Bahooka To Be Reborn!

God I hope Cliffton's café will have better food and drinks than Bahookas!!! God we went there the last week and it was horrible!!! the drinks sucked and the food was terrible!!! I was ready to dive in and eat one of the fish in the tanks!!! really sad my last memory of that place is not very good!!!

Yes, Bahooka's was an amazing place with absolutely terrible drinks & food
we always ate before going ourselves.

On 2014-01-24 17:28, Pele Paul wrote:
God I hope Cliffton's café will have better food and drinks than Bahookas!!!

Clifton's is/was a buffet, so one can see before selecting and eating.
While I also think Bahooka's menu, or kitchen, possibly could have used improvement, I have always enjoyed the cuisine at Clifton's.

Just returned from another lunch today (10/20/15) at Clifton's Brookdale. Previously, I'd heard the 4th floor tiki bar will open Halloween. Saturday night I was told it would open in December. I saw on Yelp that someone got a preview of what it looks like and here's what they said: "Level Four: Tiki bar and tree top lounge. TIKI BAR in DTLA!!! Sold. Open in a few weeks, this is gonna be awesome. There's a huge 70 year old, larger than life wooden Tiki to welcome you in. Old school maps and trains adorn the entry. Then, the bar is cut in half literally by a hand-carved amazing speedboat! It's like we're straight in 70s Waikiki. Hawaiian shirts encouraged."

Clifton's food game has really been stepped up to the next level. The other sections were really looking great and if they're any indication, the tiki bar is going to be amazing. I talked Andrew Meieran during the preview opening of Clifton's and he was saying that they really got so much of Bahooka's stuff that it's really just taking the old and elevating with some new bells and whistles.

No clue on when the opening is since, hell, they bumped the opening of Clifton's by a couple of weeks after that preview night. So it's always just a flowing process.

Made good with one of the employees who chatted about the tiki bar and yeah, it's going to be amazing.

The lounge on the same level as the future tiki bar will eventually be turned into a steak house. So yeah, this multi level bar/adult fun zone is going to have so much to do and see.

FYI,
The steak house and the Tiki bar are on completely different floors..steak house=3rd floor.,Tiki bar=4th floor..

Don't believe everything you read on Wikipedia.
https://www.zagat.com/b/los-angeles/what-you-need-to-know-about-cliftons-cafeteria-reopening

"A fourth-floor restaurant will be an American steakhouse menu"

http://laist.com/2015/08/15/cliftons_reopening.php

"The fourth floor will be home to the Treetops bar and lounge, and will also have a steakhouse that will open later on. Also on the floor is a tiki bar called Pacific Seas."

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/06/fashion/andrew-meieran-cliftons-cafeteria.html?_r=0

"The fourth-floor offices are being turned into two more bars — one tiki themed, where “rain” will storm — and a steakhouse."

Also was told by an employee who I talked to for some time while I was chilling in that 4th floor area. Got to see the door way to the tiki bar as well with the globe and plane lit up. They had been given the tour of the place many times and were really excited about the tiki bar.

I was the general contractor on a large portion of this remodel..4th floor =pacific seas tiki bar and tree tops bar.no steak house.
The steak house will be on the 3rd floor banquet room area..FACT..

See, now this is just getting into the realm of totem swinging.

You may have been a general contractor on some of this project, but the press releases (going out to media in the links above) and various current employees say otherwise.

What you were working off of could have very well changed. Especially since I was at the opening and had talked to Andrew Meieran about the plans for that top floor. So I think I'll take the word of the building owner.

Yet another from the DT News quoting Maieran as well;

The fourth floor holds the Treetops bar and lounge; the design is Art Deco, with the redwood replica’s needle-like leaves creating a canopy overhead. Through a nearby doorway is a tiki bar named Pacific Seas. Decorations include a 1939 Chris Craft boat and tiki pieces from Bahooka restaurant in Rosemead, which closed in 2013. Meieran said he expects to open the bars and an American steakhouse menu on the floor by the end of the year.

But hey, why the fuck not take the word of a contractor as fact over the owner himself...

How about this, we stop this pointless back and forth and put money where thy mouth is. When it's open, if the steak house, which why the fuck even bring that up or attempt to correct someone on a Tiki forum?!, if it's on the floor you say it is, the third, then I'll buy you a steak dinner and round of tiki drinks. But equally, if the steak house is on the floor I, employees and even the building owner state it is, the adjacent door from the tiki bar on that top floor, then you buy me a steak and a round of tiki drinks.

Enough of this tiki drama, as Bamboo Ben would put it, there's no room for such silly back and forth - FACT. I was simply reporting what multiple employees and even higher ups who were there to answer questions on that night of the L.A. Conservancy event - and I have no fucking clue as to why they would lie. My guess, at one point that 3rd floor was set to be the steak house, but the plans have changed as multiple sources have pointed out and go against your "FACT"

So hey, up for the wager?

[ Edited by: tikijackskeleton 2015-10-22 23:04 ]

[ Edited by: tikijackskeleton 2015-10-23 02:26 ]

[ Edited by: ron-tiki 2015-10-23 09:03 ]

Well, someone here is strung a bit tight.....

Do we care what floor anything is on? I appreciate the updates on status and some details on the plans but as long as once it's open somebody can point me in the right direction to get a drink I'll be happy :)

And if I end up in the steakhouse because I'm on the wrong floor that might work out ok too.

Do we have an opening date for the Tiki bar?

Rick, It was to open in Oct. (sometime around Halloween) but It seems to be fluid
at the moment, I think it has been delayed into early Nov. now.

So, is that wager being made?

I wonder if they will have a stuffed paku in it somewhere?

That would be krazy!

Stopped by Cliftons late last night just to see the inside and asked about the opening of the South Seas room. Definitely not happening this Halloween weekend. No one seemed to have a solid answer, but they all said some time in November.

I was there today and the manager I spoke with said it was "months away" not this year, that they are not near complete....maybe they are trying to under promise? Hopefully

Not too surprising. Their schedule towards opening Clifton's itself was always changing. Even after the opening celebration/soft opening, they were closed for what was like two weeks after until they finally opened up to the public. Must have been very slow contractors working on the location. :wink:

As for the wager, hey, I'm all in on my side. Never got any answer.

LA Magazine
What You Need to Know About Those Five Bars at Clifton’s Cafeteria
The cafeteria is off to a rocky start—but at least there’s booze!

October 30, 2015

The renovated L.A. landmark Clifton’s Cafeteria only just reopened this month and it’s already going through a couple of major upheavals: Opening chef Jason Fullilove is officially out and director of spirits Damian Windsor is leaving in two weeks! What this means for the food and the three other bars in the building which have yet to open—as well as the currently opened bars—is not clear. But here’s what we do know about the bars themselves.

The five bars were conceptualized by owner Andrew Meieran and consultant Michael Neff (formerly of Three Clubs) while Windsor (Power House) served as the creative source between all bars. “We didn’t want to make a space that just had a lot of bars in it,” says Neff. “We wanted each space to have its own identity. We have different designs, different intentions, different names, different educational programs.”

Each bar has its own lead bartender who is in charge of creating the specialty cocktail menu for their particular bar. For the mezzanine Monarch Bar it's Chris Amirault (Harlowe), for the Gothic Bar it's Dustin Newsome (Seven Grand), and Aaron Polsky (Greenwich Project in NYC) is doing the basement Shadowbox. No word yet on who will be in charge of the upstairs Tiki bar or the Treetops restaurant bar.

Even though each bar will have its own distinctive cocktail program, all—with the exception of Shadowbox—will also share a classic cocktail menu. "The purpose of that is for people who are going from space to space or they're checking out the new space. We just wanted to have a little bit of through line," explains Neff.

However, this doesn't mean that you can order a vodka tonic at every bar, or even a Tiki bar cocktail down at the Gothic bar, since each bar has limited space and its own program. "We want to be able to specialize, to not offer everything in all places," says Neff. So, he adds, if you want a Budweiser and a shot, there are three spaces where you can get that. There just won't be a huge selection of vodka at, say, the Tiki bar. "I only have so much room, I need to focus on rum or Japanese whiskey or something else. If you want a lot of vodkas, you can go downstairs. As big as the place is there isn't a lot of space for our stuff. We don't have massive backbars so we have to be able to make choices."

So here's the lowdown on each bar.

Monarch Bar: This beer-focused California-themed neighborhood bar, which is also the dining room for the cafeteria, is open at 11 a.m. to close. Guests can drop-in with their tray of cafeteria food and enjoy beverage table service. Choose from 20 draft beers, a Golden State wine list, eight specialty cocktails as well as soda fountain creations. The 1930 soda fountain, when the bar is fully operational, will offer four different floats and four boozy options. There will also be four cocktails that are loosely based on an ingredient found in the featured floats. Currently there is a Big Sur Bacon Bomb float and a bacon bourbon Old Fashioned garnished with the same candied bacon found in the float. Since the bar is technically a restaurant, this means that not only can children sit at the bar, too, but as soon as the cafeteria is open 24 hours the bar will be open from 6 a.m. to 2 a.m. "So we're looking for ways to get some bartender breakfast style specials going," says Amirault.

Gothic Bar: Since this was where modern science fiction was born, the back bar is done up like a Gothic church altar complete with soaring arches. Guys like L Ron Hubbard, Forrest Ackerman, and Ray Bradbury met up on Thursday nights and sat on a bench on the second floor of Clifton's when that back room was known as the Brown Room. Now it's a high-volume, high-energy bar with some elements of sci-fi homage like a meteorite at the bar and cocktails named "Forrest J." and "The Two Rays" on the menu. And that sacred bench where the Los Angeles Science Fiction League once congregated is now a booth. The cocktails, by Newsome, are meant to be easy to execute for the high-volume bar while still being delicious and approachable. And since the bar has the most space it will also showcase the most kinds of spirits, making it conducive to hosting tastings as well as guest bartenders. Still in the works: tableside cocktails delivered via bar carts as a large format option.

Treetops Bar: This space is slated to be a fine-dining restaurant with a small bar whose focus is on rare and unusual spirits. This is where you'd go to sip on something special. However, because the space has proven so popular for throwing awesome private events, and there currently isn't a chef, the restaurant itself won't be ready till some time next year.

Pacific Seas Tiki Bar: Even though this bar on the fourth floor was still in disarray when I got to see it earlier this month, the space holds such promise. There's actually a vintage Chris-Craft motorboat jutting out of the middle of the bar where bartenders will serve drinks from. And not to mention the fact that Tiki fans can visit the old decorations of the beloved and now closed Bahooka Tiki restaurant here. Because of the holidays it most likely won't open til the first of the year.

Shadowbox: Located in the basement, Shadowbox will be different from the other Clifton bars in every way. It won't offer the house classic cocktail menu at all as it is meant to be akin to the Aviary in Chicago—a high concept, fully immersive experience. It will be the only bar in the building that you will need a reservation for. The cocktail program by Polsky promises to bring back a sense of magic and wonder to even off-duty bartenders and cynical cocktail drinkers. "They're going to play with every kind of trick that we have to make things cool and fun," says Neff. For instance, as soon as a guest is seated, they will be approached by one of two cocktail carts. One cart will offer an Old Fashioned while the other is tableside spherification of French 75s with a vodka, gin, or cognac option. "It's basically a champagne cart and we'll spherify the actual cocktail. So we still get to do the cool stuff but we'll get to say, 'Hey, you want a drink while you're deciding?'" explains Neff. Other cool finds in the basement are an ice cave with a window where guests can see how Clifton's grows and farms icicles as well as an "excavation site" covered with plexiglass by the bar so you can stand over where fossilized dinosaur eggs have been "dug up." Shadowbox is projected to open in six to eight weeks. Be excited, be very excited.

Once all five bars are open Clifton's will no doubt resemble an Escher painting with cocktail enthusiasts tromping up and down the stairs in a seemingly neverending circuit, going from bar to bar.

UPDATE: Justin Oliver, former manager of the famed tiki bar Smuggler's Cove in San Francisco, will be running the Tiki bar, Pacific Seas.

On 2015-10-25 17:07, Atomic Tiki Punk wrote:
Rick, It was to open in Oct. (sometime around Halloween) but It seems to be fluid
at the moment, I think it has been delayed into early Nov. now.

So now the date is early 2016 (January?)

On 2015-11-02 10:17, The Below Decks wrote:

UPDATE: Justin Oliver, former manager of the famed tiki bar Smuggler's Cove in San Francisco, will be running the Tiki bar, Pacific Seas.

With smugglers cove being one of my biggest losses in my move from SF to LA I am very happy to hear this!!

bump

Anyone have any updates?

I'm dying to see what it's gonna look like.

Who is doing the tiki bar interior work? I've been following this thread but didn't see that mentioned.

Ben, you're needed to help them speed things up. My guess is that you've already reached out to them.

p.s. It's gonna be highly Pacific Seas influenced with a ton of Bahooka stuff and Much More!

It should be good. :wink:

No dates yet but I'll let Tiki Central know first!

Old School man.

Glad you got the job, Ben.

It's still not clear to me, is Ben doing the work? Thx...

Yes!

On 2015-12-16 03:55, AceExplorer wrote:
It's still not clear to me, is Ben doing the work? Thx...

On 2015-12-16 04:34, Atomic Tiki Punk wrote:
Yes!

Yes Ace. But, who's on third? ATP's on 2nd....

p.s. There will be a lot of the Bahooka stuff inside the Pacific Seas Tiki Bar that will be inside the newly remodeled Clifton's Brookdale.
Maybe that'll help with any confusion :wink: :wink:

Thanks guys, glad to hear it... Sobriety is a terrible condition...

With Ben doing the build-out and Justin managing the joint, it will be hard for Clifton's to mess this up! We all know Ben's exceptional work, but I also know Justin rather well. He's a good man who really knows how to run a busy bar! Smuggler's Cove's loss is Clifton's gain for sure! (He's also easy on the eyes, for those of us who are into the tall, slim, retro, talented type :) )

p.s. I don't see anywhere on my set of plans where a steakhouse is :wink:

HAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHA

So then there's no place to buy a steak. Perhaps I'll just settle for a turkey dinner on the first floor.

:wink:

On 2015-12-23 00:25, tikijackskeleton wrote:
HAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHA

So then there's no place to buy a steak. Perhaps I'll just settle for a turkey dinner on the first floor.

:wink:

Now I just need to find a stuffed paku to complete the circle! :wink:

I'm building the new Pacific Seas Tiki Bar on the 4th floor at Clifton's Cafeteria in Downtown Los Angeles and we're not going to
be using several Tikis from the late and great Bahooka! They will most likely be auctioned off ( non ebay style) on a Facebook page
or what not. I will let everyone know so they can have a chance to get some tiki history. p.s. There will be other stuff from the Bahooka too.
Lots of boats, etc....

Save me some!

Awesome news Ben!

Can't wait to see what pieces are left.

Of course, we'll have to drive to California from Wisconsin to pick anything UP, but ya know... life is all about the adventure, huh?

--Pete

So it's been pretty quiet about the progress, though from Ben's social media, it did look like a big project. Did find this on the good ol' internet though..

http://jenniferkeith.com/calendar

Look at that July 30th tour date.

Hmmmmmmmmm I wonder when more info will come out cause, gosh darn it, I'm excited.

On 2016-07-08 12:30, tikijackskeleton wrote:
So it's been pretty quiet about the progress, though from Ben's social media, it did look like a big project. Did find this on the good ol' internet though..

http://jenniferkeith.com/calendar

Look at that July 30th tour date.

Hmmmmmmmmm I wonder when more info will come out cause, gosh darn it, I'm excited.

I'm 98% done. Now it's all on Justin Oliver :wink: I heard it got pushed back a bit
to get EVERYTHING PERFECT.

LOL!!

LOL!!

I sure hope it opens up soon.
I need a few more builds to up my portfolio and to build a real website!
:wink: lol.

waiting for the steakhouse to be completed. bahahaha.. contractors and builders don't know anything..

waiting for the steakhouse to be completed. bahahaha.. contractors and builders don't know anything..

You've been missing it the whole time.. it's on the 3rd floor, duh. :P

Wait.

There's a steak house in Clifton's??

Dam.