sure to give a future author of tiki books a copy :wink:

And I'd make sure to grab a severed head or 5 on my way out the door, thus insuring my grandchildren's college education.....

I was fortunate to be able to visit some of the classic West Coast tiki places in their heydays...places like Trader Vic's Beverly Hills, and Don The Beachcomber's Hollywood, and Bali Hai and many others. I have my dad to thank for the very early days. He loved places like that, and my brother and I often got to tag along. I didn't really appreciate them for what they were back then. And even later visiting as a young adult, I was mainly interested in the quick effects that those "fruity tropical drinks" had on my dates. :wink:

Of all of them (that I really know about to date) that I never visited and wished I had...is Don The Beachcomber's at the International Marketplace in Waikiki. I did get to visit Vic's place upstairs there in later years...but never that Don's in it's heyday. I think that would have been great!

April 28, 1961 - The day that the Tiki Ti opened to the public. This is partly because I was born one week earlier, and I would love to go back and see what the world was like when I was born.

It would be interesting to see the original mugs used at the Tiki Ti that night, and perhaps I could persuade Ray Buhens to autograph one for me. It would be fun to order a drink that night directly from Ray himself, saying, with a sense of foreshadowing ..."Don't Make a Mistake, Ray"

Vern

You had to ask! That's a good one. I am sorry, but I have a whole list:

In order of desirability (all in the early 60s, when these where really hopping):

1.) The Luau in Beverly Hills
2.) Ren Clark's Polynesian Village
(...and then I myself could take that headhunter mug photo of you, Alice, and make sure it's lit perfectly :) )
3.) The Lanai in San Mateo
4.) The original Kona Kai in Philadelphia
5.) Aloha Jhoe's in Palm Springs
6.) Tiki Gardens in Florida
7.) The original Kon Tiki (Ports) in Montreal, Chicago and Dallas
8.) Kapu Kai in Rancho Cucamonga
9.) Hawaiian Village in Tampa
10.) South Pacific in Hallandale
11.) Kon Tiki Hotel in Phoenix
12.) Zamboanga in L.A. (in the early 50s)
13.) Zombie Vilage in Oakland
14.) Hawaii Kai in N.Y.
15.) The Islander in Stockton
16.) Mauna Loa in Mexico City
17.) Makai Lounge at the Mar Vista Bowl
18.) Christian's Hut on Balboa Island
19.) The Beachcomber at the Mayfair Hotel, London
20.) ...and perhaps, just maybe, the pool at the Playboy Mansion in Chicago, ca. 1967 :D

...and so on!

Places I was fortunate to have been to, and would go again and again, but would now need a time machine to do so :( :

1.) Kahiki in Columbus
2.) Tahitian Lanai in Waikiki
3.) The Tikis in Lake Elsinore
4.) The Islands in San Diego
5.) Tiburon Tommy's near S.F.
6.) Trader Vic's San Francisco (on Cosmo Place), Chicago, and Portland
7.) Chin Tiki in Detroit (gone now or not?)

Some of the few precious places still in existence that truly FEEL like you stepped into a time machine:

1.) Mai Kai in Fort Lauderdale
2.) Hala Kahiki in Chicago
3.) Tiki Ti in L.A.
4.) Tonga Room in S.F.
5.) Trader Vic's in Munich and Atlanta

Sorry for going nuts like this, but I really do wanna go to ALL.....however, I encourage you to continue with specific and individual phantasies like Vern's on this thread, that's very evocative.

[ Edited by: bigbrotiki 2007-05-30 03:56 ]

-to go back to when I was living in Pittsburgh (pre-tiki interest) and make the journey to Columbus to see the KAHIKI. Seems such a legendary establishment for those of us on the Eastern side of the country.

-the other, since my home state is Pennsylvania, would be to see PubTiki and the Philadelphia KONA KAI back in the 1960s. My Mom said, "Oh yeah, I remember that places. That's where you went for a really fancy date - like the end of exams or something." Would be curious to see what it was like because the photos look phenomenal. The Kona Kai (in name only) that closed recently seemed like a third- (not even half!) -hearted attempt at cashing in on what was a familiar name.

-Another would have to be to see an original Don the Beachcomber establishment. The thrill of seeing our tiki interest in its inception would be hard to beat!
~Rupe

It would be cool to go here...

...and get a predecessor of the Mai Tai served up by this guy...

...or maybe go someplace else and get trashed at the able hands of this guy...

Well... Would I be obvious if I said Tiki Gardens? I'd go back to that day I went when I must have been around 3 or 4 and order my parents to take at least one photo!

I'm going to pick the original Don The Beachcomber's on McCadden Place the day Victor Bergeron came in for inspiration. Since I will already have a time machine a digital camera wouldn't be out of the question. So I'll take some pictures.

Without a question Los Angeles, 1934 opening day: Don the Beachcombers

I love this question! Thanks for posting it, it's been fun reading everyone's responses so far, and to ponder my own.

My first thought was the Mauna Loa in Detroit. They spent anywhere from $1.6 million to $21 million to build it in 1967 (I've seen both numbers) -- that would be anywhere from $1 billion to $126 billion in today's dollars... whatever the real figure is, they apparently went all out on it. And just a year later, it was closed, and not very much is known about it today. But when I really think about it -- maybe there's a good reason not much is known about it. Maybe it was actually kind of lame. So no, I think I'd want to keep that one in the world of fantasy, a sort of tiki valhalla.

Then my mind turns to the early years of Don the Beachcomber in Hollywood... that surely would be something to see (and taste!). But then, tiki really started to turn into something cool when all these places were trying to top each other. It would be fascinating to see that very early incarnation, but I'm more enchanted with how it eventurally developed into something bigger.

And then, as often happens, my mind turns to the Mai Kai... ah... the Mai Kai. Yes, I think I'd like to go back to the Mai Kai, when it was really hoppin'. When it was full of people out for a fine night on the town, dressed to he nines, with Johnny Carson at his regular table, and nary a t-shirted tourist in sight.

Of course the cool part is that the next best thing -- going to the Mai Kai today -- is still within anyone's reach, sans time machine.

I'm sure in a few hours I'll think of some other place in the past that I simply must go visit.

Pantleys Pagan Hut, Depoe Bay Oregon.

The Trade Winds restaurant watching Don Ho in 1964. It was like traveling to a far off place , the polynesian floor review, rain storms, lagoon with the floating boat. I had been to Trader Vic's, Bamboo Room, Aku Aku, Don the Beachcomber's and other places many times as a child and I loved them all but my favorite place will always be the Trade Winds as it was a true theme resaurant inside and out.

Life is a state of mind

[ Edited by: Ojaitimo 2007-05-30 11:43 ]

Too easy

The Waikiki Room at the Nicollet Hotel in Minneapolis in the late 60's.
As a little kid I would get to go here once a year with my family and I always ordered the pressed duck.
Dining out was a big thing back then and to a kid this place was thousands of miles away from Minnesota.
Too bad I wasn't able to partake of the drinks back then :D

[ Edited by: Murph 2007-05-30 12:51 ]

I'll cheat and say: Southern California, 1960. Most of the grand tiki locations were around at that time, as well as a few bandwagon places. Must have been cool.

I've got a few, for different reasons...

The Lanai - San Mateo, CA
Never saw it, but I'm fascinated by it and envy those who did. I wanna see the diorama that changes from day to night.

Tahitian Terrace - Disneyland, CA
I've only got memories from the dinner show there, indelibly stamped on my wide-open adolescent eyeballs. I still have a shell necklace from a show there. Would love to see it in person again.

The Reef - Long Beach, CA
I'd like to see it before the TWO fires they had there. The modern incarnation has the Luau Room, but I wanna go back and see the original atmosphere. And taste a "Reef" cocktail at a time when the bartenders still knew how to make their own signature drink.

Barefoot Bar - Hawaii
I wanna set the time machine to a very precise destination, putting me on the spot right during the filming of the scene in the Hawaii Five-O pilot movie.

Tiki Bob's and Skipper Kent's - SF, CA
Wanna take a picture with the original Tiki Bob, and drink out of a Skipper Kent moai.

The original Hinky Dinks
Not sure how it was on atmosphere, but I'd just be really curious to see what it was like to hang out there.

-Randy

On 2007-05-30 09:19, Bora Boris wrote:
I'm going to pick the original Don The Beachcomber's on McCadden Place the day Victor Bergeron came in for inspiration.

Compared to Vic I was a little under-dressed but next to Donn I felt pretty good.

On 2007-05-30 11:19, Humuhumu wrote:
And then, as often happens, my mind turns to the Mai Kai... ah... the Mai Kai. Yes, I think I'd like to go back to the Mai Kai, when it was really hoppin'. When it was full of people out for a fine night on the town, dressed to he nines, with Johnny Carson at his regular table, and nary a t-shirted tourist in sight.

Ah... we are of one mind. That's exactly where my time machine is headed. In fact, let's dial it back to about 1960 and have a seat at the surfboard bar. We'll all laugh at how small the place looks before the additions that are to come later and how quiet this end of town is. And the ladies will have their hair all piled up high. And look, isn't that Mireille Thornton and Louise (soon-to-be-Kern's-Mom) Mattei over there getting ready to dance? Aren't they beautiful. Bartender, another Jet Pilot please. I'm not leaving this stool.

Whoosh... fast forward to today and the traffic is a lot worse getting here and the darn tourists in their shorts and flip-flops at such a fine place as this. But you know, it's still here. And the place looks great. And look, there's Mireille Thornton standing over there. Isn't she beautiful.

I would like to go back to 1944 (two whole years before I was born). . .and be sitting at the Oakland bar next to Trader Vic as he created the Mai Tai! I know I'd have asked if I could try one.

I'd go back to The Shell Bar in Waikiki in 1956, on that fateful night when Martin Denny and his boys were playing Les Baxter's 'Quiet Village' (before they began adding bird calls to their musical repertoire) and the frogs behind the stage croaked all the way through the song, and stopped croaking abruptly when the song ended. The band then repeated the song and added bird calls as an amusement and accompaniment to the frogs' croaking.

An open-air, exotic atmosphere under the stars, with tropical libations before they were corrupted, and live Exotica music in the making. Lovely! My time machine ticket, please!

The Tradewinds would be cool if only......I wonder if they made a good Mai Tai?

I would love to go back to Hawaii when I was 9 years old with my family and seeing Don Ho as well as The Society of Seven in concert. The only disappointment I had was my family not taking enough pictures and my father not saving his 1970's aloha shirts. Oh, I also loved going to Kono Hawaii near my house. Sad to see it gone.

Mahalo,

Tikitatt

On 2007-05-30 02:50, bigbrotiki wrote:
You had to ask! That's a good one. I am sorry, but I have a whole list:

In order of desirability (all in the early 60s, when these where really hopping):

1.) The Luau in Beverly Hills
2.) Ren Clark's Polynesian Village
(...and then I myself could take that headhunter mug photo of you, Alice, and make sure it's lit perfectly :) )
3.) The Lanai in San Mateo
4.) The original Kona Kai in Philadelphia
5.) Aloha Jhoe's in Palm Springs
6.) Tiki Gardens in Florida
7.) The original Kon Tiki (Ports) in Montreal, Chicago and Dallas
8.) Kapu Kai in Rancho Cucamonga
9.) Hawaiian Village in Tampa
10.) South Pacific in Hallandale
11.) Kon Tiki Hotel in Phoenix
12.) Zamboanga in L.A. (in the early 50s)
13.) Zombie Vilage in Oakland
14.) Hawaii Kai in N.Y.
15.) The Islander in Stockton
16.) Mauna Loa in Mexico City
17.) Makai Lounge at the Mar Vista Bowl
18.) Christian's Hut on Balboa Island
19.) The Beachcomber at the Mayfair Hotel, London
20.) ...and perhaps, just maybe, the pool at the Playboy Mansion in Chicago, ca. 1967 :D

...and so on!

Places I was fortunate to have been to, and would go again and again, but would now need a time machine to do so :( :

1.) Kahiki in Columbus
2.) Tahitian Lanai in Waikiki
3.) The Tikis in Lake Elsinore
4.) The Islands in San Diego
5.) Tiburon Tommy's near S.F.
6.) Trader Vic's San Francisco (on Cosmo Place), Chicago, and Portland
7.) Chin Tiki in Detroit (gone now or not?)

Some of the few precious places still in existence that truly FEEL like you stepped into a time machine:

1.) Mai Kai in Fort Lauderdale
2.) Hala Kahiki in Chicago
3.) Tiki Ti in L.A.
4.) Tonga Room in S.F.
5.) Trader Vic's in Munich and Atlanta

Sorry for going nuts like this, but I really do wanna go to ALL.....however, I encourage you to continue with specific and individual phantasies like Vern's on this thread, that's very evocative.

[ Edited by: bigbrotiki 2007-05-30 03:56 ]

I'm really fascinated by the Bigbro's Top 20 Wish List here so I decided to bump it.

I am curious as to why Ren Clark's place has such a prominent ranking. Aside from the highly collectible mug, what made this short lived place so special ?? There's very little historic visual documentation to indicate a sense of Tiki grandeur.

:-?