Tiki Ti and Trader Vic Beverly Hills

Tiki Ti

Trader Vic's

Great Pics!
Thanks for sharing.

What time were the Tiki Ti pics taken? Sure seems less crowded than the time we payed them a visit last year. Next time I'm in the States, I'd really love to go there again, but hopefully at a time I could actually talk to Mike & Mike, breath less smoke and not feel like i'm in a frat party.
The drinks sure were good!

Ran

P.S. (and OT) just noticed you're from Oceanside...on that same US visit, on the way back from a radio interview in LA (at around 02:00 Am) to Chula Vista, my wife and I were falling asleep at the wheel , we sure were glad to see Oceanside after miles and miles of unpopulated road. We payed a visit to "Sleepy the Bear" at the Travelodge. Paying $65 and sleeping there sure seemed a better idea than ending in a ditch ; )

Ran-

Next time be at the Tiki Ti at 6 when they open. You and a few others will have the place to yourself for at least an hour. After 7 people start coming in more frequently and it could be filled up quick. Thursday is the best day to go.

Nice pics Al. What camera do you use? How did you do the inside shots? When I take pictures inside it seems the foreground is too bright (from the flash) and the background is super dark.

Jab, I use an HP C30. I have trouble with light washout, light bounce back and contrast issues with the fore and back grounds. I have a couple cheats I do. The first is I'll cover the flash with tissue paper or a piece of bar napkin. Another technique is I'll cover up part of the flash with my finger. These tips regulate the light from the flash. since you can immediately check your photos you can add more or less light as you see fit. It works surprisingly well. Try it.

KTR, like El Jabbo says, getting there early makes all the difference.
Mahalo,
Al

[ Edited by: Alnshely on 2003-01-31 15:47 ]

Hey Al,

Love the pics. We spent our anniversary last year at Trader Vics but have not been to Tiki Ti's yet!

I wanna go in bad way!

i have been to tiki ti every friday night for the last month, and be there at 6pm is correct!. that place fills really fast!, but i take offence to" frat party", the only time it gets loud is when someone orders a "blood and sand" or an "ooga booga"!!!, and thats fun!.if its too loud, i know this place called dennys that has specials for seniors...........

twowheelin'tiki - Denny's - Ouch! :wink:
Well - I guess if you're a regular you don't mind being with a bunch of people you know having some loud fun...but if you come to see a Tiki bar for the first time, and you can hardly even get to the bar to get the drinks, let alone have any sorts of conversation with anyone, it can make you feel a little "on the outside". If you don't like smoke and the place is filled with smokers, I would say that you might feel a little uncomfy, to say the least. Plus, the place has so much history, as a first time goer you might wanna exchange a word or two with the owners (maybe mention the fact that you travelled, say from the middle east, to see their bar) but if the place is packed you won't bother them cause they're too busy.
So what might happen is that on your first visit you'll just have a quick look-see , get some drinks (which are great) and leave ASAP, and then come on Tiki-Central and ask when is a better time to come...
Hey, that's just what happend to me!

Mahalo
Ran

sorry reverb, i could not resist!.i will give you a real tip to make up for the dennys jab,go there on a wed eve and order a "rays mistake".........and since when would an isrealite be offended by smoke???, all my pals from the land-o-sand smoke like forest fires!, and i am talking both tribes here!.

Twowheelin' - thanks for the tip...I intend to try it next time I'm there.
I know what you're talking about regarding smokers here...My wife and I suffer so much because EVERYONE smokes! Playing in a band (having to perform in a smokey club) really deosn't help, either. I really hate being in smokey places and really liked the fact that most CA establishments are smoke free.
It's also funny how smokers here regard anti smoking laws (in public places) as hurting their right to do what what they want, yet they think it's totally acceptable to poison and stink other people around them.
Ran

yo reverb, are you in the sand land now?. also, how does a guy who i assume grew up in the holy land find out about tiki?.put down the galil and explain!, this has to be good!.

Wow, we really Hijacked this thread...sorry Al.
How did I find out about Tiki? (warning -long story that has no connection to this thread)
Well, let's put aside Easter Island stuff, Kon Tiki and everything similar (because I assume you meant Poly-Pop, and not real polyneasian history). Let's also put aside Disney's Tiki Room - because when I was 13 and went to Disney World i did not go to the Tiki room, although the images of the different "idols" scatterd around adventure land kinda stuck in my head (and were added to the old Disneyland viewmaster pics I had when I was 5).
So, I guess it really began with surf music (and how did I get to that? well- that's a story for another bulletin board :wink: ) - It must have started with a Bomboras CD I got, Shag and Mark ryden art and maybe some other CD's that I had. I had ordered some albums from the States and in the package there were extra promo posters - Christmas on Big Island (Blue Hawaiians) and Suburban Savage (Tiki Tones). I really liked the images, but I did not know anything about Tiki Bars, Tiki mugs, etc. When my wife (then girlfriend) was moving to Israel she brought me some Glow in the Dark Tiki wall stickers and some Glasses from "the Tiki bar" in San Diego. We decided that in the future we'll "Tikify" our place. One day I found a copy of Tiki News at Tower Records and I bought it, this led us to start looking for Tiki stuff on the net. We stumbled upon James' tiki bar review page (and learned a whole bunch of stuff there), and then (I think through Cowabunga mailing list) found out about Sven's Book, ordered it and read it from cover to cover. More Shag art helped fuel the fire, and we decided that when we go to the States to get married we'll carry out a Tiki quest. Before our trip we had a rooftop gig/birthday party for me, that we wanted to be Tiki style...so I built the 8 foot Moai as a prop to the party, we bought a whole bunch of cane and bamboo stuff, etc.
We tried making drinks but we did not have Berry's books, nor the right indgredients, so the results were bad.
When we went to the States (Got married in Vegas in an Elvis/Blue Hawaii ceremony)we carried out our "Tiki Quest" (which included $300 of stuff bought at Oceanic Arts) we got to visit several Tiki landmarks (Taboo Cove, the stripped down joint at the Luxor, Caliente Tropics,Emeryville TV, Tiki Ti,Mai Kai).
BTW - I learned about this place from Aquarj who really helped me during our trip - he was like an encyclopedia of knowledege about where to go and what to do. He was on Cowabunga mailing list and told me about this place.

So - that's my story and I'm sticking to it. Thanks for asking - I had to figure it out as I worte it, and I also had to ask my wife if she knows...
Hope it wasn't too long.

Time to pick up the Galil again,
Ran

From the Land of the $27 Myers's

[ Edited by: kick_the-reverb on 2003-02-07 10:45 ]

[ Edited by: kick_the-reverb on 2003-02-07 11:46 ]

reverb,cool story!. i would love to see pics of tiki stuff from the holy land some day.just the thought of drinking a blue hawaiian while picking off bad guys with a trusty (r.h.version). scoped galil .......WHOA!, where did that come from???. just goofing. please keep your heads down and your powder dry.I pray for a lasting peace for both tribes in that little sand box, and may you all drink zombies in harmony.

2wheeler, don't tell me, you got a life-time sub to Soilder'O' Fortune? Just messin, the PO sometime?

TwoWheelin' - you can check out some of our stuff in an old thread called "Tiki Displaying - if you don't have a bar" or something to that effect.
Thanks for the prayers for peace...shoot me an e-mail if you want to hear some gun stories...

Ran

yo chiki, i can only read the LARGE print edition of s.o.f., and those are rare in these here parts!.i think those war protesters on sunset and hollywood got me all pumped up from my friday nite adventures to tiki ti!. there is just something about those birkinshtock wearing aged woodstock ticket stub holders that gits me all riled up!!!.

yo chiki,purple orchid on sat nite could be a plan.email me and we shall see!