From the Ocean County Register
© Ocean County register
Reprinted for interview
subject's archival purposes
Sunday, March 20, 2005
By GARY A.
WARNER
Register Travel Editor
On the tiki trail
Visit Polynesia in Pittsburgh or Palm Springs
Like latter-day giant stone heads of Easter Island,
the chipped idols, faded driftwood signs and
smog-dusted palm trees stick out along the
pothole-pitted avenues of American cities and
suburbs. Strange and beautiful remnants of a once
vast but now largely vanquished culture.
Exotic places with names like Mai Kai and Bahooka,
Trader Vic’s and Omni Hut, Royal Hawaiian and Tiki
Ti.
Urban oases where the thirsty and stressed can still
step out of the light of day into another world. A
dark, tropical space filled with lava-rock walls,
bubbling aquariums, flickering tiki torches and
angry-faced carved idols.
Outside you might be in Modesto or Pittsburgh.
Inside, the bamboo-rimmed bar, rattan chairs and
glass balls in fishing nets feel more like Bora Bora
or Pago Pago. Especially after a shrunken skull,
scorpion bowl or ubiquitous mai tai warms your belly
and floats your head.
Once sinking under a wave of redevelopment, the
world of Polynesian pop is resurfacing. Dozens of
classics survive, and “neo-tiki” nightspots are
opening across the country. Come to the islands of
your mind as we drink in tales of tiki.
TIKI'S BALI HAI
If there is a mystical, magical place in the world
of tiki, it's Mai-Kai in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Stuck
amid the suburban sprawl is a place where
sarong-clad "maidens" serve the signature "barrel
o'rum," aided by unseen "mixologists" who guard the
restaurant's legendary rum concoctions.
"You have to sign in blood not to give away the
recipes," said manager Kern Mattei.
Order "the mystery drink," delivered by a young
woman who does a seductive wiggle at your table. On
some Sundays, kids in the audience can get on stage
with the hip-swinging dancers (though they'd best
take a seat for the fire dancer). Check out the real
shrunken heads, and in the rear garden, the tiki god
supposedly neutered at the behest of local 1950s
bluenoses.
SLEEPING WITH THE GODS
Caliente Tropics in Palm Springs has been rescued
with a $2.2 million makeover that has restored it to
its mid-century heyday. The best remaining example
of Ken Kimes' five 1960s Polynesian-theme motels in
California. The lobby is a riot of tikis and Easter
Island stone heads. Anothertiki with its tongue
sticking out sits by the pool, flanked by tiki
torches. The Reef Bar serves powerful punches. It's
still a motel – the walls are thin and the bathrooms
are small. Caliente Tropics is the scene of the
annual Tiki Oasis party.
ZOMBIE TIME
Here is a recipe for the Zombie, the original tiki
drink created in 1934 at Don the Beachcomber in
Hollywood:
Ingredients:
Juice of one large lime
1 teaspoon granulated sugar
1 ounce dark Jamaican rum
2 ounces gold Barbados rum
1 ounce white Puerto Rican rum
1/2 ounce apricot brandy
3/4 ounce papaya nectar
3/4 ounce unsweetened pineapple juice
1 ounce carbonated water
Dash of 151-proof Demerara rum
For garnish:
Mint sprig
Pineapple cube skewered between 1 red and 1 green
cocktail cherry
Powdered sugar
Procedure:
1. In cocktail shaker, dissolve sugar in lime juice.
Add other cocktail ingredients except carbonated
water, 151 rum and garnish. Add cracked ice. Shake
well and strain into 14-ounce frosted glass.
2. Add carbonated water and ice to fill glass. Float
dash of 151 proof Demerara rum on top. Garnish with
mint, pineapple skewered between cherries, and
powdered sugar.
AMERICAN TIKI: RISE, FALL AND SEMI-REVIVAL
1934: Don the Beachcomber serves the first Zombie in
Hollywood (see recipe).
1941: World War II sends millions of Americans to
the South Pacific.
1944: Trader Vic's in Oakland serves the first mai
tai (see recipe).
1948: Thor Heyerdahl's "Kon-Tiki" and James
Michener's "Tales of the South Pacific" are
published.
1959: Hawaii becomes a state.
1963: The Enchanted Tiki Room opens at Disneyland.
1960s: It's the tiki heyday, with hundreds of bars
and restaurants popping up. Tiki eateries populate
major hotel chains.
1979: Luau in Beverly Hills is bulldozed, an early
victim of tiki's waning popularity.
1994: Trader Vic's in San Francisco closes. Tiki
News, a revivalist magazine, begins publishing.
2000: Kahiki in Columbus, Ohio, closes, despite
preservationists' pleas.
"Book of Tiki" is published, fueling a tiki revival.
2003: "Tiki Road Trip" is published.
Costa Mesa's Kona Lanes, built in 1958, is
bulldozed.
2005: Disneyland's Enchanted Tiki Room makes a
refreshed appearance March 12.
TROPICAL TEMPERANCE
Before a show at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville,
take a detour about an hour south to the Omni Hut in
Smyrna, Tenn. The 12-table tiki outpost opened in
1960. Owner Polly Walls keeps it filled with tikis
and masks, all bathed in soothing blue light. Kids
love the 35-gallon aquarium. Families come for miles
to down the famous volcano, a dessert concoction
with a flaming top. This is barbecue country, and
the sweet ribs are outstanding. A slack-key guitar
version of "Little Grass Shack" is juxtaposed with
Southern mommas telling their little ones to "hush
up now." The only thing you can't get: a drink. But
you can BYOB for a homemade mai tai.
THE MASTERS
The most prodigious tiki creators still happily toil
away in an industrial park in Whittier. Through
their company, Oceanic Arts, Leroy Schmaltz and Bob
Van Oosting have created the look of Florida's
Mai-Kai, Disney's Polynesian Resort and other tiki
hot spots. They still draw their inspiration from an
epic trip across the South Pacific they took in
1960. Today they are still at it, making tiki items
for movies and the Islands restaurant chain.
"Last year was our best year ever," Van Oosting
said.
While most of their work is sold wholesale, Oceanic
Arts has also has a small retail shop and a rental
agency to add a South Seas touch to backyard
parties.
NEO-TIKI
Tastes have swung around, and a new generation is
entranced with tiki bars.Places like the Tiki Lounge
in Pittsburgh and Kahiki Moon in Burlington, Vt.,
are bringing colorful rum drinks, thatched-roof
booths and bamboo-covered walls back to the bar
scene. Purveyors like Tiki Farm are creating designs
for the next generation of home tiki lounges.
Hawaiian merchants Hilo Hattie and ABC Stores have
beachheads on the mainland. The tiki revival isn't a
sure thing, though: The much-ballyhooed Taboo Cove
in Las Vegas lasted just four years at the Venetian
Hotel before closing last year.
LOCAL LOCO
Orange County was once a center of tiki culture.
Places like the Outrigger in Laguna Beach, Kim's
Family Restaurant and the Holo Wai Miniature Golf
Course in Orange, and Milan Guanko's carving shop at
Gray's Nursery in Westminster are gone. But you can
still immerse yourself in tiki at Sam's Seafood in
Huntington Beach and the Royal Hawaiian in Laguna
Beach. "Neo-tiki" spots like the House of Tiki store
in Costa Mesa are sending locals home with tropical
décor. In Los Angeles County, there's Trader Vic's
in Beverly Hills, tiny Tiki Ti in Los Angeles and
the great Bahooka Family Restaurant in Rosemead
(look for the whitewashed World War II Navy gun
outside).
MODESTO MECCA
The wrecker's ball has claimed tiki outposts less
often outside big cities. The town where "American
Graffiti" was filmed has three notably tiki spots:
the Tiki Lounge has great South Pacific décor marred
by Coors Light posters tacked on the walls. The
Tropics Motel next door has sad-looking tikis and
lacks the AAA seal of approval, but seems simple and
clean. Best of all is Minnie's. Don't be put off by
sharing parking with Suzie's Adult Video Rentals
next door. Inside is a dark refuge with wahine
paintings and lots of bamboo, marred only by a TV
showing pro wrestling. Chef Paul Man serves dishes
created by his father in the 1950s. The outdoor bar
with a canoe, tikis and carved masks make you feel
you are in Maui, not Modesto.
EXPERT PICKS:
James Teitelbaum, author of "Tiki Road Trip" on his
favorite tiki bars:
Mai-Kai, Fort Lauderdale, Fla.: "Without question
the best remaining tiki mecca. It's huge – several
thousand square feet. Excellent food. Tremendously
good drinks. A full floor show. The real thing –
nothing corny or cheesy."
Hala Kahiki, River Grove, Ill. "About half-hour west
out of downtown Chicago is the last and best example
of a classic tiki bar. Hawaiian music. Wonderful
tropical drinks. Waitresses in muumuus. Tikis
everywhere you look."
Tiki-Ti, Los Angeles: "A similar vibe to Hala
Kahiki, but smaller. The place is tiny. It's been
owned by the same family since the 1960s. No food,
just a bar. But the drinks are amazing."
Trader Vic's, Emeryville. "It's the best Trader
Vic's left in the country. Drinks are as good as it
gets. Refined, if you can use that word for a tiki
place."
Honorable mentions: Jardin Tiki in Montreal, Tonga
Room in the Fairmont Hotel, San Francisco, Omni Hut
in Smyrna, Tenn., and The Alibi in Portland. Special
mention should also go to La Mariana Sailing Club, a
tiki classic in rapidly urbanizing Honolulu.
THE TRADER
Don the Beachcomber and Stephen Crane's Kon-Tiki
restaurants had their fans. But the biggest name in
tiki was - and is - Trader Vic's. The chain created
by Victor "Trader Vic" Bergeron now has 23
restaurants – though only six in the United States.
The flagship shop is one of the top tiki spots in
the country. After a 10-year absence, Trader Vic's
returned in 2004 to San Francisco. The Trader Vic's
in the British capital was immortalized in Warren
Zevon's hit song "Werewolves of London" ("I saw a
werewolf drinkin a piña colada at Trader Vic's; and
his hair was perfect.")
MAI TAI MEMORIES
Here is the original Mai Tai recipe created in 1944
by "Trader Vic" Bergeron at his original bar, then
called Hinky Dinks, in Oakland:
Ingredients:
For cocktail:
2 ounces 17-year-old J. Wray Nephew Jamaican rum
1/2 ounce French Garnier Orgeat
1/2 ounce Holland DeKuyper Orange Curacao
1/4 ounce rock candy syrup
Juice from 1 fresh lime
For garnish:
Half a lime
Sprig of mint
Procedure:
1. Combine all ingredients (but garnish) in cocktail
shaker. Shake well, pour into glass.
2. Garnish with half of lime shell inside the drink
and float a sprig of fresh mint at the edge of the
glass.
TOTEMIC TOMES
"Tales of the South Pacific" by James Michener.
Mythical "Bali Hai" becomes prototypical enchanted
South Seas isle.
"Kon-Tiki" by Thor Heyerdahl. Brings Polynesian
culture to a mass audience.
"Book of Tiki" by Sven Kirsten. Fuels revival of
tiki culture with its high-gloss look at the lost
and lasting pop Polynesian spots around the country.
"Tiki Road Trip" by James Teitelbaum. Encyclopedic
compendium of tiki bars and other spots. Parses the
tiki mecca from the merely tamed tiki of renovated
bars. Spots rated from one to five tikis.
Kewanee Star Courier
Thursday, January 26, 2006
'Tikiphiles' gather at Waunee Farm
By
DAVE
CLARKE Of The Star Courier
Updated: Tuesday, January 24, 2006 9:32 AM CST
Reprinted
for interview subject's archival purposes
© 2006 Star Courrier
KEWANEE — Kewanee is known for many things but we
didn’t know it’s also a dot on a national “map” of
tiki bars.
While the aftermath of a January snow storm covered
the fields outside Saturday night, the Chicago-based
“Windy City Islanders,” a group advertised as the
“Midwest’s only ukulele band,” filled the Andris
Waunee Farm’s Aku Tiki Room with the sounds of the
south seas.
Bars and restaurants featuring Hawaiian and
Polynesian decor have apparently drawn a devoted
following across the nation in the years since World
War II of what are called “tikiphiles,” resulting in
newsletters, web sites, merchandise outlets and
covering all things bamboo.
Several years ago, a young author, tiki expert and
urban archeologist from Cleveland named James
Teitelbaum, traveled here and abroad tracking down
tiki-related locations and published “Tiki Road
Trip,” a book containing 400 reviews of tiki bars
and other destinations, including a little
restaurant in an out-of-the-way place called
Kewanee.
“Before I wrote the book, I had a web site and
someone e-mailed me about the Waunee Farm, so I
checked it out,” said Teitelbaum, now of Chicago,
who was in attendance at Saturday night’s
“Islanders” shows at the restaurant south of town.
In his “Tiki Road Trip” review, Teitelbaum praised
the Waunee Farm’s “friendly atmosphere,” and South
Seas decor, which includes airbrushed murals
depicting tropical scenes, black lava rock walls,
and some rare carvings he had not seen elsewhere.
“Given its location, it’s a miracle the bar has
survived all these years,” Teitelbaum wrote. Owned
by Glen Andris and managed by wife Carol, the Aku
Tiki Room was added to the Waunee Farm in 1967 and
expanded in 1984. “Glen got the idea from the
restaurants and bars he visited while on vacation in
Acapulco,” said Carol. Aku Tiki means “fish god.”
While surfing one of the tiki websites, Carol found
the “Windy City Islanders,” a ukulele band featuring
four Chicago area musicians who formed the group two
years ago. Playing mostly at locations and functions
in the Chicago and Wisconsin area, band members said
this was the first time they had been “this far
west.”
Members of the group include 30-year veteran Chris
Carlson, on lead uke and vocals; George Klingehofer,
lead vocals and ukulele; Craig Stenseth, bass and
steel guitars and vocals; and Eric “Baron”
Behrenfeld, vocals and percussion, including conga
drums, maracas and something called a wave drum, a
hand-held instrument which recreated the sound of
waves crashing on the beach and was used in a Beach
Boys-like number called “Surfin’ at Sandy Beach.”
Most of the music in the two one-hour sets was of
Hawaiian and Polynesian origin, but also featured
several original compositions. The foursome played
“Tiny Bubbles” for Harry and Margaret Krause of
Kewanee, enjoying a 50th anniversary dinner with a
large group of family and friends.