When I arrived at the Jungle Bird in downtown Sacramento, I didn’t know if I was at the right place…
I checked and re-checked the address: 2516 J Street. Yes, the address was correct, but where was the Tiki bar? I could hear that something was going on behind the door. People were inside. I could hear talking and laughing. Then I heard the theme song to Gilligan’s Island. Yes indeed, I had arrived at the Jungle Bird…
Continue reading “Tiki Bar Review #35 The Jungle Bird Sacramento, CA”
This is the line to get into Smuggler’s Cove. The place hasn’t even opened yet!
You might be asking, “What’s so special about this place?”
Continue reading “Tiki Bar Review #34 Smuggler’s Cove San Francisco, CA”
When you have a Tiki bar with décor furnished by Bamboo Ben and Oceanic Arts, it has to be cool!
Continue reading “Tiki Bar Review #33 Kona Club Oakland, CA”
When most tourists come to San Francisco, they hit Chinatown.
But if you’re into Tiki, the real place to check out is only a couple blocks down the street: Pagan Idol!
Continue reading “Tiki Bar Review #32 Pagan Idol San Francisco, CA”
There are a lot of “Traders” when it comes to Tiki.
There are Trader Vic’s, Trader Dick’s, Trader Mort’s, and of course Disney’s own Trader Sam’s. But before there was Trader Sam’s, there was Trad’r Sam…
Continue reading “Tiki Bar Review #31 Trad’r Sam San Francisco, CA”
My how time flies…
It was one year ago, almost to the week. I was at Hula Hula chatting with the bartender. She had good news and bad news.
The bad news was that Hula Hula was closing because the building was getting leveled for new development. The good news was that Hula Hula would live again in a new location. The owners just needed to find the right place…
Continue reading “Hula Hula Grand Re-Opening! Capitol Hill Seattle, WA”
And then there were two…
As I write this post, there are only two remaining Trader Vic’s locations in America. One in Atlanta, GA and the other in Emeryville, CA. Back in the ’50s/’60s during the height of Tiki popularity, there were around 25! What happened? Well, tastes changed. But if there is one word to describe a Trader Vic’s restaurant, that word would be HUGE! Imagine trying to maintain a large space with many rooms filled with various Tiki artifacts. It’s a miracle such a place is still around! That’s why visiting Trader Vic’s in Emeryville, CA was a big deal for me. It could all be gone tomorrow…
Continue reading “Tiki Bar Review #30 Trader Vic’s Emeryville, CA”
I’ll never forget seeing this clip on Anthony Bourdain’s The Layover.
It’s where Anthony checks out the Tonga Room in San Francisco. I’d been waiting for my day to come every since and I finally made it!
Continue reading “Tiki Bar Review #29 Tonga Room and Hurricane Bar, San Francisco, CA”
Hey, this used to be Barmacy!
When I first walked into Otto’s Shrunken Head, I felt like I’d been there before. I lived in New York back in the early 2000s and before Otto’s was Otto’s, it used to be Barmacy. Barmacy was a bar that was supposed to be a pharmacy that turned into a bar. Pretty interesting idea, but a Tiki bar is so much cooler!
Continue reading “Tiki Bar Review #28 Otto’s Shrunken Head, NYC”
Every painting starts with one brush stroke. Each stroke that follows can make the painting better or worse.
The same thing is true with building a Tiki bar. The possibilities are only limited to your imagination, or to how much you care about building something special. I don’t want to say there’s a right or wrong way to build a Tiki bar, but as they say, “The proof is the pudding.” There are definite reasons why certain Tiki bars have lines outside the door and why others close a couple months after opening. Forbidden Island in Alameda, CA is not the later! Forbidden Island is one of the oldest of the new Tiki bars, opening its doors a decade ago in 2006.
Continue reading “Tiki Bar Review #27 Forbidden Island Alameda, CA”
